Due to the cancellation of the October meeting and the scheduled date of the November meeting, the Federation of Friends has rescheduled their November meeting to Wednesday, November 15, 2006 at 6:00 pm in Room 443 at the MLKJr Memorial Library.
The meeting will include a presentation from the DCPL Literature department as part of their request for funds to support their 2007 Poetry Month Activities.
News on the Interim Libraries: Late last week, we learned that the interim libraries for Anacostia, Benning and Watha T. Daniel/Shaw neighborhoods will not meet the date set for the end of this calendar year. We’ve learned that the manufacturer of the modular libraries will deliver the first library – Anacostia – in late December. Benning and Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Libraries follow early in 2007.
Why the delay? Issues – now resolved – with the manufacturer, difficulties in quickly obtaining District permits needed for the buildings, and delays in getting final paperwork completed with D.C. Public Schools for Watha T. Daniel/Shaw and the National Park Service for the Anacostia interim. Those delays notwithstanding, as I reported in an earlier communication, books have been ordered, most staff has been hired and is working elsewhere in DCPL for the time being, and we have delivery dates for furniture and shelving.
Tenley Library should open on schedule – before the end of this calendar year. And the others will open as soon as possible. Until then – the Hi-Tech Bookmobiles will be on the road and serving these neighborhoods.
Elevator Signs Signal Progress: For libraries soon to undergo a modernizing of their elevators, oversized red posters announce the change in a broken down status long overdue! If you or library users walk into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, or Capitol View, Francis A. Gregory or Woodridge Neighborhood Libraries you will see the giant poster on the broken elevators. In addition to giving specific information about what will be done to the elevators, a basic timeline is provided. And this just in: the Office of Contracts and Procurement just days ago approved the contractor to begin work. Because of all the work to be done, it will take some time; these elevators should be operating and ready for business in May 2007!
Large Print Books at MLK: Large print books are now needed and appreciated by many library users. In order to make it easier for many people to find the large print books at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, these books will be relocated to the Popular Division on the first floor. While the catalog will say the books are in Adaptive Services for just a short while longer, you should know to direct library users to the Popular Division. Special signs indicating their new location will help to guide users to the new home for large print books at MLK.