Photo by ElvertBarnes

As many of D.C.’s neighborhood libraries are being rebuilt and renovated—largely to widespread acclaim—the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library remains mired in an existential crisis. While it’s fantastically located, the 40-year-old Mies van der Rohe-designed building it far too big for use as a central library and is prohibitively expensive to maintain.

That’s why a panel of architects and librarians was commissioned last year with the task of addressing the issue of what to do with the building and the library within. The solution they put forth somewhat split the difference between extremes: keep the library in the iconic building, but lease part of it out to a second tenant.

But before that can happen—if it happens at all—library officials will have to get public input and the go-ahead from the D.C. Council. That process starts tonight at 6 p.m. with a meeting of the library’s Board of Trustees to present and discuss the panel’s proposals. Next Thursday, Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) will host a roundtable discussion in the Wilson Building at 11 a.m. to discuss the library’s future. Residents are invited to speak at both.