An effort to keep all Dallas Public Library branches open into next year received support from a city council committee on Monday. The Quality of Life, Arts and Culture Committee did not make a formal recommendation, but several members expressed interest in moving the library system to a flagshi p model that would extend hours and services at five branches, while maintaining the full DPL budget heading into 2027. “I support fully restoring the budget,” council member Chad West said. “I support keeping the branches fully intact.” Manya Shorr, executive director of the Dallas Public Library, shared with committee members three possible operating options, one of which included the closing of four branches, first introduced during a January meeting. “No library director wants to close libraries and no community wants its libraries closed, but we have a very real problem to solve,” Shorr said. The reduction was cited as a response to a proposed $2.6 million reduction in the library system next year, as part of expected budget constraints amid reduced projected sales tax revenue collection for the city. The other operating option features the creation of a flagship model, with expanded services and hours at five branches while keeping the other 23 branches open. The branches that could serve as flagship locations include Vickery Park, Fretz Park, Bachman Lake, Pleasant Grove and Hampton-Illinois. The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in downtown Dallas accounts for 29 total libraries. Shorr said after the meeting, she was encouraged that the committee seemed supportive of the flagship concept and maintaining all current library branches. “How this moves forward is up to the city manager and the city council, but what I heard today was a mandate to open flagships and keep libraries open,” Shorr said. Denise McKnight and a handful of others watched the committee hearing at Dallas City Hall wearing red shirts saying “Support Dallas Libraries.” The executive director of Friends of the Dallas Public Library said she was encouraged by the council committee’s support for not cutting the library budget and enthusiasm for pursuing the proposed flagship model. “The residents of Dallas, and the voters, want to have their libraries prioritized, funded and invested in,” Denise McKnight said. Funding for DPL picked up a lot of attention during the budget for the current fiscal year, which started last October 1, after the city council voted to close the Skillman / Southwestern branch in east Dallas, to save $386,000. “The thought of losing four more (branches) started to feel very much real,” McKnight said. A survey of 4,000 residents in February revealed 87% of respondents supported increased funding for Dallas libraries and 71% opposed closing 4 branches, even if it meant expanded hours at five other locations. The locations at risk were the Oak Lawn Branch, the Skyline Branch in the Buckner Terrace neighborhood, the Renner Frankford Branch in Far North Dallas and the Arcadia Park Branch in West Dallas. “We’re going to be looking at a $5.4 billion budget; shame on us if we can’t find the $2 million your department needs to keep operating,” West told Shorr during the hearing. ...read more read less