Skillman Southwestern Branch Library. Photo by Aysia Lane.
Sue Ramirez’s voice cracked with emotion when she read letters from Skillman Southwestern Library Friends members reacting to the news that the library will close.
The past president of the friends group and longtime member mostly kept an upbeat disposition when talking to the Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate, but there were a few times when sadness peaked through.
“Just talking about it gets me teary,” Ramirez said.
Board members of the friends group held a meeting after the news was confirmed and recognized that losing the library may also mean a loss of their camaraderie.
“Somebody would say something like, ‘Oh, Sue, what are we going to do without your book sales? I love the book sales.’ And somebody else would say, ‘Oh, so and so, what are we going to do without you coming in? What about this group? We’re a very compatible group. Can we get together sometime?’” Ramirez said with a laugh. “We’re not ready to shut our social parts down. It’s like moving away from a place you’ve been forever and losing all your friends.”
The Dallas City Council recently approved its 2025-26 fiscal year budget of $5.5 billion, and it didn’t include keeping the Skillman Southwestern Branch Library open.
Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate previously reported that the City Council tentatively approved an amendment to save the Skillman library for another year using $386,612 in American Rescue Plan Act funds on Sept. 3. The amendment would have only kept the library open for three days a week as opposed to five. Then, Mayor Eric Johnson said in a Sept. 12 memo that he would propose an amendment to close the library in exchange for aquatics programs funding and lowering the tax rate. The mayor’s amendment was approved Sept. 17, despite people who spoke in favor of saving libraries at the council meeting.
Skillman Southwestern Library Friends President Eileen Gregory said she wasn’t too surprised to hear the council’s decision, given the proposal to close more branches to make way for a regional system and Johnson’s memo. Also, the plan to keep the library open only three days a week with reduced programming did not bode well for the future.
“It’s kind of like being on life support,” she said. “But, at least it was there.”
One of the reasons mentioned for closing Skillman Southwestern Branch Library is the existence of the nearby Vickery Park Branch Library, which is on the other side of Northwest Highway and is open seven days a week. In the Sept. 17 council meeting, Johnson described the Skillman library as inefficient with a somewhat “duplicative” location.
But, Gregory pushed back on claims that Skillman Southwestern Branch Library is a “low-performing library.”
“That’s simply not true,” she said. “It was a very viable library with lots going on, and our numbers, just in terms of statistics, are not at all low.”
Last year, the library was saved temporarily. Even though that didn’t happen this year, Ramirez praised District 9 City Council member Paula Blackmon for trying to keep Skillman Southwestern Branch Library open.
“We admire Paula so much,” Ramirez said. “If it hadn’t been for Paula, we wouldn’t have even gotten this far, and we all know that. We appreciate her support, her fight for us.”
Gregory concurred, “Paula did her best. I don’t think she could have tried harder.”
For her part, Blackmon wrote in her District 9 newsletter that she, her office and our community spent the past year trying to “preserve this vital neighborhood resource.”
“Thanks to your advocacy, we were able to keep the library open last year for an additional year. While I am deeply disappointed by this outcome, I remain incredibly proud of the community’s tireless work and united voice,” Blackmon said in her Sept. 19 newsletter. “Your efforts made a difference, and I am proud and honored to have stood alongside you. Although the library will officially close its doors on Sept. 27, 2025, we will work together with the library department as they develop this regional model to bring more library services to our community.”
The library won’t close without a celebration. A reception will be held 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27 in the auditorium so the community can say goodbye to the library and its staff. The event is sponsored by the Skillman Southwestern Library Friends and will include refreshments.
The friends board is working on wrapping up business as a nonprofit. They can either completely shut it down and distribute assets to other nonprofits in the library system, or they can move to another branch that doesn’t have a friends group. In whatever case, Skillman Southwestern Library Friends members are encouraged to continue supporting libraries and join other groups, Ramirez said.
Gregory has been involved with the Skillman library for five years now. Calling it her “chosen library,” she enjoyed the “welcoming atmosphere” as well as the staff and camaraderie of the Friends board.
“It’s been a great experience,” she said. “I’m very sorry it’s over.”
