Washingtoniana

Beautiful building and space. I wanted to see the exhibits and the roof. The exhibits are small for each topic…but still very interesting. I thought the Go go and punk exhibits were good and hope the library has a chance to expand and make them permanent. Roof was excellent. Amazing plant life, decent seating and views.

Born and raised in Washington, DC in 1981 to now so I grew up this library. It was the place hang in my Junior and high school days. I’ve seen the contact charger in decor and the new library design is simple yet astounding. I’m so glad to call myself a native Washingtonian. I’m particularly proud of the tribute to go go music, Marion Barry, and the likes of other to culture all on the 3rd floor. They mentioned Howard Univ. several times and has a college graduate of this distinguished school I’m honored and smiled with the biggest grin seeing the connection to the cities rich history.

Good environment for reading and studying. Great location. I love how they utilize the glass window so we’ll that it feels bright and full of natural light. There is a area for COVID test kit pick up. Recommended.

Amazing design. Massive library with lots of kids, teens and adult activities as well books. There’re 5 floors and everything is well signed and laid out.

I enjoyed the sunshine on the rooftop patio. A beautiful building! The library has exhibits, work spaces, and a small coffee spot!

This library is like an oasis in downtown DC. A great place for reading and studying. It is newly renovated and books are perfectly organized. The top floor garden looks amazing. 4th has a black history exhibition that is very informative and educational. I highly recommend this place to both DC natives and tourists.

This is more than a library. They did a magnificent job displaying the black history in DC, I'm impressed with the interactive experience. The architectural design is beautiful. Everyone should experience this space at least once. Checkout the roof too

While this is a nice space open to the public, its rather disappointing considering its the main and recently renovated library for a major, well-educated city. If you want to sit and work, most of your best options involve a hard, plastic seat as well as a random bar blocking the window directly at eye-level. If you're seeking a more comfortable seat, you most likely have to give up some combination of natural light, tables, and access to outlets. Although in my experience, many of these seats are also fairly uncomfortable. The general mood of the library every time I've been can be best described as "dead", with a few grand, wide-open areas that just end up feeling stark, uncomfortable, and under-utilized. Perhaps I'm being too harsh and allowing my experience with the Boston Public Library to taint my views of DC, but I feel as though the DC library's downtown location, proximity to transit, and recent renovation were wasted in not creating an environment closer to Boston's. There, there is an incredibly diverse selection of comfy non-plastic seating, with just about every seat having access to electricity, natural lighting, and tables. There is no under-utilized, uncomfortable space to be found, and the library usually feels dynamic yet still cozy. The main redeeming feature of the DC library is its rooftop with garden, where I do love to study and complete work. However, even this area suffers from poor-planning. The rooftop occasionally closes far earlier than the library for private events, there are far too few tables and seating on nice days, and the tables that do exist once again feature uncomfortable seating and no outlet access. There is so much potential in this library, and its just disappointing and frustrating that more wasn't done to make it a more comfortable, dynamic, useful space.

Beautiful facility! We attended the Theater Washington Event. Great food and drinks. The Auditorium was first class!

Very kind staff in the kids/teens section. The space is beautiful with areas to read and study. There is a wonderful selection of materials. I highly recommend going to the special exhibition section on level 4.