Several Oak Cliff libraries would stay open longer if a City of Dallas budget proposal is approved.
“Library access has proven to be challenging for many, as the current post-pandemic hours are not reflective of community needs,” the city’s proposed budget states,” the City Manager’s proposed budget states.
It calls for spending about $1.2 million in the coming budget year, Sept. 30, 2021-Oct. 1, 2023, to keep nine Dallas Public Library branches open six days a week.
Hampton-Illinois, Lancaster-Kiest, Arcadia Park and Mountain Creek libraries are the Oak Cliff area libraries selected for expanded hours. The others are Bachman Lake, Fretz Park, Prairie Creek and White Rock Hills.
Open library hours would increase from 40 to 54 hours a week, adding between 22-50 jobs.
There are 30 libraries in the city’s system, serving about 6 million users a year, with a total proposed budget of $35.7 million for the ’22-’23 budget year, an increase of more than $3.5 million over the previous year.
The budget also proposes spending about $141,000 to offer enhanced library cards to Dallas residents.
Ways the library strives for equity are enumerated in the proposed budget:
- Increase in-person Adult Education study opportunities and outreach at libraries in high impact zip codes.
- Increase workforce development programs and broaden the impact the Library can have by deepening its partnerships with area Workforce Development partners.
- Increase early childhood literacy initiatives through outreach events, hosting larger events at underutilized branch locations, providing more reading ready kits to parents for at-home learning, and placing small bookshelves with children’s books in strategic locations such as laundry mats and medical clinics.
- Continue hotspot and Chromebook lending programs to provide residents in high impact zip codes with access to internet for free.
