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ANC 6B urges DC Public Library to expand Arthur Capper interim hours to serve working residents
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Summary
An ANC commissioner told the DC Public Library board that limiting hours at the Arthur Capper interim facility has depressed usage and urged the board to direct the director to add Saturdays and at least one evening and to provide a detailed budget for expanded hours.
David Sobelson, an advisory neighborhood commissioner for ANC 6B, urged the DC Public Library board during public comment on July 24 to expand weekend and evening hours at the Arthur Capper interim library, saying current schedules make the facility inaccessible to many residents who work daytime hours.
"Libraries are not luxuries," Sobelson said, recounting his own use of the Southeast branch before it closed for renovation and saying the interim site at Arthur Capper, 1000 Fifth Street SE, opened Feb. 5 in a location closer to his constituents but then operated with limited weekend and evening availability. He told trustees the director initially argued that "most of those who use DC libraries are unemployed," a claim Sobelson said had "no basis in fact." He asked the board to "open the Arthur Capper library facility on Saturdays and on at least one additional evening each week" and to instruct the director to provide a detailed budget for extending hours.
Why it matters: Sobelson framed the issue as one of access and outreach—he said low usage followed from inconvenient hours and limited notification to nearby Navy Yard residents. He said the ANC voted in May to press the director (identified in public comments as Reyes Galvan) to honor a prior commitment to consider adding weekend and evening hours and that the ANC followed that vote with a letter. According to Sobelson, the director later described the interim facility as "experiencing very little usage," which he said risked being used as justification to keep hours restricted rather than to expand them.
What trustees heard: The acting vice chair thanked Sobelson for his comments and noted the board would take the matter under advisement. Trustees did not vote on any related motion at the July 24 meeting because the board lacked a quorum; items that would require board approval (including user‑fee and agenda votes) were tabled to September.
Context and next steps: Sobelson asked the board to set aside funds so staff could analyze and propose a schedule change that would make the interim facility usable for workers and to improve outreach so neighborhood residents know the facility exists. The board’s executive director said staff will monitor usage and that the facilities master plan work and related schedules will be discussed at future meetings; any formal change to hours would require staff follow‑up and, if policy or budget changes are needed, eventual board action.
