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23-708: 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. 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. As of fiscal year 2023,

46-587: A "Library on Wheels" Mobile Learning Center to service Dallas communities. 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 . Library card A library card can refer to several cards traditionally used for

69-403: A borrowing card would be inserted into a small pocket in the front or back cover of the book. When a patron borrowed a book, their name and the book's due date would be recorded on the borrowing card, which would be filed under the patron's name or card number. The borrowing card would be replaced with a stamped due date card to inform the patron of the item's due date. The book was then released to

92-603: A cost of $ 275,000 and was gifted to the Library in 1986. It is displayed on the 7th floor. 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

115-498: A milestone in the civil rights and women's liberation movements of that era. 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. By the 1970s, the Central Library had again become overloaded and

138-612: 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, 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

161-613: Is available through the library's Career Launch Pad service. The service is available at all Dallas Public Library locations except for Bookmarks. Notary services are offered at no charge at several locations. 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

184-545: The 8th floor contains digitization tools to make copies of irreplaceable photos, home movies, documents, slides and audio cassettes. In 2024, D Magazine named Dallas Public Library best arts incubator in the city. 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. Job application, search, and resume help

207-467: 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. 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

230-415: The borrowed item and promise to abide by certain rules, usually including a promise to return the item by the due date or face a library fine . If the cardholder violates these responsibilities, their borrowing privileges may be suspended. "Library card" may also refer to the borrowing cards used to record book borrowing before the advent of computer systems. When a library book was prepared for lending,

253-574: The city touches the lives of the citizens at more points than the public library” Clanton on the importance of libraries. In the 1950s, she fought against the United States censorship of reading materials. She spoke in front of the City Council of Dallas to advocate for the allowance of pamphlet funding of material that the Council deemed "un-American." When ordered to remove Communist material from

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276-493: The city. 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. The Fiber Arts Workroom on the 4th floor offers equipment to help people of all skill levels bring their ideas into finished projects. The Heritage Lab on

299-532: 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. 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

322-559: The libraries financial crisis due to a lack of funding. In 1924, she revealed that there was an increase of over 5, 000 book loans from the Dallas Public Library, despite the increased popularity of radio. Although there was an increase, Clanton reported the library needed $ 25,000 worth of repairs. While she was head of the Dallas Public Library, Clanton was also elected President of the Texas Library Association . In 1929, Dallas had two libraries, Central and Oak Cliff. Clanton

345-730: The library had 643,892 card holders with 3,925,173 physical materials circulated and 3,889,401 e-materials circulated. 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). Dallas Public Library holds one of

368-533: 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,

391-435: The management of books and patrons in a library . In its most common use, a library card serves similar functions as a corporate membership card . A person who holds a library card has borrowing or other privileges associated with the issuing library. The library card also serves as a method of identification. When a person chooses an item to borrow and presents their library card to the library, they take responsibility for

414-487: The patron. When the book was returned, the patron's name would be crossed off the borrowing card. The borrowing card would be placed back in the book and the book would be shelved. In some libraries, this system of borrowing may still be in use. Cleora Clanton Cleora Clanton (October 27, 1891 – September 16, 1968) was an American librarian. She helped open a branch library for the community in Dallas , Texas . Clanton

437-682: 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 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

460-482: Was born on October 27, 1891 to parents Robert Allen Clanton and Susanna Elizabeth Webb in Dallas, Texas. In 1915, Clanton began her library career when she accepted a position with the Dallas Public Library . Over the years, she was appointed to branch librarian, assistant librarian, and eventually acting librarian before becoming head of the Dallas Public Library in 1927. After her promotion, she had to face

483-482: Was one of the major advocates for branch libraries. She also created bookmobiles as a resource to reach more of the Dallas population. This was in part due to the drop in library book loans due to WW2. She also actively supported the creation of a library branch to serve Dallas' African-American community. In 1941, Clanton was selected for the Library Publicity Honor Roll. “Probably no institution in

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506-632: 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 . In World War II ,

529-480: Was unequipped to handle emerging technology. (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 m) site at Young and Ervay across from the Dallas City Hall for a new central library facility. In 1982,

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