The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., is thrilled to welcome staff and collections from the Washingtoniana Division of the DC Public Library to the Kiplinger Research Library! It’s a homecoming of sorts – when the Washingtoniana Division was founded in 1905, DCPL was headquartered here in the historic Carnegie Library and remained until the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library opened in 1972.
For quite some time, the staff at both the Historical Society and DCPL have been working together towards a solution for providing public access to Washingtoniana material while the MLK, Jr. Memorial Library undergoes an extensive renovation. Since the March 4 closure, the pace has picked up considerably, with DCPL collections, equipment, and staff making their way to join those of the Historical Society. Now that everything’s onsite, we’re pleased to announce that select materials from the DCPL holdings will be made available through joint services with the Historical Society, beginning Tuesday, May 9! Access to the Kiplinger Research Library will continue to be by prior appointment, Tuesday-Friday, between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm; spring/summer Saturdays reference hours are already on the calendar. Drop-in hours for ready reference materials only (specifically, real estate atlases and microfilm resources) will begin Tuesday, May 23rd (Tuesday-Friday 2-4pm)! Historical Society library staff continue to be reachable via library@dchistory.org; to access DCPL material, please contact DCPL staff at wash.dcpl@dc.gov. On Saturday, May 20th, staff from both organizations will be on hand for an afternoon orientation to Historical Society & DCPL/Washingtoniana Joint Research Services. We’d love to see you there!