This initiative was inspired by two successful school library projects. In 2002, the Robin Hood Foundation, a non-profit agency combating poverty in New York, started the L!brary Initiative. The L!brary Initiative has brought together leading New York architects to re-imagine the libraries at 31 public schools. The libraries that have been created are whimsical, fantastical spaces that have won architecture awards and have become essential resources to the teachers and students.

Here in Washington, DC, the Friends of the J.O. Wilson Library similarly transformed the J.O. Wilson Library in 2004. The Friends raised $200,000, and turned what had been a dark, uninviting space with water damaged books into a bright space that boasts art murals, and all new books, furniture, and computers. This new library has become the academic heart and the soul of the school community.