As library’s fate hangs in the balance, several vouch for its value, including Friends of the Lake Dallas Library

With the Lake Dallas City Council still a ways off from a final decision on the city’s library, the once-defunct Friends of the Lake Dallas Library group has seen a resurgence from members hoping to raise awareness and funds.

What’s with the library?

In Lake Dallas, library discussions took off in the past month, stemming from a council member’s suggestion that the city cut library services as a cost-saving measure.

The proposal from council member Adam Peabody would do away with book rentals, transitioning Library Services to “Community Engagement Services.” But in an interview last week, Lake Dallas Mayor Andi Nolan said the city hasn’t yet reached a consensus on the issue.

Peabody’s proposal was brought up at the city’s May budget workshop, but the 2022-23 budget won’t go into effect for months. To this point, Nolan said, council members “haven’t had a real discussion about it.” She said she would be requesting the library have its own agenda item as budget talks pick up this month.

“As far as proposals go, that was just one,” Nolan said. “That will be [discussed] July 14. There will be other proposals too, and it might be a back-and-forth.”

Nolan acknowledged, as Peabody did in a Facebook post, that the city is facing some difficult decisions from budget constraints. She said property tax reform has hurt smaller cities, as have inflation and rising costs in multiple areas.

“Everything is going up,” Nolan said. “I’d say we all love the library, but every department’s being looked at this year, across the board.”

Friends of the library

Friends of the Lake Dallas Library seemed to be defunct as recently as last month, with a Google search showing just one event from 2019. Within the past few weeks, though, its membership has been relatively booming.

That’s thanks in large part to Lake Dallas resident Deborah Burkhardt, one of two administrators for the organization’s Facebook group. She got in touch with the woman who previously ran the account and has revived the organization with the goal of raising both awareness and funds.

That shows in the group’s online membership, which Burkhardt says has grown from about 100 to over 170 in a matter of weeks. Though adamant on the library’s value, she acknowledged the city is facing a conundrum for next year’s budget.

“The library used to be funded by all the Lake Cities; in 2016 is when Corinth and Hickory Creek pulled out,” Burkhardt said. “Our city’s been funding it the last few years. … If we’re going to keep it open, it’s going to need more support. We can’t expect the city to just keep it afloat.”

As a result, the group has been expanding its presence. Members have voted on a chair, treasurer and secretary, and have discussed going to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit model. Most recently, they set up an information booth at the Lake Cities’ Fourth of July celebration.

“We handed out cold water, talked to people about getting a library card, asked for donations,” Burkhardt said. “We were able to raise $225, which doesn’t seem like a lot. But considering it was last minute, we were excited to pull something together so quickly.”

There are other fundraising ideas in the pipes, and members are planning on staying active in the library conversation by going to council meetings. At the end of the day, Burkhardt said she understands the city is in a tough spot but also said the community has a clear opinion.

“I think what Mr. Peabody said had upset a lot of people, but I also understand he’s trying to be creative with the budget,” Burkhardt said. “A lot of people have spoken up. A large part of the community wants a physical library. … We, as a community, are willing to help out if we can and alleviate the city’s burden.”

She added the City Council has been “very receptive” in conversations with the group. Nolan, for her part, said the library is something that makes Lake Dallas unique.

“As an educator, obviously literacy is very important to me,” Nolan said. “I know a lot of the people use our library for more than just book circulation. It’s a place to meet their friends and get to know each other. A lot of cities our size don’t have libraries, so I think it’s one more thing that makes us unique.”

Nolan acknowledged Friends of the Lake Dallas Library as a potential partnership avenue. She said a lot of options will need to be considered, and added she couldn’t speak to other council members’ opinions on how to move forward.

“I would like us to find a way to keep the library,” Nolan said. “I think it’s brought a lot of value to our community.”

Why libraries matter

The connection between public school and municipal libraries might be informal, but the connection is still important, said Jean Greenlaw, a retired professor of education at the University of North Texas, literature specialist and book critic for the Denton Record-Chronicle.

“It is well documented that children will lose skills over the summer because any skill that’s not practiced can be lost,” said Greenlaw, who is both a member of Friends of the Denton Public Libraries and a member of Denton’s library advisory board. “And then at the beginning of the year, it takes effort to get children first back up to the level where they were when school ended and then move them on.”

Greenlaw said she attends children’s programming at the Denton library regularly with her grandchildren. She said the programs help flex the educational muscles they are conditioning in public school — basic literacy, language arts and learning how to research anything of interest independently.

Parents might think of summer library programs as affordable entertainment in a safe building, but Greenlaw said casual observation says otherwise. She recalled a library program she attended with her grandchildren about a month ago, during Juneteenth, highlighting a book that featured a Black illustrator.

“As the group left, nobody went straight out the door,” Greenlaw said. “Everybody went into the library area and picked up books to check out. They looked at the African American [book and art on a mobile display]. … We did the art project that was connected with the program. So there are so many activities that are possible in a public library that engage both the children and the parents. And all it can do is help the children in their continuing development of skills and learning, and in the joy of reading.”

Local school districts declined to comment on the possible changes to the Lake Dallas Library, citing a lack of direct relevance to their campuses. A Lake Dallas ISD spokesman said in an automated email that the district was closed for the week. The email also said he would reply to emails on Thursday, but no reply had come by Friday afternoon.

Greenlaw said the relationship between schools and municipal libraries is more direct.

“Another example of how the library works with the school district: North Branch is right next to Strickland Middle School. After school, many, many, many kids come over,” Greenlaw said.

It’s a “very, very active program” and a place where teens can feel safe, she said. “There’s a librarian who is focused right on them, who finds the right book for them, or the right game or whatever.”

In 2020, local governments around Texas furloughed library workers after COVID-19 forced temporary library closings. Budget shortfalls put especially smaller municipal libraries, such as the Lake Dallas Library, at risk as municipal budgets felt the pinch of the pandemic’s economic downturn.

The Texas Library Association reported that Texas gets nearly $12 million in Library Services and Technology Act funding, but that the agency is asking for $50 million in federal funds in this year’s federal appropriations session. The association wants to earmark the funding, if received, for Innovative Approaches to Literacy grants. The state association said it is tracking the Build America’s Libraries Act that was introduced in Congress in January. If passed, the bill would appropriate $5 billion to upgrade the nation’s libraries to address natural disasters, COVID-19, broadband capacity, environmental hazards and barriers to accessibility. If funded at that level, Texas would receive $373 million for its libraries.

Greenlaw said residents can support their libraries through groups like Friends of the Lake Dallas Library. Friends groups raise money for outreach programs, like Denton’s Summer Reading Challenge.

“There is no better use of my tax money, as far as I’m concerned, than in the public libraries,” Greenlaw said. “A library serves everyone. From the youngest child to the oldest human being, you know, it serves everyone. Whether you’re rich or destitute, it serves everyone.”

The agenda for the July 14 Lake Dallas City Council meeting hadn’t been posted by Friday afternoon.