The Mount Pleasant

Neighborhood Library
Summary of Community
Feedback

Avilés Associates, LLC

for the Office of Communications,
District of Columbia Public Libraries
Washington, DC
Presented February 17, 2009
 The Mount Pleasant Neighborhood
Library Community Outreach Project
| Goal: To collect feedback from 150
community residents regarding their hopes
and suggestions for the renovation process,
interior design, and future library services of
the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library.
| Target audience: Youth, young adults,
adults, seniors and other population sectors
representative of the users of the Mount
Pleasant library.

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 Expected Outcomes
| Anecdotal data from library users regarding what they like
and value about the library;
| A listing of suggestions regarding the building, programs
and collections;
| A listing of potential program partners and opportunities for
program growth and improvement; and
| A shared understanding among library staff and community
stakeholders regarding existing needs and opportunities for
new and creative programs when the library reopens in 2010.

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 Outreach Methodology

| Flyers
| Community meetings

| Individual and group interviews

| Self-administered questionnaires

| Email

| Radio interviews

| Word of mouth

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 Methodology

ƒData collected from interviews, focus groups and

community meetings were analyzed for themes,
patterns, similarities and differences of
experiences and suggestions.
ƒInferences are presented in this report for review
and consideration of DCPL staff.

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Sample and Age Groups

| Data were collected from approximately

135-150 individuals from the following
age groups:
z Pre-teens (10)
z Teens (25)
z Young Adults (15-20)
z Adults (50+)
z Seniors (40+)

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Themes

|What User Dislike

|What is Missing

|What Users Like and Value

|Wishes for the Library

|Additional Comments and Suggestions

 What Users Like and Value
| Location and convenience
| Friendly staff service

| Programs for children

| Access to internet and on-line world

| Meeting space

| Collections – Books, CDs, DVDs

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 Location

| The convenient location is greatly

valued by residents who live and work
near the library, especially senior
citizens and child-care providers who
live or work in the surrounding area of
the library.

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 Friendly Service
| The majority of the respondents describe the library
staff services as “friendly and supportive.” This
perception is shared among the vast majority of
respondents of all ages, including teachers, child
care providers and parents.
| Some acknowledge that staff looks “overworked”
and some are of the opinion that the library is
under-staffed and could use additional personnel
when it reopens.

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 Programs
| Users like and value the summer reading
programs, the open children's space on the top
floor, the annual children art exhibits.

| Having access to the internet world, although

limited given the scarcity of computers, is valued
by a significant number of users, especially
students and adults with no, or limited, on-line
access at home and/or at work.

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 What User Dislike
| Feeling unsafe
| Not enough computers
| Appearance and feel of building
z “Kind of dingy and not very inviting”
z “Drab”
| Access to Children's area –
z “Stairs are cramped and narrow”
| Lack of adequate meeting space and not enough chairs and tables
| Dirty bathrooms
| No books in Amharic and Chinese (Mandarin)
| Time limits of on-line use
| High noise levels
| Homeless using the library as a place to nap and sleep
| Overworked staff

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 Safety

| A significant number of respondents

expressed not feeling safe inside, and in
the immediate surroundings, of the library
due to the presence of homeless people
and what some described as noisy or
aggressive youth.

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Computers and on-line Services

By far the most frequent response was the

perception that there are not enough
computers and that the time is too short,
especially for limited-English proficient
immigrants and those with limited on-line
experience.

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 Appearance and Feel

| For some the building looks and feels

uninviting, the interiors walls could use
color and the furniture could be both
historic and modern.
| A few suggested a multilingual sign
outside of the building inviting and
welcoming users.

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 Dislikes of Children’s Area

| Difficulty in accessing area.

“Narrow and cramped stairs”
| The height at which the books are
displayed.
| The bathrooms are too far from the
children’s area.
| Noise and the lack of an enclosed area for
mothers or nannies with infants.

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 Meeting Rooms

| By and large users of meeting spaces

dislike the appearance and condition of
the meeting rooms and pointed to the lack
of furniture, LCD projectors, screen and
other audio-visual equipment to use
during meetings and presentations.

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 Appearance and Cleanliness

A significant number of respondents described

experiences with unclean bathrooms or lack of
paper towels, soap, etc.; others pointed to the
basement’s poor appearance and condition.

“The basement looks like a warehouse”

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Noise, Collections

| Staff of child-care providers complained

about high noise levels created by small
children who cry or disturb others while
their care takers are busy chatting on cell
phones or among themselves.
| Teachers of English-as-a-Second language
disliked the apparent lack of books in
Amharic and Chinese for ESL students
who speak these languages.

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What is Missing

| By far the most frequent services described as missing

were a sufficient number of computers and adequate
amount of on-line time. Respondents complained of
long waits and those with limited on-line knowledge
complained that 30 minutes is not enough time,
especially those with limited-English proficiency.
| Related to this topic were several suggestions from
former staff and users to move the computers and on-
line services to an area in the basement as a way to
reduce traffic flow and noise on the first floor.

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What Is Missing

| A significant number of respondents described

the Mount Pleasant Library as lacking “energy”,
“color”, and “joie de vivre.”
| Similarly, others described the facilities as
“drab”, “kind of dingy and uninviting,” while
others stressed experiences with dirty
bathrooms, cluttered basement.
| A sense of personal safety and security.

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What is Missing

| Rooms with partitions

| state-of-the-art meeting facilities
equipped such as LCD projectors,
screens, public address system, etc.
| Room dividers in the larger room.

| Enough chairs and tables in every meeting

room.

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 Wishes

| More computers and more on-line time

| Lots of color and light
| More chairs and tables in the reading rooms
| Better security inside and outside
| Contrast historic building with modern furniture
| More books in Amharic and Chinese
| A café lounge
| State-of- the art AV- audio books, films,
| Partnerships with local businesses and organizations
| Rehearsal space
| Language Room

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 Additional Comments and
Suggestions
| Hire bilingual and bicultural staff representative of the library users.
| Expand services to kids 2-12 and subdivide areas according to young
ages.
| Explore and develop partnerships with community-based
organizations and public offices. (OLA. LAYC, Bell SH, Bancroft.
LEDC, Neighbors Consejo, MP business Association, CHDC).
| Conduct “Quién dice que no leemos” campaign (Who says we don't
read).
| Learn from others, visit library's in Bogatá, Mexico City, Oaxaca,
NYC, etc.
| Enforce codes of behaviors for independent child-care providers.
| Organize Book Fair in partnership with others.
| Provide sound-proof rehearsal space
| Create Language Room where users can learn other languages

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 Additional Comments and
Suggestions
| Enforce silence rules
| Show movies , organize book reading contests
| Organize book clubs
| Display children books at a proper height for their age;
buy children’s furniture and tables or boxes for display
| Open up a concession a coffee shop
| Create a lounge in the children area with pillows and no
chairs
| Make the doors wide for wheel chairs -4 inches wider
than ADA
| Don’t frame the murals
| Keep youth and children in separate spaces

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 Organizations that Provided
Feedback
14th Street Business Association Latin American Youth Center
3041 Mount Pleasant Tenants Association Latino Economic development Corporation
Alice Deal Middle School Latino Federation of Greater Washington
ANC 1A
Little Flower Montessori School
ANC 1C
Bancroft Elementary School
Bell Multicultural Senior High School Mount Pleasant Business Association
Capital City Charter School Mount Pleasant Main Street
Carlos Rosario International Career Center Neighbors Consejo, Inc.
Change, Inc.
Oyster-Adams Elementary School
Columbia Heights Development Corporation
Columbia Heights Village Together Spanish Development Center
Columbia Heights Youth Club UPO Child Development Center
DC Office on Latino Affairs Woodrow Wilson High School
EOFULA
FIDMI/Mi Tierra
Fiesta DC

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Recommendations

| Schedule a follow-up meeting with the Mount Pleasant Library

staff. During a meeting I had, I experienced them to be both
full of energy and anxiety around proposed uses of space and
the staffing implications of these changes. I strongly believe
that you, and others working closely on this and other building
renovations, can benefit from hearing about their experiences
and suggestions for space use, collections and services.

| Explore ways to “close the loop” with those who provided

feedback in order to acknowledge their input and validate their
suggestions. Several interviewees were curious about a process
for further follow-up and asked questions regarding the
implementation of their suggestions. One option would be to
invite those interviewed to a presentation of themes and
suggestions that emerged from the outreach and feedback
gathering effort.

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Recommendations

| Follow up with community-based organizations (CBOs) to further

explore their needs and suggestions for the utilization of meeting
space. By and large, representatives from CBOs expressed great
interest in this theme and consider it one of the most valuable
library services to the community. If it is not too late, a meeting
between the architects and representatives of CBOs could prove to
be beneficial for the renovation process and to foster stronger
community ties with these sector of users.

| Several representatives of CBOs expressed interest in exploring

partnerships (DC Office of Latino Affairs, Neighbors Consejo,
FiestaDC, Columbia Heights Development Corporation) with the
Mount Pleasant Library including Spanish literacy classes, book
exhibits, lectures, cultural events and training for small business
owners. DC Public Library staff charged with designing and
developing library services should explore implications of
suggested partnerships and determine which ones might be ripe
for implementation.

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Recommendations

| A few weeks before the closing and the reopening of the library
conduct a multi-lingual communications campaign (Spanish,
Mandarin, Amharic and English) designed to alert the community at-
large, and those who provided feedback, about your upcoming plans
and, to the degree possible, announce open houses for different age
groups as a way to further strengthen community ties and
involvement.

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