Good morning, everyone.

Recording in progress.

Start over.

Good morning, everyone.

I'm Matt Freuman, Ward 3 Councilmember and Chairperson of the Committee on Human Services.

Today is April is Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026, and we are meeting in person in room 120 of the John A.

Wilson building and virtually via Zoom.

The time is now 9.08 a.m.

I don't believe we have any colleagues on Zoom.

No.

Today we are conducting a budget oversight hearing on DCPL, the District of Columbia Public Library, doing so coincidentally during National Library Week.

Libraries are critical third spaces that are uniquely available to every district resident, connecting our communities regardless of ward, race, education, ability, or socioeconomic status.

It is heartening to see the mayor made it a priority in her budget to preserve core functions of DCPL, ensuring our libraries remained cornerstones of the communities they serve.

Still in a year when reduced revenues left the district with less money to fund critical programs, the library was not left unscathed.

The DCPL operating budget was cut 1.5 million from 85 million to 83.5 million.

This may seem like a small cut, but in the context of existing cost pressures, even a small reduction could force neighborhood libraries to reduce services.

By way of contrast, the proposed capital budget provide a significant boost to project across projects across the district.

Funding for capital improvements in FY27 increases by $12.5 million from $35 million in FY26 to the proposed $47.5 million in FY27.

The capital plan makes investments to ensure that DCPL can continue to build beautiful community spaces across the city, including in Deanwood, Rosedale, and Congress Heights.

I'm grateful for the mayor's willingness to invest in the future of our library facilities.

I look forward to this opportunity to hear from residents, employees, and library leadership about the value of our community spaces at MLK and across each ward.

I also want to have the difficult conversation about what proposed cuts will mean for indispensable programming, learning, and community space our libraries provide.

I have just a few notes on logistics before we begin.

We will start with our in-person and then move to virtual public witnesses before turning to our government witnesses.

In order to ensure we hear from all members of the public, the committee will strictly apply time limits on witness testimony.

All witnesses will have no more than three minutes to speak.

For our in-person witnesses, when I call your name, please come to the table at the front and sit in the order you were called from your right to your left.

Please press the button on your microphone before speaking to turn on your mic.

The red light indicates that your mic is on.

After our panel is done providing testimony, I and if other council members arrive may ask questions before calling the next panel.

After hearing from our in-person witnesses, we will turn to our virtual witnesses.

I will now call our first panel of in-person witnesses.

Okay.

Charles Awaskin Inco Taraya.

Wonderful.

Rebecca Lemos Otero.

Santa Lopez.

Jasper Collier.

Yona Bromberg Gaber.

Great.

I think that you're one more over.

And then Jasper next to you, Rebecca.

Great.

All right.

Then you are ready, Mr.

Inkotaraya.

When you're ready.

Good morning, Council Member.

Matthew Freeman, Chair, and members of the Committee on Human Services.

My name is Charles Austin Inko Tahara.

Also known as the tragic hero.

Ninety nine percent trial and error.

Mainstream primary and secondary schools.

Self-taught unaided, deaf, blind, war survivor, of Nigeria versus Successionist Republic of Bafra, nineteen sixty-seven to nineteen seventy, Society Generate Bank, Lagos Nigeria, Clerk Typus, nineteen eighty-six to nineteen ninety, a poet, author, and publisher of three to eight books and masterpiece and timeless epic poem titled Gloomy Fate, The Fate Harbinger in the Temple of Doom.

And Calamatus, Man versus Fate.

DC Public Library Management has been uncooperative in my multiple attempts since twenty twenty one to procure a contract to supply the twenty-six DC public libraries with my two self-published works.

And I have been trying to find a willing publisher since nineteen ninety-three to no avail.

So I finally took the bull by the horns to self-publish my works in twenty twenty-one and twenty twenty three, despite the very challenging condition.

It would be an irony that sixteen countries worldwide.

First, the USA, second, Canada, third, Brazil, fourth, Mexico, fifth, England, sixth, France, seventh, Germany, eighth, Italy, ninth, Spain, tenth, Denmark, eleven, Netherlands, twelve, India, thirteen, Japan, fourteen, the UAE, Dubai, 15, Ireland, and sixteen, Australia, has access to my books via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing Format.

While here in Washington, DC, which is home base, were devoid of my books in their library shelves.

Most recently, I have terminated the contract with Amazon, Kindle Direct Publishing, Effective March 2026 for selling counterfeit two books worldwide, ripping me off of royalties since February 2023.

Left, right, and center, by mouth, by word of mouth for leisure reading, and an infallible appetite for entertainment about the tale of gods and heroes, the demigods who walk among us, very unusual story of an orphaned and abandoned, deafblind, war survivors, epic sixty-year battle against the overwhelming forces of destiny, who single-handedly redesigned his fate, bending fate to his will, and snatched victory over the inviolable fate itself, even when fate seems insurmountable, and regain the lost ability to still smile.

Very unusual story of an orphaned and abandoned, deafblind, war survivors, epic 60-year battle against the overwhelming forces of destiny, who single-handedly redesigned his fate, bending fate to his will and snatched victory over the inviolable fate itself, even when fate seems insurmountable and regain the lost ability to still smile.

By virtue of my exploring conduct, I am a role model in millions of disadvantaged persons, especially youth worldwide to emulate.

The absence of percentage support and lack of teachers help, as well as adversarial condition, is no excuse for resorting to vice crime, illiteracy, and depravity.

I count on the DC government and American people for support in my journey of self discovery.

Thank you very much for your testimony.

Ms.

Rebecca Lemos Pintero.

Let's see.

Councilmember Fruman, committee members and staff, my name is Rebecca Lemo Sotero, and I'm the executive director of Humanities DC, and I thank you for the opportunity to testify today in strong support of the DC Public Library, especially the People's Archive, Dig DC, and the DC Oral History Collaborative, a partnership between Humanities DC and DCPL.

I'm here to urge the council to reinstate the $200,000 in funding for the DC Oral History Collaborative as part of funding for DCPL.

Our partnership with DCPL is more than a collap collaboration.

It's a strategic bridge that only helps strengthen the library's relationship with the city.

Last year, this program's funding was cut by 100%.

While Humanities DC and DCPL stretched our resources to prevent programs' collapse, we did so by significantly decreasing the depth of our programming.

We cannot sustain this vital work a second year without council's investment.

While funding disappeared, residents' demands for this work grew exponentially.

The demand is a local reflection of national trend.

According to the Oral History Association, we are seeing an unprecedented move towards democratized archiving.

In this time of uncertainty and rapid change, residents want to anchor their identity in the historical record.

We're simply trying to provide the local infrastructure for this national movement.

At our quarterly meetups and partn in partnership with the DC History Center, we see record numbers of neighbors gathering to find community and solve technical archiving problems together.

The numbers tell the story.

For our oral history interviewing grants, we received 51 applications this year, but could only fund 14.

For our heritage and culture grant, which supports grassroots projects, many connecting back to oral history, we received 104 applications only to fund 13.

The people are ready to share their stories.

We simply lack the capacity to support them.

Humanities DC already covers the direct cost of the subgrants through our sources, through other sources.

The DCPL funding is what provides the human infrastructure.

It pays for the relationship building and the rigorous education required to help residents become skilled oral historians.

Participants don't just use the program, they return year after year to deepen this craft, building a resilient network of local scholars and community and community experts whose reach goes well beyond the collaborative and engages community across the city, many including marginalized voices.

Additionally, the work of the collaborative is the foundation that makes projects like the upcoming DC 250 Project Hometown DC possible.

To commemorate the night the nation's 250th anniversary, we're activating the collaborative and partnering with groups like the DC History Center and DCCH to create citywide installations where residents can see and hear from one another directly.

At a time when our rights as Washingtonians are being tested and federal support for the humanities is being dismantled with the defunding of entities like the National Endowment of the Humanities.

By reinstating this 200,000, you are supporting a unique alliance that keeps the D.C.

Public Library at the vibrant heart of our community's living history.

I thank you for ensuring that Humanities DC and the DC Public Library can continue our shared work of making the district's stories one that truly belongs to all of us.

Thank you, Ms.

Lemo Sotero.

Mr.

Collier.

Thank you, Councilmember Fruman and the rest of the Council for this opportunity to share with you the public benefits and impact, the D.C.

Oral History Collaborative, a partnership program in the DC Public Library and Humanities D.C., the district's humanities council that engages residents and humanists across the city.

My name is Jasper Collier and I've managed the program since its creation in 2017.

The collaborative began when the District of Columbia Council recognizing the importance of documenting and sharing community stories in a rapidly changing city allocated funds for its establishment to the DC public library.

Through the D.C.

Public Library, the collaborative receive annual funding until last year.

For now, the project has continued, though we have reduced the number of community oral historians we work with to provide training to the public, and we've discontinued our annual educator seminar through which we help DC teachers learn how to start oral history projects with their students.

In the time that I've managed Washington's city citywide oral history project, I've seen nothing but growth and demand for its offerings and general interest in community oral history.

The collaborative has a listserv with hundreds of subscribers, host quarterly informal meetups that routinely reach capacity, and we are challenged to schedule enough public workshops to meet residents' eagerness to document their own histories.

When folks connected to the collaborative first began to hear of the funding cuts, I fielded calls from them, wondering what will become of our ability to offer trainings, programming, and general support for community oral history work.

Indeed, while we have been able to continue adding new oral history projects to the archives, the loss of programmatic funds has inhibited our ability to create public humanities opportunities wherein district residents get to engage with these stories.

In years past, we have hosted coffee chat programs, panel conversations, listening sessions, theatrical performances based on oral histories, and a restoration of financial support for the collaborative would allow us to restore and strengthen these types of programs.

The DC Oral History Collaborative's continued success will rely on the library's ability to continue to support it, not just with the programmatic funding it provides, but with the thoughtful guidance of its staff, the beautiful event and meeting spaces enjoyed by collaborative participants and the confidence it provides community oral historians and narrators who know their stories will be well preserved within its archive.

Despite the growing trend towards democratizing oral history and story collecting, the collaborative has been one of the only, if not the only, publicly publicly supported citywide oral history projects that centers not around the stories deemed worthy or important by a major institution, but those that have value and meaning to the public.

It is particularly important at this time when concepts of truth and reality seem to be breaking down before our eyes that we support residents' ability to put their own memories, um, historical and recent on the record.

Each year, community members working on DC oral history collaborative projects have the chance to tell us what the experience has meant to them and what it has meant to those they've interviewed, the project narrators, as we call them.

One project leader reflecting on how the project impacted her personally said, I was humbled to meet and talk to some of our narrators.

I expected it to be fun, but I learned more than I expected.

It was also very enriching to include a diversity of backgrounds because that yielded a broad spectrum of perspectives.

And another said, this experience reinforced my desire to participate in more community-centered storytelling and figure out a way to build a larger meaning-making project that helps shift internal about themselves and external about the world narratives that people hold.

Restoring support for the DC Oral History Collaborative and the DC Public Library means restoring support for these residents turned project directors and others who document, preserve, share, honor, and respect the city's unheard voices.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Yona.

Good morning, Chair Fruman and members of the Human Services Committee.

I'm Yona Bromer Gaber, president of Ask Me Local 1808, representing two-thirds of employees at DC Public Library across virtually every department.

I want to open with a great example of the partnership between the union and the library.

On October 9th, the federal government settled a union dues funded lawsuit with Ask Me and ALA, committing to dispersing grants through the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

This restores the apparent cut of 1.2 million dollars and five FTEs in the adult learning budget line, funding critical outreach, accessibility, and digital literacy services.

We've submitted a lengthy and detailed written testimony with the union's requests.

While the bulk of the union's testimony focuses on the needs of the library and its workers, the primary concern for our members this year is the district-wide issue of funding for pay increases.

As the cost of living has drastically increased, worker salaries across the district have not kept up.

Balancing the city budget on the paychecks of the workers who keep the city running isn't just unfair to workers.

It's bad policy that strains worker well-being and ultimately displaces workers from living in the city they work for.

Setting aside funding for collective bargaining and pay raises is a critical investment in DC.

Regarding the library's budget, we focused on the long term as the culmination of a year's worth of discussion, collaboration, and struggle between the union and the man and library management.

The uncertainty uncertainty around the library's mission over the last decade has delayed long-needed investment investments, setting up the library for strain and unsustainable promotion practices.

Our priorities for enhancements seek to build towards having a happy, sufficient, skilled, safe, and invested library workforce.

Our first priority is ensuring that overall staffing levels are maintained, allowing the library to continue building up to the full staffing complement.

In order to shape that future staff, we're seeking $500,000 for a long-needed investment in a new career ladder, providing more paths to advancement for staff.

We're also seeking $250,000 for a library-specific employee assistance program better equipped to handle the trauma that library workers face.

To help staff gain the skills they need to advance within the library, we are also seeking a tuition reimbursement program with a startup cost of just $36,000.

To strengthen the library's mission and programming, we are seeking restoration of the nine of $900,000, which was slashed from the collections budget to ensure that we can buy all the books that people's want people want.

We're also seeking 16 additional FTEs for particular programs which fill critical gaps for teens at DC jail and for those struggling with mental health and digital literacy issues.

This year is truly an inflection point.

Will DC have a happy and engaged workforce?

Or will the city continue to exploit its own municipal labor without proper compensation?

DCPL continues to be the backstop for other agencies.

So it's critical as ever that the council invests in the library workforce.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Just a few questions.

Mr.

Inko Tara, thank you very much for your testimony.

It does sound like an exam like an extraordinary journey.

And thank you for recounting it for the benefit of others.

In terms of uh the distribution of your books.

We will we will talk with the library.

We will follow up with the library, probably not in a public setting, though.

But thank you for raising it.

Ms.

Lema Sotero, Mr.

Collier, I mean, I think between the two of you, you laid it out pretty compellingly.

Um there is there was the number of programs that you were able to do, 14 in one category, 13 in another category, if I'm understood the testimony correctly.

In previous years where you had the funding that came through the library, what how did the level of programming compare?

Um when we mentioned the 14 and 13, those are the grants that we were able to give.

Um but the funding cuts from this, what what the funding cuts from this did was um minimize the amount of support that we were able to give those grantees and then other people who were also interested in engaging in oral history and engaging just the public in general.

So like the chats and the get togethers and support.

So it isn't that you were able to do fewer grants, it's that you weren't able to support them in as thorough of a way.

Is that a fair understanding?

We weren't able to support them, but also that funding supports uh the FTE that supports the grant making.

So even if we have the funds for the grant, if we don't have these funds, that makes it difficult for us to actually be able to do the full grant program as well as our public programming.

And so if we were able, and I this is a budget environment where nobody is promising anything.

But uh if we were able to restore that funding, how would you use it?

Is it that you would bring on the FTE or what what would you do?

Is that we would be able to keep the FTE?

That's something that we managed to cobble together this year, but it would be unclear if that's something that we could do again next year.

So it would ensure that we had the capacity to continue the program.

Um otherwise we're not sure how that capacity would be met.

Okay.

All right.

I think I have it.

I think the point, Mr.

Collier, I think you made of you know the truth is under siege, and uh uh gathering the truth from core sources in this sort of way is feels more critical today than at any other time that I can think of.

So I hear you, no promises, but want to try.

Umith, thank you very much.

Thank you for sending over the testimony in advance, although it's it was a draft and is fuller now.

I think um I think you've you've laid things out very well, and so I think you if we have our roadmap.

I don't know whether there is anything.

I think the the what's happened on pay raises touches you, but touches a lot.

And in candor, reversing it would be very difficult.

I I don't know where this is all gonna go, but 127 million dollars in this environment is gonna be a challenge.

But thank you for laying it out in such a compelling way.

I wonder one of the things.

So let me go to your last year on the trauma support investment.

I think there was a little bit of back and forth with with the library about whether there should be someone in-house or whether it should be done through the EAP program.

And the the argument was made that for confidentiality and for that the EAP vehicle is the better vehicle to do this.

I wonder if you could speak to that, because I think you're asking for both, right?

Are you asking for in-house and enhancement to the EAP?

But why wouldn't we put all of our weight on the EAP process?

Yeah.

So to be clear, what we are we're not asking for an internal hire.

We are looking for an enhanced EAP program, one that is a lot more connected to the library.

So it's not to say that we would have uh an employee of the library running regular therapy sessions, but having drop-in hours that the EAP is running at the library is the kind of uh uh uh enhancement that we're looking for.

Um this is something that came from detailed conversations um with our human services team and with um the HR team about what kinds of supports would be most useful.

Um we talked about the fact that the EAP program, EAP program EAPs are set up for being able to work with agencies and um connect them with resources.

Part of the problem is that the INOVA EAP we have right now is generalized to DC government as a whole.

They don't have specialty in what the library does, and I think that that's really where we need some specialization.

Whether that can come from INOVA or from other community partners that special in trauma, I think is an open question that we're we're still looking into.

Um but I think really having a focused trauma support program that's funded through an EAP, I I think is the path forward for us.

All right, that's very helpful.

Um career ladder, I have to say I love that expression, and boy, is that got to be a focus for us in so many different places.

Um I'm very focused on increasing I I had been a K through 12 person, very focused on education, but now adult workforce is uh consuming more of more and more of my attention and getting and trying to get people connected to work and fulfilling work.

So definitely hear you on that.

One of the things that we're exploring is trying to link DCPL and UDC so that um UDC could restart its MILS program and offer a local low-cost option to folks.

Do you see that as part of the solution in this space in the career ladder space?

Or how what's your reaction to that idea?

Yeah.

So there's two separate parts of it.

One is in terms of the career ladder itself.

A big part of what we're looking for is actually removing some of the educational barriers.

We do still want to keep making sure that our librarians have MLIS, but we want to create other paths that don't necessarily require the degree so that we're able to, you know, people who are focused on programming, who are very skilled at that, are able to do that without necessarily having to train in the collection development work and cataloging that our librarians are experts at.

Trying to make one program that may not get people jobs at other loc at in other cities and other locations and really advance their career.

And so that's that's the feedback that we've heard from members and why we're looking for uh tuition reimbursement rather than necessarily a UDC program.

Okay.

Well let us take that on board.

I think the the other it's super helpful the way in which you've done your testimony, where you've laid it out each specific ask and then the explanation for the ask.

I think it minimizes the need for a back and forth here.

So we'll have a back and forth at different time, but thank you.

Thank you to all of you for your testimony.

Thank you.

Okay.

All right.

Amanda Chesney.

Okay.

Uh Linda Quo.

I still don't see Troop Danta Lopez was the name that I called before is Santa here.

Okay.

Then with that, we will turn to our public our virtual witnesses.

Unless is there anyone else here who would come to testify in person who hasn't been called who would like to testify?

Okay.

For each of our virtual witnesses, I will call your name and a member of my staff will make you a panelist.

If you wish to appear on video, you must click the button in the toolbar at the bottom of your screen that looks like a video camera.

Please remain muted.

Until uh it is your turn to testify.

When it is your turn to testify, please unmute yourself.

Once all virtual witnesses testify, I and other council members, should others arrive, may ask a round of questions, so please stay on Zoom muted after you are done testifying.

For any technical difficulties, you can send a message to the host, which is labeled as Committee on Human Services, and they will follow up with you.

Additionally, if you are having trouble gaining access to the Zoom and you have pre and you have pre-registered, you can reach my team at human services at DC Council.gov and they will try to resolve your issue.

Now let's turn to our first panel of virtual witnesses.

Zachary Israel, Mark Patison, Robert Oliver, Reginald Black.

Reginald Black.

Amari Kerrigan.

Lisa Hamilton.

Brandon Scott.

Willer Augustin.

Robert Warren.

And Travis Bali.

Okay.

And with that, Mr.

Israel, when you are ready, and I will say uh to Ms.

Patel, who I thought I saw walk in.

We will return to your testimony after the virtual witnesses.

So Mr.

Mr.

Israel, when you're ready.

Thank you, uh, Councilmember Ferman, members of the committee.

Um good morning.

My name is Zach Israel.

Uh, and I am testifying, I think, for perhaps the eighth or ninth time on this particular issue over the past four years.

Um, and as it will come to no surprise to you, Councilmember Fruman, it is regarding the need for a library on Kennedy Street uh in Ward 4.

Um, and unfortunately, the proposed FY27 budget for DCPL, not surprisingly, does not include any funding for this really important need.

Um, there's virtually no mention of the Kenny Street Library or what the library has now referred to since February of 2025, the community commons pilot that they would like to set up um in our neighborhood, uh, which is great and they are on the record support of, but to date, since that refreshed master facilities plan was published in February of 2025, um, they have proposed no money behind this idea.

So it's a great idea.

I'm appreciative that they are supportive of it.

Um, but in terms of dollars and cents, there's been nothing proposed for it.

And um in the time remaining, just to give you a brief history, you know, going back several years now, the council in its budget has put usually one or two million dollars, in some cases a few million more, towards this library project in Kenzie Street Northwest specifically.

And then what has happened is the library has not utilized any of the funding.

They propose a budget with no funding for it.

The council then adds one or two million dollars back for it, that gets enacted into law, the library doesn't use it again, they come back and they don't request any money for it.

And so it's sort of this this whole silly game that's been going on for several years now.

Um and I think I I mean at this point we we just need a new mayor in place, which we will have a new mayor one way or the other in January, and I hope that with that new leadership in place, regardless of who that person is, that um we will have a uh DCPL that is willing to put money behind the community commons pilot program at that time.

Um I know our budget is stressed right now, but just because that is the case does not mean that the need for a library in this part of Washington DC has gone away.

And I'm just here to send a friendly reminder that um folks in our neighborhood still need a library, they're still paying attention.

Um and I still care about it, and I will be here every year to remind the committee and the council of this until money is actually allocated for it.

Um, I just want to end by saying I love the DC public library.

It's an amazing resource that my me and my kids use all the time.

And um, and for that very reason, we would love to have a library in this part of Word 4.

Thank you so much.

Happy to answer any questions.

Uh thank thank you very much, Mr.

Israel.

I know you love the library.

I think I've seen you and your kids at the library.

Um, and it does feel like groundhog day.

Uh Mark Patison.

Chair Fruman and members of the committee, thank you for providing this opportunity to testify.

My name is Mark Patterson, and I am president of the Friends of the Juanita E.

Thornton Shepard Park Library.

One key issue in the budget is the million-dollar cut in the collections budget for the library system.

That's a cut close to 20% over the years.

More e-books than physical books are being checked out by patrons.

Yet ebooks are far more expensive for libraries and physical books.

Close to two-thirds of DCPL's collection budget goes to eBooks.

Physical book may cost a library between 20 and 25 dollars, while its ebook counterpart would cost between 60 and 80 dollars, triple the cost.

What's more, ebooks aren't really sold, they're rented.

The most common listing arrangements, uh list uh licensing arrangements, I'm sorry, for ebooks either allow libraries to loan a certain number of items for a finite period of time or give a finite number of checkouts, known in the business as metered access before items need to be relicensed or repurchased.

The council passed a bill last month that would require DCPL to stop purchasing ebooks if publishers fail to offer the library a fair and equitable pricing structure, but only if at least ten other states with a total population of at least 50 million people have similar laws.

However, when I sent a draft of this testimony to my fellow officers at Shepherd Park, one officer noted that ebooks offer important accessibility options, while a second officer said publishers have a silver barrel.

So do we go cold turkey on ebooks, or do we look for more money for the collections budget, which would only reward publishers for their usurious behavior?

It's a real quandary.

Still, just there is sorry, just as there is a right to repair movement of food in the country, affecting everything from iPhones to farm machinery, there needs to be a right to reread movement that slams the brakes on the grade of publishers and their middlemen.

A movement that gives the buyers and not the sellers the right to decide when to pull a book from circulation.

On another topic, uh DCPL's capital budget was largely untouched.

All construction and renovation plans are still on schedule, but there remains one important omission from that schedule, the library for Kennedy Street Northwest.

Tennessee Street was one of the priority sites for our new library in DCPL's own master facilities plan from 2020, next Libras.

So much of a priority that they were willing to shut down Shepherd Park and set up shopping Brightwood Park instead, two miles away.

Where is that priority now?

During the long fight to save our library, where we finally prevailed after two and a half years of organizing and agitating, we grew sympathetic to the situation of residents along the Kennedy Street corridor who still don't have a library.

Since then we've argued for a two library solution.

Yet efforts to make progress toward Brightwood Park Library have been halting at best, even when the DC budget had over the years allocated funds to explore such a library with not one penny of it spent.

Jack Israel, who preceded me here today, saved me time when he said that this morning that we need a new mayor before we get concrete action on a Kennedy Street Library.

Well, as you would have it, there will be a new mayor next year.

I concur with Mr.

Israel's position and would add that not only will it take a new mayor, it may also require new leadership in other areas of the district government as well.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Mr.

Hattison.

Umliver good morning, everyone.

Can you hear me?

Sure can.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you very much.

My name is uh Robert Oliver, and I am the president of the Laman Riggs Lillian J.

Huff Library.

Uh first, I would like to say it's an honor to be here to speak with everyone about the issues that affect our beloved DC public library.

Um, first, I would like to thank each member of the Human Services Committee and those members of the DC City Council who found the funds to address the fiscal year twenty-six library budget cuts.

It is greatly appreciated.

However, here we are again in fiscal year twenty-seven.

This year we face a 2.6 million reduction in non-personnel costs, which consists of all purchases not related to staffing, including a one point million dollar reduction in collections.

Non-personnel costs impact equipment, supplies, contract, and consulting services.

This reduction impacts future downtown activation and signature programs, such as author talks, all-night, art all-night, rather, and routine branch programming.

Also, DCPL's ability to repair or replace equipment and furniture is impacted.

However, please note that long-term purchases for DCPL library renovation and library branch refreshes are capital expenses, which have been spared.

Branch managers will now have to close, or rather, choose between retaining scuffed, marred, or visibly worn furniture on the floor, or removing those items and thereby reducing the branch's capacity to service its community.

Second, computers, copiers, etc.

are in high demand, and any downtime or reduction is quickly noticed.

Third, any reduction in the contract and maintenance staff as supplies is problematic.

DCP prides itself on its inviting and clean facilities.

This image is hard to maintain if floors are visibly stained, landscaping unkept, and restrooms are in frequently maintained.

The above is but one scenario.

Only the members of this committee and other DC member council members can keep it from becoming a reality.

Quickly, I just want also to add that the book collection reduction is uh problematic.

DCPL has reduced its hard copy and ebook wait times by building an appropriate inventory.

The reduction of collection funds endangers this hard fought victory.

In conclusion, I know that there is not enough funding in this budget cycle to address all the above issues, but please do what you can to ensure that the DC public library remains our city's cultural center.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Oliver.

Uh Reginald Black.

Uh Paula Edwards.

Just go on.

Dior Brown.

Amari Kerrigan.

Hello, good morning.

Can you all hear me?

Sure can.

Thank you.

All righty.

Good morning, Chairperson and members of the committee.

My name is Amari Kerrigan, and I am a public-facing library staff member with the district public.

The District of Columbia Public Library System.

I am honored to submit testimony today in support of a strong and fully public, fully funded library system that reflects the real needs of our communities.

Every day, library staff are on the front lines, not only providing access to books and information, but also supporting.

Sorry about that.

Also supporting residents, navigating housing instability, job searches, digital access, and mental health challenges.

In many neighborhoods, the library services as a the library serves as a critical safe space.

Because of this, I strongly urge the council to prioritize maintaining current staffing levels.

Our branches have already are already operating under significant strain, and any reduction in staffing would directly impact service quality, safety, and accessibility for the public.

In addition, I support increased investment in the following areas.

One being career ladder investment.

Staff retention is a major challenge.

Many talented employees leave due to limited growth opportunities, and investing in clear career pathways strengthens institutional knowledge and improves service delivery.

Second, being trauma support investment, library staff are regularly exposed to high stress and traumatic situations.

And this is especially pronounced at certain branches.

At the Anacostia Library, staff have experienced repeated exposure to gun violence in the immediate vicinity of the building.

Between 2022 and 2023, gunfire struck the library approximately eight times with bullets shattering windows while staff and patrons were inside.

These incidents were not abstract.

They were direct, frightening, and disruptive to the that left staff feeling unsafe and on the edge of on edge in their own workplace.

Experiences like these have a lasting emotional and psychological impact.

Staff are expected to return to work the next day, continue serving the public, and maintain a calm and welcoming environment, often without sufficient mental health support or structured debriefing resources.

This is why investment in trauma support is not optional.

It is essential.

Funding for trained mental health professionals, regular wellness resources, and trauma-informed workplace practices is critical to sustaining staff well-being, retention, and the quality of service we provide to the public.

Three is adapt additional staffing for key roles.

Target investments in staffing with significantly improved services.

Teen librarians are essential for youth engagement, especially in communities where young people need safe structured spaces.

Mental health specialists provide critical expertise and de-escalation tactics and support.

Digital aggregators help close the digital divide, which remains a major barrier for residents across all wards.

Jail library staff ensure access to information, educational resources, and incarcerated individuals, supporting rehabilitation, equity, and listening numbers and recidivism.

Four is collections restoration.

Up-to-date and relevant collections are foundational to the library's mission.

Continued investment ensures that residents have access to materials that reflect their needs, cultures, and interests digitally and physically in the branches.

Five is tuition assistance, supporting staff education, strengthens the workforce and builds long-term capacity within the system while also allowing upward movement within the agency.

Libraries are one of the most trusted public institutions in the district.

With the right investments, they can continue to evolve as hubs of learning, connection, and community care.

So I strongly urge the council to fully fund these priorities and recognize the essential role library workers play in the well-being of our city.

Thank you for your time and your consideration.

Thank you very much.

Brandon Scott.

Can you hear me, everyone?

Sure can.

Thank you very much.

Fantastic.

I will get started.

Good morning.

Uh good morning, Chairperson Fruman and committee members of and members of the committee.

My name is Brandon Scott, and I am a proud to serve as the advisory neighborhood commissioner for Ward 7 for 7C08 in Capitol View.

I'm here today to speak not just as an elected official, but as someone whose life was shaped quite literally inside a public library.

As a child, the library was more than a building to me.

It was a safe space.

It was curious where curiosity was protected, where imagination was it was encouraged, and where I felt a sense of care that expanded beyond my home.

Today, the Capitol View Neighborhood Library and the MOK Public Library specifically aren't just a place to check out books.

It is a place that now pours into me and my family.

I found community there.

I joined book clubs.

I've built relationships.

I explored worlds far beyond my surroundings.

Thank you, and thank you for your investment into DC Reese as well.

And at the center of that experience, as a resident of DC, were the people.

Cheryl Simpkins, the adult services librarians, nothing short of a transformational, leading the Capital View View Book Club and driving reading engagement and community outreach that strengthens our local community.

Her leadership of the book club is not just about reading.

It's about building community and creating dialogue and making people feel seen.

She is the heartbeat of that space for so many residents.

Tamara McKinney, the children's librarian, carries an equally profound impact.

What she does every day is a Herculine effort, managing local youth, welcoming, visiting families, coordinating program, and ensuring every child who walks through those doors have access to something meaningful.

Today I stand before you not only as someone who has benefited from that system, but as a parent who continues to rely on it.

My son is visually impaired, and the DC public library system, specifically the Center for Accessibility, has to open up doors for him that I cannot have I could not have imagined.

The Braille Club meets each month.

We access resources that that are not just helpful, they are life-changing from real books to hands-on opportunities to create braille material to simply being in a room with other families advocating simple similar journeys.

This is what equality looks like in practice.

The community is strengthened by a network of professional and volunteers who go beyond above and beyond the DCPS teachers of the visually impaired, Michelle Shea, Elliana Jones, and Joshua and Jessica Doyle, the orientation of mobility special specialists, Clara Pasteira, and Anisa Najam, um Andrea Lester, an early early investment specialist with Aussie, who shows up often on her own time because she believes in the families, and Conchita Hernandez from the Maryland School for the Blind, who helps bridge access across jurisdictions and assure no child is left out.

Now, this is what DCPS libraries is special to me.

It's not just the infrastructure, it's the people.

It's the commitment to access.

It's the understanding that libraries are not just optional services.

They are institutions that are essential.

So as you consider the budget, I ask that you see what I have seen, both as a child and as a father.

As you budget continue to further your investment into the library programs, especially the Center for Accessibility, it's important to note that funding for the Center for Accessibility is not publicly available or broken out.

Rather, it is part of the library's operation budget.

So in my short time, when budget is cut across library operations, the visually impaired population is impacted.

Furthermore, I would want to ensure that the district's talent, like the librarians remain in DC to offer those same amazing services to all students.

So additionally, I would encourage funding for the DC's employee assistance housing program so that these employees may explore ownership in Washington, D.C.

and living in the community that they serve.

Also a resource allocation to ensure that community libraries are properly staffed and that resources as they manage, serve and foster local community.

As the city enacts the comprehensive literacy state development act, which is a grant of 49.8 million dollars, include consideration for the blind for the visually impaired to receive tutoring support and training and programming that ensures that their literacy and their visibility in Washington, D.C.

is an overlook.

So libraries are not just a place where we go, they are places that build us.

They are where safety meets opportunity, where learning meets belonging, and where the public investment turns into lifelong impact.

So I thank you for your time and your continued commitment to the residents of the District of Columbia, and I stand available for any questions.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Scott.

Um Wheeler Augustin.

Good morning, committee chair for men, council members and committee members.

My name is Will Augustin, and I'm a resident of Washington, DC.

It's an honor to me here to be here today to express my sincere gratitude for their services and resources provided by the DC Public Library and to briefly share my experience.

I was in the United States about one year and a half ago.

At that time, I felt lost and on something about my future.

I submit I submitted my resume in many places, but I was unable to find a job.

During that time, someone from DC Public School advised me to visit my nearest public library.

That advice changed everything for me.

At the library, I found more than just books.

I find direction.

I enrolled in several programs, including basic computer skills, the IC tweet, digital C certification, job seek seeker workshops, and an online English conversation circle.

These opportunities allow me to build its insurance skills and improve my confidence.

Beyond learning, I also have the chance to meet new people, share experiences, and become part of a community.

This human connection was just as important as the knowledge I gained.

The Modern Luther King Junior Memorial Library became a true fuge for me.

A place where everyone has access to free resources, regardless of their background, status, and level of education.

It's a place of opportunity and inclusion.

Today, I feel more confident and built up prepared.

The skills again sweating my resume and help guide me toward employment.

I would like to take a moment to take all the instructors, especially Mr.

for their patience, guidance, and support throughout this journey.

Their dedication maker difference in my life.

In conclusion, the library is more than a building.

It's a vital resource for the community and a place of hope for those who are trying to find a way.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Augustine.

Robert Warren.

Okay.

So well, thank you to all of the virtual witnesses for your testimony.

Emily, correct me if I'm wrong, but uh Mr.

Israel, Mr.

Patison, and Mr.

Scott.

I'm not sure that we have your written testimony.

So if you have the opportunity to send it in so we can have it for the record, very much appreciated.

Well, Chair Proumen, I just finished my final draft about 20 minutes before the hearing began.

Okay, great.

And actually I see that I didn't I failed to uh invite Travis Bale to uh testify.

So um Mr.

Bale.

Thank you, Chairman Fruman.

And I um my name is Travis Ballie.

I am testifying in my capacity as a ward 7 resident today.

And I'm just asking the council I'm asking the council to protect and strengthen uh the DC public library in Ward 7 in the FY27 budget.

I know this is a hard budget year and that the council is dealing with real constraints, but libraries are not extras.

In Ward 7, they're part of what makes the neighborhood work, and I think the same could be said across the district.

Um specifically, I want um the council and this committee to please protect and continue moving forward the new Dean Wood Library.

The FY27 Capital Plan continues to continues the project to replace the current 7300 square foot Deanwood Library with the new 20,000 square foot full service neighborhood library.

That investment is long overdue, and Ward 7 should not lose momentum on it.

Second, please protect neighborhood library services in Ward 7 and district wide.

This budget season with branch services, collections, and other neighborhood-facing supports are reduced district wide, residents feel it.

Um they feel it and fewer materials, less program, and less day-to-day support.

And Ward 7 and any ward should not end up with less access to books, technology, and community services.

Third, uh please protect and strengthen DC public library's jail video visitation program and make sure the equipment and staffing are there to keep it running reliably.

This program helps families stay connected, and that really matters.

If the equipment is not working or the service is inconsistent, families pay the price.

And right now there's an outage at the MLK library.

I also lastly urge you to protect and if needed, restore funding for the D.C.

Oral History Collaborative.

This work helps preserve the stories and lived history of DC residents.

Libraries are not only places that hold books, they are also help hold the memory of our communities.

I hope you will protect arts and humanities in D.C.

and make sure our cultural heritage continues to be preserved and accessible.

In closing, Ward 7 deserves strong libraries.

That means moving forward, the new Deanwood Library, protecting neighborhood library services, maintaining a reliable jail video visitation program, and supporting public humanities efforts like the D.C.

Oral History Collaborative.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I will be submitting my testimony momentarily.

All right.

Well, wonderful.

Thank you for that.

And you you spared me having to ask you to do it.

So thank you very much.

All right.

So and thank you to all of the witnesses who have testified.

Um couple of themes.

The Kennedy Street, uh, it does feel like Groundhog Day.

Uh we'll see what the future brings on that.

Mr.

Pattison.

Um the e-books and collections issues, we are working on those issues.

Hopefully, we are driving towards something that will get us to a better place.

I do think you noted, uh, Mr.

Pattison, that what we pass doesn't kick in until there's enough other states that do it.

I think that's necessary if we it no man alone is going to succeed here.

It's a question of building market power among library systems around the country, but thank you for reinforcing that need.

Mr.

Oliver, also your points on purchases and collections and maintenance and equipment, uh, all very important.

Thank you for that.

Ms.

Kerrigan, do you I wonder, do you work at the Anacostia Library where this episode happened?

That is correct, I do.

Uh and then I'm sorry?

Sorry, my connection is fading in and out.

Could you repeat the question?

Yeah.

Uh the question was whether or not you worked at the at the Anacostia Library, and then if you did, if you could talk about what was done in response to the situation there.

Yes.

So I do work there, I still work there at that location.

And mostly ANOVA services were offered to us.

But we weren't offered any, you know time off because of the event or anything.

We were just kind of more or less expected to go to work the next day.

We've had one event where glass has shattered our children's section and there were still glass in the board books, and we just had caution tape.

You know, to section off the children's area for about two days.

But we were still working in the midst of all of the chaos.

And it does sound like a pretty difficult episode, so thank you for raising it.

Mr.

Scott, uh thank you.

Thank you for all of your different acknowledgements.

I have to say when you described your experience, it sounded so much like my mother, who talked about the libraries in the same kind of way in the role that they played in her life.

So it was uh nice to get an echo of that.

And then also the points that you make made around your son and the support that your son has uh received at the library's uh thank you for coming forward with that.

It does kind of underscore again the third space quality to the libraries and how they wrap around our families and are so important to our to our families.

So thank you for bringing forward that testimony.

Similarly, Mr.

Augustin, um thank you for your testimony.

Mr.

Uh Bailey, has there been some change related to the Dean Wood library that you wanted that you're concerned about, or or is it just that you wanted to put down a marker of please keep this moving forward, even though there's been no change that would suggest that it was being slowed?

Absolutely.

Thank you, Councilmember.

No, just just my chronic anxiety that with the budget the way it is that something might occur.

Uh yeah, well, thank you for that anxiety and the way in which you use it to support children under three as well.

So I appreciate your anxiety.

Uh all right.

With that, uh I will note that I was able we we have most of the written testimony, a couple of people who we don't have written testimony for yet we've asked for.

I will note that the oral history project, it's oral history, but looks like more than half of our written testimony is about the oral history project.

So a certain irony there.

Uh good work.

And uh Ms.

Patel we can now bring you forward and then looking at my binder, I don't see your written testimony either, so I'll just put that out there first when you're ready.

I will be sending you my written testimony uh at the end of today.

Apologies I didn't get it earlier, and apologies I did not come earlier.

Uh Metro was having a snafu, but I did make it here and made it here safely.

So good morning, Chairperson Freeman and members of the committee.

Thank you for all the opportunity to testify.

My name is Tripty Patel, and I serve as a fourth term ANC commissioner representing Historic Foggy Bottom and as the chairperson of ANC2A.

I am returning for a second year to raise concerns about ANC2A's continued difficulty using the West End Library as a reliable monthly meeting space.

Commissioners and residents alike have experienced frustration with the loss of consistent access to an ADA compliant public facility for civic engagement.

Let me begin by acknowledging the constraints facing district agencies.

I understand the mayoral directive limiting overtime for district DC government employees.

And as a worker rights advocate, I fully support ensuring that the library staff and security personnel are compensated fairly and are not asked to work beyond their paid hours.

And I also want to say that I believe all workers deserve a raise.

I know this is a tough budget year, but for all of us to survive this economic downturn is not to sit there and say that they're not going to get a pay raise.

We need to make sure that all of us survive this.

However, these operational constraints must be viewed in the context of a fiscal year 2027 budget decisions affecting DC public libraries.

In fiscal year 2027, DC Public Library's proposed operating budget is approximately 83.5 million.

A modest decrease from the prior year.

While DC public library remains a core public service, even small reductions in staffing flexibility and after hours capacity have real impacts on neighborhood access.

For ANC2A, that MP impact is direct.

Until 2024, ANC2A held its monthly meetings at the West End Library.

We complied with all requirements and coordinated closely with the staff.

However, following reductions in available staffing and overtime capacity, we were informed that meetings can no longer extend beyond 1030 p.m.

due to limits on staffing and security coverage type to budget and operational constraints.

This was before the mayoral directive came out.

This has effectively restricted our ability to hold fully accessible public meetings.

It is important to understand what is at stake.

Libraries are not operational are not optional amenities.

They are at essential civic infrastructure.

They are often the only ADA compliant publicly accessible spaces available for evening community meetings in many parts of the district.

At the same time, residents rely on these same spaces for critical needs, accessing email, submitting job applications, and conducting job searches.

These are not peripheral services.

They are foundational to economic participation.

ANC2A is a nine-member volunteer commission when fully set.

When meeting times are constrained, it reduces the opportunity for public testimony and limits meaningful resident participation.

This is simply not a scheduling issue.

It is a structural barrier to civic engagement.

Accordingly, I'm requesting the following.

First, that the DC public library identifies and budgets for staffing and security coverage sufficient to accommodate at least one monthly meeting for ANC2A meeting at the West End Library, and not just our ANC, but any ANC that wishes to use a library.

With a mutually agreed upon time of end time of 1130 P.M.

Second, that this committee requires DC public library to report on how ANC access to library meeting spaces is being accommodated across all wards, including after hours availability, staffing and security costs.

Any and any barriers created by the fiscal year 2027 budget or policy decisions.

Finally, the D that DC public library clarify how it will ensure that civic and community use of library space remain a core part of its mission within the constraints of the fiscal year 2027 operating conditions.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

And once again, Chairperson Fruman, I do want to acknowledge I do understand this is an incredibly tight budget year.

And I probably know that what I just testified is most likely going to be a no, but I still wanted to come and put that on the record.

So thank you.

Well, well, thank you for that acknowledgement.

It is going to be a challenging budget.

Just want to make sure that I understand.

Is the idea that you'd like to see some sort of a line item in the budget for overtime use uh after hours use of the buildings for public meetings and such?

If it would be possible, actually, yes, Chairperson Freeman, I do know that other ANC commissions do run into that challenge.

Um but I also want to make it very clear that I am not going to uh have this budget item be done without um buy-in from the work of like the union workers.

I do not want them working without compensation or pay.

I I do know that in some cases that uh library staffers have just been generous and you know, is I without my knowledge, essentially volunteering to stay on to accommodate uh not just ANC2A, but I think other ANC commissions.

So I just want to make sure that anything that is done to accommodate civic participation that it is not on the box of workers without them being fairly compensated.

Okay.

Well, let us take that on board.

This is a area that I've been focused on in a different setting with the use of DCPS fields where often there's the rental fee and then there is security and maintenance that are charged.

And those can be higher than the rental fee and make it remove the usage of the field outside of what's affordable to folks.

And there is a question in my mind whether or not we should acknowledge that there may be uses to a building that are outside of or field that are outside of the core of the relevant agency.

We want them publicly accessible.

How do we then pay for that?

So thank you for your testimony.

We'll look forward to getting your written testimony.

And I'm sure in this budget season, this is the first of five times that I will see you at a table like that.

So thank you for that.

Thank you, Chairperson Freeman.

All right.

With that, um is there anyone else online who's waiting to testify?

Is there anyone else here who is waiting to testify who hasn't had an opportunity to testify?

Okay.

Hearing none, we will move to our government witnesses.

So uh Mr.

Azgavalon and Ms.

Mex, if you want to come to the table.

Okay.

It is the practice of this committee to place our government witnesses under oath.

I would invite all of our government witnesses.

Including all of our government witnesses to stand and to raise your right hand.

Do you swear or affirm under penalty of law that the testimony you are about to provide to the Committee on Human Services is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

I do think.

Wonderful.

Thank you.

You may, when you are ready, you may begin your testimony.

Thank you.

Oh, good morning, Councilmember Freeman, uh members of the committee and committee staff.

I am Richard Reyes Gavallan and I serve as Executive Director of DC Public Library.

I am pleased to submit testimony today on Mayor Bowser's proposed fiscal year 2027 budget and budget support act and fiscal year 2026 supplemental budget.

I'd like to thank the committee and the entire D.C.

Council for their interest and investment in our work, evidenced by the robust participation at our recent oversight hearing in March.

I would like to thank Mayor Bowser and her team for their work on the FY27 budget.

Given the district's economic outlook, reductions in the operating budget were anticipated, and I look forward to discussing the impact of some of those reductions with you today.

Thanks to the Board of Library Trustees for its oversight and advice, and to the supporters and advocates of the library, including the Friends Groups of the DC Public Library and DC Public Library Foundation.

Lastly, I offer my thanks to the staff of the library who continue to work hard to serve district residents every day.

Let me start with some encouraging news.

Continued investment in DC public library facilities.

The proposed FY27 to FY32 capital budget totals 164 million dollars and maintains funding for existing building projects in Chevy Chase, Congress Heights, Deanwood, Eckington Edgewood, Rosedale and Shepherd Park.

In addition, the budget includes $9 million to a $9 million increase to negotiate a long-term lease for the new Eckington Edgewood Library, $9.5 million for major systems upgrades, such as full HVAC and elevator replacements across the library campus, and $1 million for technology infrastructure improvements.

Collectively, these investments will allow DCPL to complete the modernization of every public library in the district and ensure that our rebuilt libraries, the oldest now more than 15 years old, remain well maintained.

The FY26 supplemental budget further adds one million dollars to general improvements, enabling us to continue to invest in systems replacements and infrastructure needs this fiscal year.

I'm grateful that the Mayor's proposed FY27 operating budget preserves our full-time equivalent positions and allows DCPL to maintain existing hours of service.

Since the beginning of the fiscal year, DCPL has hired 52 new staff members and promoted 10 more internally.

The library is currently organizing another Library Associate Hiring Fair in June, targeting recent college graduates.

Having the resources to retain these employees and continue filling the hundred or so remaining vacancies as efficiently and responsibly as possible is crucial to the fulfillment of the library's mission.

At the same time, DCPL, like all district agencies, must navigate reductions.

The budget includes a $2.6 million decrease to non-personnel services, including a $1 million reduction to our collections budget, which is already low when compared to peer library systems in other U.S.

cities.

Borrowing books, whether print or digital, remains a core service for district residents.

And this proposed reduction translates into approximately 53,000 fewer books and other library materials to check out, resulting in an estimated half million fewer items borrowed in FY27.

This figure does not include the impact of the additional $288,000 reduction to collections contained in the FY26 supplemental budget.

I'm also concerned that the budget does not include $527,000 required to support the operating impact of capital for the New Southeast Library, slated to open later this summer.

These funds are necessary for custodial maintenance, security technology monitoring, and audio visual system upkeep.

Additionally, the budget includes a $1.6 million reduction impacting nearly every aspect of library operations.

Most significantly, it eliminates the $450,000 downtown activation budget that has supported major major cultural programs and events at the MLK library and throughout the gallery plays pen quarter area.

Popular programs such as Art All Night, signature author talks, and heritage month celebrations that bring thousands of residents downtown will either be eliminated or severely scaled back.

On Monday evening, we welcomed NBC Today Show anchor Chanel Jones to a standing room only event at the MLK library, supported by downtown activation funds, drawing 300 residents to continue offering these joyful high-demand programs.

DCPL will need to lean more heavily on the DC Public Library Foundation to raise additional programming dollars, though there is no guarantee that private philanthropy can fully replace government support.

Finally, myriad smaller reductions will have real impacts on the day-to-day library experience.

Delays in obtaining parts and supplies for building systems, including HVAC, plumbing and electrical, will affect operations, and we will be unable to replace aging or broken public computers and furniture.

Ultimately, we must reconcile investing in open hours and staffing while simultaneously undermining the services that staff are expected to deliver.

What is the true value of open doors when inside there are fewer books on the shelves?

Computers are old or broken, programming supplies are unavailable and worn carpeting can't be replaced.

Funding hours is essential, but we need to be clear that it is coming at the expense of collections, programming, and the well-maintained spaces that make those hours meaningful.

In closing, I'd like to again express my appreciation, my appreciation to the mayor and her budget team for more than a decade of investment in DC public library.

Addressing a $1.1 billion deficit is a complex challenge, and I am grateful for the areas where support for the library has been maintained or increased.

Thank you, Councilmember Fruman, for your support and for the opportunity to present this testimony this morning.

I am joined today by members of the library's executive management team and our agency fiscal officer, and we welcome any questions that the committee may have.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for your testimony and for your work at DCPL.

It's an extraordinary institution, and you heard it from all of the witnesses this morning.

I hear you on kind of the tension between staffing and other expenditures.

And that's a that is a fair point, but I'm going to jump into talk about staffing to ask about staffing.

Last year, the committee was able to restore 70 FTs to ensure there would be no significant reduction in branch hours.

And the library has made great strides since the beginning of the fiscal year to hire for those positions.

Now we see another $1.2 million cut to the neighborhood library services in the proposed FY27 budget.

Does that cut require any kind of cut to operating hours or closing branches?

No, those cuts are more experiential in nature.

There are the things that you will see, like fewer supplies for programs, fewer programs, some degradation of furniture fixtures, equipment, those sorts of things.

So in my testimony, when I refer to the tension between open hours and the experience that we want residents and staff to feel in our buildings, that's what we're talking about.

It doesn't impact our ability to open the doors, but at some point I think, and it was, you know, largely rhetorical in nature in my testimony.

It's a philosophical conversation about the value of open doors with other elements of the library being degraded.

But um I should say very clearly that the the proposed um reductions to neighborhood library services or youth programming that does not impact our ability to maintain our hours of service.

Okay, so I hear you, and this year's challenge is that.

Last year the challenge that we faced was ours.

This year's challenge is content in a certain sense.

That's fair.

And I will say it's something of a relief that ours is not on the table in the same sort of way this year.

Um you talked you you talked about hiring updates, which is which is helpful, but just to make sure I have a very clear sense of it.

So there was the 70 positions that we restored, and I guess have you hired 50 so far?

We've hired uh 52 since um since the beginning of the fiscal year.

And and we've also had um 10 additional promo internal promotions.

Okay, and then uh and then you there are still a hundred vacancies?

That's correct.

And then you're doing a hiring fair.

It do you expect progress to fill those 100 vacancies before the June hiring fair, or where do we stand in terms of hiring to fill those those hiring vacancies?

I wish it could be that that fast and easy, council member.

Um, f filling as many positions as we had vacant at the beginning of the fiscal year is um it's a slow and um iterative process.

Um internally, we first of all don't have a mechanism for mass hiring.

I think we've got one recruiter on staff or two recruiters.

Um we have now, we have one and one in the process of being hired.

So we will have two recruiters.

Thanks.

So that's one um one aspect.

The other aspect, of course, are um, you know, we've got to make sure that we're not just hiring willy-nilly, we've got to put the right applicants in the right jobs.

Um so we have quite frankly, you know, we've had unqualified applicant pools, um, we've had lack of sufficient interest from certain applicants requiring revisions of job descriptions.

Um so just the the regular process by which we onboard recruit and onboard people, um there is a process that cannot be avoided.

Um I'm um kudos to our human resources department um as well as all of our hiring managers um at the library.

I think we've done a really admirable job, and we will be bringing on more.

I do think that the summer is a great time.

Um we'll have a lot of hungry, um, hopefully college graduates who are looking for meaningful uh public service work.

Um so it it will continue happening.

It is a uh number one priority for us at the library to fill as many of those positions as we can.

It does I mean, one of the things that you hear about in the press is how challenging it is for recent college graduates to funds.

That's exactly right.

So it it may well be that that will be a promising source of potential employees.

One of the things that we talked about last year was, and I think it came up in the union's testimony, is uh to what extent can there be flexibility in the requirements for a position in order to open them up to maybe federal workers who don't have an MILS or who don't have a certain credential but are accomplished professionals who have found themselves at the short end of an ideological stick.

To what extent have you looked at increasing flexibility for job requirements in order to access that pool and as the union testified to allow folks to rise up internally?

Yeah, I mean we've made a lot of progress here actually.

So the MLMS requirement is really only for um the librarian positions specifically.

Like I have an MLIS, Stephanie has an MLIS, but our library associate positions are all college degrees.

In addition, um our managers, our library managers no longer uh MLIS is no longer required for our our neighborhood library manager positions, nor are they required for our assistant manager positions.

So uh we understand the MLIS is not for everyone.

There are barriers to getting that degree, so we appreciate that, and and I think we've made excellent strides in removing that as a barrier to employment with the library as well as promotional opportunities.

Uh, the career ladder is something that we are also quite focused on.

Um Tiffany Alston, our chief of public service to my right, has been working on that for quite a while.

Strides have been made.

We always want to make more strides there.

And so it is uh it's uh it's a never-ending um goal of ours to increase promotional opportunities um in the library system for existing staff.

But I'm pleased with with a lot of the progress that we've made.

And hearkening back to last year, because there's there's the dog that hasn't barked, and so one of the things that last year I think we talked a fair amount about was the shortage of youth librarians and the challenge of of staffing those positions.

I have not heard that in the same way this year, and so I wonder where do we stand on that?

Are we have was that a thing that you were able to overcome?

Or it's just become part of the landscape and didn't rise up to the level that it should be showcased in the testimony.

Um so the good news it has been easier to hire children's children's librarians.

We've hired several and we've just I think onboarded a few more this week.

Um the the full full transparency, um, the issue that we still need to address is retention, right?

So we've been able to bring them on board.

Um the job market has loosened up a bit in favor of the library is uh for the employer.

Um, but but we still need to do more work in terms of okay, now that we've got them, how do we make sure that we keep them?

Um and so uh so overall good news.

All right.

Well, glad to hear it.

I don't know that I could do it being uh overseeing a bunch of kids who trying to keep them quiet and well behaved.

Just you know, tell them to knock it off call.

It works.

Okay, I'll try it.

Um so in terms of hiring, it's a hundred it's still a hundred positions.

I think here at the end of April, a hundred positions that you hope to fill by the end of the fiscal year.

And that also includes the the built-in salary laps, correct?

So it's it's not a hundred vacancies that we would ultimately be able to fill.

Um part of that is X number of positions that we will need to keep filled as we do every single year, regardless of uh of the status of the budget.

It's probably more like but do we know what an actual number of vacancies we'd be looking to fill, something like 70 or so something like that?

Around 70, 74 positions, something like that.

I don't have the exact number before me, but it's close to that.

All right, good luck to you.

Um so on the personnel side uh that's not the impact that we're worried about.

Um but then there is the changes to library programming, the content side.

Which you reviewed in your testimony, but I guess I want to try to go through it one by one to the extent that we can.

Umtenance, but a question is there is a pretty significant increase in capital dollars, including for things that might cover custodial issues but be recharacterized as a capital investment.

Um does the do the increases on the capital side to what extent do they offset the 140,000 dollar decrease in custodial?

It it depends on the level of intervention required, council member, for something to be capital eligible.

So as an example, if an elevator needs a part to be replaced, that wouldn't be capital eligible.

But if the elevator needs to be replaced in its entirety, that would be capital eligible.

So I mean, you know, as stewards of public funds, it sometimes it frankly makes sense to replace an elevator, and we hope to do that at the Northeast Library um this coming year and the Tacoma Park Library this coming year.

These would be capital eligible expenses, but something that doesn't rise to the level of a full replacement, but is a repair, that is not capital eligible.

And so that's that's where the that's where the cuts become um evident.

Yeah, so we won't know.

We don't we won't know to how whether there are things that fall below the lines of the they're cap not capital eligible.

You don't want to you don't want to find us in a position where there's something that through a repair could cost 10,000, and instead you say, okay, we don't have the 10,000.

But we have 200,000 over here to replace, correct.

Yeah.

And that's something that we wouldn't do.

But it is the um but it is what we are facing in terms of why the reductions to the to the maintenance budget are uh are important to to to address.

Okay.

Um downtown activation, the 450,000 cut to downtown activation includes well, help me understand it.

It it includes an elimination of the abilities, the library's ability to fund activations like uh like what was the event that the fabulous event uh 1619 project.

What are the things that are implicated by the $450,000 reduction in downtown activation?

I mean, everything is it is implicated in with a cut of that size, um, there was little that won't be affected in terms of our programming downtown.

You know, we we do have a library foundation that um supports our cultural programming, and they're doing an excellent job raising money for us.

Um it's it's not our only source of um of uh of funding.

We also have our revenue generating funds from the event rentals up on the fifth floor and the passport office on the second floor.

So I you know I can't say 100 percent that something is going to be eliminated fully, but again, when you're talking about almost half a million dollars in a relatively small programming budget, um, you know, I don't know how much the foundation is going to be able to find uh funding to uh to supplant what the government investment had had been, um especially because you know we're also beginning conversations with the Library Foundation around perhaps a uh campaign around um around materials and books, which is something that we've not done before.

Um so uh you look at things like um Art All Night, which costs tens of thousands of dollars.

Um you look at something like the 1619 project, which uh a decent amount of that funding came from the um the uh the activation funds.

Um a lot of our author our our signature author events.

Um so I mentioned in my testimony um the NBC News anchor who was here with 300 people, that was largely downtown activation events.

We've got other things that are scheduled in the under the logia at MLK, and um as you know, we've spoken uh quite a bit about trying to do more to change the um the culture outside of the library and make it more active and make it more joyful.

Um some of that will have to be scaled back.

Um again, not as easy as saying this is going away and this is gonna stay, but um you know you will definitely see um fewer programs and the programs that you do see may not be as um immersive as an experience as what you have seen in the past.

Uh that would be a shame because it is fabulous the things that you've been doing.

In terms of art all night, does this just implicate support for art all night downtown because it's downtown activation, but you might still see art all night at the branch libraries or or how how does that fit?

Yeah, and of course, you know, uh uh uh Art All Night is not just a DC public library event, so there is uh funding uh DSLBD and a whole host of government agencies partner with us.

Um I can't tell you immediately what it would mean for um the events that I run into you, for example, at Tengley Town or Shaw or um or Benning.

Do we have an idea internally, team, about the breakdown and whether the activation funds helps with the neighborhood library activations?

Uh the activation funds aren't specific for the neighborhood activations, but the overall reduction of 1.6 million across the various departments will have an impact on programs across the system which could in fact affect our nights in the branches as well.

Okay.

Um heard a lot about at the budget at the performance oversight was mahjong.

I mean, yeah.

You know, mahjong specifically, probably not.

I mean, supplies for games.

Um, you know, if somebody loses a mahjong tile, I guess that might be impacted.

I mean, I don't want to make light of it.

Um, you know, Mahjong is really it's a it's a very efficient and and wonderful and popular program.

But a lot of the the programs, especially for younger people, do require a lot of supplies that may be impacted.

Um, obviously with the staffing that we have, we we you know look, libraries we we work wonders sometimes to our detriment.

Um you'll still see a lot of great things.

But you know, we like to be uh we like to do things that are more than more than just great.

Okay.

So one of the other things, it it looks like the library received an enhancement to events, exhibitions, and development services in the amount of $349,000.

To what extent can that help offset this other cut?

Um I'm sorry.

A $349,000 increase to the events, but is that the authority, perhaps?

The spending authority?

Yeah.

I that might be just the sort of it's what an increase to the amount that we can spend.

Um as I mentioned before, the um the revenue generating budget, which comes from the events and exhibitions bucket absolutely helps and contributes to the programming that we do and the exhibitions that we provide at the library.

Okay, so we'll we'll have to we'll have to take a look at it.

So your your idea is this may be just authorizing you to use that money that flows through the other sources.

Yeah, unless we miss something, but I think that that is just the authority to spend money that we've raised, which has gone up year over year.

Um it it it actually it looks like it's more on the personnel services side.

You might recall that um there were several um employees in positions this fiscal year that were ultimately unionized, and so it it that unionization changes the salary scale, and so there are some now unionized employees and the events exhibitions department, and so that's what that looks like.

Okay.

Thank you for that clarification.

All right.

Well, and while we're on the topic of what it was uh inaccurate detour, but just the same.

While we're on the topic of other sources of of revenue for you, the foundation, how much how much money has the foundation raised in this last year?

Um I don't have the exact number, but generally it raises close to about two million dollars per year.

And has that been consistent over recent years?

Uh there's actually been an uptick over the past several years.

Um they're doing doing really great work.

Um, it's more than five years ago, but it's been pretty consistent for the past few years.

Um, you know, we've had a couple of major gifts.

Um we had a major gift this past year for a coffee and conversations program, and we continue to look for some major gifts for some of our um signature exhibitions.

So but in general it's been slow uptick but around $2 million percent.

Okay.

All right.

Some of the other cuts.

Um will the $106,000 cut to the youth services impact the library's ability to implement the Discover Summer Reading Program in FY27?

Um yes, it would it will.

Um that you know, the the youth services budget is never never very large to begin with.

But uh some of the things that that $106,000 covers.

Um is uh the the tool that we use to track reading hours and program participation.

It's called Bean Stack.

So we have a subscription to BeanStack.

We've had one for probably close to a decade, if not um longer.

That is our primary mechanism by which we track everything.

Um we wouldn't be able to afford that.

Um then in addition, a lot of the smaller programs like our back to school bashes, um, the annual professional development day for DC public schools, uh, school media specialists, all of that, all of those programs are covered by the um the youth programming budget.

So it's not necessarily that all of them would be cut, but those are the things that you're gonna have to look to, or do you think that with the 106,000 cut that all of those things will not happen?

You know, we would have to look at it more closely, but that's what that 106,000 has funded in the past.

Um you know, would we internally with smaller with fewer resources?

Would we you know do a Rob Peter to pay Paul because Beanstack is so important?

You know, clearly we would try to prioritize that, but then that would be coming at the expense of our already reduced collections budget or something else.

Okay.

On the on the Southeast library opening.

First, we we on track when when is it?

Uh is it supposed to open this summer?

Um it depends on whether you ask Councilmember Allen.

He says it's earlier than it's actually going to open.

But the truth is we hope to open it by the end of the summer.

Okay.

And it's on track.

Okay.

His track and your track are different?

It is they are different.

Okay.

You're sticking with your track.

Yes, I would stick to my track.

Okay.

Um then so help me understand this 527,000 shortfall.

So this is money that's uh should be in the budget in order to fund opening.

Explain it to me.

Sure.

So, you know, typically um in typical years, and and and I understand that this is not a typical year, uh, we ref we receive operating impact of capital for new or renovated library projects.

Um the good news is that typically that number is larger because it includes additional staff.

It often includes uh books, and the additional staff were covered in the FY26 budget.

Um the books were covered as part of the capital budget.

So what's remaining, this um slightly more than half a million dollars, um, are some of the stuff that nobody ever sees and uh frankly a lot of people don't care a lot about.

So it's the technology that supports our security monitoring and and those sorts of things that are impacted that you know would it prevent us from opening the library?

No, but it prevents us from opening the library in any way that we would have opened any other library.

Um so and feel free, team, to describe more of what um those operating impacts are.

But again, we could open it, but just not at the level that we would um that we have heretofore been with done with any of our other locations.

I would just add, council member, that um usually that operating impact of capital includes sort of the janitorial services as well to clean the library um daily, so that would be affected as well as landscaping would be affected by that.

And so it doesn't mean that we wouldn't be able to clean the library, but we would just have to take the the same sort of the the cleaning contract that we have for the library currently for the entire campus would have to be stretched that much further.

So you would you would see impacts throughout the system?

Okay, so you have a cleaning contract for all of the libraries.

By and large, yes.

And then you'd add this new assignment.

Correct.

Without additional funding.

And every other time that you done this, it you add funding.

Okay.

And these are operating dollars, not temporary.

Correct.

Um then what happens to Arthur Kapper?

What's happening to that tech center?

When does that close?

Where does that stand?

Um the Arthur Kapper Center is hopefully slated to close around the end of June, at which point we hope to be right around substantial completion for the library, at which point Whiting Turner, our contra our our construction team gives the library the keys to the new library, then we spend X number of weeks bringing the staff in to acclimate it with the library, to put books on the shelves, set up computers, become familiar with the system in anticipate in anticipation of a uh late summer opening.

So um so we would still be targeting a um an Arthur Kapper closure early in the summer in and to to get ready for the Southeast Library's opening late in the summer.

So I guess I'm gonna expect to hear from somebody that why shouldn't Arthur Kapper be open right until the Southeast opens, but is the idea that the people who were working at Arthur Kapper are need to be oriented to working at the Southeast Library.

We have never had a situation with any interim library where we have not had that gap between roughly substantial completion and opening day that there was no service at all.

Okay.

Great.

So you you've talked about it, others have talked about it.

It's a fourth consecutive year, a large cut to the collections budget.

I think this year's reduction on the order of a million dollars, $900,000.

The committee has worked hard to try to restore that kind of funding and we will work to try to restore it again this year.

You have shared the belief that DCPL needs an additional $2 million in its uh recurring collections budget to significantly reduce patron waiting times.

Is that is that two million is that if we restored the 900 thousand that we need 200 2 million more or that we would need two million over where we are and is how did you arrive at that calculation and has it changed?

What what should our target be to get the collections budget?

I'm sorry the because there is the there's the wish list target and then there's the realistic target.

So I want the realistic target.

And let me just start with the caveat that need is subjective right you could zero out our collections budget we would still open our doors that said all libraries do is benchmark themselves against their their peer library systems.

And again you look at Columbus, Denver, Boston, and they've got collections budgets of six, seven million dollars or more per per year.

In a good year without a cut, our collections budget has been at four and a half, four point seven million dollars more or less since I moved here in 2014.

So you know in a in a vacuum where there are no issues with the city's larger budget, I would say you know our budget should be seven million dollars like it is in Denver or or Columbus, $7.5 million, $8 million.

You know the wait times that we see for ebooks 31 days, 35 days, weights for popular print books we'd like to make a a real dent in it.

So you know I hesitate to give you an exact number because that exact number doesn't really exist but I think we all are pretty much in agreement of where it should be for a library serving 7000 residents as well as a larger metropolitan area of however many million we are so I mean one benchmark is peer libraries and so Boston the do we is the peer libraries is it cities of similar sizes or how do we compare in terms of library usage with a Boston maybe that the city is a similar size but do we have higher or lower library usage than a Boston do you know?

I mean how depending on how you define usage like like circulation checkouts.

Yeah we'd have to go back I mean th those numbers are available the public library service publishes those numbers for practically every single library.

I know that DC public library ranks high in visits per capita less high I think in the borrowing of of material one could look at that data a couple of ways.

One could be our libraries are in demand but people don't check things out because they have to wait too long so that if you shorten wait times then we might move up in terms of borrowing but um all right and you said I guess ebooks wait times in the 30s the number of days?

Yeah I know you know I we just looked at the um the most recent quarter for which we have um data which would be Q2 um January through March.

I I you know before I I came here this morning I looked at all of the numbers print and digital they're roughly the same as they were in Q1.

The wait time for ebooks is a little bit less 31 days versus 35.

I wouldn't read too much into that over the course of three months that could be all sorts of you know it could be any anomaly there.

That could be all sorts of you know it could be any anomaly there.

I don't think that's a trend.

And then what about print books and other similar.

Similar is to as to Q1.

Which what does that mean?

For a print book it's shorter than 31 days, isn't it?

Oh, um I don't know if we've got days for the print books, rather we've got um just like holds and cues in that nature, but it there hasn't been any any great deviation.

Okay.

All right.

Um the oral history project.

Um last budget season, the funding for the oral history program at DCFL was cut and we were not able to restore it.

We heard about the importance of the work of the oral history collaborative today.

Um has the work of the collaborative been able to continue despite the cut.

I mean what we've been able to do is support those histories that have already been collected.

Um so the processing indexing, the publishing of the histories, basically the discovery aspect of the histories, we can continue to work on that.

Um as was stated during the public testimony.

Um we still partner with Humanities DC to provide a site for um uh for workshops and programs around the existing histories.

But what the funding loss limits us from doing is to expand the collection, create um, you know, collecting new histories.

That's that's where the that's where the lack of funding is felt.

And I mean we're hearing it as a priority from many quarters, but is it a priority for you to try to restand this up?

I Yes, of course it is.

Um as you know, the the oral history budget is part of the lar library's larger collections budget.

So, you know, it's like which of your children do you love the most, right?

Um I'm not gonna ask you that, but it's definitely my youngest.

No, just kidding.

Um it's um it's it's it's difficult.

You know, the you know, and when I hear um Jasper or Rebecca talk about the oral histories, or when I've seen the work that's been done, it's really you know, it's it's incredible work.

It's an important work to tell the story of of DC and preserve the story of DC.

That's why we're here.

Um but then when we're faced with it's that or you know, 200,000, I don't know how many books that will buy us, but you know, it's a lot of books.

And so we're faced with um meeting the needs of the greater population in DC or meeting the needs of the of the you know history aficionados and researchers and scholars.

It's it's very difficult for me to answer that question um in a way other than telling you that that it's all uh an important priority for me personally and for the library system.

Okay.

Um, no, no, no, no.

That's I'm that is a candid full answer.

I appreciate it.

Um there was a cut of 1.2 million to the adult learning services that seem to be entirely from federal grants.

However, it's my understanding that this grant funding is set to be restored.

Is that correct?

Um correct.

Yeah, I think it just requires a council vote, but um that funding is there.

So why how does it involve a council vote?

So um when the budget was developed, it was prior to us having confirmation that that federal grant would be made available.

And so it was not included in the budget.

And so what we would need in the council vote process is to establish the authority for us to expend those dollars.

So that's where council vote would be needed, the budget authority.

So and this is particularly relevant for me.

So what you need this in our committee report?

That is correct.

And then the council vote would be in the committee.

And then incorporated and so I trust that we are working closely with you to make sure we get that language.

Yes, that would be ideal, yes.

Okay.

Um well, we certainly don't want to leave Federal dollars off the on the table, so it would definitely work with you.

So am I right?

Is it five FTEs?

What is the 1.2 million for?

It includes um five FTE, but also the Federal dollars are used in a number of ways to support um supplies and equipment in our Center for Accessibility.

It also helps to do initiatives and programs that support it, for example, some of the engagement surrounding the development of our code of conduct policy, it supports some of the staff professional development that is not uh funded through the local budget.

So the Federal dollars are used in a number of ways to build capacity for staff as well.

Okay, great.

Um staffing levels aren't being cut.

You're trying to hire folks to fill positions.

Once you we we do hear like there could be more staffing at different branches as an example, but um how close are you to where you think optimal staffing at all of the branches?

Do we is it do we need more than 70 to fill those 74 vacancies in order to get to where you would have the level of staffing that you think you could rest?

I mean I think that the number of FTEs that we've been allocated is sufficient for us.

The challenge is f filling as many of those as possible and keeping them filled with then we've uh and of those 74 vacancies, how many of them are at MLK or central operations, and how many of them are in the branches?

Um do you know that number?

They're all direct public, they're not all direct public service.

Some of them are some administrative public service um staff.

Um the majority of them are in our neighborhood libraries.

Um of them are at the MLK library.

If we don't have that number specifically right now, we can get that to you.

Okay.

And then I know that half I should sorry to interrupt.

I know that roughly half of them are um librarians and library associates.

Yes, okay.

And one of the things about staffing that is interesting is like when Southeast comes on, you're gonna have to populate that with staff.

But do you other you have other places that should be closing in the coming year that relieve pressure on staff because they're in the pipeline for remodeling or renovation?

Um yes.

So the Shaw Library will be closing um next month for what we think will be about an eight-month um renovation.

Um I think that's the only one that I can think of for the time for Yeah, until a long time, maybe.

Yeah, we don't have another plan.

Yeah, in fact, because um some of the some of the yeah, Chevy Chase.

The co-located libraries, those buildings will stay open until their replacements open.

So those staff won't be farmed out to other locations.

So this is it.

It will be the Shaw Library, which has about 13 or so FTE, I think, roughly dedicated to it.

And how many FTE will there be at Southeast?

Roughly the same number as a full service 18,000 square foot three-floor library.

I think it's about 13 or 14, going up from maybe 10 or 11 currently.

So then when Shaw comes back in eight months or in the next fiscal year, in order to maintain a steady state, you'd probably need 13 more folks.

Correct.

And and again, you know, uh based on how we've been hiring, you know, I'm not super worried about us needing to I'm not worried about it.

Okay.

And how are you understanding the changes to the vacancy rate?

So the vacancy rate, I believe, had been 9.3 percent in FY26, and it's proposed at 3.4 percent in FY27.

What's the what's the implication of that change in terms of your operations?

I think to just focus on the original 9 percent vacancy rate that was provided as part of the um the FY26 mark, um, because there were proposed significantly proposed reductions to our personnel budget, um, which would have included, if you recall, reduced hours and a number of other issues.

That nine percent is an anomaly.

Um it's the three percent, which is the standard vacancy rate.

Um it's I wouldn't think of it as a reduction as much as FY26 based on the preliminary budget was an was an anomaly.

I think so the capital budget is again a bright spot um there's a net increase of 12 million to the major library projects across the capital plan let's start with the largest increase 9.5 million enhancement to the to general improvements what will be the impact of this enhancement on the ability of DCPL to make critical investments to aging library infrastructure big I mean it's it's nine and a half million dollars across the six year CIP but still nine and a half million dollars is is um is important um in this coming fiscal year I believe we've got some I and actually I mentioned it a minute a few minutes ago full elevator replacements at the Northeast library uh which has been a problem for us now going back a year and a half this is one example where we've tried to um make sort of fixes every now and again that just don't seem to hold the Tacoma Park library will also have a full elevator replacement and um I don't have too much information about the need to replace a concrete slab at the MLK library but that will take place this coming year with the general improvements dollars.

In general having a robust general improvements um budget helps us with preventative replacement of important components HVAC systems, elevators and and the like we're very very happy to see that level of investment.

I mean that is it is critical that we invest in this way.

The library is different but I I often think about it DGS DGS has been the largest construction company in the region building all of these schools but it needs to move to being the largest maintenance company as we complete the construction of our portfolio the same thing in your space you're getting close to having fully renovated all of the different buildings but then it's then preventive maintenance needs to be a very high priority.

And you know what I I I should say this is interesting so the the the announcement of the Shaw closing was made recently and there was an article in in in Popville and and I was reading um the the comments from residents and you know there were a few comments that are like you know this library opened up 15 years ago why would in the world would you need a $9 million eight month closing and you know it it it dawned upon me that I think a lot of people don't quite appreciate the level of wear and tear that a public library gets versus even a school or a government facility where you can be pretty predictive in terms of the types of wear and tear that they're going to get I mean you look at the Shaw library prior to the pandemic when MLK library was closed for the modernization I want to say FY19 the Shaw Library had 275,000 visits in FY19 which is just a overwhelming number of people using that 18,000 square foot space.

And so it you know it we have to do a better job I think of explaining to our stakeholders including the council and the mayor how important this preventative and this general improvements budget is because I think we have to do it more often than a building that has a more predictable stream of residents or a more um homogeneous stream of residents using it.

It's uh it's the nature of of library work that that the buildings are going to get a level of use and abuse frankly that you just don't see in a typical government facility.

And it is interesting and preventive maintenance we need to as a city put way more weight on it.

We put we've invested millions in these buildings billions in these buildings and if we don't maintain them it's a mistake.

I think in other last year I think you also talked about Shaw and that the neighborhoods changed.

And so 15 years ago it had one, you know the users had more families today than there was back then.

Which change happens fast and you need to adopt.

So I hear you adapt.

So I hear you on that.

When you say in your testimony, you said the oldest of the renovated libraries is 15 years.

Is that Shaw?

Um Yeah.

Yeah.

Shaw opened in 2000, what, 11?

10?

Shaw, Tenley, Anacostia.

Shaw, Tenley, Benning, and Anacostia all opened in 2000.

2010, 2011.

So more than 15 years ago.

And to your comment about needing to stay in front of things like that and sell the importance of it.

It's funny when you said that about reading the comments.

And then somebody said, yeah, and don't worry about the comments.

And I thought, what comments?

And then I went back and holy moly.

I wish they hadn't said it.

Yeah, more often than not, it's a mistake.

But but you know, back from that reminiscence.

Um there's Tenley, Benning, and Anacostia, to what extent are you looking at those which are aging libraries and thinking about are there preventive maintenance things or small cap projects or different kinds of projects?

To what extent are you kind of going around the horn once you finish going back to the places that I think here is the the largest discrepancy from our original facilities master plan in 2020 and our updated facilities master plan from last year?

We were very optimistic and about the cost of some of these intensive um holistic renovations.

So we had originally estimated that something like a Shaw library might cost us a couple of million dollars to renovate to change to account for the changing neighborhood needs.

And what we're seeing is that this is going to be over an $8 million project, and I'm so thankful that we had Federal ARPA funds to do that.

Um I can tell you that the Tenley Library needs a major overhaul.

And we do not have funding for a major overhaul at the Tenley Library.

Um similarly, I would like to invest the same amount of money at Anacostia and Benning.

So we can do major infrastructure improvements, the elevator replacement, those sorts of things.

But in terms of like reconceptualizing the interior space, um, we do not have funding for those types of interior renovations at the moment.

So Tenley is one that I'm familiar with with.

I'm familiar with all of them, but that's my neighborhood library.

When you say it needs a major overhaul, kind of I don't want to argue against it.

I'd love to see investment, but why?

What what is it when you when you look at that, why do you feel like it it needs to be remade?

What's what's missing or what it's really just the amount of space devoted to different groups that are in the in the building?

Um the teens get short shrift, I think, at the Tenley Library, the shelving space is too great, the meeting rooms are not large enough.

I mean, I think that if you look at a library like Tenley and you compare it to another library that you're very familiar with, Cleveland Park, where you see that great meeting room that can fit you know 150 people versus what we have at Tenley, which was done when we were first modernizing the library system.

There's been so much I think progress in understanding the needs of district residents and what makes these buildings future-proof.

And you know, Tenley would require a tremendous amount of work if we were to rethink it sort of from the ground up, which is kind of what we're doing at Shaw right now.

All right.

Uh interesting.

One of the things hearkening back to uh ANSI Commissioner Patel's testimony when you talk about the big room and making those big rooms available.

And uh I think every meeting that I've been at at the Cleveland Park Library where they use the big room.

But what do you think of the idea of some sort of a dedicated fund in order to enable the libraries to stay to for people to be paid and for the libraries to stay open for community events?

Because we have these beautiful buildings and often meetings can and should be done by 830, but sometimes that's not practical.

What did you think of that kind of idea?

I mean, you know, I'll say the same thing I said at the oversight hearing when we were asked the same question.

I mean, it certainly would help.

Um, you know, I don't we don't have the ability to compel staff to work until you know 1130 once a month.

And you know, we are careful with staffs already over taxed weekends and nights.

And so part of this is going to be an issue where we could have the funding for that, but we still need to ensure that there are staff who are willing to go over there or stay.

Um and it's not a guarantee.

But generally, if we are able to sweeten the pot with something beyond comp time, um there's a better than average chance we can do it.

If you hear hesitancy in my voice, you know, and the the ANC commissioner who testified a few minutes ago was, you know, she mentioned it would be great at West End, but it would be great everywhere else as well.

Um, you know, I I hesitate to think that we would have so many staff interested in spending, you know, 10 p.m., 11 p.m.

everywhere once a month to accommodate an ANC meeting.

Um, you know, we've been successful in working with some community groups to understand the decisions the libraries have made.

Uh you know, a few years ago we transferred our out we we shifted our hours to accommodate earlier morning openings, which has been a win-win for our staff as well as for residents who want to get into our buildings as soon as the sun comes up.

Um there is a little back and forth there that we would need to to work on.

All right.

Uh fair.

So back to the back to the improvements and maintenance.

Do you have a list of preventive maintenance projects?

You you mentioned a couple in the coming year, but have you developed kind of a schedule of the things that you would like to do, the things you'd like to do next in FY27, the things you'd like to do in FY28?

Yes.

Yeah, we've got that.

Um as part of our our um our facilities master plan, we did conduct a an exhaustive inventory of all of the pieces and parts that need to be replaced.

Um and that's something that we still look at to dictate what needs to be um what needs to be done.

Uh Ms.

Jumper, you can talk about that if you like.

We yes, as Rich said, uh Council Mapper, we do have a list of um projects that we think are most uh critical to address uh in order.

But sometimes that priority changes based on uh things that uh go uh I guess what the you know become out of uh repair and we have to move that up as a priority.

But we do have a list that we use as a gate.

Um and we could provide that to you uh should you request that.

And when you look at that list, does it add up to 9.5 million or does it add up to 19 million?

It's always going to be more than that.

But we could make nine points.

This is a uh a wonderful uh enthusiasm of dollars for us to address some of the long-standing issues that we have.

But it it doesn't it doesn't completely meet the need, but it's a big step forward to meet the huge step forward.

I mean, I and back to what we were talking about a few minutes ago, you know, in an ideal world, rather than you know, replacing an elevator at the Ten Lee Library for however much that costs, you know, we would like to think more along the lines of a holistic renovation.

It's the concept that we articulate in the update of our master plan, but we know that the funding isn't nearly there for that type of intervention in some of our older libraries.

Okay, one category of intervention is the ADA audits and all the recommended changes in the that were made there.

Are do you have the funding to address the issues that were raised there?

Is that come under that 9.5 million?

This goes back to the the issue of if we're just depending on the level of intervention, it may or may not be capital eligible.

So if it's um installing a power assist button on a door, that would not be capital eligible.

If we are replacing a correct me if I'm wrong, but if we're doing a a permanent structure, a built-in structure that's affixed to the floor or a system that would be uh deemed a capital uh project versus uh repairing a button or um some pathway that will address ADA concerns.

So some of it is, but I can't tell you I can't tell you how much it really is um case by case.

Okay.

Well, this will be a thing that we'll continue to track going forward.

Um the Eckington Edward project received an increase of 9 million to complete the acquisition of one of the two shortlisted sites.

How have the negotiations for either of the two sites been going and when can the district expect the acquisition to be completed and the next steps in the project to be taken?

How are we doing on this one?

Well, we you know we would be loved to go into real deep negotiations without funding secured.

So uh assuming that this budget passes with that amount of additional funding in to the Edgewood project, um, we would then begin more fulsome uh negotiation with a developer, and it's technically not an acquisition, but what we anticipate would be a lifetime lease, um a 99-year lease or even something greater.

So we've had preliminary conversations where we've been able to develop that um that number, um, but we have not had um in-depth negotiation.

That would happen once the budget passes.

So say say the budget passes June 23rd.

Um that's the second vote.

Would the hope be to do have the negotiations happen between then and budget formulation in for the FY28 budget so that something could be captured to the to the extent that there was something that needed to be reflected in the next budget that we could keep this moving forward?

Yeah, I think so.

Um feel free to No, I think that's reasonable, Councilmember.

That should be sufficient to and I just want to be fully transparent.

So the $9 million acquisition or the uh the long-term lease funding is is great.

Um without it, that project is more or less dead in the water.

Um I will say that the project budget is still $24 million, if I'm not mistaken.

And that is going to be another obstacle for us in the future.

Um $24 million doesn't build a a new full service library in today's dollars.

Okay.

Um does that slow the negotiation of the long-term lease?

But that's another thing that would need to be reflected in a FY28 budget is the same.

Or 29, 30.

Even if the cat the capital dollars might be placed in a correct future year, but it okay.

Uh Parklands Turner Congress Heights project received a marginal increase for FY27 compared to the large $7 million increase in the budget last year.

Can you provide an update on how working with WAMATA is going and when the project is expected to begin progressing in earnest?

Our goal is to um begin construction um later this summer with some caveats.

Um we're still finalizing our um joint development agreement, JDA with WAMATA in order to gain, I guess, permission for the project to move forward.

But something that we talked about at our oversight hearing.

Um the the tall pole in the tent is the 13th Street Connector project that is um going to be run by um DEMPED and DGS.

That project has to advance sufficiently.

It doesn't have to be completed, but the first phase has to be completed in order for our construction to start.

And that has not yet happened.

So um you know there could be more delays if that doesn't occur in a timely fashion, which would then impact the project budget.

So Ms.

Jumper, you're closer to this than I am.

Feel free.

Very well, Rich.

The longer there's a delay, the more there's a potential, you know, financial implication on the back end that we don't know that number yet.

So we're hoping that this date of uh the summer the access with RT Street will be realized so we can start our project.

Okay.

So uh note to Emily we have the oversight, the budget oversight hearing for DemPED coming up.

Let's make sure that this is a thing that we ask about at that hearing to uh see how it's progressing.

So the there's the library and the and the um and the metro station.

What else will be on that site?

Or will it just be those things?

It's just the library.

It's a standalone structure.

Um yeah, it's you know, design is largely finished.

It's a gorgeous one-story structure immediately adjacent to the station.

Um that's it.

But but the 13th Street has to be re reconstructed in order for the library to fit on the footprint that we have that we need.

And so that that needs to get done.

Is the funding sufficient to build the library that you're hoping for?

I mean, we th we think so.

I mean, we've also talked about moving some funds that we may have left over from the Southeast library that can contribute to some of the probably existing delays that have already that that we've encountered.

Um so channeling our our um capital projects director.

Um cautiously optimistic, but um but just cautiously optimistic.

So in that at Southeast, there may be capital that's left over, so you could have extra capital, but a shortage of operating because of the the 500.

There could be some capital dollars left in, and you know, that's not uncommon for a lot of our projects, and we typically will just reprogram them to uh another capital project.

Yeah, not a criticism at all, just trying to understand that because there's a shortage in one place, but sometimes capital dollars and operating dollars are different.

So you have capital dollars, you can't use them for the thing for certain things.

All right.

Um the last thing, unless there are other things that you are gonna want to talk about.

Um the uh there's an increase of over a million dollars for IT modernizations to support technology infrastructure improvements for the libraries.

How how does DCPL expect to use this funding in the coming fiscal year?

Um so our modernization funds, which typically involve um replacing network switches and power equipment.

Um, and we're always thankful for the amount that we get this coming year.

I believe that we are doing some work at MLK and the Southwest Library.

Okay.

So uh I mean this for I'm done with my questions.

If there's something else that you wanted to talk about, I'm more than happy to give you the floor.

You're and I will say from the committee's perspective, it's really been great working with all of you on this uh on on this important pro this important initiatives, and uh I feel good about what we've been able to accomplish together so far.

So want to try to be helpful as we go through this process.

There's all the caveats about what a difficult budget this is gonna be.

Um but the work you do is so important and the way in which you do it is sensational.

So thank you very much.

Our job is to make it hard for you guys.

That's that's that's the goal.

All right.

Well, so this concludes today's public hearing.

If you plan on submitting written testimony for the record, please do so by uploading it to the council's online hearing management system before the record closes at 5 p.m.

on April 29th, 2026.

The time is now 1137 and A.M.

and this hearing is adjourned.