Dallas City Council Expands Library Access to All Students and Teachers

DALLAS - In a unanimous vote Wednesday, Dallas City Council changed the library card ordinance to allow students and teachers from any school within the city limits to get a card at Dallas Public Library.

The previous library card policy limits cards for nonresidents to students and teachers at public and charter primary and secondary schools in Dallas. The policy adopted Wednesday expands the nonresident card option to all educational institutions, including private schools and colleges and universities.

"It's all about being able to freely access services and knowledge," Director of Libraries Jo Giudice said. "This change is in line with our other recent efforts to remove barriers to resources, like eliminating late fines and loaning Wi-Fi hotspots."

The idea of changing the library card policy was brought forward by Municipal Library Board Member Lewis Giles, who saw the need for public library services among his students at UNT Dallas.

"While all these schools have their own libraries, we all have different focuses to our collections and a wide variety of expertise," Giles said. "With this change, students at Dallas College, Paul Quinn, UNT Dallas and other institutions will have the same opportunities as other learners in the city to use Dallas Public Library."

Dallas Public Library operates the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library and 29 branch locations, serving nearly 8 million visitors each year. A library card is free for any Dallas resident,student or teacher. For information on the many free programs and services available at Dallas Public Library, visit www.dallaslibrary.org.

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