District of Columbia Public Libraries - Anacostia Library

LOCATION: Washington, DC
PROJECT SIZE: 23,000 SQ FT
PROJECT COST: $9,500,000

The Anacostia Library creates a civic building of which area residents will be proud.  A variety of spaces to meet a wide range of community needs will be in the new facility.  Spaces include a large public meeting room (for approximately 100 people), two smaller meeting rooms, a children’s program room, as well as smaller rooms for group study and for tutoring.  There will be shelving areas for print and non-print materials for all ages.  Multiple points of access to virtual spaces through the public PCs and wireless access are planned. 

The children’s area will have areas (including collection and seating) dedicated to various age groups (five and under, beginning readers and elementary age).  There will be a distinctive area for Young Adults to meet and to learn.  Adults will have their own reading areas, online access area and a large collection of materials.

The Anacostia Library will have a larger share of the library space devoted to children’s services than in other branches, because its service area has more children than in other DC neighborhoods—both in numbers and as a percentage of the population.  In addition to online access for children, there will be a large collection of print and non-print resources (CD books, DVDs and mixed-media kits) for children from birth to age twelve.  Children’s librarians will provide regular story programs in which they model behaviors and reader’s advisory services to children and their caregivers to encourage reading and early literacy.

CREDITS:

Design Architect/Architect of Record: Freelon
Associate Architect: R. McGhee & Associates
Photography: Kenneth M. Wyner