Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library

by Amanda Oliver

As the central library in the DC Public Library system and being located in the epicenter of downtown DC, MLK unquestionably served unhoused populations, perhaps more than any other location in the system. But the designs for it reflected who the $211 million renovations were envisioned for and most benefited. The blueprints were released publicly in 2018, and I saw that there were plans for a rooftop terrace, a sculptured staircase, a large auditorium and conference center, and maker spaces for fabrication, music production, and art. These were beautiful, modern additions to a community space that would certainly benefit and delight many, but I mostly saw what and who was missing from these designs. A truly innovative library system would have considered adding free storage lockers, public showers, a clean needle exchange, and other spaces designated to provide community outreach and care—especially at its central branch that so clearly served vulnerable populations, including the people who arrived by multiple buses from the shelters every morning and the many unhoused people who slept against the building’s walls.