Interim Dallas Public Library Director Heather Lowe briefed the Quality of Life, Arts and Culture Committee on Feb. 18 about progress during year one of the library’s strategic plan and a 20‑year facilities plan adopted by council last year.

Lowe said the plan’s eight goals focus on technology, collections, equitable access, facilities and staff development. “The library just launched Recollect, a digital repository of photos, recordings, maps, and other special collection items,” Lowe said, noting the repository already contains “a little over 11,000 items.”

Why it matters: committee members said the plan helps prioritize bond and budget decisions and highlighted the library’s role in early childhood education, workforce development and neighborhood services. Several members urged the library to better publicize services and to pursue partnerships for programs such as homebound delivery of materials.

Key updates and programs: Lowe said the library and ITS are aligning on a five‑year technology plan, and that the library intends to move its catalog to a vendor‑hosted instance to improve uptime and reduce internal IT burden. The library also reported progress on ADA bathroom upgrades and accessibility door improvements at multiple branches and said work to upgrade HVAC systems at two branches is scheduled for spring.

Equity and access: Lowe said the library plans to offer sensory story times for neurodivergent children with funding from Atmos Energy and Friends of the Dallas Public Library, and that a new website design with improved language and accessibility features is expected by mid‑summer. A proposed homebound delivery program remains on the library’s priority list but has been postponed due to lack of secured funding.

Facilities and partnerships: Lowe said the library is coordinating with Facilities and Real Estate Management on projects and is exploring multi‑use approaches and collaborations with parks and other city departments to extend program reach. Committee members suggested pursuing philanthropic partners for children’s areas and aligning library facility needs with potential bond funding.

Questions and follow up: committee members asked for counts of active and inactive library cardholders (Lowe said she believes there are about 600,000 active cardholders but offered to confirm), for details on summer camp partnerships with Parks, and for the library to explore partnering with home‑delivery providers for a materials delivery program. Members also discussed contingency planning for potential branch closures and asset security.

Ending: The committee praised the library’s strategic focus and requested additional follow‑up on cardholder data, branch‑level summer programming plans and the library’s timeline for accessibility and technology upgrades.