Community Design Meeting Meeting Summary and Compilation of Public Comments

Location: Tenley-Friendship Interim Library, 4200 Wisconsin Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20016

Meeting Purpose: Public meeting to provide the community with an opportunity to help shape the design of the new Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library. A brief overview presentation was given at 6 p.m.; following this, library staff was available to discuss the project and answer questions. Comments were collected by comment card a well as during a facilitated discussion.

Meeting Format: Presentation and interactive workshop format.

• The presentation included an overview of project implementation and a discussion of conceptual design options.
• A facilitated discussion allowed participants to provide comments and ask questions of DC library staff and the project team.

Attendees: Thirty-four community members added their names to the sign-in sheets. Ginnie Cooper, Archie Williams, Jeff Bonvechio, Kim Fuller, Barbara Norland, Elissa Miller and the Tenley-Friendship Interim Library staff represented the DC Public Library. Guitele Nicoleau represented the DC Library Board of Trustees. The following members of the CirclePoint consulting team attended the meeting: W. Steve Lee and Tosin Durotoye.

Summary of Community Meeting Comments

Library Use and Service Issues

• Proposed café could detract from library space uses.
• Need adult reading room.
• Kids’ spaces will need to account for more than 1/3 of the library.
• Do you plan to have a teaching room for classes?
• With as many restaurants as there are within a few feet of the library, vending machines are not necessary at the new library.

Library User Issues
Non-Library Uses

• Vending is good as it allows patrons to remain in the library longer.
• It is critical to have vending or allow patrons to bring refreshments. This is especially important when considering younger patrons.
• There should be no food present around library books.
• Need to consider the cost of maintenance if food is introduced into library.

Kids’ Space

• Kids come to library because there are no other recreational spaces in the neighborhood. This specific issue needs to be addressed.
• Would like to see a kids’ room on the top floor, away from other patrons.
• Kids need separate upstairs space to foster reading interest.
• Friends of the Tenley-Friendship Library are asking for a large and deep collection of books.
• Differentiate between toddlers, adolescents and teens when designing the space.
• I agree that the kids’ area should be upstairs.
• Children should not have to go through adult space to access kids’ space.

Other

• Nannies frequent the library with infants and need space to park strollers.
• How will reading and computer spaces be separated?
• Need quieter computers so as not to disturb patrons.
• New Tenley-Friendship Library must have as many services as old library.

Library Design Issues (Exterior)

• Need to separate quiet and noisy spaces.
• Safety/security outside of library should be considered in the design.
• The outdoor space at the Barnes & Noble in Bethesda should serve as an excellent model when designing the new library’s outdoor space.
• The reason why the Barnes & Noble in Bethesda works is because there are no schools nearby, and therefore large crowds of potentially disruptive school-aged children aren’t present the way they are at this library location.
• Build the new library within the existing neighborhood context.
• Explore ways to limit the amount of trash and waste often left outside the library.
• Proposed roof terrace will not be useful because District weather can be unpredictable.
• Will patrons need to cut through main library in order to access meeting spaces after hours?

Library Design Issues (Interior)

• The Tenley-Friendship library façade needs to be inviting and nice.
• The community space design needs to be clarified.
• Need clarity on how the space will be divided.
• Where will the meeting rooms be located?
• I don’t think community space works.
• Please consider where bathroom and elevator bank are placed to discourage loitering.
• Why can’t the conference room be located on the third floor and have a small footprint?
• Would like to have windows overlooking the green space.
• Clarify what will be in the lobby of the new library.
• Water has been found underground at the site. Keeping this in mind, what is the possibility of underground parking?
• Parking should be made available underneath the new library.
• Will the new Tenley-Friendship library be a free-standing building?
• Would like to see budget stretched to accommodate a three-story building.
• Any possibility of off-site parking at the nearby Best Buy?
• Need to nail down a footprint for proposed library.

Other
Design Process

• Would like the new Tenley-Friendship Library built as soon as possible.
• All proposed designs should be posted on the DC Public Library Web site.
• Any delay in getting the library built is a disservice to the community.
• No further delays with library design.
• Would like to compliment the chief librarian on her selection of a good architectural team.

Other

• Would like to encourage the chief librarian to stick to her guns as the design of the library progresses.
• Is there a fixed dollar amount set aside for all new libraries in the District?
• What factors limit the built space for the library?
• What is the cost per square foot for the proposed library?

Summary of Comment Card Comments

Library Use Issues

• Why do we need a big lobby? This is a waste of space in a community that needs space devoted to kids and lots of books for everyone.
• No café/retail and nothing that distracts from the functions of a library space.
• Will there be room set aside for small groups to work on projects and have a quiet discussion space?
• The library functions are very important to this community, and no space for these essential functions should be sacrificed for a café.
• The Tenley-Friendship Library needs lots of books and spaces for community meetings and kids.

Library User Issues
Kids’ Space

• Remember that the younger generation uses libraries differently than older generations and needs group meeting spaces, Internet accessible spaces and refreshments.
• Would like to see children’s room on the second floor.
• Children should have their own space on the second floor. The number of children in the neighborhood has more than doubled in the last 10 years and will continue to grow. It’s not right and shortsighted to give them less room than the old library.
• There are many more young children in the neighborhood, and we need more room for children, not less.
• I want kids to have lots of materials and comfortable space for them, but I don’t want to hear them.
• Consider giving more space to children, putting children on the second floor, and providing spaces for stroller parking and breast feeding moms.
• Children’s room should be on the second floor to let children be children without bothering adults.
• Children should be on the second floor with meeting rooms.
• I agree that the children’s room should be on the second floor.

Library Design Issues (Exterior)

• Please do not abandon the idea of exterior public space. The community needs a public congregating spot.
• The library design should represent a beacon in Tenley-Friendship neighborhood.
• Be adventurous in materials and design. End the tyranny of colonial and red brick architecture in the neighborhood.
• Plaza outside is a nice idea, but leads to potential problems as it will be difficult to keep the space clean, attractive and secure after closing time.
• The street design should make the corner friendly for pedestrians by adding large windows to the building and creating an outdoor space with seating.

Library Design Issues (Interior)

• The architects’ discussion regarding lots of light sounds fabulous.
• Having a third floor for meeting rooms would be fine.
• Can we have a third floor conference room and more library space on the second floor?
• Need natural light with no hidden corners I’ll feel unsafe in.
• Priority is comfortable seating areas for pleasure more than serious study.
• Maximize our space and put conference space on a third floor.

Other
Design Process

• Open the Tenley-Friendship Library as soon as possible.
• The most important issue and priority is for the new library (with at least the capacity and functionality of the old one) to be completed as soon as possible.
• I agree that construction of the library should not be delayed to consider other options.
• Library should be built at earliest possible time.
• Get this library built!
• Congratulations on demolition of the old library. Keep on schedule, and don’t let the PPP idea derail this.
• Great meeting.

Mixed-Use Idea

• The library should be a crucial part of wider and smartly designed urban growth.
• Excellently run meeting, and moderator was terrific.
• Please keep the library under public ownership and on public land.
• Many in the community support a Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the larger site, including Janney Elementary School.
• No condos, retail, developers, PPPs or Request for Proposals (RFPs).
• Build our library now, and don’t pursue a public-private partnership.
• Congratulations on demolition of the old library. Keep on schedule, and don’t let the PPP idea derail this.
• I would like to see a library that is part of a mixed-use building.

Library Specifications

• Make total space equal to 30,000 square feet instead of 20,000 square feet.
• I live in Dupont Circle, but use the Tenley-Friendship library rather than the West End Library because Tenley-Friendship is easier to get to by Metrorail. I also use MLK Library for its collections, services, hours, and training and hope that Tenley-Friendship will provide similar services.

Other

• Good meeting tonight.
• No food in the library.
• Concerned with the quality of the adult fiction and nonfiction collection and the comfort of browsing the stacks.
• The library construction should not be delayed for negotiations for a land sale. This community has been without its library for far too long already.