“Please empty your pockets and put all of your electronic devices on the bin,” DC Library Police officers used to tell every patron entering the revolving doors of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. The days of passing through a metal detector at the city’s central library are long gone.

Photos by the author.

Under the tenure of Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper, the library has modernized the 1st floor’s Great Hall (originally Peterson Hall) and is creating a “Digital Commons Technology Space.”

The library police also have a new perch that resembles a judge’s bench. The desk follows the same 1970’s style as the original circulation desk, just around the corner.

“Welcome to MLK Library. May I help you?” is now the refrain greeting patrons at the library.

How time flies.