The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (MLKML) is the central facility of the District of Columbia Public Library

District of Columbia Public Library

The District of Columbia Public Library is the public library system for residents of Washington, D.C. The system includes 25 individual libraries including Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library .-History:...

 (DCPL). Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German architect. He is commonly referred to and addressed as Mies, his surname....

 designed the 400,000 square foot (37,000 m²) steel, brick, and glass structure, and it is a rare example of modern architecture

Modern architecture

Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

Construction

This library was Mies' last building and his only one ever constructed in Washington, D.C. Additionally, it is the only public library ever designed by Mies. Completed in 1972, the building cost $18 million. The building has been plagued by neglect and problems with its HVAC

HVAC

HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...

 system. DCPL has recently restored lighting on the entire first floor. DCPL has also recently completed elevator and restroom renovations throughout the building.

Landmark status

On June 28, 2007 the District of Columbia’s Historic Preservation Review Board designated this building a historic landmark. The designation, which applies to the exterior as well as interior spaces, seeks to preserve Mies' original design while allowing the library necessary flexibility to operate as a contemporary library facility. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 2007.
Named in honor of the American civil rights

Civil rights

Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...

 leader, the building's lobby includes a large mural of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...

 by artist Don Miller.

Prior to 1972, Washington's central library was a 1903 Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...

-funded building located in Mount Vernon Square

Mount Vernon Square

Mount Vernon Square is a city square in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It is located where the following streets would otherwise intersect: Massachusetts Avenue, New York Avenue, K Street, and 8th Street NW....

. That building was used by the University of the District of Columbia

University of the District of Columbia

The University of the District of Columbia is a historically black, public university located in Washington, D.C. UDC is one of only a few urban land-grant universities in the country and a member of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...

, and is currently occupied by the Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

Special collections

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library houses several of the library system's special collections. The Washingtoniana collection includes books, newspaper archives, maps, census records, and oral histories related to the city's history

History of Washington, D.C.

The history of Washington, D.C. is tied to its role as the capital of the United States. Originally inhabited by an Algonquian-speaking people known as the Nacotchtank, the site of the District of Columbia along the Potomac River was originally selected by President George Washington. The city came...

 with 1.3 million photographs from the Washington Star

Washington Star

The Washington Star, previously known as the Washington Star-News and the Washington Evening Star, was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C. between 1852 and 1981. For most of that time, it was the city's newspaper of record, and the longtime home to columnist Mary McGrory and...

newspaper and the theatrical video collection of the Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive

Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive

The Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive , located in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area is one of only four public archives of theater and other performing arts in the United States. The archive was established in 1991 with the goal of creating and preserving a videotape collection of...

.

The Black Studies Center was established along with the MLK Library in 1972 to collect documents related to the African diaspora

African diaspora

The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...

 focusing on African American culture

African American culture

African-American culture, also known as black culture, in the United States refers to the cultural contributions of Americans of African descent to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American culture. The distinct identity of African-American culture is rooted in...

.