Photo courtesy of the North Oak Cliff Library
The North Oak Cliff Library is open seven days a week, and there is some kind of programming about every day.
“We all try to do as many programs as possible,” branch manager Ray Sablack says. “It’s a collective staff effort, and we try to be responsive to the community.”
This summer, 1,000 readers signed up for the Mayor’s Summer Reading Program at the North Oak Cliff Library. They’ve had “creepy critters” from the Dallas Zoo, a jazz quartet, Aztec dancers, the Dallas Fire Department and a fire truck, plus science and technology lessons, art programs and story time.
Photo courtesy of the North Oak Cliff Library
Library staffers realized earlier this summer that they had a bunch of board games and puzzles, so they put them out, and kids started playing with them every day. Then someone suggested they needed toys and games for younger children, so the Friends of North Oak Cliff Library put out a call, and the next day, toys started pouring in, Sablack says.
A very enthusiastic staff of 10 and the North Oak Cliff Library friends are what make the library what it is, Sablack says.
“We love our community, and we want them to love us back,” he says.
Runner-up: Hampton-Illinois Library
Third place: Dallas Zoo
