Contrary to popular belief, every once in a while, LL likes to point out cool, positive things the D.C. government is up to.

Like this: The D.C. Public Library has an iPhone application. And it's great!

It lets you search the library catalog, place a hold on a book, and have it sent to the branch of your choice. Don't know how to get to that branch? You can search a list of branches, get maps, hours, and direction---and even a picture of the building.

Chris Tonjes, DCPL's chief information officer and the guy who came up with the idea back in November, says his is the first library system in the nation to do an iPhone application. "I thought, wouldn't it be fun if we had our catalog on the iPhone? So we started playing around with it."

So far, Tonjes says, at least 3,500 folks have downloaded it since it debuted Jan. 8---enough to make it, as of last week, the 66th most popular free educational app. All that interest came without much more than word-of-mouth; no media's noticed outside of a few library bloggers.

Tonjes says the library's got some new interesting tech items in the works: For one thing, the iPhone app might be seeing an upgrade in the future---perhaps to add the library's Live Homework Help online feature or to directly download videos and music. A Facebook application is in the planning stage, he says, and shortly the library will share thousands of rare photographs through Flickr's Commons project.

And there's some hope for LL, who is not an iPhone user. A BlackBerry version, he's told, is in the works.

Unless LL's bird is right and Harry Thomas Jr. is successful, three library kiosks will close by Jan. 1. They are: Langston, R.L. Christian, and Sursum Corda, all of which are about 1,400 sq. feet (i.e. tiny) and open only on weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Deanwood Kiosk closed several months ago. Parklands-Turner Kiosk is also on the chopping block, but there's no date attached to it yet.

DCPL says it will make up for the loss by... asking people to go elsewhere or wait for new libraries:

A new 5,000 sq. ft. Sursum Corda library will be incorporated into Northwest One which also includes a recreation center and school.  The new Deanwood Recreation Center will include a 10,000 sq. ft. library about one mile from the Deanwood Kiosk.  In addition, discussions are underway that would merge the Langston and R.L. Christian kiosks in the planned Rosedale Recreation Center a half mile away from both libraries.

Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper says the Plexiglas and metal kiosks, which were built in the '70s and '80s in underserved neighborhoods, were only supposed to last five to seven years. Now the people have Metro to take them to better, bigger libraries. Plus, there's a recession. Says Cooper:

During these times of fiscal uncertainty with people scaling back on buying books and enrichment classes for their children, we especially want to be sure that the library offers the free quality services that the community needs and wants. Frankly, we are not able to do that in the kiosks.

More reasons to follow. Especially if Council tries to keep kiosks open.