DC Public Library Services and

Facilities: A Framework for

Continuing Success
Appendix A
DC Public Libraries:

Mary Parker Photography

Key Demographic Trends and Analysis
December 2010
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Agenda
• District of Columbia demographic
statistics
• Overview of mapping project
• Ranking activity of branches
• Analysis
▫ Proximity to transit
▫ Connection between
libraries, schools, recreation
facilities and senior
wellness centers
▫ Context of development
activity and library
branches
• Observations/Findings
• Appendix
▫ Methodology
▫ DC Retail Snapshot
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DC Demographics
DC US
• Population estimate (2009) 599,657 307 million
• Persons 5 to 19 yrs (2008) 17% 20.4%
• Persons 20 to 34 (2008) 27% 20.2
• Persons 35 to 64 (2008) 38% 40%
• Persons 65 yrs and over (2008) 12% 13%
• White persons (2008) 37% 80%
• Black persons (2008) 53% 13%
• Other races (2008) 10% 7%
• Hispanics (2008) 9% 7.4%
• Housing units (2008) 285,000 129 million
• Household size (2008) 2.2 per 2.6 per
• Median household income (2008) $57,936 $52,029
• Persons below poverty (2008) 17% 13%
• Bachelor‟s degree or higher (2008) 49% 28%
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Comparison: The District’s Neighborhood

Libraries Vs. Other Cities
 District has comparable number
to other cities of similar
population and land area.
 District of Columbia – pop.
599,657, 61sq. miles, 25 libraries
– Atlanta – pop. 453,038,
132 sq. miles, 25 libraries
– Baltimore – pop. 639,
919, 81 sq. miles, 22
libraries

Mark Herboth
– Boston – pop. 613, 411, 48
sq. miles, 28 libraries
– Seattle – pop. 582, 490,
84 sq. miles, 25 libraries
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Overview of Project
• Mapping Analysis
▫ First iteration of maps created in late 2009
▫ Examined walkability of libraries
▫ Major objective is to help DCPL make better informed
decisions about:
 Prioritizing capital investments in neighborhood branches
 Assessing location of neighborhood branches
• Services and Facilities Plan
▫ Started in 2009
▫ Forward looking view into the future of neighborhood
libraries
▫ Explore how neighborhood libraries deliver services and
programs and the placement of these libraries
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DCPL Neighborhood Libraries:

Activity
• Data represents a snapshot in time – August 2010
• Based on the 3 major variables (computer usage, circulation
and patronage):
 Majority of DPCL branches have medium to high activity
 Top 3 most active branches are:
 Southeast (high/9.0)
 Northeast (high/8.5)
 West End (high/8.5)
 Bottom 3 least active branches are:
 Francis A. Gregory (low/2.75)
 Deanwood (low/4.25)
 Southwest (low/4.5)
• Capital improvements
▫ 11 (46%)DCPL branch locations have no planned capital
improvements through FY 2011
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Top DC Transportation Facts

• From 1994 to 2008, the share of transit, walking
and bicycling trips increased in the District from
40% to 46%

• 45% of DC residents live within a ½ mile of all

metro station entrances. 15% of residents live
within a ¼ mile

• 97% of DC residents live within ¼ mile of transit

service (mostly bus stops)

• DC has 45 miles of bike lanes on its 1,200 miles of

streets. The goal is to increase the number of bike
lanes to 80 miles. Between 2005 and 2010, DC
added nearly 30 miles of bike lanes, 198% increase

• Over 50% of DC residents walk, bike or take

transit to work – second only to NYC

• Between 2005 and 2008 the % of passenger

vehicle and motorcycle registrations in the
District decreased by 11%

• Washingtonians now take 27.5% of all their trips by

bicycle or on foot
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Analysis – Proximity to Transit

• Metro rail accessibility
 Data represents a snapshot of M Low 1511 - 5000
ridership during March 2010
 Majority of DCPL branches are M Medium 5001-10,000
located ½ mile or less from a Metro
rail station with a ridership level of M High 10,001-20,000
medium or higher
 7 have medium ridership M Very High 20,001-33,714
 5 have high ridership
 4 have very high ridership
 Highest levels of ridership at Metro
rail stations tend to be clustered
around Downtown near:
 West End (8.50)
 Northwest One (5.25)
 MLK is the only library located within
a ½ mile radius of 2 Metro rail
stations with very high ridership
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Metro Rail Accessibility

 7 Metro rail stations have low
ridership:
 Cleveland Park (Cleveland
Park/8.25)
 Shaw-Howard (Watha T.
Daniel/8.0)
 Waterfront (Southeast/4.5)
 Deanwood (Deanwood/4.25)
 Minnesota Avenue (Benning
Road/8.25)
 Congress Heights (Parklands
Turner/6.75)
 Capitol Heights (Capitol
View/5.25)
 Low or medium ridership Metro
stations tend to be located near
library branches at District boundary
lines:
 Low
 Capitol View (5.25)
 Deanwood (4.25)
 Medium
 Takoma Park (7.25)
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• Metro bus accessibility Analysis – Proximity to

 Bus data is a snapshot in time Transit
(March 2010)
 All DCPL branch locations are Bus Ridership Key
located on or near a Metro bus 0-2800 (low)
line
2801-9500 (medium)
 15 DCPL branches are located on
or near a Metro bus line with high 9501-42,000 (high)

ridership (9501-42,000) 42,001-69,225 (very high)

 The majority of the branches

located on or near bus lines with
high or medium ridership are
located near Metro rail stations
 Mt. Pleasant and Woodridge are
the only library branches located
on bus lines with very high
ridership levels
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Analysis – Proximity to Streetcars

• Streetcar Facts
 37 miles of Streetcar lines
 8 lines serving 8 wards
 Built in three phases
 First phase is Benning
Road/H Street and Anacostia
lines debuting in 2012
 Adds capacity to District’s
transit network
 Connects District
neighborhoods and retail
corridors
 Serve activity centers
throughout the city
 8 DCPL branches will have
access to a proposed
streetcar line
 Final build-out of all
streetcar lines will take until
2030
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Analysis – Bike Sharing and Libraries

•The District has 100
stations and 1000 bikes
throughout the city
BikeShare stations are located at
•
or near Southwest, Southeast,
Cleveland Park, Tenley
Friendship, Mt. Pleasant and
Petworth branches
• Southeast, Cleveland Park,
Tenley Friendship and Mt.
Pleasant have high levels of
activity, while Southeast and
Petworth have medium levels of
activity
• The Bike Share stations are
clustered in medium-high density
commercial and residential areas of
the city.
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Neighborhood Libraries and nearby public

facilities - Schools • 2009-2010 School enrollment
data
▫ 93,000 students
 120 public schools
 57 charter schools
 75 private schools
• 75% of DCPL branches have 3 or
more public or private schools
(K-12) located within 1/2-mile
radius
• 20 DCPL branches are located
less than one mile from schools
with recently completed or
planned capital improvements
▫ 14 DCPL branches are near two
or more schools with planned or
recently completed
modernizations
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Neighborhood Libraries and nearby public facilities - Schools

• 5 library branches are not located near schools with
modernization plans:
▫ Palisades
▫ Chevy Chase
▫ Shepherd Park
▫ Cleveland Park
▫ Francis Gregory
• Highest concentration of private schools are in the far
NW corner of the city near:
▫ Palisades
▫ Chevy Chase
▫ Tenley-Friendship
▫ Cleveland Park
▫ Georgetown
• Parklands Turner and Washington Highlands in Ward 8
are located near 18 schools. 10 out of 18 schools have
planned capital improvements
▫ Approximately 5600 students attend these nearby
schools
• Deanwood, Capitol View and Benning in Ward 7 are
located near 25 schools. 8 out of 25 schools have
planned capital improvements
▫ Approximately 5100 students attend these nearby
schools
• The enrollment level at most of these schools is 500
students or less and they tend to be elementary schools
• The majority of these modernizations will be completed
by between FY 2010 and FY 2012
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Neighborhood Libraries and nearby public facilities –

Recreation Facilities and Senior Wellness Centers
• Recreation Centers
▫ 75% of DCPL branches are located within ½
mile radius of a recreational facility (rec.
center, park, pool, tennis court)
▫ Northwest One, Deanwood, Petworth,
Southeast, Chevy Chase, Lamond-Riggs are
located near or at recreation facilities that
have been renovated or slated for
renovation in FY 2010
▫ Palisades, Anacostia, Francis Gregory,
Washington Highlands, Martin Luther King,
Jr. and Shepherd Park are not located
within ½-mile radius of any recreation
facility

• Senior Wellness Centers

▫ 2 Senior Wellness Centers are located
within 1/2 mile from a DCPL branch
(Northeast and Woodridge).
▫ 3 Senior Wellness Centers are located less
than a mile from a DCPL branch (Petworth,
Francis Gregory and Washington
Highlands).
▫ The Ward 4 Senior Wellness Center is more
than 1 mile from the closest library.
▫ The new Ward 1 and Ward 6 Senior
Wellness Centers are scheduled to open in
FY 2010
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Retail Action Roadmap

• The Retail Action Roadmap was
released in May 2010
• It is a comprehensive strategy for the
District that will strengthen and
enhance the retail landscape
• The Retail Action Roadmap analyzed
20 of the District‟s neighborhood
retail submarkets
▫ 15 underserved markets & 5 more
established markets
• 11 of the 15 underserved retail
submarkets have a library within the
area or in close proximity
▫ Benning, Shepherd Park, NW One
and Francis Gregory are located in
“emerging” retail submarkets
▫ Mt. Pleasant, Watha T. Daniel and
Anacostia are located in “high
growth and/or transitioning”
retail submarkets
▫ Petworth and Washington
Highlands are located in
“transitioning” retail submarkets
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Analysis – Development Activity

• Emerging development surrounding DCPL neighborhood libraries…
 Capitol View – Capitol Gateway and Glenncrest HOPE VI Projects (1071units),
Lincoln Heights/Richardson Dwelling New Communities (1609 units), 410,000 sf
of commercial; total projected investment: $ 729 M
 Parklands Turner – Henson Ridge HOPE VI project (650 units), Camp Simms
(75 units, 110,000 sf commercial space), St. Elizabeths Hospital East Campus
1,000,000 sf commercial St. Elizabeths New Hospital 427,000 sf, 600 units of
housing; total projected investment: $400 M
 Southwest – Waterfront Station East/West, 1.2 M sf commercial space,
Southwest Waterfront New Neighborhood 675 hotel rooms, 1.1 M sf
cultural/commercial space; total projected investment: $ 3B
 Southeast – Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg HOPE VI, Townhomes on Capitol Hill,
SE Federal Center, Hine School Redevelopment; total projected investment:
pending
 Shepherd Park – Walter Reed Army Medical Center Redevelopment; 62 acres
available for redevelopment, total projected investment: to be determined
 Lamond-Riggs – Fort Totten Redevelopment 929 units, 274,000 sf of
commercial; total projected investment: to be determined
 Petworth - Park Place at Ga. Avenue/Petworth Metro Station, 161 units, 17,000
sf commercial space; total projected investment: $60 M.
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In summary… • Transit Access and Walkability

▫ Majority of neighborhood branches
enjoy significant access to multiple
modes of transit
▫ The majority of residences are not
within a 15-minute walk to a library
branch
▫ All branches enjoy access to a major
bus line
 Most branches are near bus lines
with at least a high ridership level
▫ The addition of streetcar and expansion
of Bike Share should increase access
and activity to neighborhood branches
▫ Most of the Metro rail stations within a
½-mile radius of a library branch have
moderate-medium ridership
 MLK Central Library has all 5 Metro
lines nearby
 Branches located in or near the
Central Business District trend
towards high ridership
 East of the River branches are near
rail stations with low ridership with
varying levels of activity
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In summary…
• Public Facilities
▫ Schools and enrollment
 Majority of schools have enrollments of
500 students or less
 The creation of new housing units
through HOPE VI and New
Communities will impact the
enrollment levels at all schools
 Private school enrollment does not
always correlate to lower activity levels
at neighborhood branches
 Branches located near schools with
modernization plans could see increases
in activity based on the increases in
enrollment
▫ Recreation Facilities
 Majority of neighborhood branches are
in close proximity to a recreation facility
 No correlation between activity level of
DCPL and proximity to recreation
facilities
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In summary… • Development
▫ Higher densities of land use usually mean
higher rates of activity at neighborhood
branches
▫ Significant number of branches are located
near a HOPE VI, New Communities, or new
neighborhood development area
 The increase in residential population
represents an opportunity for DCPL to
expand customer base
 The significant development projects
could also present opportunities for
public-private partnership for major
modernization or new construction at
several branch locations
▫ DCPL branches located in commercial
districts or along major commercial corridors
tend to have higher activity levels
 With the exception of Francis Gregory, all
of the remaining branches slated to
complete capital improvements FY 2010-
2011 are located on major or adjacent to
commercial corridors
 Watha T.Daniel,Washington Highlands,
Tenley-Friendship and Petworth are also
located in Retail Action Strategy (RAS)
Submarket Areas
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Methodology • OP „s Geographic Information

Systems (GIS) provide spatial
analysis of library locations:
• Produced three maps
displaying the connection
between DCPL branch
locations and:
 Transit usage and availability
 School enrollment figures
(public, charter and private)
 Public facilities locations
 Development activity
• Also illustrated library
activity/usage for each
library by examining 3 key
variables: circulation,
patronage and computer
usage
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Methodology
• Metrics
▫ “Weighted” score formula was designed to give a
numerical value to the usage levels @ library branches
▫ Three base variables were used with an assigned
weighted value
 Computer usage = 1.0
 Circulation = .75
 Patronage = . 50
▫ Each branch is assigned a ranking factor for each
variable (1-5) based on data range (e.g., the total
number of books in circulation)
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Metrics
• Ranking factors and weighted values
▫ Ranking factor is multiplied by the variable‟s
weight value to determine the weighted score
(RF x VW=WS)
Example:

Variable Range Ranking Variable Weighted

Factor (RF) Weight Score
(VW) (WS)
Computer 0-100 1 1.0 1
Usage
101-250 2 .75 1.50
251-500 3 .50 1.50
Note: Not actual scores.
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Example: Benning Library

Metrics: Composite
Score Variable Variable
Weight
Numeric
Variable
Ranking
Factor
Weighted
Score
(VW) Value (RF) (WS)
All three weighted
scores WS1,WS2,WS3 are
added to determine the
Computer 1.0 56 4 4
composite score for each Usage
branch
Composite score Circulation .75 8,121 3 2.25
represents the level of
activity for each library
branch Patrons .50 13,806 4 2
Level of activity is
Formula: (WS1+WS2+WS3=CS)
placed into 3 categories
4 +2.25 + 2 = 8.25
=Low (2.75-5.25)
(high)
=Medium (5.26-7.25)
=High (7.26-9.0)
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Contact Information
• Joshua Ghaffari:
• Facilities Planner
• (202) 442-7705 or joshua.ghaffari@dc.gov

• Kimberly Driggins:
• Associate Director for Citywide Planning
• (202) 442-7600 or kimberly.driggins@dc.gov

• Office of Planning Website: www.planning.dc.gov