Residents and Dallas City Council members on Tuesday strongly opposed a recommendation that would close four neighborhood branches.
The recommendation calls for the closure of 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.
Library officials said the proposal was a response to longstanding budget pressures and the current system of 29 standalone branches being costly to maintain.
During the Quality of Life, Arts and Culture Committee meeting, council members, especially those whose library branches were recommended for closure, said the plan came as a shock.
Political Points
“It was only when I read about it in the media that I first learned about the closure of the library in my district,” said Paul Ridley, who represents Oak Lawn. “That shouldn’t have happened.”
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The proposed model would save an estimated $4.5 million by closing several branches and shifting staff to larger regional libraries with longer hours, according to the city. The Central Library is not a part of the regional model plan.
After pressure from council members, the city announced in a statement the community meetings scheduled for January and February to get residents’ feedback will be rescheduled to a later date.
The city is also planning to partner with the Friends of the Dallas Public Library to conduct a community survey briefing the committee in March.
Voting locations
Council members questioned the data used to recommend these locations. They asked why other factors, such as the use of libraries as voting locations, cultural history and the role libraries play as informal community centers, were not considered when recommending closures.
Ridley said the Oak Lawn branch serves as a critical voting site and has a nationally unique circulating LGBTQ collection, adding it is “actively used by students, researchers, families and community members seeking representation.”
Dallas Public Library Director Manya Shorr told City Council members the proposal relied heavily on census data, circulation figures and proximity to other branches.
“We wanted an unbiased way of measuring impact,” Shorr said, adding that the rankings were meant as a starting point, not a final decision. “Every library has a history. Every library has significance to its community.”
Shorr said her team did not consider voting because the county is responsible for voting locations, and the libraries only spend a couple of days a year as polling places.
Dallas Public Library Director Manya Shorr (left) and Dr. Brita Andercheck, Chief Data Officer and Director of the Office of Data Analytics and Business Intelligence (DBI), leave the chamber after speaking at a meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 in Dallas. The City of Dallas is proposing to close the Oak Lawn, Skyline in the Buckner Terrace neighborhood, Renner Frankford in Far North Dallas and Arcadia Park in West Dallas branches as it moves towards a regional library model.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Council member Adam Bazaldua, who represents the neighborhood with the Skyline Branch, said the city secretary’s office does play a role in the election process and works with council members to determine which locations could be used as polling places.
‘Shocking and inappropriate’
Council members questioned why they and the Municipal Library Board were not consulted earlier, especially since the list of potential closures was finalized just days before the presentation.
Shorr said that advisory board members were barred from seeing the recommendations in advance because the analysis was under embargo.
“It’s a shocking level of disrespect the way this whole thing has been communicated, and staff has not met with council members, especially the ones impacted, hasn’t talked to their own library board, hasn’t gotten any kind of community feedback,” said council member Cara Mendelsohn, who represents Far North Dallas, where the Renner Frankford Branch is.
Assistant City Manager Liz Cedillo-Pereira said the city manager gave the direction in October to have a briefing early in the year to give the committee sufficient time to deliberate, provide feedback and make changes as needed.
“We’re certainly listening, taking notes, wanting to come back to you to integrate what you have provided us today, speak also to individual members who may have more input for us, and bring it back to this committee as you will,” Cedillo-Pereira said. “Community engagement at every point is an important aspect of this process.”
An audience member wears a button that reads, “Yo ♥︎ mi BIBLIOTECA de DALLAS”, as Dallas Public Library Director Manya Shorr speaks at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 in Dallas. The City of Dallas is proposing to close the Oak Lawn, Skyline in the Buckner Terrace neighborhood, Renner Frankford in Far North Dallas and Arcadia Park in West Dallas branches as it moves towards a regional library model.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Residents and supporters of the library were also caught off guard by the proposal, so they showed up at the City Council chamber in red T-shirts.
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Every time a council member expressed disapproval of the recommendations or questioned the data, the supporters clapped.
Lee Daugherty, owner of Alexandre’s bar next to the Oak Lawn library, said he understands that budgets are tight, but he sees his library as a place that provides the community with far more than books.
“We’re continuing to mobilize, continue to educate, and see what we can do as a community to better support the Oak Lawn Library,” Daugherty said. “Whether it be through private partnerships, with the small businesses down there, or nonprofits, so hopefully, we’ll come out on the other side of this, stronger than when we went into it last Friday.”
Council members and residents were upset that community meetings were scheduled in branches that weren’t being considered for closure.
“To see the community meeting schedule at locations that are not the ones impacted, literally, my district will have to leave its district to go talk about this is really shocking and inappropriate,” Mendelsohn said.
The committee agreed to defer further action and asked staff to return in March with revisions that incorporate council feedback and community significance.
Denise McGovern (center), executive director of the Friends of the Dallas Public Library, looks up at the display as Dallas Public Library Director Manya Shorr speaks at City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 in Dallas. The City of Dallas is proposing to close the Oak Lawn, Skyline in the Buckner Terrace neighborhood, Renner Frankford in Far North Dallas and Arcadia Park in West Dallas branches as it moves towards a regional library model.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Denise McGovern, the director of the Friends of the Dallas Public Library, said there is a lot of work to do to advocate for the libraries and the organization will be attending all the public meetings.
McGovern said the organization might hope to serve as a bridge between the community and council members.
“The next step is a lot of learning, listening and making sure the ‘Friends’ are sharing that with the council and have our members talk to them about their concerns and priorities to their council members,” McGovern said.
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