Board of Library Trustees Meeting

July 2014
Executive Directors
Report
With news of a robust Fiscal Year
2015 budget come plans for several
transformative partnerships,
including one with the Department of
Corrections to provide library services
at the DC Jail and another with the
DC Public Charter Schools to create
a DCPL-owned collection within a
school currently lacking one. In order
to ensure the success of these projects
and others, the Library is focusing on
flling several crucial vacancies that
now include the Director of Public
Services and Chief Strategy Ofcer. In
the meantime, we busy ourselves with
ongoing projects like Summer Reading,
the MLK renovation, and a host of
smaller projects designed to increase
both the use of the librarys resources
in addition to stafs participation in
organizational decision-making.
- RRG
Contents
Summer Reading Launches ............ 1
Library Employee Appointed to
Presidential Committee ................... 2
DCPL Goes to the Faire ..................... 2
West End Interim Opens .................. 3
Homelessness and Public Libraries
Summitt ................................................. 3
WordsOut at Shaw Library .............. 3
Marion Barry Author Talk ................. 4
Arbuthnot Lecture ............................. 4
Chris Colfer Author Talk .................... 4
From the Executive
Director:
1 Document # 8.1, Board of Library Trustees Meeting, July 23, 2014
Denard Span, Washington
Nationals Centerfelder, is
serving as an ambassador to
our Summer Reading program
this year. Denard graces the
cover of the Summer Reading
activity book and also wrote
the introduction. Many thanks
to the DC Public Library
Foundation, Trustee Gregory
McCarthy, and the Nationals
for all their great work in
coordinating and helping to
promote this important literacy
program.
Kids, teens and even adults have
joined in the Summer Reading
program activities related
to this years STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering, and
Math) theme.
On Saturday, June 14, the
Summer Reading Festival was
hosted at the Martin Luther
King Jr. Memorial Library.
Activities included live music
and entertainment, art projects
for all ages, and an appearance
by the Washington Nationals
Racing Presidents.

The community was able to
meet Washington Nationals
players on Saturday, July 19
at Anacostia, Deanwood, Mt.
Pleasant and Tenley-Friendship
libraries.
Summer Reading
Launches
2
On May 17 and 18 a team of DCPL staf attended the Bay
Area Maker Faire in San Mateo, California. The team scouted
innovative new technologies for the expansion of the Digital
Commons maker space. The Bay Area Maker Faire is the largest
Maker Faire in the world, even larger than the World Maker Faire
in New York City, which DCPL also sent staf to in 2013. Maker
Faires are festivals showcasing American innovation, ingenuity,
and creativity from the DIY (do it yourself ) tech movement.
Staf were able to attend lectures, demonstrations, workshops
and visit the Noisebridge Hackerspace.
On June 8, Digital Commons staf joined innovators and
educators from across the DC metro area at the frst ever
DC Mini Maker Faire held at The Yards and Yards Park, which
gave Makers at the grassroots level a chance to connect with
Makers inside the Nations most powerful federal institutions.
Digital Commons staf engaged attendees with 3D Printing
demonstrations. The DC Mini Maker Faire kicked of a series of
Making events in Washington, that were bookended by the
White House Maker Faire. Although the DC Library did not
attend the White House Maker Faire they received mention in
an article recapping the event published by the Washingtonian
on June 18 and were showcased on the White House Maker
website.
This June, President Obama
announced his intention to
appoint a number of individuals
to key Administration posts.
Among them, DC Public Librarys
Ricardo Thornton, Sr.,
from Collections, was named
as a member of the Presidents
Committee for People with
Intellectual Disabilities. From the
Presidents press release:
Ricardo Thornton, Sr. has worked
at the Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Memorial Library in Washington,
D.C. since 1978. He is a Member
of Project ACTION!, a coalition
of adults with disabilities. He
is also a Member of the D.C.
Developmental Disabilities
Council, an actor with the
theatre group Players Unlimited,
and an international ambassador
with the Special Olympics. Mr.
Thornton and his wife Donna
were the subjects of Profoundly
Normal, a made-for-TV movie.
In 1997, he was selected
by The Washingtonian as a
Washingtonian of the Year.
The Washington Post also
featured Ricardos appointment
in its Wednesday July 9th
edition.
Ricardo Thornton,
Sr. Appointed
to Presidential
Committee
DCPL Goes to the Faire
3
West End Interim
Opens
At long last, in preparation for a new building,
the existing West End Library closed on Sunday,
June 8. The interim library opened on Monday,
June 23 in the historic Watergate building
located at 2522 Virginia Avenue NW and will
remain open for several years. The future library
will feature welcoming spaces for children,
teens and adults, two conference rooms, and
several quiet study rooms. Among the librarys
frst visitors on opening day was Azar Nafsi,
author of the bestselling Reading Lolita in
Tehran.
On Monday July 14, Susan Haight, Jim Lewis,
and the DCPL Foundation hosted an open-
house at the interim facility attended by more
than 80 people.
A 32-year resident of the
Watergate said that he is
as happy as hes ever been
thanks to the opening of
the new facility.
On Thursday, June 26, the
MLK Library Friends hosted
a conference to discuss
homelessness and public
libraries. Taking place in the
Carnegie Institution, the summit
convened a group of community
leaders, advocates for the
homeless, and DCPL staf to
engage in a spirited conversation
around the role that libraries
play (or should play) in
addressing the needs of the
homeless. Richard Reyes-Gavilan
provided closing remarks and
engaged in a short question and
answer period with the sixty or
so people in attendance.
Friends Host
Homelessness and
Public Libraries
Summit
On Sunday, June 29, the Shaw
Library hosted WordsOut, a
literary fair and celebration
of Pride month and LGBT
literature. The name was
chosen to honor a prominent
gay mens writing group that
gathered at Martin Luther
King Jr. Memorial Library in
the 1980s and 1990s.
The event included ten
speakers, author talks, book
signings and a bibliography
of titles available in the
library collection. Among
the attendees was
Councilmember David
Catania who spoke about
construction of new libraries,
bilingual collections in
the District and the future
collaborations between
DCPL and schools. Thanks
to Edgardo Guerrero,
Rob Schneider and Casey
Danielson for their work on
the event.
Earlier in the month DCPL
staf participated in Captial
Pride. In addition to
marching in the Pride Parade
on Saturday, June 7, staf had
a booth at the Pride Festival
on Sunday, June 8, where
they signed up new users and
shared materials from the
collection.
WordsOut at Shaw Library
Marion Barry, Jr. joined on
stage by Omar Tyree and
Mocha Ochoa-Nana
4
On Thursday July 10, the MLK Library
welcomed four-time mayor of
Washington DC and current Ward 8
Councilmember, Marion Barry, Jr., to
discuss Mayor for Life, his new memoir.
Joining Councilmember Barry were
co-author Omar Tyree and Mocha
Ochoa-Nana of The Oracle Group.
The well-publicized book covers
Barrys upbringing, involvement in
the Civil Rights movement, and his
four decades in D.C. politics. The well-
received event attracted more than
300 attendees.
On Monday, July 14, 2014, the
MLK Library hosted award-
winning actor and #1 New York
Times best-selling author Chris
Colfer. Mr. Colfer engaged the
audience of more than 500 with a
brief Q&A, before signing copies
of his new childrens book, The
Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning,
the third book in his series, The
Land of Stories.
Book Signing with
Actor and Author
Chris Colfer
Author Talk with
Marion Barry &
Omar Tyree at
MLK Library
DCPL Wins
Competition to Host
ALAs Arbuthnot
Lecture
At this years American
Library Association
conference in Las Vegas, it
was announced that DCPL
submitted the winning
application to host the 2015
May Hill Arbuthnot Award
winner, Brian Selznick. The
Arbuthnot Award, named
for the editor of the Dick and
Jane series, is given annually
to an author, illustrator, or
professor who will give a
lecture making a signifcant
contribution to the feld of
childrens literature. Libraries
and universities from across
the country compete to
host this prestigious event.
Selznick is best known for
his 2008 Caldecott Award
winner, The Invention of
Hugo Cabret. The speech
and reception will take
place in the spring of 2015;
an interactive exhibit and
related programs are being
planned for the Great Hall.
Congratulations to Wendy
Lukehart for identifying the
opportunity and putting
together the application.