Fort Worth Public Library patrons will face lower checkout limits for e-books and audiobooks and potentially longer waits for some titles after the city council adopted a fiscal 2027 budget requiring cuts of about $864,000 from the department, officials told the Library Advisory Board.
Most of the library’s cuts will come from its collections budget, library director Midori Clark said during the board’s Oct. 1 meeting at the Summerglen Library. That is expected to affect the availability of books and other materials, including digital titles available through the Libby app, which allows free access to over 90,000 e-books and audiobooks, plus more than 6,000 digital magazines.
The library plans to reduce the number of e-books and audiobooks patrons can check out at one time. Unlike physical books, which the library purchases and can circulate repeatedly, the library system pays a fee each time a digital book is checked out, Clark said.
“If you’re checking out a lot of e-books but you’re not reading them all, or you’re
checking out a book and you’re only listening to a minute and then deciding that you don’t want it,” the city still pays a fee for the book’s download, Clark explained.
To reduce the number of digital books being checked out and reduce the number that aren’t read, the library plans to encourage patrons to use features such as samples and to manage their hold lists better, particularly when they’re not sure they’ll finish a book.
Theresa Davis, library communications manager, said one strategy will be an information campaign aimed at its “power users” — frequent library users and advocates — to explain the changes and how patrons can make better use of the Libby app.
The reductions result from a citywide budget process that began with a much larger projected shortfall. When Jay Chapa, Fort Worth city manager, presented his proposed budget in August, the city was facing a deficit of about $94 million, Clark said. The city council adopted the fiscal 2027 budget Sept. 15 with a deficit for the library system in the range of $32 million to $34 million, she said.
Library officials said the final reduction was less than what they initially feared. Clark credited months of budget discussions and community advocacy, while board chair Melissa Scott described the process as fair.
The library is coming off a year of heavy use.
Summer reading participants logged a record 5.8 million minutes of reading this year, a 32% increase over the previous year, according to a presentation from Jana Hill, the department’s lifelong learning manager. The program also reported a 33% increase in participation among children ages 0 to 5 and a significant increase among Spanish-speaking participants. The summer reading kickoff at Trinity Park drew nearly 1,400 people, about 35% more than the previous year’s event, Hill reported.
An outcome survey found that 85% of respondents said their children maintained or improved their reading skills as a result of the program. In comparison, about 80% of adult respondents said they were reading more often and wanted to use the library more. Library officials said they are using the results to shape programming for the coming year.
Following the summer program, the library system is expanding its literacy programming this fall. The plan includes a new virtual program, “Growing a Reader,” designed to help parents support children as they develop reading skills. Each library branch will also offer at least one new literacy-focused program in addition to story time, Hill said.
The department is also bringing accessibility resources together to a new section of its website, including special book formats, accessibility toolkits, communication boards and adaptive programs such as Sensory Story Time and Creative Connections.
At the Summerglen branch, library use has steadily increased since the facility opened in 2000. The branch recorded 125,229 visits last year and offers programs ranging from children’s story times and robotics activities to adult English and job-skills programs and Dungeons & Dragons groups. It also provides public computers, mobile and curbside services, 3D printing and space for community meetings.
Summerglen also was the pilot location for the library system’s revived volunteer program, which has expanded to eight locations since its launch on Oct. 1, 2025. The program now has 638 volunteers, Caroline Moreno, the system’s south regional manager, told the board in an update.
Volunteers help with program preparation, displays, materials processing, shelving and computer assistance, but do not lead library programs. Library managers are deliberately expanding the program slowly to match volunteers with appropriate tasks and ensure branches have meaningful work available. Moreno highlighted that two volunteers have gone on to become Fort Worth Public Library employees.
The library is also celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. The anniversary campaign includes a commemorative book documenting the library’s history, a limited-edition library card, a commemorative coin, a historical timeline and other materials.
The anniversary materials also highlight Ella Mae Shamblee, the first African American librarian in the Fort Worth Public Library system.
The library also reported that circulation and checkout numbers are on track to exceed last year’s record-breaking totals.
Meanwhile, the Library Advisory Board is setting new goals for the coming year, including greater participation by board members during board meetings, stronger financial support from board members for the Fort Worth Public Library Foundation, and closer engagement with the newly reestablished Friends of the Fort Worth Public Library organization.
Library Advisory Board Meeting
Documenter: Lou Chapman
Date: Oct. 1, 2026
Learn more about this meeting by clicking here. For the agenda, click here.
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 3 at the Vivian J. Lincoln Library.
Lou Chapman is a member of the Fort Worth Report Documenters crew. If you believe anything in this account is inaccurate, please email us at news@fortworthreport.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
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