The Dallas Public Library system serves as the municipal library system of the city of

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

( USA).

History

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 Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

''. The library became a reality when Mrs. Exall requested and received a US$50,000 grant from philanthropist and steel giant

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in ...

to construct the first library building in Dallas. On October 22, 1901, 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 The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...

. An

Oak Cliff Oak Cliff is a neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, that was formerly a separate town in Dallas County; Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1901. It has since retained a distinct neighborhood identity as one of Dallas' older established neighborhoods. Oak C ...

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 African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

population of Dallas. This began under the director of Cleora Clanton. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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

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 Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

and women's liberation movements of that era. Days after she was put into office, she faced a

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

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. By the 1970s, the Central Library had again become overloaded and was unequipped to handle emerging technology. (This was partly a result of the federal

Library Services and Construction Act The Library Services and Construction Act, enacted in 1964 by the U.S. Congress, provides federal assistance to libraries in the United States for the purpose of improving or implementing library services or undertaking construction projects. The ...

, 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 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. 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 The J. Erik Jonsson Central Library is the Main Library Branch of the Dallas Public Library system. It is located at 1515 Young Street in the Government District of downtown Dallas, Texas, directly across from Dallas City Hall. About The struc ...

in 1986 in honor of the former mayor who played a large role in the library system's development. 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.

Historic documents

The Dallas Public Library is home to a copy of Shakespeare's

First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...

, 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. It is displayed on the 7th floor. A

Dunlap Broadside The physical history of the United States Declaration of Independence spans from its original drafting in 1776 into the discovery of historical documents in modern time. This includes a number of drafts, handwritten copies, and published broadsid ...

copy of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

is also housed on the 7th floor. Printed by John Dunlap of Philadelphia, it is only one of twenty-five 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.

Branches

Forest green library dallas texas 2009-08-22

Skillman southwestern library dallas texas 2009-08-22

The library operates 27 branch locations throughout the city, and an 8-story main branch, the

, in the Government District of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

. It also operates the Bookmarks Children's Library located in

NorthPark Center NorthPark Center, sometimes referred to as NorthPark Mall, is an upscale, enclosed shopping mall in Dallas, Texas (United States). It is at the intersection of Loop 12 (Northwest Highway) and US 75 (North Central Expressway). Opened in 1965, it ...

. *Arcadia Park Branch Library in West Dallas *Audelia Road Branch Library in

Lake Highlands Lake Highlands is a neighborhood constituting most of Northeast Dallas. The neighborhood is a collection of dozens of subdivisions served by Richardson ISD and Dallas ISD public schools, as well as an array of private schools. Geography Overview ...

*Bachman Lake Branch Library *Dallas West Branch Library in West Dallas *Forest Green Branch Library in

*Fretz Park Branch Library in

North Dallas North Dallas is an area of numerous communities and neighborhoods in Dallas, Texas (United States). The phrase "North Dallas" is also sometimes used to include any suburb or exurb north of Dallas proper within the metropolitan area. The majority of ...

*Grauwyler Park Branch Library in

*Hampton-Illinois Branch Library in

*Highland Hills Branch Library in the Highland Hills neighborhood of South Dallas *Kleberg-Rylie Branch Library in Kleberg in far Southeast DallasDallasLibrary.org
�

. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. *Lakewood Branch Library in Junius Heights, near Lakewood *Lochwood Branch Library (formerly Casa View Branch) in Lochwood neighborhood of East Dallas, White Rock area *Martin Luther King Jr. Library and Learning Center near

Fair Park Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex in Dallas, Texas, United States, located immediately east of downtown. The area is registered as a Dallas Landmark and National Historic Landmark; many of the buildings were constructed for t ...

*Mountain Creek Branch Library in Mountain Creek, Dallas, Texas *North Oak Cliff Branch Library in

*Oak Lawn Branch Library in Oak Lawn *Park Forest Branch Library in

*Paul Laurence Dunbar Lancaster-Kiest Branch Library in South Dallas *Pleasant Grove Branch Library in Pleasant Grove *Polk-Wisdom Branch Library in Southwest Dallas *Prairie Creek Branch Library *Preston Royal Branch Library in

**Preston Royal first opened in 1964. Its roof has arches above, and according to Andrew Scoggin of ''

'' this makes the library appear distinct compared to others in the library system. there is no funding for a new library building intended to replace the current library. *Renner Frankford Branch Library in Renner in

Far North Dallas Far North Dallas is the section of the city of Dallas, Texas which extends north of the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway. Far North Dallas is part of North Dallas but is viewed as a distinct area. The area has strong social, economic, and political tie ...

*Skillman Southwestern Branch Library in East Dallas ** This branch, at 5707 Skillman Street at Southwestern Boulevard, is south of and serves Vickery Midtown. The library opened in July 1996 and received dedication on August 18, 1996.Coleman, Rufus.
Library fills need of area, Long-awaited opening fills needs of northeast Dallas neighborhood
" ''

''. August 15, 1996. Retrieved on May 27, 2009. A 1978 bond authorized by Dallas voters lead to the construction of the Skillman Southwestern library. Ramiro Salazar, then the director of the Dallas library system said in 1996 that the opening of Skillman Southwestern satisfied "the needs of a community that didn't have an accessible library for a long time." *Skyline Branch Library in East Dallas *Timberglen Branch Library in

*Vickery Meadows in Northeast Dallas *White Rock Hills Branch Library in Far East Dallas The newest Branch, the White Rock Hills Branch, opened June 16, 2012 and received a 2012 APA/GCPD Accessibility Award from the State of Texas.

References

External links