Federation of Friends

The Council of the District of Columbia has scheduled public hearings over the next three months to address the performance and budget requests for the District of Columbia Public Library System. These hearings are our chance to share our own concerns with the Council about both the performance and funding associated with our public libraries.

The following schedule for hearings is:

Annual Performance Review - February 24, 2006 at 11:00 AM in C0uncil Chambers (5th floor, Wilson Bldg)

FY2007 Capital Budget Request - March 24, 2006 at 11:30 AM in Room 412, Wilson Bldg

FY2007 Operating Budget Request - April 6, 2006 at 11:00 AM in Room 412, Wilson Bldg

If you would like to present testimony at any of these hearings, you may contact the Council Committee on Schools, Libraries and Recreation and ask to have your name added to the docket. They can be reached at 202-724-8195.

The final schedule has been released for the “listening sessions” of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Libraries. Everyone is encouraged to attend and rally their friends and neighbors to attend the sessions in their Ward. There are also two sessions planned at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library if there is not a session convenient for you.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006, 5:30 PM
Washington Highlands (Ward 8 )
115 Atlantic Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20032
202.645.5880

Wednesday, January 25, 2006, 6:30 PM
Woodridge (Ward 5)
1801 Hamlin Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20018
202.541.6226

Saturday, January 28, 2006, 1: 30 PM
Martin Luther King Memorial Library
901 G Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001
202.727.0321

Tuesday, January 31, 2006, 6:30 PM
Cleveland Park (Ward 3)
3310 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008
202.282.3080

Tuesday, February 7, 2006, 6:30 PM
Martin Luther King Memorial Library
901 G Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
202.727.0321

Wednesday, February 15, 2006, 6:30 PM
Petworth (Ward 4)
4200 Kansas Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20011
202.541.6300

Tuesday, February 21, 2006, 6:30 PM
Mt. Pleasant (Ward 1)
3160 16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20010
202.671.0200

Wednesday, February 22, 2006, 6:30 PM
West End (Ward 2)
1101 24th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037
202.724.8707

Saturday, February 25, 2006, 12: 30 PM
Northeast (Ward 6)
330 7th Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002
202.698.3320

Monday, February 27, 2005, 6:30 PM
Francis A. Gregory (Ward 7)
3660 Alabama Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20020
202.645.4297

A new bill has been proposed in the DC Council that would expand the procurement authority of the DC Public Library. The “Board of Library Trustees Procurement Amendment Act of 2005 (B16-562)” would amend the Act originally passed in 1896 to increase the procurement authority of the Board of Library Trustees. The Act specifically allows the Board of Library trustees to exercise procurement authority including contracting and contract oversight independent of the District of Columbia Office of Contracting and Procurement. A Committee hearing has not been scheduled on this Act at this time.