<\/p>\n
For Release December 16, 2020<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Contact:\u00a0 <\/span>Robin Diener, Library Renaissance Project<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 202 431-9254<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n DC Public Library Director Questioned about <\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Proposed Closure of Shepherd Park Branch <\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Last week 87 people zoomed into a special meeting of the Shepherd Park Citizens Association (SPCA) to hear from DC Public Library director Richard Reyes-Gavilan about the proposed closure of their neighborhood library under a new libraries Master Facilities Plan (MFP).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Among the attendees were reps from the Mayor\u2019s Office of Community Outreach for Ward 4, the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, the State Board of Education, Friends of the Shepherd Park Library, many SPCA members including more than one young person whom SPCA President Naima Jefferson thanked for staying up past bedtime in order to speak out. \u00a0<\/span>The children said that closing the library would make them \u201csad\u201d and that they \u201cdepended on the library for books to read.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Reyes-Gavilan was open and responsive to questions sent to him in advance as well as from the chat box on the spot, but his answers didn\u2019t necessarily provide the clarity sought. After first presenting a slide show of charts and stats from the MFP, he cautioned, \u201cStats are not ultimately what we are basing recommendations on. I am very satisfied with Shepherd Park\u2019s performance.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Yet, when neighbor James Stocker asked how community input informed the recommendation to close Shepherd Park, Reyes-Gavilan admitted it didn\u2019t, \u201cIdeas for recommendations came from usage data,\u201d seeming to contradict his earlier assertion. Assuring the community of further engagement, the library director only added to the confusion, \u201cIf there is not support to move it, it will be rebuilt,\u201d meaning neither closed nor moved. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Neighbors noted an inherent contradiction in closing one library and opening another to address a service gap. <\/span>Rosalyn Coates wrote, \u201cThe terms closing and expanding are mutually exclusive.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Others brought up the need to keep Shepherd Park\u2019s walkable access.\u00a0 \u201cThis plan would create a new underserved community,\u201d wrote Heidi Decker. \u201cThe reason our Shepherd Park library isn't widely used by Brightwood Park residents is the same reason why a Brightwood Park library wouldn't be widely used by Shepherd Park residents.\u201d David Inoue cited \u201cnatural boundary lines,\u201d the traffic-clogged Georgia and Missouri Aves that \u201cpeople will not cross to walk to their local library.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Reyes-Gavilan concluded by noting that according to the MFP, Shepherd Park is due for a systems overhaul within the next three years. If that happens,\u201cWe will not be seeking funding for a rebuild for this library for some time.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps the best expression of community sentiment was by Ward 4 Councilmember-elect Janeese Lewis George, tweeting last week, \u201cShepherd Park library should remain. Brightwood Park should be considered for a new library.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n — <\/p>\n