Artist says that although young people are now reading books on subjects such as teen pregnancy, AIDS and homosexuality, she's happy to see that classics like "Little Women" and "The Secret Garden" are still frequently requested.
Nyanchoka, a native Kenyan getting his master's degree in library science from Catholic University, calls the library "a stopgap for immigrants. This is the place where they can get information on how to make their way. . . . It's a bridge between the unknown and the known. . . . If I am able to help them get information to meet their ends, I feel great."
Kindergarteners from Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Charter School listen as English teacher Imogene Love reads to them.
(Ryan Anson - For The Washington Post)
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Upgrades Set At Some Sites
After decades of neglect, the city is rebuilding four of its most decrepit neighborhood libraries: Anacostia, Benning, Tenley-Friendship and Watha T. Daniel/Shaw. They were selected for replacement because they had the most "deferred maintenance" among the city's 21 neighborhood libraries, according to Monica Lewis, library spokeswoman. The Deanwood kiosk, a one-room structure at 4215 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave. NE, will also be replaced by space in the new Marshall Heights government center.
Library officials hope to rebuild the entire system over the next 10 years, but there are no separate plans to renovate the Mount Pleasant Branch Library.
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Back in Kardy's office, a custodian comes in to announce that the outside dumpster is full because the trash was not picked up.
"I'm dealing with current crises all day long," sighs Kardy, complaining that she does not have enough time for everything she'd like to do. She points to several shelves of books plastered with yellow Post-its that say "Add to Collection." It takes only a few minutes to enter a book into the branch computer and give it a jacket, Kardy explains. But even small tasks often don't get done because of the library's understaffing.
Kardy says her staff could not do without volunteers Herb Hughes and Freddie Fauntleroy, who both come in several days a week to reshelve books. And the Friends of the Library, the group headed by Brady, "are incredibly helpful," Kardy says, in raising money and community support for the library.
Lorraine Fuller, who lives nearby, has been using Mount Pleasant for 30 years. She reads up on women's health issues, does research for her Bible studies and borrows books to read while traveling.
Despite the library's problems, Fuller, a manager in government relations for the American Bankers Association, says, "It's very helpful here. I love it." But, she adds, "as much as this library is utilized. . . . I've seen very little from the government as far as enhancing it."
Still, "the patrons who utilize this library are very faithful."
