22 Photos

(Photo: Jay Westcott/TBD | Date: Feb. 24, 2011)

D.C. has been quite busy building new libraries and renovating old ones, and next one to check off of the list is the Petworth Library.

The old building at 4200 Kansas Ave. NW was closed down more than a year ago and, much like over in Shaw, library services were relocated to a much-smaller nearby temporary trailer. Now, the Petworth Library is set to reopen 10:30 a.m., Monday, with a bright, airy new entrance, shiny Dell and Mac computers, and lots and lots more space.

The Petworth Library was designed by the same architects behind the renovation of the Georgetown Library, which was rebuilt after a 2007 fire nearly burned the building to the ground. So, yeah, you'll notice some similarities between the two.

Although the square footage of the library building didn't increase, the interior was restructured in a way that increased the amount of usable space by 42 percent, says D.C.'s chief librarian Ginnie Cooper. So go ahead and enjoy a book by a (non-functional) old fireplace, or bring your toddler to the new picture book room, or heck, schedule your ANC meeting in a bright conference rooms, one of which used to be a garage.

Don't trust my words describing the library's design? Then check out TBD photographer Jay Westcott's photos instead.