The director of the D.C. Public Library told the D.C. Council on Wednesday that he plans to rework the policy that allows DCPL to unilaterally name interior places and spaces after donors. DCPL Director Richard Reyes-Gavilan also apologized for a recent dustup over his recommendation to name an auditorium in the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

“This process needs to be reevaluated, and I hear that loud and clear,” Reyes-Gavilan said during an oversight hearing. “I would like personally apologize for the aggravation the naming process has caused.”

The announcement comes in the wake of the widely criticized vote by library trustees in late January to name the auditorium after Bezos, who gave $2.7 million to start a new childhood literacy program. After a week of public criticism of the decision, Bezos himself wrote library officials suggesting they instead name the auditorium for famed Black author Toni Morrison.

In 2019, the board approved a “Naming Policy for D.C. Public Library Spaces and Programs” that spells out when interior and exterior spaces of libraries can be named after specific people, notably staff members or distinguished people who offered “extraordinary service” to the library system, or donors “who have made a significant financial contribution to the library.” The policy does call for a “due diligence review” of any proposed renaming, including “whether the name is and will continue to be a positive reflection on the library.”

A year later, the library trustees approved Reyes-Gavilan’s recommendation that a new teen space on the second floor of the MLK Library be named after Alma Thomas, a renowned artist and D.C. middle school teacher. He said at the time that she “certainly merits special recognition.”

Speaking to lawmakers on Wednesday, Reyes-Gavilan said that in Bezos’s case the policy followed “standard fundraising practice, especially in the pursuit of major gifts.” And he said the overall secrecy of the decision — and the speed with which it was approved by trustees — reflected normal practices in seeking large donations.

“We were sort of protective of the back and forth between the foundation and the donor,” he said. “In retrospect we clearly see that some process needs to be created where there is that level of engagement, and I think we can do it without sacrificing the ability to attract major donors to the library.”

Responding to questions from Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) — who said “public libraries are not for sale” in opening remarks — Reyes-Gavilan said he was still working to formulate how the existing naming policy could change.

“I’ve got some ideas… potentially working with a donor where that donor has an inventory of names that they might be able to choose from, and that inventory of name is selected publicly,” he said. “I think we can improve this process and improve it very quickly.”

In a statement, Monte Monash, chair of the D.C. Public Library Board of Trustees, agreed that a new policy is needed, and said the board would take public comment on it during its monthly meeting on Mar. 23 at 6 p.m.