Tag Archives: library

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Washington Highlands Library to Open Next Summer for DC Bookworms

Photo courtesy of
‘Library Books’
courtesy of ‘Jamiesrabbits’

Next summer the District has a brand-spanking-new library to look forward to at 115 Atlantic St. SW. Mayor Adrian Fenty (D), D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray (D), Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper, and other members of the Ward 8 community broke ground the Washington Highlands Neighborhood Library last week.

Not only will the new library hold up to 80,000 books, CDs, and DVDs, but also conference rooms and 32 computers with free wi-fi for the public. With construction under way for the new facility and President Obama’s speech to the National Urban League today, it seems like education is in the air. I’m looking forward to Washington Highlands and all that it will have to offer!

So get your library cards ready, and in the meantime, an interim library is located at 4037 South Capitol St. SW.

The Daily Feed
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Architecture Beat – Francis Gregory Library in SE

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Credit: Exterior Rendering by Adjaye Associates

Having the ‘coolest’ library in the neighborhood is not far fetched for those living in SE. Just released are a few renderings by Adjaye Associates, whom, in collaboration with Wiencek Associates, have developed quite an interesting design for the Francis Gregory Library. Libraries seem to be all the rage when it comes to design lately (check out the Agave Library in Phoenix) so it’s quite nice to see DC sharing some of the attention.  I am pretty sure though that not everyone will be pleased with this addition to the DC architectural scene. What do you think?

See more renderings thanks to DC Metrocentric.

Downtown, History, Interviews, Special Events, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: “Breaking News”

Courtesy of the Folger Shakespeare Library

A true and exact relation of the late prodigious earthquake & eruption of Mount Ætna. London, 1669

The Folger Shakespeare Library recently opened their newest exhibit Breaking News: Renaissance Journalism and the Birth of the Newspaper on September 25. The exhibit runs through January 31, 2009 and is free to the public. I recently had a delightful Q&A session with Jason Peacey, one of the exhibit’s curators and a Lecturer in History at University College London, and Amy Arden at the Folger here in DC.

Give us an idea what a visitor to the Folger’s latest exhibit should expect.

Breaking News follows the story of the newspaper from England to America. Visitors will see many things that they recognize, from the kinds of topics covered – politics, natural disasters, extreme religious sects, crime – to the actual format of newspapers from this period with headlines, columns, and serialized issues. One thing that may surprise people is how much of a role wartime reporting played in launching the newspaper; during the 1640s civil war raged in England between the supporters of the king (known as Royalists) and the supporters of Oliver Cromwell and Parliament (the Parliamentarians). Both sides produced their own accounts of the conflict and printed newspapers in an attempt to sway public opinion in their favor. It was a ripe time to be a journalist!

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