Nader Campaigns for DC Libraries

The dilapidated state of the District of Columbia Public Library has prompted support from a surprising source—Ralph Nader. The consumer activist and Dupont Circle resident was inspired to create the DC Library Renaissance Project after reading recent reports about the library system's decimated budget, reduced services, and crumbling infrastructure. The 18-month project hopes to raise enough private funds to pay for repairs across 27 branches, as well as help launch new children's literacy programs and a grassroots campaign to boost political support.

"Our libraries are a disaster zone run by dedicated people who have been essentially abandoned by the larger community of influence in Washington," says Nader, who cites the crumbling branches in some of the district's poorest areas compared to those in the more ritzy Georgetown area. Transforming libraries is "our responsibility as a community."

To help reach its initial goal of $350,000, Nader hosted a $1,000-a-plate benefit event on December 11 at the DC-based Carnegie Institution, raising nearly $110,000. More than 90 people braved an ice storm to pledge their support, including Donald Graham, chairman of the Washington Post.

"Ralph Nader doesn't usually take on local causes. So this is an incredible and unusual offer," says Molly Raphael, DC public library director. Nader first approached the library last summer with a donation of books, and his support eventually evolved into the Renaissance project. The plan includes sending staff members of Nader's Center for the Study of Responsive Law into library branches to galvanize communities into calling for public funding of their libraries. The grassroots effort is "what he's done so well, for so many years," Raphael says.

However, Raphael wants to make one thing clear: although Nader's effort is "very much a systemwide project," it is not intended to replace public funds, which are essential for providing basic services, such as staffing and operations.

Since fiscal year 2001, the DC public library budget has been slashed by $2 million, resulting in reduced staffing and hours, and other cuts. The Washington Times recently reported torn insulation and exposed wiring at many of the 80-year-old branches, which have gone without repairs for years. By comparison, DC spends $4 per capita on its libraries, while Cleveland spends $20, Nader says.

"Tens of thousands of children are growing up in the district without a library experience," adds Nader, a former presidential candidate. "The Internet is not a substitute for human interaction with a librarian. Putting our children in front of screens is destructive of their imagination, their socialization."

It's a far cry from Nader's childhood in Winsted, CT, where he lived around the corner from the library. "Next to my parents, [the library] was the most important force in shaping me," he told the Post. If you'd like to offer suggestions on Nader's project, call the Center for the Study of Responsive Law at (202) 387-8030.