Dallas library could be out of commission after public opposition

A northeast Dallas library that was recommended for closure amid city budget cuts will likely remain open after community opposition to the plan.

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday gave tentative signals of support for moving money in the next budget to avoid closing the Skillman Southwestern library, though several members expressed concerns about the source of cash and uncertainty about how the branch will be funded going forward. The approval was nonbinding and won’t become official until the City Council approves a final version of the nearly $5 billion budget on Sept. 18.

Councilwoman Paula Blackmon, who represents the area and proposed moving more than $485,000 of the nearly $6 million planned for an incentive fund to improve infrastructure in underserved areas, said a protest by the library at a recent City Council budget meeting helped her find a way to get the nearly 20-year-old branch off the elimination list.

She pledged that the community would work to improve the low attendance at library events, which made it a target for closure. She added that the support opened the eyes of “a lot of people who love this library.”

“I didn’t realize how excited and energized the community was until I told them I was going to take something away from them,” Blackmon said. An online petition protesting the idea of ​​closing the library had more than 3,100 signatures as of Wednesday.

It is unclear how the branch will be funded beyond the next fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

Last month, interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert recommended closing the library in her initial budget proposal to avoid impacts on Dallas’ nearly 30 remaining branches. The Skillman site, she said, is about three miles from three other libraries. The city expected to save $485,000 by closing the library, one of the city’s smallest branches. It was part of other planned cuts to the library system that were expected to save $1.9 million total in the new budget.

Tolbert said Wednesday that city officials would look for ways to find the money to keep the library open if the City Council so desires.

Public library system director Jo Giudice told council members that her department’s budget would not be large enough to keep all libraries open at least six days a week if keeping Skillman Southwestern open is part of the spending plan.

“This decision allowed us to avoid having to reduce all of the other branches’ hours,” she said of Skillman Southwestern’s plan to close. The city proposed to eventually sell the shuttered building, redistribute most of the library’s collection to other branches in the city and install book vending machines for area residents.

Money to save the library could come from the city’s infrastructure investment fund, which the City Council approved last year to spur residential and commercial development in South Dallas and other underserved areas. The program is funded annually with money from expired tax increment financing districts.

Developers can get reimbursed for project costs to install infrastructure, such as water and sewer line connections, sidewalks and lighting, or related work, such as demolitions and property remediation.

Tolbert said the fund has about $6 million in it. Last year, city officials estimated the fund could grow to more than $199 million by 2033.

Several council members, however, were concerned that money was being taken from a fund meant to help underserved areas. Council member Carolyn King Arnold noted that the city promotes the use of equity and data in its decisions, including the selection of the Skillman Southwestern branch for closure.

“Either we stick to data or we don’t,” Arnold said. “We can’t be selective about what data we choose to use. Data is important or it’s not.”

Giudice told council members during a committee meeting on Aug. 19 that the Skillman Southwestern branch typically has few visitors who stay for any significant period of time.

Most patrons order items online and pick them up, the area doesn’t get much foot traffic and computer use there ranks last among city libraries, Giudice said during last month’s meeting. He also said city data shows the library is in an area that has lower levels of poverty than other branches.

Despite that, the library is heavily used, according to city data. An April memo to the mayor and City Council showed the Skillman Southwestern library branch ranked eighth among the city’s 30 libraries in circulation last fiscal year. The number of items checked out for the first time and renewals at Skillman Southwestern was more than double that of the next closest branch, the Vickery Park library, the memo said.

Giudice told council members Wednesday that the library ranks seventh in circulation this year.

Supporters of the library branch told council members that the site is a valuable part of the community, more accessible than other branches miles away and vital to the development of area children. They suggested holding more events after hours and on weekends to boost attendance.

“This library is important to us,” said Margaret Watson, a resident of the area. “A vending machine cannot replace it.”