Libraries in Kiosk-like Buildings

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the DC Public Library erected 5 kiosk-like
buildings in neighborhoods the Board and Senior staff then determined were
underserved by the distribution of libraries around the District. These kiosks
remain in service today, but other factors that are considered in locating libraries
have changed dramatically. With these changes in mind, today’s Board of Library
Trustees has asked the current Chief Librarian and Senior Staff to revisit the
situation.

Current use of libraries in kiosk-like buildings:

The libraries are open M-F 9:30 am – 5:30 pm. They are mostly quiet during the
mornings; after school they are used by students for computer access and during
inclement weather the 3 - 5 computers and other 15 or so seats will be filled. A chart on
the circulation of library materials is in the answer to Question 5.

Questions that are explored are:

1. Are these communities well served by the kiosks?

2. Can contemporary library services be offered in the kiosks?
3. Do the residents around the kiosks have convenient access to other, larger
libraries?
4. What changes have occurred in the intervening years that make access to other
libraries more convenient?
5. What statistics describe the use of the kiosk-libraries?

1. Are these communities well served by the kiosk-like libraries?

The response from the Library is no, the kiosks are not adequate for the current program
of library services. Each kiosk ranges in size from several hundred to 1,500 square feet.
They were built at a time when library service included little or no technology and was
primarily book-based. By comparison even to the Interim Libraries, the kiosks are small.
There is no meaningful way to provide appropriate spaces for young children, for teens,
or for adults. There is no meeting space for use by the Library or by the community. In
contrast with the library services offered in near by libraries, the residents are in fact even
more disserved if they believe that this is all that the DC Public Library can be and never
seek out other libraries in the District.

Document #8
Board of Library Trustees Meeting
November 19, 2008
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2. Can contemporary library services be offered in the kiosks?
Contemporary library services are rich and diverse book collections that support
homework for children and teens, that attract a reluctant reader, that match the reading
desires of the voracious reader, that help the adult just learning to read and that provide
many of the same materials in audio format; library programming including story times
for children, book clubs for teens and adults, author talks and book discussions;
contemporary libraries provide meeting rooms for civic associations and hobby groups,
for business groups and civic leaders; technology is a major factor in today’s library
services – in the number of computers provided for residents to use for their own
purposes – whether for school, for family, or for a job and it is the way the library
delivers many of its services: databases for research and school work, practice tests for
students and job seekers, auto repair manuals, as well as movies, music and books that
can be downloaded.

Many of these services cannot be offered in the kiosk libraries – they are too small to
house an appropriate sized collection representative of the diversity in the collections, too
small to offer enough computers to make a difference, too small to accommodate book
clubs, programs and community meetings.

3. Do the residents around the kiosks have convenient access to other, larger
libraries?
We have measured the distance from each of the Kiosk libraries to one or more larger
libraries using MapQuest. Results follow:

Deanwood
4215 Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, NE (Ward 7)
Other nearby libraries:
• Benning Interim Library – 4101 Benning Rd., NE (distance: 1.20 miles)
• Capitol View Neighborhood Library – 5001 Central Avenue, SE (distance: 1.46 miles )

Langston
2600 Benning Road., NE (Ward 5)
Other nearby libraries:
• Northeast Neighborhood Library – 330 7th Street NE (distance: 1.67 miles)
• Benning Interim Library – 4101 Benning Road, NE (distance: 1.45 miles)

Parklands-Turner
1700 Alabama Avenue, SE (Ward 8)
Other nearby libraries:
• Anacostia Interim Library – 1800 block of Good Hope Rd., SE (distance: 1.95 miles )
• Francis A. Gregory Neighborhood Library – 3660 Alabama Avenue, SE (distance: 2.05
miles)

Document #8
Board of Library Trustees Meeting
November 19, 2008
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R. L. Christian
1300 H Street, NE (Ward 6)
Other nearby libraries:
• Northeast Neighborhood Library – 330 7th Street, NE (distance: 0.69 miles)
• Benning Interim Library – 4101 Benning Road, NE (distance: 2.43 miles)

Sursum Corda
135 New York Avenue, NW (Ward 5)
Other nearby libraries:
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library – 901 G Street, NW (distance: 0.96 miles)
• Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Interim Library – 945 Rhode Island Avenue, NW (distance: 1.22
miles)

4. What changes have occurred in the intervening years that make access to other
libraries more convenient?
Among the principal changes that factor into a decision about the kiosk libraries are
transportation, and cost / access to technology, and other planned changes in the delivery
of District services in which the Library is participating.

When the kiosk libraries were built METRO was in its earliest stages of construction and
just beginning to open stations. Now it serves residents across the District with an inter-
connected bus and rail system. We have looked at the way a library user would navigate
from a kiosk library to a larger library. All are accessible.

When the kiosks were built technology was thought of as mainframe computers – not as
portable personal phones that could send messages and access the Internet. The Library
embraces technology as both a service and a delivery tool. The kiosk libraries limit the
number of computers that can be made available due to the size and configuration of the
facility – even using laptops is not an option due to lack of space for seating.

Most important, the changes that are underway to co-locate city services play a role in
thinking about the role of the kiosk libraries. The following co-locations are planned:

• Sursum Corda – to be incorporated into Northwest One, a 5,000 sq ft library will

result (distance: .51 miles).
• Deanwood – to be incorporated into the Deanwood Recreation Center, a 10,000
sq ft library will result (distance: 1.21 miles).
• Langston and RL Christian – discussions underway that would place a library
in the planned Rosedale Recreation Center ( Langston distance: .59 miles and RL
Christian distance: .58 miles)

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Board of Library Trustees Meeting
November 19, 2008
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5. What statistics describe the use of the kiosk-libraries? Compare the use statistics
to the Interim Libraries and other small neighborhood libraries.

Library FY07 FY08 2-Year Total

Circulation Circulation
Deanwood 336 Closed for ½ year 336
Langston 4,016 5,204 9,220
RL Christian 2,497 4,075 6,572
Parklands-Turner 3,918 6,124 10,042
Sursum Corda 753 5,337 6,090

Anacostia 15,432 27,878 43,343

Benning 10,324 30,479 40,803
Watha T. Daniel Bookmobile 502 36,819 37,321
Takoma Park 45,142 57,483 102,625
Southeast 51,226 82,010 133,326

Document #8
Board of Library Trustees Meeting
November 19, 2008
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