Some Consequences of the County's "Floating" Library Book Collection

At our request, the Fairfax Library Advocates has provided a short description of the County's new "floating" book collection and some of its consequences that we provide below.  Please respond in the comments section of if you have a thought to contribute to the discussion.   


In the Spring of 2013 Fairfax County Public Library embarked on a new procedure to save money. That procedure was called floating.  Previously books checked out from other branches were returned to their "home" library.  Under the new procedure, books now "float" and that means they stay in the branch they are returned to.  If a library patron borrows a book from Reston Regional and returns it to Lorton Library, the books stays at Lorton Library.   Previously it would have come "home" to Reston Regional.

There are some unanticipated consequences of floating.  Library collections have become unbalanced when more books are taken from a branch than are returned to that branch.  When more books were returned to a branch which did not have space on its shelves for the additional books, they were transferred.   A significant percentage, 27%, were discarded.  Some libraries have lost large parts of their collections as their books have floated away, including collections donated to that specific library branch by their Friends of the Library members. 

A number of library staffers and Friends of the Library have been having a discussion about floating this week and we would like to open the discussion up to include other library staffers and patrons.  There are multiple issues regarding floating and I hope in the course of the conversation, we will cover those issues pro and con.  Please post your comments to the bottom of this article.  You can do so anonymously if you wish.

If you have friends who would also like to participate in the discussion, please send them a link to this article.

Marcia Kestenbaum
Fairfax Library Advocates

The slide in Metro ridership is concerning.

In an article today, Jonathan O'Connell reports a decline in Metro ridership--just as the Silver Line begins to go into operation--and efforts to understand why.  Here's some of what he says:

Metro ridership has been declining in recent years even as it spikes in other parts of the country, a potential concern to owners of downtown real estate. If employees are working remotely, the value of Washington office space is potentially diminished. And almost all of Metro’s ridership losses in the past year are from weekdays.

Officials and Metro riders have raised a series of possible reasons for the decline, among them federal job cuts, slow economic growth, increased teleworking, more bike commuters, increased fares and disruptions caused by track work.

Recently Metro officials drilled more deeply into the numbers and in a memo they outlined why they believe a central cause is the cut to federal transit benefits from $245 to $130.

Ridership declines began well before the benefit cut, so benefit levels are unlikely to explain all of the ridership losses. But Metro officials think the cut is behind the most recent drop . . . .

These are all valid reasons, and they omit one more recent cause:  The reduced price of gasoline.  While not as steep in the Reston area, the price of gas in Winchester and even southern Fairfax County is now running about $2.25 per gallon for regular vice recent prices near $4/gallon a year ago.  Hopefully, those prices will come to Reston soon.  While we would be the last to try to forecast how long these low prices will last (possibly only until the return of spring and greater travel), a sustained reduction in gasoline prices will mean more people on the area's roads and fewer on Metrorail or even the Fairfax Connector--especially in the face of federal cuts in transit subsidies.

We all know what driving on our area roads is like and the possibility that more people will choose to drive--especially for commuting purposes--is concerning.  It raises the question--and the opportunity--for area local governments and private employers to increase their transit subsidies to help assure the growth of Metro and bus transit while keeping needed capacity expansion in local roads at a minimum.  And local Congressmen need to prevent further cuts--and seek increases--in federal transit subsidies to prevent further erosion of Metrorail use. 

When CEOs need only a 42 square foot office space, why does Fairfax County insist on planning for 300 SF for every office employee?

We have already noted on a number of occasions--and we will note again in the future--that the amount of office space per worker is shrinking from historic averages of about 300 gross square feet (includes all common areas, walls, etc.) per worker to less than half that in 21st Century office planning.  Early this year, Arlington County recognized this long term trend and reduced its planning guidance for new office buildings to 200 GSF per office worker.

But Fairfax County planning remains firmly locked in the last millennium:  The planning standard here is 300 GSF per office worker.  The key implication of that standard is that, if the County is fortunate enough to fill out the space it has allowed, say, in Tysons and Reston, for new office space, it will end up with TWICE as many workers as it had planned.  Yet, the supporting infrastructure--most importantly streets and transit--will may be able to handle HALF the number of workers the office space allows.

So now the New York Times reports that the trend has even extended to publishing industry, a bastion of the large private office.  Hachette Book Group has just moved into a new open office space environment and even its CEO sits in a 6'x7' cubicle--42 SF of usable office space.  That translates into about 63 gross square feet--one-fifth the County's standard!

But don't believe us, read it in the NYT:

Michael Pietsch, Hachette’s chief executive, in his 6-by-7-foot cubicle at the publishing group’s new Manhattan headquarters. Credit Sasha Maslov for The New York Times

Michael Pietsch was given his first private office when he became an editor at Charles Scribner’s Sons 30 years ago.

He got his first corner office when he was named publisher of Little, Brown and Company in 2001. He moved into an even bigger corner office — with a large living room area — 11 years later, after being promoted to chief executive of Little, Brown’s parent, the Hachette Book Group.

Mr. Pietsch still runs Hachette. But last month, he started working in a 6-by-7-foot cubicle. Except for a few family photos, it is identical to the 519 other cubes in his company’s new Midtown headquarters. Or more or less identical.

“I gave myself a window cube,” Mr. Pietsch said recently, as he led a visitor into his company’s sprawling new space.

Originally conceived in 1950s Germany, the open-plan office has migrated from tech start-ups to advertising agencies, architecture firms and even city governments. Now it has reached what is perhaps its most unlikely frontier yet: book publishing. . . .

Read the full article here.

So why does Fairfax County continue to use the outmoded 300 GSF per employee standard?

First, there is bureaucratic inertia.  If you don't believe this, please read County planning chief Fred Selden's letter on why the County uses 300 GSF.  And also read the three earlier letters Terry Maynard sent to Chairman Bulova noting how outdated that standard is--here, here, and here.

Second, and probably more important reason long term, the County desperately needs the extra property tax revenue that office buildings would generate from greater occupancy generating higher rental rates per square foot.  And it is much easier to make this politically acceptable if your planning allows the space without actually declaring how many people that space will accommodate.

So, in Reston's station areas, the current Reston Master Plan guidance for the three station areas foresees more than 8,000,000 GSF of additional office space.  At 300 GSF per worker, that's about 27,000 new office employees working around the Metro stations.  At a more realistic 150 GSF per worker, that new space would accommodate twice that number or 54,000 additional workers.   

And that doesn't count renovations of the existing 21,000,000 GSF of office space in these areas.  If all these spaces were renovated into an open office environment as many have (see here what Bechtel has done in Reston), the total available space in Reston (29,000,000 GSF) would accommodate more than 190,000 office workers.

Do you think Reston can accommodate 190,000 office workers?

A look at Fairfax County’s job losses, especially high-value ones, their causes, the outlook, and some implications.

   Fairfax County is Continuing to Suffer Job Losses

RA Board Public Disclosures, Conflicts of Interest, and the Proposed Board Governance Committee

Since early this year, several Restonians have been quietly urging the RA President and CEO to update the Conflict of Interest disclosure forms that RA Board members are required to complete fully and accurately each May, per the RA Conflict of Interest Policy & Statement. (See page 17.)

As of November 6, the Conflict of Interest Statements have not been updated, a task that seems quick and easy – identify employer(s) of all family members over age 16, all assets located in Reston, Reston-based loans, other sources of income over $1,000 annually from the same source, membership in Reston organizations, any material fact which may be a direct or indirect conflict of interest.  Mark two check boxes, sign, date and done.

So why the delay in asking the Directors with missing/incomplete info to update their forms?

The answer to that question seems to lie in the RA Board’s plan to create a self-reviewing RA Board Governance Committee (BGC).  The pending creation of an internal BGC comprising only RA Board members and the CEO, may be approved November 20^th unless Restonians strongly object beforehand. 

Here is that proposal as drafted in “final” and redlined versions with highlights on the composition and conduct portions of the proposal:

   Draft RA Board Governance Committee Proposal by Terry Maynard

If the RA Board passes this resolution before the disclosure forms are filled out completely and accurately, it alone will decide whether they are complete and accurate and whether or not there are any conflict of interests among the members of the Board. The foxes will officially be guarding the hen house.  

This is at a time when the public trust of RA leadership is wavering. This spring a call was made for an RA Ethics Committee--and the RA Board has responded with a committee that will consist of themselves. 

It is urgent that Restonians take action now to object to this committee of self-oversight. The failure to complete the statements accurately as requested has already proven this self-governance inadequate, yet RA plans to adopt the resolution at its November 20th RA Board Meeting.

As a counter-proposal, RA Director Rachel Muir has proposed an RA Ethics Committee comprised of a majority of members nominated by Reston civic groups, specifically by the Boards of the Reston Citizens Association and the Friends of Reston. So far, that proposal has garnered little traction among most RA Board members. We urge you to email boardofdirectors@reston.org to support Director Muir’s proposal for an Ethics Committee consisting of a majority of independent members.

We offer below the public disclosure forms as they have been prepared by the current Board members.  They are also available here on the RA website.

   RA Board of Directors Conflict of Interest Statements-1

More Fairfax Connector bus schedule changes proposed for Reston; community meetings this week.

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation is in the midst of an effort to change a number of Fairfax Connector bus schedules across the County, most of which involve changes in Reston linked to the opening of the Silver Line at Wiehle station.  Here are the specifics related to Reston:

Route 505 – Reston Town Center

• A new schedule will reflect travel times adjusted for current traffic conditions.
• Departures on routes 505, 981, and 983 will be timed to provide an even spacing of buses between Reston Town Center and the Wiehle Metro station.

Routes 551,557,559 – Reston South

• A new schedule will reflect travel times adjusted for current traffic conditions.

Routes 552,558 – Reston North

• A new schedule will reflect travel times adjusted for current traffic conditions.

Route 574 – Reston-Tysons

• A new schedule will reflect travel times adjusted for current traffic conditions.
• Buses will serve the Tysons Westpark transit station via Spring Hill Road providing connections to Route 401/402, making a trip between Springfield, Tysons, Merrifield, Annandale, and Reston possible by bus.

Route 585 – Franklin Farm-Reston South

• A new schedule will reflect travel times adjusted for current traffic conditions.

Route 605 – Fair Oaks-Reston

• A new schedule will reflect travel times adjusted for current traffic conditions.
• The time between buses will change from every 60 minutes to every 45 minutes on weekdays and from every 60 minutes to every 70 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays.
• Buses will travel to and from Fair Oaks Mall via West Ox Road, Post Forest Drive, Government Center Parkway, the Fairfax County Government Center, and Monument Drive.
• Buses will serve Fair Lakes Promenade and Pender Creek via bus stops on Monument Drive at Fair Lakes Parkway.

 Route 950 – Herndon-Reston

• A new schedule will reflect travel times adjusted for current traffic conditions and to improve Silver Line connections.
• Departures on routes 950 and 980 will be timed to provide an even spacing of buses between Herndon-Monroe Park & Ride and the Wiehle Metro station.

Routes 951,952 – Sunrise Valley Drive-Sunset Hills Road

• A new schedule will reflect travel times adjusted for current traffic conditions.
• Route 951 buses will serve the US Geological Survey campus on all trips via Sunrise Valley Drive.

Route 980 – Herndon-Monroe

• A new schedule will reflect travel times adjusted for current traffic conditions.
• Departures on routes 950 and 980 will be timed to provide an even spacing of buses between Herndon-Monroe Park & Ride and the Wiehle Metro station.
• Trips will be added during the busiest rush hour travel times to reduce passenger crowding between the Wiehle Metro station and Herndon-Monroe Park & Ride.

FCDOT is holding just two community meetings this coming week to present these changes and take comments, which must be submitted by November 7, 2014--less than a week from now.  Here is the schedule for the two meetings"

 Tysons – Monday, November 3, 2014
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Fairfax County/Tysons Community Room
Tysons Corner Center – Level 2
1961 Chain Bridge Road; Tysons, VA  22102
Presentation at 12:30 p.m.
Transit access: Fairfax Connector 401, 402, 463, 721; Metrobus 2T, 23A, 28A; Tysons Corner Metro Station

Reston – Wednesday, November 5, 2014
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Southgate Community Center
12125 Pinecrest Road; Reston, VA  20191
Presentation at 7 p.m.
Transit access: Fairfax Connector 551, RIBS 1, RIBS 3

Please attend and make sure the County understands the impact on your use of the Fairfax Connector. 

Bechtel's Reston office will provide less than 150 GSF per worker which is less than half the County planning standard..

In an article in this week's Fairfax Times, Gregg MacDonald reports that Bechtel plans to move about 1,000 workers from its Frederick, MD, office to Reston early next year. 

As many as 1,000 new Bechtel jobs may be coming to Reston in 2015, but nearly 250 Sprint jobs in Reston and Herndon will be leaving permanently by Nov. 7. . .

“Markets are changing and it’s crucial for us to adapt so that we can continue to deliver the world-class projects customers expect from us,” said Bill Dudley, Bechtel’s chief executive officer.

According to Bechtel spokesperson Michelle Michael, many of the Maryland-based jobs will be moving to Reston, where Bechtel already employs approximately 900 workers.

"We have approximately 1,100 people in Frederick,” said Michael. “Of the positions being moved, most will come to Reston. The exact number and timing have not yet been determined.” Michael said the reorganization, which will better meet the needs of Bechtel customers, is scheduled to begin Jan. 1, 2015.

A correction to the article (actually, more of an explanation) states that "a majority of workers from Bechtel's Frederick office are relocating."

And we find out from the website of the company that retrofit the Reston office space  for Bechtel, GPI/Greenman-Pedersen, Inc., that these employees are moving into 188,000 square feet of office space.  In fact, GPI provides a fairly detailed description of the space and the challenges of remodeling:

GPI provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection design services for the 188,000-sq-ft new offices in Reston, Va. GPI worked closely with Hickok Cole Architects. Bechtel occupies space in two buildings. Building 1 includes 112,000 sq ft of office space plus a 5,000-sq-ft conference center; Building 2 includes 71,000 sq ft of office space. The office space includes a mix of offices and workstations along with standard support areas, pantries, storage, conference rooms, small sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) area, and intermediate distribution frame/main distribution frame (IDF/MDF) rooms. The project earned LEED Silver certification and won the 2013 NAIOP Northern Virginia Best Interiors for Tenant Space 50,000 SF and Above Award of Excellence. Engineering challenges the design team faced included surveying occupied office space, phasing of demolition and new work to accommodate partially occupied spaces, coordinating low plenum clearances with new work, multiple IDF and server room designs, and providing cooling/heating to accommodate high-density conference rooms.

Not only does this office space include desk space for workers, it includes a 5,000 SF conference center, a SCIF, and a variety of support facilities.  This is a truly "Class A" office building arrangement--the kind of space any corporation would be glad to have.

So how much gross square footage (GSF) does each employee occupty?  300 GSF as the County insists should be the standard, or much less reflecting 21st century office leasing efficiences?

Here's our calculation:

• The leased space equals 188,000 square feet which, by our calculation, translates into about 214,000 gross square feet.
• The number of employes who will be working there includes the 900 already there plus a majority of the 1,100 now working at Frederick (we'll say 600, but it could be more) for a total of 1,500 employees
• Dividing the 214,000 GSF by the 1,500 employees, we learn that Bechtel will have not more than 142 GSF per worker--less than half the standard used by Fairfax County for planning office space density.  

As we have said before, using the 300 GSF/worker standard means the County will be providing less than half the infrastructure--primarily transportation--than the number of employees in Reston's and Tysons' transit station areas will require as these two employment centers evolve to their potential.  Then, of course, it will have to fix its mistake with even more expensive retrofits of its own--where possible.

The result of this calculation and its implications reminds us of the "7Ps" of planning, which actually have several variations:

• Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance
• Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance
• Prior Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance
• Piss Poor Planning Promotes Piss Poor Performance
• Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance
• Positive Pre-Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance
• Proper Planning and Practice Prevents Piss Poor Performance

For the record, the last variant on this list is our favorite: It's not just planning, it's execution--which County plans do not address at all.

So what do you think will happen in Reston and Tysons as a result of County planning and practice???