Florence Wamoh, 11, sits and reads to her younger brother every Saturday at North Oak Cliff Library. His favorite book is “The Baby Bee-Bee Bird.”
“Bee-oh-bee, bee-oh-bee,” read Florence on one recent Saturday.
Her 6-year-old brother laughs and repeats those words, clapping his hands and making a song out of them.
The North Oak Cliff Library is like home to Florence Wamoh. She has been coming here since she can remember. Her father is who introduced her to the library because he tutors children there, including some of Florence’s middle-school friends.
North Oak Cliff Library, one of the 27 libraries in the Dallas system, has recently received a donation from Comerica Bank. In celebration of Black History Month, the bank donated $15,000 to the Dallas Public Library system for a new African American e-book collection. The bank also gave 30 new Kindle e-readers to the system, 15 to the North Oak Cliff Library branch and 15 to Polk Wisdom Library.
The North Oak Cliff Library branch can use the help. Like other libraries across Dallas, it has seen its budget slashed. Last year’s $477,000 budget was cut nearly 30 percent to $346,500 in 2012.
“Libraries build strong neighborhoods, strong neighborhoods build strong communities, strong communities build first class citizens,” said Comerica Bank’s Texas Market President, Pat Faubion at a press conference.
From 2007 to 2011, the Dallas Public Library system has cut its library budget by nearly 40 percent, from $32.3 million to just under $19.6 million. Hours have been cut, and 80 people have lost their jobs.
Of the 27 Dallas Public Library branches, 24 have had to shut down on Sundays or Mondays, a few have had to shut down on both days. Along with the reduction of days, the library has reduced the number of books it purchases.
“We will always be worried about how to keep up the funding for libraries,” said Raymond Lee, manager of the downtown branch.
Lee has been the manager for the past two years at the library on Young street. During those two years funding has steadily declined. This past year, the government gave his branch $18.4 million, which is significantly lower than funding in previous years.
Libraries across the country are facing similar budget deficits, according to press reports. In the Chicago Public Library system, 284 employees have been laid off in the past year. Over the past five years, a library in Fenton-High Ridge, Missouri, has lost 33 percent of its library staff.
A national campaign called “Librarians Making Noise” seeks to elect officials to keep pushing for more funding for libraries. American Library Association’s President Molly Raphael said people who use libraries are the most effective ones speaking out about the value and essential role of libraries.
“Their voices make a difference, especially when they don’t give up,” said Raphael in an email interview.
When Oakland, Calif., librarians heard that they might have to close 14 of their 18 library branches, they started story time flash mobs. This is where the librarians would read aloud from bullhorns in public places.
And librarians in Denver have been using twitter to promote upcoming events at their public libraries.
The idea of a loud library is ironic to many who grew up with librarians ‘shushing’ every time they hear a word. Today, local libraries have developed new policies in which patrons may use cell-phones and speak quietly.
“Libraries today, if they have enough space, will have quiet areas as well as areas where there are vibrant activities,” said Raphael.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, who attended the Comerica press conference, said that libraries are vital resources to our citizens.
“We as business people who earn salaries have an obligation to give back to our communities,” he said.
The patrons at the North Oak Cliff Library need funding to keep the branch alive. There has been a family environment instilled here, say library officials. Everyone is a familiar face, from families who come in every weekend, to students who walk there every day.
For 8-year-old Francisco Blanco, North Oak Cliff Library is his favorite place to go on weekends. Along with his older sister and grandmother, Blanco enjoys reading books that are filled with mystery, such as the “Harry Potter” and “Mostly Ghostly” series.
Blanco wishes he could visit the library more often than just once a week. His cousins walk to North Oak Cliff Library everyday because they live a block away.
Despite layoffs and reduced hours, there were more than five million visitors to the Dallas Public Libraries during the past year. They have been taking advantage of the programs offered, say officials. The Dallas Public Libraries provide programs such as English as a Second Language (ESL) and Financial Literacy.
Patrons are able to use the knowledge they learn from the programs to stay afloat during the economic crisis. They also use the free Internet service to search for jobs, according to Lee.
Find out ways to donate and give back to the community by logging onto http://dallaslibrary2.org/
