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MARCH
2025
news & updates
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OUR LITERARY LIONS LUNCHEON IS ALMOST HERE!
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2025
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Our signature event of the 75th Anniversary Year is coming up on Wednesday, April 9. We will mark National Library Week by reviving a venerated FoDPL tradition - the Literary Lions Luncheon at the Arts District Mansion.
We'll pay tribute to the valuable role Dallas Public Library plays in transforming lives and strengthening our community while raising money to fuel our mission to support it.
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Our featured speaker at the luncheon will be Ben Fountain, the award-winning writer whose books include Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. Read more about Ben Fountain here and purchase Ben's books from our partner Interabang Books through this link - Interabang Books
Join us as an underwriter or sponsor. Purchase a table or individual tickets. We aim to have 350 attendees - our biggest event in years!
This event is designed to build our community base of support for Dallas Public Library. The link to do all that is below.
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OUR 75th ANNIVERSARY EXHIBIT IS OPEN | |
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On display at the Central Library is an exhibit celebrating our big anniversary - Chapters of Support: 75 Years of Friends of the Dallas Public Library.
At a brunch on February 22 to mark the exhibit's opening, FoDPL Chair Ken Benson hailed the anniversary but noted that increasing library needs, looming budget crunches and proposed legislation in Austin that could affect libraries make the Friends' advocacy and financial support more crucial than ever.
The exhibit, open to the public every day except Monday, features photographs, memorabilia and other archival material recounting 75 years of service to Dallas Public Library and the city. A gallery of photos from the exhibit opening is here.
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THANKS FOR ALL THE LIBRARY LOVE | |
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We received lots of Library Love Notes which we're passing along to the beloved DPL staff. Here's one of our favorites:
The team at Vickery Park is absolutely amazing! With all the programs they offer and being open 7 days a week, they work so hard to make the library an open and safe space for the community and it shows! Thank you for loving the community as much as it loves you!
--Gilian
And sure it's March, but it's not too late. Click the link below to join the party.
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STEP INTO THE FAIRY TALE CLOSET | |
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Prom season is upon us, which means one of DPL's most charming and innovative programs is here. DPL's Fairy Tale Closet, which lets teens pick out formal wear for their big night, opens on March 8 at Central Library and runs through the 15th. The days and hours are here.
You can donate gowns, shoes, suits and other prom wear at any Library branch - and you can volunteer to help outfit the teens in their formal finest. If you'd like to volunteer, that requires the usual application to be an official Dallas Public Library volunteer. That application is online here.
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RETAIL THERAPY, COURTESY OF DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY | Dallas Public Library's Online Store is now open! Just one click lets you browse shirts, hats, mugs, socks, tote bags and other swag that proclaims how much the Library means to you. Proceeds benefit the Friends and go to fund library programs. | |
THANKS TO JEN, KAREN BLUMENTHAL HAS A NEW BOOK | |
We're excited to report that Jen McCartney, the daughter of our former chair Karen Blumenthal, has finished and published her late mother's book.
Karen, a journalist, author and passionate champion of libraries, was working on Revolutionary Mary when she passed away suddenly five years ago. It's the story of Mary Katherine Goddard, who risked her life by printing and distributing copies of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Jen's father Scott McCartney said, "Jen lovingly and brilliantly finished her mother's project... Mary Katherine Goddard was a smart, hard-working woman who defied convention and believed in doing what's right. So was Karen Blumenthal. And so is Jen McCartney."
Read a review here: Kirkus Reviews Revolutionary Mary. Learn about the book, read a sample and buy the book here.
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CONGRATULATIONS TO KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH | |
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Our friend and fierce library advocate Katherine Leal Unmuth has been appointed by the Mayor of Dallas and approved by the Dallas City Council as the new Chair of the Dallas Municipal Library Board.
Katherine, a former Dallas Morning News reporter who now manages public affairs for a law firm, was already the board's District 2 Representative.
Under the City Code, the Municipal Library Board advises the Mayor, City Council, City Manager and Library Director on library matters, helps promote the Library and serves as a liaison between the Library and the community.
We look forward to working with her as we support our Library together.
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READ FOR FUN AND PROFIT - IT'S BIG READ DOWN SEASON | |
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Dallas Public Library doesn't collect overdue fines anymore, but there are still fees for replacing lost or damaged items.
They too can go away, however, thanks to the Big Read Down, when library cardholders can read to reduce their own fees or donate toward the fees of others.
The spring Big Read Down is upon us. In March, for every 15 minutes of reading, one dollar of fines disappears. If you don't owe anything, you can read down someone else's fine.
Click here for information and to participate.
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IN MEMORY OF RHEA WOLFRAM | |
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We're sad to note the passing on January 16 of Rhea Wolfram, a remarkable woman whose lifetime of service included two years as FoDPL president from 1983 to 1985. She was 105 years old.
Rhea was a teacher, a counselor and a nationally recognized educational consultant who directed students to the right school and so much more.
The list of organizations and charitable activities for which she somehow found time is almost unfathomable, and we're grateful that FoDPL was one of them. You can read a full tribute to Rhea here.
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We'll be back next month. Meanwhile:
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My Alma Mater was books, a good library...I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity
--Malcolm X (1925-1965)
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FRIENDS OF THE DALLAS PUBLIC LIBRARY
214-670-1458
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