{"id":168507,"date":"2025-08-23T06:47:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T06:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/168507\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T06:47:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T06:47:12","slug":"dallas-residents-push-back-as-city-weighs-library-budget-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/168507\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas residents push back as city weighs library budget cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The city of Dallas is considering cutting funding for its public library system by $4.5 million over the next two years<\/a>, a move that could lead to the closure of up to five branches, including the already scheduled closure of the Skillman Southwestern branch this year.<\/p>\n

The proposal is part of the city\u2019s effort to close a projected $36 million budget gap. While officials argue the cuts would allow for a more efficient \u201cregional model\u201d of library service, community advocates are calling on the Dallas City Council to leave the current library budget intact.<\/p>\n

Related:Dallas library could be off the chopping block after public opposition<\/a><\/p>\n

Under the proposal, the Dallas Public Library would transition to regional branches with longer hours and expanded services. <\/p>\n

Breaking News<\/p>\n

Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond.<\/p>\n

Library Director Manya Shorr, who joined the city earlier this year, has suggested that consolidating resources could allow branches to be open seven days a week, offer more programming and better serve residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe library system has either increased or decreased hours and days open based on the budget given. And that\u2019s very disruptive to the community, staff and our ability to offer robust and inspirational library services,\u201d Shorr said. \u201cIn fact, we have changed our hours eight times in the last 15 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advocates worry about closing neighborhood libraries before Shorr has fully assessed the system. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s only been here three months,\u201d said Sarah Evans, a Friends of the Dallas Public Library committee chair<\/a>. \u201cWe want to give her a year to deeply understand our library system before any major decisions are made.\u201d<\/p>\n

The library budget is about $43 million or around 3% of the city\u2019s $2 billion general fund. <\/p>\n

The city has not yet decided which branches will close. Shorr said they will use a variety of criteria to determine which locations should be designated as regional and which should be recommended for closure.<\/p>\n

Related:Dallas community pools see lower attendance as city limits hours of operation<\/a><\/p>\n

Criteria include traditional library metrics such as check-out data, visitor count, programs offered, program attendance and computer usage. They will also include demographic information such as poverty levels in the areas where the branches are located, access to childcare and access to broadband internet at home.\u2029<\/p>\n

The library department will collaborate with the facilities and real property management department to assess the condition of the buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, we need to do community engagement, work with our stakeholders and our elected officials. So just because a library might have a high checkout rate, for example, doesn\u2019t mean that it won\u2019t be on the list for potential recommendation for closure,\u201d Shorr said. <\/p>\n

Community hubs <\/p>\n

Evans, who has been active in library advocacy for several years, said her connection to libraries began as a child in a military family. She moved frequently and found stability in public libraries each summer. <\/p>\n

Today, she lives near the White Rock Hills branch and says she still sees the library as an essential community space and where she spends time with her kids. <\/p>\n

\"Sarah<\/p>\n

Sarah Evans holds daughter Anna and writes down a question about proposed library branch closures during a budget town hall on Aug. 19, 2025, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center in Dallas.<\/p>\n

Angela Piazza \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re asking for the budget to remain flat from last year \u2014 not an increase, just to hold steady,\u201d Evans said. \u201cFive million dollars is a rounding error in some departments, but for libraries it\u2019s everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that the proposed cuts risk undermining the system\u2019s role as a community hub for education, internet access and safety. <\/p>\n

\u201cLibraries, parks and arts are part of public safety. They provide safe, free places for kids, families and unhoused residents,\u201d Evans said. \u201cYou can\u2019t out-police crime without also investing in these spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shorr said she understands the community\u2019s desire for more library resources and the pressure it faces, but she said the pressure to maintain a balanced budget is also real.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is always to support the city manager\u2019s budget and to run the public library as best I can for the residents of Dallas,\u201d Shorr said. <\/p>\n

Council member Paula Blackmon, whose district includes the Skillman Southwestern library branch, said she has been working with city staff to identify about $500,000 needed to keep the branch open for another 12 months. <\/p>\n

She employed the same strategy last year when the branch was identified for closure after community opposition to the plan.<\/p>\n

As of now, the last day of service will be Sept. 27. <\/p>\n

Related:How should Dallas spend its $5.2 billion budget? Residents have a chance to speak up<\/a><\/p>\n

In red T-shirts, the Friends of the Dallas Public Library have been attending multiple community budget listening sessions to voice their concerns and ask residents to write emails to their council members to support the library system. <\/p>\n

The group created a website where people can sign up<\/a> to take slots to speak in the meetings, get organized and get a free T-shirt. <\/p>\n

The Dallas City Council must adopt a final budget by the end of September. Residents have opportunities to weigh in at public town hall meetings scheduled throughout August. <\/p>\n

The Dallas Public Library has an English and Spanish questions and answers section regarding the proposed budget<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The city of Dallas is considering cutting funding for its public library system by $4.5 million over the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":168508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1022,3232,1596,14840,14841,21678,50,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-168507","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-books","10":"tag-budget","11":"tag-dallas","12":"tag-dallas-city-council","13":"tag-dallas-city-hall","14":"tag-equity","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-texas","17":"tag-tx","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115076742762345658","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}