The excessive heat is taking its toll on Washingtonians, present and past.
The interim location of D.C. Public Library’s flagship historic archive, the Washingtoniana collection, has been closed on and off since the end of May amid sweltering summer temperatures and a faulty HVAC system.
The special collection features records of local D.C. history from the past 300 years. As DCPL undergoes a three-year renovation of the Martin Luther King Jr. Library, the collection was moved to a temporary location on Connecticut Avenue in Van Ness in September of 2018. (The location originally served as a bank, and before that was the parking lot for a legendary local family restaurant chain, Hot Shoppes, according to DCPL).
But it has experienced a spate of closures since May 28. The HVAC system is “not working as well” as it should be and is in need of repairs, says spokesperson George Williams.
In combination with the heat wave that struck D.C. in late June—when temperatures consistently reached temperatures upwards of 90 degrees—the situation has worsened. Whenever the temperature inside exceeds 82 degrees, Williams says, they close Washingtoniana to the public.
Lately, that’s been nearly every day. Out of the past two months, it has only been open for five days—and the closures are all due to excessive heat.
To make sure the climate doesn’t damage the materials inside, Williams tells DCist that “we have someone go in every day to check on the status of the collection to ensure the collection is protected.”
While they don’t have a clear timeline on when the building will reopen for good, Williams says DCPL is working with the Department of General Services to repair the heating and cooling system. He tells DCist that a new HVAC system is being installed and tested this week.
In the meantime, he recommends that folks looking for resources on local D.C. history reach out to the Peabody Room in Georgetown. The special collection includes records about the neighborhood’s local history, along with materials from the Washingtoniana collection that were moved “to a few different locations” when the MLK Library closed.
