Library Takeout

Check out books. Get a library card.

Library Takeout allows customers to get a library card and check out library materials, in real time, at community events.

Goethe Book Club

Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 6:30 pm

Read and discuss works by contemporary German authors in this series hosted by the Goethe-Institut Washington in partnership with the DC Public Library and the Department of Modern Languages & Literature at Catholic University of America. All books can be read in recent English translation, as the German original is much more difficult to find; our discussion will be in English. Led by local German professor Amanda Sheffer (The Catholic University of America), this book club focuses on contemporary fiction and will explore experiences and thoughts about the text.

Morehouse College Glee Club and Quartet

Friday, March 22, 2019, 12:00 pm

The Morehouse College Glee Club & Quartet, one of the longest-standing, all-male collegiate choral groups, will perform a free concert of repertoire ranging from African American heritage compositions to arrangements of modern popular music. For over 40 years, this exceptional choral group has been performing at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, inviting Morehouse alumni and the Washington, D.C., community to attend. During the MLK modernization, this annual concert will take place next door at the First Congregational United Church of Christ at 945 G St. NW, Washington, D.C. FREE | All Ages | Accessible Venue | Seating is first come, first served

Jazz in the Basement: Harlod Trio Album Release

Sunday, March 31, 2019, 2:00 pm

Jazz in the Basement hosts The Harold Trio for their album release show. After meeting as part of the Washington Women in Jazz and Women in Jazz Sweden exchange, Amy K. Bormet (piano, wurlitzer, voice), Biggi Vinkeloe (alto saxophone/flute), and Tina Raymond (drumset) came together in Los Angeles in May 2016 to record their first album of both live and studio performances. All three women are international performers, working in places as diverse as India, Brazil, Uganda and Sweden.

Chamber Music at Noon: Wavelength Winds

Thursday, April 4, 2019, 12:00 pm

Presented in association with Washington Performing Arts' Mars Urban Arts Initiative, and the Goethe-Institut Washington, Wavelength Winds with guest artists, Rita Sloan (piano) and Kevin Hertlein (bass trombone), join us for the April edition of Chamber Music at Noon. It is free and open to the public, first come, first served. Featured Program: Hidas Frigyes | 1 + 5 Sextet Billy Childs | A Day in the Forest of Dreams Paul Juon | Divertimento

The Book Bike: a Library Takeout Vehicle

Visit the Book Bike at WABA's Coffee Hour

Friday, April 12, 2019, 7:30 am

DC Public Library's new Library Takeout Vehicle, the Book Bike, will be joining Washington Area Bicycle Association's 2nd Friday Coffee Hour this month on the Metropolitan Branch Trail. We'll have giveaways, books for checkout and can accept returns if you want to bring along that overdue book! Free coffee provided by Qualia Coffee.

Talk Story: rooting for the truth, a sojourner returns to the family villages

Sunday, April 14, 2019, 2:00 pm

Carole Louie is an award-winning interior designer and feng shui consultant. Her ancestors came to the United States in the 1800's from two small villages in the Taishan District of Guangdong province. There, she learned about Yangshi Lei and the Lei Family Architects who designed and built buildings and gardens for the last eight emperors of the Qing Dynasty. She met a tenth-generation descendant who encouraged her to write about the Yangshi Lei story in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the birth of Lei Fada, the progenitor of Yangshi Lei.

Goethe Book Club

Tuesday, April 23, 2019, 6:30 pm

Read and discuss works by contemporary German authors in this series hosted by the Goethe-Institut Washington in partnership with the DC Public Library and the Department of Modern Languages & Literature at Catholic University of America. All books can be read in recent English translation, as the German original is much more difficult to find; our discussion will be in English. Led by local German professor Amanda Sheffer (The Catholic University of America), this book club focuses on contemporary fiction and will explore experiences and thoughts about the text.

Chamber Music at Noon

Thursday, May 2, 2019, 12:00 pm

On the first Thursday of each month, the DC Public Library, in partnership with the Goethe-Institut of Washington, presents a chamber music series (formerly titled the Brown Bag Chamber Recital), free and open to the public. Performers include internationally known, local musicians Ralitza Patcheva and Vasily Popov, as well as special-guest performers.

Visit the Book Bike at WABA's Coffee Hour

Friday, May 10, 2019, 7:30 am

DC Public Library's new Library Takeout Vehicle, the Book Bike, will be joining Washington Area Bicycle Association's 2nd Friday Coffee Hour this month on the Metropolitan Branch Trail. We'll have giveaways, books for checkout and can accept returns if you want to bring along that overdue book! Free coffee provided by Qualia Coffee.

Chamber Music at Noon

Thursday, June 6, 2019, 12:00 pm

On the first Thursday of each month, the DC Public Library, in partnership with the Goethe-Institut of Washington, presents a chamber music series (formerly titled the Brown Bag Chamber Recital), free and open to the public. Performers include internationally known, local musicians Ralitza Patcheva and Vasily Popov, as well as special-guest performers.

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Story Time at the National Portrait Gallery

Wednesdays, beginning at 11:45 a.m.

DC Public Library joins the National Portrait Gallery’s Tuesday – Friday story time, Wednesdays at 11:45 a.m. Enjoy stories, music and movement that encourage and model a love of reading and learning in the unique and interactive Explore!

Beat the Streets

At King Green Leaf Recreation Center

Drop by the King Green Leaf Recreation Center for the kick off to the annual Beat the Streets series of free summer festivals, June 20, 2 - 7:30 p.m. Learn about various community organizations while enjoying live performances and other activities.

Beat the Streets

June 27, 2 - 7:30 p.m.

DC's popular street festival series returns this summer with more live performances by local artists, food and activities for kids, all free and open to the public. Drop by the DC Public Library table between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. at the Rita Bright Community Center, located at 14th and Clifton Streets, NW for free books, giveaways and details about the latest free digital resources and Summer Challenge. See you there!

Summer Reading

Music Collection at DC Public Library

For the renovation of the MLK Jr. Memorial Library, the majority of our circulating sheet music collection has been put into storage, to ensure this unique collection is preserved and can again be made available upon reopening the central library. During this period of time, there is a small representative collection at the Shepherd Park (Juanita E.

Music

Roxane Gay Read-Alikes

Author Roxane Gay will be at All Souls Unitarian Church on Tuesday, June 20, in conversation with WAMU's Alicia Montgomery. This free event, part of the Signature Speaker Series, is presented in partnership with Oracle Group and the DC Public Library Foundation.

Market Selects for September 20

Seasonal, Fresh Titles for Your Consumption

On the third Tuesday of each month, library staff set up shop at the FRESHFARM

Library Takeout

Market Selects for July 19th

Seasonal, Fresh Titles for Your Consumption

On the third Tuesday of each month, library staff set up shop at the FRESHFARM

Library Takeout

Market Selects for June 21st

Seasonal, Fresh Titles for Your Consumption

On the third Tuesday of each month, library staff set up shop at the FRESHFARM CityCenterDC Market to sign up new library customers, check out and return materials, and di

Library Takeout

Market Selects for June 14th

Seasonal, Fresh Titles for Your Consumption

On the second Tuesday of each month, library staff set up shop at the FRESHFARM Penn Quarter Market to sign up new library customers, check out and return materials, and dish about

The Library Returns to Baked & Wired

Join us there on first Wednesdays beginning in May

Need a library card and a latte? A book and a baked good? Then get ready! Because with the warm weather comes the return of the Georgetown Neighborhood Library's monthly visits to Baked & Wired (1052 Thomas Jefferson St. NW)! Beginning on May 6, you can drop by the locally owned coffee shop and bakery from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month and use our Library Takeout service to sign up for a library card, check out materials, and more.