MLK Memorial Library and Washingtoniana Collection

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The MLK Library, located at 9th and G Street NW, spans 400,000 square feet and 7 floors and serves as the flagship library and headquarters of the DC Public Library System. The library was opened in 1972 and replaced the former flagship Carnegie Library on 7th street. Closing for renovations in 2017, the library reopened in the fall of 2020. The building is distinct for its Black steel and tinted window construction. The library has many services, including meeting spaces, two floor reading rooms, a large auditorium, creative spaces, a cafe, and the Washingtoniana Collection, an extensive special collection regarding Washington, D.C. History.

Images

Exterior of the MLK Memorial Library

Mode of transport, Road, Architecture, Metropolitan area

Interior of the library featuring the reading room

Murals depicting Martin Luther King Jr at the front entrance of the library

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The DC public library system was established in 1896 by Congress, and the first library was located at 1326 New York Avenue. In 1903, the library moved into a library funded by Andrew Carnegie on 7th street. The first branch of the library system was built in 1911 and was located in Takoma Park. The system continued to grow, eventually becoming a system with 25 neighborhood libraries and the central library.

Because of the small amount of space at the Carnegie Library, around 40,000 sq ft, the flagship was moved to the MLK library in 1972, which had 400,000 square feet of space. The building was designed by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and is very distinct in its architectural style. It is constructed of Black-matte steel, brick, and tinted glass. The building was designated a historic landmark in 2007.

The Washingtoniana Collection located inside the MLK Library was established in 1905, and is a part of the DC Library's "People's Archives" which include the Washingtoniana Collection, the Peabody Room at the Georgetown Library, and the Black Studies Collection. The Washingtoniana Collection includes materials such as periodicals, more than 25,000 books, census data, city and telephone book directories, city government and legal material, more than 8,000 maps, over one million photographs, real estate assessments, vertical files, and more.

Sources

Washingtoniana Collection in the Peoples Archive, DC Library. Accessed January 1st 2021. https://www.dclibrary.org/washingtoniana.

Mission & History, DC Library. Accessed January 1st 2021. https://www.dclibrary.org/about/mission.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library History, DC Library. Accessed January 1st 2021. https://www.dclibrary.org/node/741.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

DC Library

Washingtonian

WUSA9