The City Says It Needs Your Help Putting New Titles on the Dallas Public Library's Shelves

By Robert Wilonsky Mon., Dec. 6 2010 at 2:14 PM

Categories: City Hall, The Unfair Park Book Club

Even though the city council ultimately added half a mil back to the Dallas Public Library's new-materials budget back in September, seems the grand total of more than a million wasn't enough to keep up with the demand for new titles. Hence the e-mail that just arrived from City Hall asking citizens with spare change to become a "Book Hero," a title bestowed upon those willing to donate just enough to cover the discounted cost of a book, CD or DVD. Says the missive:

The book, DVD, or CD will become part of the library's permanent collection, and will be held for you to check out. The tax-deductible gift will allow dozens of library users to read the same book, watch the same movie, or hear the same music as you. The price includes the cost of the book as well as the processing fee. But because the book is purchased through the library, you'll receive a great, tax-deductible discount. You'll also be helping the library expand its collection and provide more copies of popular titles.

You can either choose from the list here or submit your own. One point, though: The library says it'll buy Decision Points, for instance, for $25. But Amazon's selling the Dubya's book for $18.89, and shipping's gratis on orders of more than $25. And used copies are readily available -- saw two at Half-Price just last weekend, matter of fact.

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