Co-working (or just working) at a DC Library?

[Anonymous]

I'm going to be downtown and previously I had office space. However, I'm on my own now, and wanted to base to work in between some in person meetings. Has anyone ever set up at one of the DC libraries to work? Or are there particularly great coffee shops? I'll be all over the city, with one meeting in Farragut and another likely downtown, and then union station.

[Anonymous]

I have. If you need to do a call you can reserve a library room with your library card, up to three a month, I believe.

There is free Wi-Fi, though it's open so probably not the most secure. Some of the libraries also have cafes now, like MLK and West End.

Is this a one-day thing, or a regular thing?

[Anonymous]

One day for now, but since my office closure is a new thing it may be more often.

When I travel I’ve done day passes at WeWork to be consistent but that’s usually reimbursed by a client.

[Anonymous]

I’ve had issues trying to work in NoVA public libraries—lots of homeschoolers in there. The kids are running around unchecked and the mothers are sitting at the tables with headphones on watching Real Housewives on laptops. Not a quiet environment at all and the tables are taken up by “the mommies.” YMMV in DC as opposed to NoVA.

[Anonymous]

In bad weather, libraries can attract people with nowhere to go (not because their office has closed!)

For example, librarians routinely find people accessing porn on their computers and homeless people washing up in the bathrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In bad weather, libraries can attract people with nowhere to go (not because their office has closed!)

For example, librarians routinely find people accessing porn on their computers and homeless people washing up in the bathrooms.

Wow. Aren’t you mean.

[Anonymous]

Do your best to reserve a quiet room. I spent a few mos there writing a research paper, and while I'm glad the homeless folks had somewhere to go, there is a lot of distracting behavior. The quite rooms allow you to work in peace and co-exist with the other patrons.

[Anonymous]

I've done this at the Cleveland Park library. It's not right downtown though. MLK is huge and has a lot of rooms for reservation though-- if I needed to be right downtown and had to be able to take calls and get quiet, id reserve a room there. Yes there are sometimes homeless folks in there, and I think a free legal clinic operates out of it some weekdays. So what? That's life in the city. It's a really nice library, I'm glad everyone has access. I've never been harassed there, peopleind their own business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had issues trying to work in NoVA public libraries—lots of homeschoolers in there. The kids are running around unchecked and the mothers are sitting at the tables with headphones on watching Real Housewives on laptops. Not a quiet environment at all and the tables are taken up by “the mommies.” YMMV in DC as opposed to NoVA.

The "mommies" have as much right to be there as you do. Get there earlier if you want a table.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had issues trying to work in NoVA public libraries—lots of homeschoolers in there. The kids are running around unchecked and the mothers are sitting at the tables with headphones on watching Real Housewives on laptops. Not a quiet environment at all and the tables are taken up by “the mommies.” YMMV in DC as opposed to NoVA.

That does not sound like the stereotypical homeschool profile!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had issues trying to work in NoVA public libraries—lots of homeschoolers in there. The kids are running around unchecked and the mothers are sitting at the tables with headphones on watching Real Housewives on laptops. Not a quiet environment at all and the tables are taken up by “the mommies.” YMMV in DC as opposed to NoVA.

The "mommies" have as much right to be there as you do. Get there earlier if you want a table.

The "mommies" need to actually homeschool their kids instead of using the library as a playground while they sit there bingeing RHOP.