Books bound in leather and dust sprinkled on wooden shelves decorate some of cinema’s greatest scenes.
From Harry Potter sneaking into the Hogwarts Library under his invisibility cloak to Paul professing his love for Holly as she reads in the library during “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” mystery and romance sparks in libraries across the silver screen. Luckily for Revolutionaries and other Washingtonians, there are 26 locations in the DC Public Library system available for you to stage your own cinematic-inspired moments.
Whether you’re itching to comb through archives full of local artifacts or trying to impress a date on a stroll through an idyllic library, DCPL supplies a variety of environments apt for romanticizing your everyday life.
Best library to dig into D.C. history: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Thanks to the District’s standing as the nation’s capital, and the enduring influence of the 2004 action-adventure film “National Treasure,” U.S. history too often hogs the spotlight across the city. But D.C. is far more than the bedrock of the federal government, and local history deserves our undivided attention.
Luckily, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library between the Chinatown and Penn Quarter neighborhoods provides an abundance of opportunities to immerse yourself in our city’s rich cultural history. The library — which is the central location in the DCPL system — reopened in 2020 after undergoing major renovations for three and a half years, so be sure to savor the updated architecture, like the softly lit spiral staircases lined with wooden accents.
Begin by heading up to the fourth floor to visit the People’s Archive — a collection of photographs, documents and oral histories that paint a picture of life in the District through Washingtonians’ eyes. Sprawling shelves of reference material await you, and librarians can point you toward specific materials if you come in with a specific research question for a class.
Wander through the fourth floor’s permanent exhibit, “Up From the People: Protest and Change in D.C.,” and dig into different parts of D.C.’s history and culture dating back to the mid-20th century. Learn more about home rule, which gave D.C. the ability to elect their own mayor and city council in 1973 or the historic go-go music scene in the District, which Mayor Muriel Bowser designated the official sound of D.C. in 2020.
Once you’ve cultured yourself enough, settle into Marianne’s by DC Central Kitchen, the cafe on the main level that supports residents facing barriers to employment, for a coffee or a pastry. If you squint a little, you may even feel the spirit of Marian the Librarian of “The Music Man.”
Best library for a first date: Georgetown Library
Libraries are sexy. You can’t deny that those hushed, hallowed halls overflowing with stories of romance, drama and intrigue produce a seductive ambiance. It really is no surprise that a library was the setting for one of the hottest moments in cinematic history: the clandestine meeting in the 2007 drama “Atonement,” where Keira Knightley dons a green dress so iconic that it deserves its own Wikipedia page.
While an “Atonement” moment is ambitious for a first date — and prohibited in the public library — that level of romantic angst could inspire you to stage an appropriate rendezvous with your crush at a DCPL branch. For this objective, Georgetown Library is the ideal location.
Georgetown Library is housed in a stately brick building that blends in with the surrounding cobblestone streets and row houses of the neighborhood. Tchotchkes, landscape paintings and leather arm chairs give the library’s interior a lived-in quality.
But the greatest draw of this library is the lush greenery visible through the large windows, as Book Hill Park and The Gardens at Dumbarton Oaks — which looks like an English countryside estate from “Pride and Prejudice” — are just a stone’s throw away. Perhaps when you bid your date farewell, sparks will fly like they do between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.
Best library for making friends: Mt. Pleasant Library
In the classic coming-of-age film “The Breakfast Club,” five teenagers bond within the confines of their high school’s library during Saturday detention. Through tense arguments, dances atop bookshelves and a few blunt rotations, the characters let loose and open up to one another over the course of the film’s 97-minute runtime. All of this is to say, if you’re unsatisfied with the current state of your GW social circle, maybe a library is your next best bet.
For meeting new people and forging friendships, Mt. Pleasant Library is the branch for you. With its interior blend of vintage and modern architecture, Mt. Pleasant is a model for how to honor a library’s history while breathing new life into it.
While the architecture is enough of a reason to visit, the people who care for this library are what make this branch a standout. Mt. Pleasant boasts one of the most active chapters of DCPL’s “Friends of the Library” program, where volunteers raise money for and promote community engagement with the District’s public libraries. Not only did they design those “What’s More Punk Than The Public Library?” shirts you’ve seen all over the city, but the Mt. Pleasant Library Friends curate a constant schedule of fun events at their branch — like a recent puzzle swap and a December craft fair. Who knows, maybe you’ll walk away from Mt. Pleasant with a Breakfast Club of your own.
Best library for off-campus studying: Southwest Library
If the clock is ticking on an assignment but you are sick of the same old, cramped cubicles and stiff chairs of Gelman Library, venture to the Southwest Library near the Southwest Waterfront. There, you can write your papers without confronting the ghosts of late-night cram sessions past — like the one that the Ghostbusters confront in the New York Public Library at the top of the 1984 film.
Established in 2021, the Southwest Library’s modern feel is the antithesis of Gelman’s outdated facilities and will refresh your studying habits. To soak up some sunshine, you can study on the library’s patio or in front of its floor-to-ceiling windows. Southwest Library is surrounded by plenty of trees, providing more serenity than the windows of Gelman that face the noise of Kogan Plaza or the eyesores that are Phillips and Rome halls. The library also closes at 8 p.m. on most weekdays, giving you a hard deadline for when your work has to be done.
While your library study session probably won’t bring you a time-traveling boyfriend, like it did for Rachel McAdams in “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” camping out at the Southwest Library will help you successfully avoid the ghosts that must haunt the halls of Gelman.