Evening star., 1946-12-04
and Play
BoardsAgreeon on
Brown School
Members to Tell
Of Inspection Tour
At Public Hearing

At FuDlIc nearing
Spokesman for the Public L.
brary and Recreation Boards agreed
today the E. v. Brown School is
"a plant we couldn't hope to get
for 10 years If we waited for an
appropriation from Congress"
They arrived at that conclusion
after a basement-to-top-floor tour
Of the school at Connecticut ave-
nue. and Mckinley streets NV.
late yesterday afternoon.
During the tour, representatives
of both the library and recreation
departments showed board mem-
bers as well as leaders of the Chevy
Chase Community Council how the
school should be adapted to serve
as a combined library branch and
recreation center.
Information gathered on the tour
will be presented to the District
Commissioners at public hearing
on E. w. Brown School to be held
in the board room of the District
Building next Wednesday.
Visit Present Branch.
Following the inspection Of the
school, the recreation, library and
Chevy Chase leaders visited the
present home Of the branch library
at 1915 Livingston street NV.
At the library, Miss Beatrice
Workman, who heads the branch
staff, told the group about an
older man who came into the IL
brary one day recently to say he
hadn't known there was a branch
library in the neighborhood until
he read stories about it in The
Star. He said he had been paying
to rent books.
That's why we want the library
on main thoroughfare like Con-
necticut avenue" commented Albert
w. Atwood, chairman of the Board
of Library Trustees. 'The library
should be located where all the pos
sible readers know where it is"
Asserting that you can't hide a
library away on a side street." Mr..
Atwood cited the Petworth and
Mount Pleasant branches as ex-
amples of well located libraries.
Plans for Center Told.
In touring the E. v. Brown School,
the group first visited the audi
torium where Harry C. English, di-
rector of the Recreation Depart
ments neighborhood centers, ex-
planned the floor would be leveled
for volley ball, badminton, shuttle
board and dancing-if the Com
missioners agree to make the school
community center
Then the group examined the north
wing which, it was explained, would
be devoted to a teen-age canteen,
lounge and cfildren's CAMERON.
Sam Higger, chairman of the
Chevy Chase Community Council,
pointed out the rooms for recrea-
ton were so situated that the ex-
uberance of the young people
would not be heard across the build
ing in the south wing which the
library would occupy.
Questions on Canteen Costs.
/ Mr.. Higger and j. NJ Hester,
president of the Federation of Busi-
nessmens Associations and one of
the leaders of the council movement
for the school, agreed the commu-
nifty probably would be willing to
meet the costs for equipping the
proposed canteen.
When B. M. McKelway, member
Of the library board, wanted to know
if similar canteenS were being op-
Grated elsewhere by the recrea-
tion department, Miss Sibyl Baker,
acting recreation superintendent,
said one of them was operating
three nights week at Calvin Cool
idge High School and a number Of
others were running Friday nights
in school buildings.
In the E. v. Brown basement, the
group was shown the former boys
playroohn, which would house a
darkroom for photography as well
as equipment for model building and
crafts. The next room would revert
to its former school use as a car
pentry shop.
Wing Changes for Library.
Across the building, Miss Clara
w. Herbert, public librarian, pointed
out the structural changes necessary
to convert the south wing to library
purposes. She said 25 per cent in
crease in space would result from
moving the branch library to the
school from the present quarters
on Livingston street.
The wing, she said, would include
a children's reading room, circula-
tion desk, reading room for adult
readers, reference room and work
room. The girls playroom in the
basement, she explained, would be
used as conference room.
James E. Schwab, vice chairman
of the Recreation Board, said he was
more convinced than ever after the
tour that the building could be put
to use as a combined library and
recreation center at less than it
would cost to achieve the same re-
suits anywhere else in the COM
munity.
Ralph L. Thompson, assistant IL
brarian, and Alvin CLANCY, library
building superintendent, reporting
on costs of alterations, estimated
the lihrary's share of the remodel
ing expenses would come to approx
imately s38,700.
Miss Baker reported the recrea-
ton department estimated its share
OF remodelipg expenses at approxi-
mately $4,000.
Shopping Center Opposed