Sun 22nd closed
Mon 23rd closed
Tue 24th 12:00-8:00
Wed 25th closed*
Thu 26th closed
Fri 27th closed
Sat 28th 10:00-6:00
*city mandated furlough day
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
New Lochwood Branch
The long-awaited 19,500-square-foot Lochwood Branch Library opened on Nov. 7, 2009.
Part of the excitement is that the new library, at 11221 Lochwood Blvd., replaces a neighborhood eyesore. A YMCA used to sit on the property, which grew ugly after it was abandoned for years.
City officials say the Lochwood library, which replaces the smaller Casa View branch on Ferguson Road, will house 70,000 volumes of books, computers, a black box theater, public meeting space and classrooms.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Timberglen Staff
Kraig — Branch Manager¹
Erik — Assistant Manager
Joanne — Children's Librarian
Francisco — Library Associate (FT)
Jasmine — Library Associate (PT)
Kelly — CSR Supervisor¹
Sara — CSR (FT)
Cassie — CSR (FT)
Tambra — CSR (FT)
Agdas — CSR (PT)
Kendall — Page (PT)
David — Page (PT)
Razi — Page (PT)
¹Also responsible for the Renner-Frankford Branch
CSR - Customer Service Representitive They check out your books and set you up with a library card or TexShare card.
Page - They check in books and shelve them.
Erik — Assistant Manager
Joanne — Children's Librarian
Francisco — Library Associate (FT)
Jasmine — Library Associate (PT)
Kelly — CSR Supervisor¹
Sara — CSR (FT)
Cassie — CSR (FT)
Tambra — CSR (FT)
Agdas — CSR (PT)
Kendall — Page (PT)
David — Page (PT)
Razi — Page (PT)
¹Also responsible for the Renner-Frankford Branch
CSR - Customer Service Representitive They check out your books and set you up with a library card or TexShare card.
Page - They check in books and shelve them.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Other Libraries' News
Richardson library is latest to charge nonresidents for checkouts
By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News imccann@dallasnews.com
Headed to the Richardson Public Library to find your next good read? If you're a Dallas resident, be ready to pay a hefty fee.
Nearly a fifth of the library's 46,742 users were coming from Dallas – a number that Richardson officials feared would skyrocket after Dallas cut library hours during a budget crisis over the summer.
So, as of Oct. 1, Richardson adopted a reciprocal policy: If your city makes Richardson residents pay to check out books, Richardson will charge you the same amount. The new rule affects residents of Dallas and Highland Park.
"You face economic realities," Richardson library director Steve Benson said. "We were so stretched trying to serve everybody."
Dallas charges nonresidents $250 per year for unlimited use of its library system, so residents there must now pay that amount for a Richardson card, which lets people check out materials and use computers. Highland Park residents will be charged $150 per year.
Some effects are already being felt at the Richardson library, located at the civic complex near Arapaho Road and Central Expressway.
There are no more waiting lists for computers, and lines at the checkout desk are far shorter. Just 10 Dallas residents have paid the fee, and about 160 others have received waivers for volunteering at the library or for being Richardson school district students, teachers or librarians.
For cities' librarians, the question of whether to charge people to borrow books is a difficult one. Ideally, there would be free access to reading and educational materials. But in the real world of budgets and managing limited resources, that's not always possible.
"I hated doing it, but I felt that it had to be done," said Kathleen Edwards, library director in Coppell, which instituted fees two years ago. "My goal is to put quality library services in everyone's hands."
The cities with fees implemented them to recoup the cost of providing service to people who didn't pay taxes to support the libraries. Also, outsiders were diminishing the quality of service to residents by straining capacity.
"It got to the point that all we could do was issue library cards and check out materials and check in materials," Highland Park library director Bonnie Case said. "Some people thought it was an excellent value, and some didn't."
In Highland Park, more than 50 percent of users were nonresidents before the fee was instituted some decades ago. Today, there are about 1,500 resident library cards and 150 nonresident ones.
Coppell uses a "reciprocal and comparable" system to determine who must pay a fee. Visitors whose home cities charge Coppell residents must pay $40 a year. They also pay if Coppell determines that their cities' per-capita funding is below Coppell's.
The arguments that suburbs are making for charging fees are precisely the ones made when Dallas implemented nonresident fees in 1976: People were using services without paying for them with property taxes.
That's an argument many can accept. But a $250 fee seems too steep to some.
"I was shocked," Dallas resident and longtime Richardson library user Stefani Blackman said. "We were willing to pay $250 if it was a one-time fee, not an annual one."
She said her family uses the Richardson library because it is close to home and because the children's section is far better than the one at the Fretz Park Branch, the Dallas library closest to her.
There are other options for people besides paying fees. Anybody can go to his or her hometown library to get a TexShare card, which offers some borrowing privileges at city and university libraries throughout the state. And people can still read or study at the libraries at no cost.
Laurie Evans, Dallas' library director, said few people from outside Dallas actually pay. Just 66 punch cards were sold in the past year, most at the five-books-for-$25 level. Nearly all of the $250 unlimited cards went to Addison, which bought 330 for its residents.
"Anybody can get a TexShare card," she said. "We give people so many ways to use us."
MAKING VISITORS PAY
A handful of Dallas-area cities charge nonresidents to use their libraries, with the goal of recouping the cost of serving people who do not pay local taxes.
COPPELL
•Charges $40 per year, roughly equivalent to the property taxes that residents pay to run the library.
•The fee, instituted two years ago, is paid by nonresidents whose cities either charge Coppell residents for library use or fund their libraries at lower levels than Coppell.
DALLAS •Since 1976 has let nonresidents buy punch cards to check out materials. Levels range from $25 for five books to $250 a year for unlimited use of the library.
HIGHLAND PARK
•Started charging nonresidents more than 20 years ago.
•The current fee, $150 per year, has been in place since 2000.
RICHARDSON
•Put its system in place Oct. 1.
•A nonresident is charged the same amount that a Richardson resident would pay in that person's city.
•Exceptions are granted to library volunteers; children who live in the Richardson school district; people who attend any school, including a college, within the school district boundaries; and any teacher or librarian from a school within the Richardson school district's boundaries.
By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News imccann@dallasnews.com
Headed to the Richardson Public Library to find your next good read? If you're a Dallas resident, be ready to pay a hefty fee.
Nearly a fifth of the library's 46,742 users were coming from Dallas – a number that Richardson officials feared would skyrocket after Dallas cut library hours during a budget crisis over the summer.
So, as of Oct. 1, Richardson adopted a reciprocal policy: If your city makes Richardson residents pay to check out books, Richardson will charge you the same amount. The new rule affects residents of Dallas and Highland Park.
"You face economic realities," Richardson library director Steve Benson said. "We were so stretched trying to serve everybody."
Dallas charges nonresidents $250 per year for unlimited use of its library system, so residents there must now pay that amount for a Richardson card, which lets people check out materials and use computers. Highland Park residents will be charged $150 per year.
Some effects are already being felt at the Richardson library, located at the civic complex near Arapaho Road and Central Expressway.
There are no more waiting lists for computers, and lines at the checkout desk are far shorter. Just 10 Dallas residents have paid the fee, and about 160 others have received waivers for volunteering at the library or for being Richardson school district students, teachers or librarians.
For cities' librarians, the question of whether to charge people to borrow books is a difficult one. Ideally, there would be free access to reading and educational materials. But in the real world of budgets and managing limited resources, that's not always possible.
"I hated doing it, but I felt that it had to be done," said Kathleen Edwards, library director in Coppell, which instituted fees two years ago. "My goal is to put quality library services in everyone's hands."
The cities with fees implemented them to recoup the cost of providing service to people who didn't pay taxes to support the libraries. Also, outsiders were diminishing the quality of service to residents by straining capacity.
"It got to the point that all we could do was issue library cards and check out materials and check in materials," Highland Park library director Bonnie Case said. "Some people thought it was an excellent value, and some didn't."
In Highland Park, more than 50 percent of users were nonresidents before the fee was instituted some decades ago. Today, there are about 1,500 resident library cards and 150 nonresident ones.
Coppell uses a "reciprocal and comparable" system to determine who must pay a fee. Visitors whose home cities charge Coppell residents must pay $40 a year. They also pay if Coppell determines that their cities' per-capita funding is below Coppell's.
The arguments that suburbs are making for charging fees are precisely the ones made when Dallas implemented nonresident fees in 1976: People were using services without paying for them with property taxes.
That's an argument many can accept. But a $250 fee seems too steep to some.
"I was shocked," Dallas resident and longtime Richardson library user Stefani Blackman said. "We were willing to pay $250 if it was a one-time fee, not an annual one."
She said her family uses the Richardson library because it is close to home and because the children's section is far better than the one at the Fretz Park Branch, the Dallas library closest to her.
There are other options for people besides paying fees. Anybody can go to his or her hometown library to get a TexShare card, which offers some borrowing privileges at city and university libraries throughout the state. And people can still read or study at the libraries at no cost.
Laurie Evans, Dallas' library director, said few people from outside Dallas actually pay. Just 66 punch cards were sold in the past year, most at the five-books-for-$25 level. Nearly all of the $250 unlimited cards went to Addison, which bought 330 for its residents.
"Anybody can get a TexShare card," she said. "We give people so many ways to use us."
MAKING VISITORS PAY
A handful of Dallas-area cities charge nonresidents to use their libraries, with the goal of recouping the cost of serving people who do not pay local taxes.
COPPELL
•Charges $40 per year, roughly equivalent to the property taxes that residents pay to run the library.
•The fee, instituted two years ago, is paid by nonresidents whose cities either charge Coppell residents for library use or fund their libraries at lower levels than Coppell.
DALLAS •Since 1976 has let nonresidents buy punch cards to check out materials. Levels range from $25 for five books to $250 a year for unlimited use of the library.
HIGHLAND PARK
•Started charging nonresidents more than 20 years ago.
•The current fee, $150 per year, has been in place since 2000.
RICHARDSON
•Put its system in place Oct. 1.
•A nonresident is charged the same amount that a Richardson resident would pay in that person's city.
•Exceptions are granted to library volunteers; children who live in the Richardson school district; people who attend any school, including a college, within the school district boundaries; and any teacher or librarian from a school within the Richardson school district's boundaries.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
November Book Sale
Friday & Saturday — November 6th & 7th
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
in the Library Auditorium
All genres.
Most paperback fiction 25¢
Most hardback $2.00
Cheap
Monday, September 28, 2009
Code of Conduct
Using the Library: Libraries & Recreation Centers Code of Conduct
City staff is committed to providing the best possible customer service in an open and inviting atmosphere and the City of Dallas Libraries and Recreation Centers Code of Conduct is designed to ensure this atmosphere is maintained at all times.
Violations of the City of Dallas Libraries and Recreation Centers Code of Conduct or procedures may result in the expulsion of individuals from City premises and/or criminal prosecution.
In keeping with the City’s commitment to customer service and the provision of a safe and inviting atmosphere, the following guidelines are set forth to define those activities that are inappropriate for our users and prohibited. City staff will enforce these guidelines in a consistent and impartial manner.
The following behaviors, conduct and activities are expressly prohibited:
Prohibited behaviors under the Texas Penal Code:
•Recklessly damaging or destroying City materials or property, or the personal property of building
•Gambling in any form on City property. (Texas Penal Code § 47.02)
•Making offensive gestures, cursing or using obscene, abusive, profane or threatening language. (Texas Penal Code § 42.01)
•Displaying or distributing obscene material. (Texas Penal Code § 43.22 and § 43.24)
Engaging in acts of sexual misconduct, including, but not limited to, indecent exposure, sexual contact and sexual intercourse. (Texas Penal Code § 21.07 and 21.08)
•Stalking other customers or staff including looking into an area, such as a restroom, that is designed to provide privacy to a person using the area. (Texas Penal Code § 42.01 and § 42.072); (Dallas City Code § 31-36)
•Exhibiting signs of being under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances. (Texas Penal Code § 49.02)
•Displaying firearms or other deadly weapons on City property in a manner calculated to alarm. Exemptions from this prohibition are recognized for Law Enforcement Officers and individuals licensed to carry handguns in accordance with state law. (Texas Penal Code § 42.01 and § 30.06e)
•Engaging in physical altercations including assaults and fighting. (Texas Penal Code § 22.01)
Prohibited behaviors under the Dallas City Code
•Entering or remaining in a City building before or after posted hours of operation without the express permission of the Department Director Director’s designee. (Dallas City Code § 31-37)
•Smoking or using tobacco products in City buildings. (Dallas City Code § 41-2)
•Entering into staff work areas not open to the public. (Dallas City Code § 31-14)
•Littering. (Dallas City Code § 7A-3)
•Consuming or possessing alcoholic beverages on City property or while in a public park. (Dallas City Code § 6-6.1 and § 32-11.3)
The following behaviors are prohibited if in the clear judgment of city staff, on a case-by-case basis, they disrupt the environment for other users of the facilities:
•Conversing, laughing, or otherwise talking or shouting in a loud and disruptive manner, banging on computer keyboards or disruptively using devices, including cell phones, CD players, MP3 players, walkie-talkies, PDAs, laptop computers or any other instruments. (Making sounds that are considered loud or disruptive when they are clearly audible from a distance of 3 feet by any other building user or staff member.) Sound generating or amplification devices employed by building staff or used by persons with the authorization of building staff for authorized events are exempt from this prohibition.
•Using City buildings for other than their intended purpose, including: loitering, sleeping, changing clothes, bathing (except for washing hands or face), shampooing, shaving, washing clothes or utensils, preparing meals or food, or personal grooming unless it is considered appropriate for an approved activity. Changing clothes in building bathrooms and applying makeup is permitted in preparation for a city-approved program or event with express permission of City staff.
•Eating, drinking, or bringing food or beverages in open containers into a City building is prohibited, except in cases where an event has been previously approved.
•Bare feet and bathing suits or clothing that does not cover both upper and lower torso is prohibited in public areas unless it is considered appropriate for an approved activity.
•Introducing any animals, insects or other living organisms into City buildings without express permission of the City staff, with the exception of service animals, such as seeing-eye dogs or other guide-trained animals.
•Using wheeled recreational devices such as skateboards, roller skates, roller blades, bicycles, and scooters in or on City property, except in designated areas.
•Entering, or attempting to enter City buildings possessing such defects of bodily hygiene as impairs a clean and sanitary environment, as it is intended for enjoyment of the building. This includes individuals whose neglect of bodily hygiene gives offense and therefore constitutes a nuisance to others and staff.
•Entering into or remaining in City buildings while emitting odors (including bodily odors or perfumes), which interfere with the use of services by other users or the work of staff.
•Entering into City buildings with large framed backpacks, bedrolls, blanket rolls, or more than three grocery-sized paper or plastic bags or parcels. Personal belongings including purses or cell phones must not impede access to doors, services or materials. Customers must keep personal belongings with them at all times. The City is not responsible for unattended personal belongings.
•No soliciting or proselytizing on City property, except as authorized. No panhandling at any time.
•Neglecting to provide proper supervision of children.
•Using areas for any activities, other than their intended purpose.
•Physically blocking aisles, exits, or entrances, including sitting or lying down in them.
•Moving, altering, or rearranging furniture or equipment; altering the configuration or settings of electronic equipment without the authorization of staff; or otherwise using furniture or equipment for other than its intended purpose.
•Using electronic equipment in excess of posted duration limits if other customers or staff are waiting to use the equipment.
•Assembling more than two people around a computer if it creates a disturbance to others.
•Use of parking lot before or after hours of operation or for performing non-emergency automotive repairs or maintenance at any time.
•Engaging in any other activity that disturbs normal activities and/or the environment for other users and City staff.
City staff is committed to providing the best possible customer service in an open and inviting atmosphere and the City of Dallas Libraries and Recreation Centers Code of Conduct is designed to ensure this atmosphere is maintained at all times.
Violations of the City of Dallas Libraries and Recreation Centers Code of Conduct or procedures may result in the expulsion of individuals from City premises and/or criminal prosecution.
In keeping with the City’s commitment to customer service and the provision of a safe and inviting atmosphere, the following guidelines are set forth to define those activities that are inappropriate for our users and prohibited. City staff will enforce these guidelines in a consistent and impartial manner.
The following behaviors, conduct and activities are expressly prohibited:
Prohibited behaviors under the Texas Penal Code:
•Recklessly damaging or destroying City materials or property, or the personal property of building
•Gambling in any form on City property. (Texas Penal Code § 47.02)
•Making offensive gestures, cursing or using obscene, abusive, profane or threatening language. (Texas Penal Code § 42.01)
•Displaying or distributing obscene material. (Texas Penal Code § 43.22 and § 43.24)
Engaging in acts of sexual misconduct, including, but not limited to, indecent exposure, sexual contact and sexual intercourse. (Texas Penal Code § 21.07 and 21.08)
•Stalking other customers or staff including looking into an area, such as a restroom, that is designed to provide privacy to a person using the area. (Texas Penal Code § 42.01 and § 42.072); (Dallas City Code § 31-36)
•Exhibiting signs of being under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances. (Texas Penal Code § 49.02)
•Displaying firearms or other deadly weapons on City property in a manner calculated to alarm. Exemptions from this prohibition are recognized for Law Enforcement Officers and individuals licensed to carry handguns in accordance with state law. (Texas Penal Code § 42.01 and § 30.06e)
•Engaging in physical altercations including assaults and fighting. (Texas Penal Code § 22.01)
Prohibited behaviors under the Dallas City Code
•Entering or remaining in a City building before or after posted hours of operation without the express permission of the Department Director Director’s designee. (Dallas City Code § 31-37)
•Smoking or using tobacco products in City buildings. (Dallas City Code § 41-2)
•Entering into staff work areas not open to the public. (Dallas City Code § 31-14)
•Littering. (Dallas City Code § 7A-3)
•Consuming or possessing alcoholic beverages on City property or while in a public park. (Dallas City Code § 6-6.1 and § 32-11.3)
The following behaviors are prohibited if in the clear judgment of city staff, on a case-by-case basis, they disrupt the environment for other users of the facilities:
•Conversing, laughing, or otherwise talking or shouting in a loud and disruptive manner, banging on computer keyboards or disruptively using devices, including cell phones, CD players, MP3 players, walkie-talkies, PDAs, laptop computers or any other instruments. (Making sounds that are considered loud or disruptive when they are clearly audible from a distance of 3 feet by any other building user or staff member.) Sound generating or amplification devices employed by building staff or used by persons with the authorization of building staff for authorized events are exempt from this prohibition.
•Using City buildings for other than their intended purpose, including: loitering, sleeping, changing clothes, bathing (except for washing hands or face), shampooing, shaving, washing clothes or utensils, preparing meals or food, or personal grooming unless it is considered appropriate for an approved activity. Changing clothes in building bathrooms and applying makeup is permitted in preparation for a city-approved program or event with express permission of City staff.
•Eating, drinking, or bringing food or beverages in open containers into a City building is prohibited, except in cases where an event has been previously approved.
•Bare feet and bathing suits or clothing that does not cover both upper and lower torso is prohibited in public areas unless it is considered appropriate for an approved activity.
•Introducing any animals, insects or other living organisms into City buildings without express permission of the City staff, with the exception of service animals, such as seeing-eye dogs or other guide-trained animals.
•Using wheeled recreational devices such as skateboards, roller skates, roller blades, bicycles, and scooters in or on City property, except in designated areas.
•Entering, or attempting to enter City buildings possessing such defects of bodily hygiene as impairs a clean and sanitary environment, as it is intended for enjoyment of the building. This includes individuals whose neglect of bodily hygiene gives offense and therefore constitutes a nuisance to others and staff.
•Entering into or remaining in City buildings while emitting odors (including bodily odors or perfumes), which interfere with the use of services by other users or the work of staff.
•Entering into City buildings with large framed backpacks, bedrolls, blanket rolls, or more than three grocery-sized paper or plastic bags or parcels. Personal belongings including purses or cell phones must not impede access to doors, services or materials. Customers must keep personal belongings with them at all times. The City is not responsible for unattended personal belongings.
•No soliciting or proselytizing on City property, except as authorized. No panhandling at any time.
•Neglecting to provide proper supervision of children.
•Using areas for any activities, other than their intended purpose.
•Physically blocking aisles, exits, or entrances, including sitting or lying down in them.
•Moving, altering, or rearranging furniture or equipment; altering the configuration or settings of electronic equipment without the authorization of staff; or otherwise using furniture or equipment for other than its intended purpose.
•Using electronic equipment in excess of posted duration limits if other customers or staff are waiting to use the equipment.
•Assembling more than two people around a computer if it creates a disturbance to others.
•Use of parking lot before or after hours of operation or for performing non-emergency automotive repairs or maintenance at any time.
•Engaging in any other activity that disturbs normal activities and/or the environment for other users and City staff.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Hi Melissa
We are glad you are following this blog. Drop in for one of our monthly meetings and introduce yourself. We meet the second Saturday of each month at 10:00am in the classroom.
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