DC By the Book

Excerpt: I heard my grandmother’s scratchy voice over the mobs of people at Union Station. . . . So far Washington, D.C. smelled like buttery pretzels and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.

Excerpt: We could have parked around the corner from the library, but you had to feed the parking meters there, even on a Saturday, and my grandfather said it was outrageous to pay for parking at a public library. So we parked four blocks away. We got to the library at five after three. The lobby was cold and gray, like I imagined a prison lobby would look. We stood for a minute near the metal detectors . . .

Excerpt: I followed Sharita through the metal detector, across a big room to an elevator. It was out of order so she led me past card catalogs, computers, and sale books to another bank of elevators. She pushed the button, and we heard an old-fashioned ding-ding as the elevator got closer.

Excerpt: The Washingtoniana Division was a room full of tables with people studying old maps and newspapers. We put our jackets at an empty table, and I followed Sharita to the librarian’s desk. . . . The librarian smiled, like she had been hoping we’d stop by. She showed us each a couple of books, which we brought to our table, and then gave us each a brown folder filled with newspaper clippings.

Excerpt: The stairwell was a gray, empty space that looked even older than the rest of the library. A fluorescent light buzzed, making the stairwell look like something from a science fiction movie.