Checking Out the Dallas Library Cuts

This morning the council takes its most detailed look yet at Mary Suhm's proposal to gut the libraries' budget for the coming fiscal year. The briefing goes back a few years too -- back to when branches were open 47 hours (some on Sundays) and were fully staffed, when the...

By Robert Wilonsky

September 1, 2010

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This morning the council takes its most detailed look yet at Mary Suhm's proposal to gut the libraries' budget for the coming fiscal year. The briefing goes back a few years too -- back to when branches were open 47 hours (some on Sundays) and were fully staffed, when the central library downtown was open 68 hours a week (!) and when the material budget was close to $4 million (four times the proposed amount this year) and far more than a handful of extracurricular programs were fully funded. Save Our Dallas Libraries will need far more than 10-percent of September Sunday-lunch proceeds to make up the difference: Suhm says it'll take $5,855,460 to restore staffs, hours and materials.

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