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Dallas Public Library

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Dallas Public Library
The logo of the Dallas Public Library
BERJAYA
LocationDallas, Texas, United States
TypePublic
Established1901
Branches30[1]
Collection
Size4,972,494[2]
Access and use
Circulation10,236,949[3]
Population served
1,317,210 (2024)[4]
Other information
Budget$43,489,755 (FY 2023-24)[5]
DirectorManya Shorr[6]
Employees346.7 FTE[5]
WebsiteDallas Library
References: [7]

The Dallas Public Library (DPL) is the public library system that serves the city of Dallas, Texas, United States. With more than 4 million items and 30 locations, the Dallas Public Library is the largest public library system in North Texas.[8]

A Dallas Public Library card is available at no cost to anyone who lives in, teaches at or attends school in an educational institution within City of Dallas city limits. Educational institutions include public schools, charter schools, private schools, community colleges, colleges and universities, etc. A library card is also available to City of Dallas employees.[9]

The monthly average in total numbers from all 30 Dallas Public Library locations are 648,840 items circulated (digital & physical), 3,398 new library cards, 628 technology checkouts (wi-fi hotspots & laptops), 679 volunteer hours, 120,058 online visitors.[10] As of fiscal year 2023, the library had 643,892 card holders with 3,925,173 physical materials circulated and 3,889,401 e-materials circulated.[11]

Special collections and services

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Several special collections are housed at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library including the Siddie Jo Johnson Children's Literature Collection (2nd floor), the Patent and Trademark Resource Center (6th floor), the Fine Books collection (7th floor), and the Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck Genealogy Collection (8th floor).[12] Dallas Public Library holds one of the largest and comprehensive collections for family history research in the Southwest. Many of the library branches hold special book collections like Spanish language, LGBT Resources, and African-American history.

Historic Documents

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The Dallas Public Library is home to a copy of Shakespeare's First Folio, the only copy in a US public library outside of New England. It was purchased by the Dallas Shakespeare Club in 1984 at a cost of $275,000 and was gifted to the Library in 1986.[13] It is displayed on the 7th floor.[14]

A Dunlap Broadside copy of the Declaration of Independence is also housed on the 7th floor. Printed by John Dunlap of Philadelphia, it is one of only twenty-six known to survive. This is the only copy west of the Mississippi, and one of only 3 displayed by a public library. It was purchased by a number of individuals for $500,000 and given to the city.[15][16]

Makerspaces

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BERJAYA
Forest Green Branch Library

The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library also has three makerspaces, called Creative Spaces, that serve a different creative endeavor: storytelling, fiber arts, and preservation. The Story Center on the 3rd floor is a studio with equipment for storytelling in all its forms: recording a podcast, making movies, or digital creation.[17] The Fiber Arts Workroom on the 4th floor offers equipment to help people of all skill levels bring their ideas into finished projects.[18] The Heritage Lab on the 8th floor contains digitization tools to make copies of irreplaceable photos, home movies, documents, slides and audio cassettes.[19] In 2024, D Magazine named Dallas Public Library best arts incubator in the city.[20]

Services

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GED and Citizenship classes are available throughout the year in English and Spanish through the Adult Learning program. In person and online English classes are also available.[21] Job application, search, and resume help is available through the library's Career Launch Pad service. The service is available at all Dallas Public Library locations except for Bookmarks.[22] Notary services are offered at no charge at several locations.[23]

History

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BERJAYA
The cornerstone of the old Carnegie Library, which was demolished in 1954

In 1899, the idea to create a free public library in Dallas was conceived by the Dallas Federation of Women's Clubs, led by president Mrs. Henry (May Dickson) Exall. She helped raise US$11,000 from gifts from public school teachers, local businessmen, and Alfred Horatio Belo of The Dallas Morning News.

The library became a reality when Mrs. Exall requested and received a US$50,000 grant from philanthropist and steel giant Andrew Carnegie to construct the first library building in Dallas. On October 22, 1901,[24] the Carnegie library opened at the corner of Harwood and Commerce streets with a head librarian, three assistants, and 9,852 volumes. The first story held the entire collection; the second floor held the Carnegie Hall auditorium and an Art Room. The art room was the first public art gallery in Dallas and eventually became what is known today as the Dallas Museum of Art.

An Oak Cliff branch opened in 1914 to serve the citizens of the area, annexed into Dallas in 1903. Four more branches opened in the 1930s including the Paul Lawrence Dunbar Library, which was the first to serve the African American population of Dallas. This began under the director of Cleora Clanton.[25]

BERJAYA
The modern Dallas Public Library building opened in 1954 and included controversial artwork

In World War II, the library was fully established as a War Information Center. By 1950, the library resources and facilities were stretched to the limit, so supporters formed an auxiliary organization called the Friends of the Dallas Public Library to lobby for better library services.

By the 1950s, the Carnegie Library was badly deteriorating and overcrowded, and a new modern library was built on the same site. During construction, the Library was housed temporarily on the mezzanine of Union Station. The new building, now known as Old Dallas Central Library, had room for over 400,000 volumes and opened in 1954.

Growth: 1960 to 2000

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During the 1960s and 1970s, the Dallas Public Library added 17 branches to the system. In 1962, Lillian M. Bradshaw was named Library Director, the first woman to head a department in the City of Dallas, marking a milestone in the civil rights and women's liberation movements of that era.[26]

BERJAYA
The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in the Government District of Downtown Dallas

Days after she was put into office, she faced a censorship push from a Dallas council-member, but the community and media rallied to her defense. The City Council, in response, overwhelmingly approved her appointment and passed a resolution not to censor books purchased by the library.[27] By the 1970s, the Central Library had again become overloaded and was unequipped to handle emerging technology.[28] (This was partly a result of the federal Library Services and Construction Act, which had enabled the addition of an unexpected number of volumes to the collection in a relatively short period of time.) In 1972, the City selected a 114,000 square feet (10,600 m2) site at Young and Ervay across from the Dallas City Hall for a new central library facility.

In 1982, the technologically sophisticated structure opened its doors.[28] It was one of the first libraries in the nation to include an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) and state-of-the-art audiovisual capabilities. It was renamed the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in 1986 in honor of the former mayor who played a large role in the library system's development.[28][29]

By the 2000s, the system had 27 branch locations with over 2.5 million volumes, including books, magazines, videos, and cassettes. The system currently attracts 2.8 million visitors per year and has 540,000 cardholders who check out more than 3.8 million books and other materials per year. The Library also operates a "Library on Wheels" Mobile Learning Center to service Dallas communities.[29]

Central and Branches

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List of Dallas Public Libraries by materials circulation (FY26-YTD)[30]
LibraryCirculationRegion
Central297,550Downtown Dallas
Fretz Park244,163Far North Dallas
Lakewood231,529 East Dallas
Audelia Road209,448Northeast Dallas
Preston Royal194,302North Dallas
Lochwood153,412East Dallas
Renner Frankford128,354 Far North Dallas
Hampton Illinois126,766South Dallas
North Oak Cliff98,662South Dallas
Timberglen89,108Far North Dallas
Forest Green87,584Northeast Dallas
White Rock Hills87,387East Dallas
Park Forest65,973Northwest Dallas
Prairie Creek55,785East Dallas
Vickery Park55,734Northeast Dallas
Mountain Creek51,597Southwest Dallas
Dallas West48,360West Dallas
Bachman Lake44,486Northwest Dallas
Polk Wisdom37,793South Dallas
Skyline33,718East Dallas
Arcadia Park32,238Southwest Dallas
Arcadia Park32,238Southwest Dallas
Bookmarks31,309North Dallas
Pleasant Grove30,141Southwest Dallas
Kleberg Rylie29,681Southeast Dallas
Highland Hills23,568South Dallas
Martin Luther King, Jr.21,661South Dallas
Grauwyler Park19,121Northwest Dallas

The Dallas Public Library system consists of 28 branches throughout the city, the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, in the Government District of downtown Dallas, and the Bookmarks Children's Library located in NorthPark Center.

Since its inauguration at the beginning of the 20th century, Dallas has built, renovated, and even removed, only to recreate nearby, a library to replace another that no longer exists. A high percentage of Dallas residents vote in public elections in support of the city's libraries, authorizing millions in bonds to fund Dallas Public Library improvements.[31][32]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ 30 branches - Dallas Public Library
  2. ↑ "The Nation's Largest Libraries: A Listing By Volumes Held".
  3. ↑ "Dallas Public Library -- Dallas Public Library".
  4. ↑ Population of Dallas
  5. 1 2 "General Fund 2023-24 - Budget & Management Services" (PDF). Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  6. ↑ "The City of Dallas appoints Manya Shorr as Director of the Dallas Public Library". content.govdelivery.com. June 16, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Dallas Public Library". libraries.org. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  8. ↑ Dallas Public Library numbers
  9. ↑ "Dallas Public Library - Services, Library Card". dallaslibrary2.org. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  10. ↑ DPL in numbers
  11. ↑ "About Us - Statistics". dallaslibrary2.org. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Special Collections - Dallas Public Library". dallaslibrary2.org. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  13. ↑ Anthony James West, "The Shakespeare First Folio: The History of the Book; Volume II: A New World Census of First Folios", Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 9780198187684
  14. ↑ "Dallas Public Library - Site Map".
  15. ↑ "First-edition copy of the Declaration of Independence is one of Dallas' undiscovered treasures | Dallas-Fort Worth Communities - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News". Archived from the original on July 4, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Dallas Public Library - Site Map".
  17. ↑ "Creative Spaces - Story Center". dallaslibrary2.org. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Creative Spaces - Fiber Arts Workroom". dallaslibrary2.org. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Creative Spaces - Heritage Lab". dallaslibrary2.org. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  20. ↑ Magazine, By D. "The Best of Big D 2024". D Magazine. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Adult Learning – Adult Learning resources from the Dallas Public LIbrary". Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Dallas Public Library - Employment Resources". dallaslibrary2.org. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  23. ↑ City of Dallas employees
  24. ↑ Elizabeth York Enstam, Women and the Creation of Urban Life: Dallas, Texas, 1843-1920 (Texas A&M University Press, 1998) p102
  25. ↑ Michael V. Hazel (2001). The Dallas Public Library: Celebrating a Century of Service, 1901-2001. University of North Texas Press. pp. 67–99. ISBN 9781574411416. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  26. ↑ Simnacher, Joe (February 12, 2010). "Lillian Moore Bradshaw: Library director cleared path for women in city government". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Lillian Moore Bradshaw: Library director cleared path for women in city government". Dallas News. February 12, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  28. 1 2 3 Murray, Brandon (April 18, 2022). "Tales from the Dallas History Archives: The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library Turns 40". D Magazine. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  29. 1 2 "History". Dallas Public Library. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  30. ↑ Fiscal Year 2026 - Year to Date - Dallas Public Library
  31. ↑ Dallas, Texas, Proposition D, Library Facilities Bond Measure
  32. ↑ Dallas voters consider $1.25 billion in capital improvement bonds
  33. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Arcadia Park Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Dallas Public Library Birthdays
  35. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Audelia Road Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  36. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Bachman Lake Branch Library. Retrieved on 21 January 2012.
  37. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Dallas West Branch Library. Retrieved on 3 March 2024.
  38. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Dallas West Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  39. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Fretz Park Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  40. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Forest Green Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  41. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Grauwyler Park Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 April 2007.
  42. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Hampton-Illinois Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  43. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Highland Hills Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  44. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Central Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  45. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Martin Luther King Jr. Library and Learning Center. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  46. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Mountain Creek Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  47. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – North Oak Cliff Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  48. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Oak Lawn Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  49. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Park Forest Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  50. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Pleasant Grove Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  51. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Polk-Wisdom Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  52. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Prairie Creek Branch Library. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
  53. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Preston Royal Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  54. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Renner Frankford Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  55. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Skyline Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
  56. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Timberglen Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 April 2007.
  57. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – Vickery Park Branch Library. Retrieved on 11 April 2007.
  58. ↑ Dallas Public Library Birthdays
  59. ↑ DallasLibrary.org – White Rock Hills Branch Library. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
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