Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has proposed cutting close to $4.5 million from libraries over the next two years, a mere 0.02% of the general budget, but a devastating blow to the Dallas Public Library system.
Over the past 20 years, the general fund budget has increased by over $1 billion, but the percentage allocated to libraries has not kept pace: from 2.8% of the general fund in 2005-06 to 2.2% in the current proposal.
Cutting the budget looks like savings on paper, but the cost is far higher. Once library dollars are lost, they rarely come back. After the 2008 financial crisis, the Dallas Public Library system budget decreased $10 million. It took 10 years to return to pre-recession funding levels, but our service and operating hours never recovered. The system has been limping along ever since, with reduced hours and limited resources becoming our new normal.
This is not the case elsewhere. The Austin Public Library is budgeting roughly $80 million — nearly double the Dallas Library proposed budget of $43 million — and San Diego, serving a similar population, has $77 million in the budget.
Opinion
Yet despite limited resources and haphazard hours, the library system is well-used. More than 8.6 million materials were checked out last year. In 2024, Dallas Public Library offered patrons 15,992 programs with a total program attendance of 237,690 — a 33% increase from attendance the previous fiscal year.
At a recent budget town hall, our new library director, Manya Shorr, shared her vision of what our library system could be under this smaller budget. Yes, this would mean closing five branches but, in return, all remaining branches would have longer hours and some “regional hubs” would have enhanced programs and services.
Her response was greeted by applause, and residents were right to feel optimistic. They want to see a thriving library and have accepted less funding and fewer benefits as the norm.
What if we invested in our libraries instead? All libraries would be open seven days a week with robust hours. Branches would have state-of-the-art technology. Coffee shops would be available at busy branches. Roll-away bookshelves would make room for author readings. Amazon-style lockers would be outside for residents to pick up orders all hours. And that is just the beginning!
All of these require funding. Making a library system of the future would require investment similar to that of Austin or San Diego. Our City Council and city staff could make libraries a priority in creating a future-proof Dallas, one where we invest in quality of life amenities that make people want to live, work and play here. This is possible.
Libraries serve every neighborhood, regardless of ZIP code or income, and are one of the few public spaces that are climate-controlled year-round. Everyone is welcome, no strings attached.
As we approach the 125th anniversary of the Dallas Public Library next year, I encourage the city to celebrate all that it has done and continues to do. Give it a future by adequately funding the system at current levels. Consider adding more to the bottom line. Our general fund budget has boomed over the past two decades, it’s just never made our libraries a priority.
Sarah Evans is advocacy committee chair for Friends of the Dallas Public Library.