Letters to the Editor – Three cheers for Dallas library, a city contractor, customer care

1 Dallas Public Library Bridgerton Ball — Women in glittering tiaras wearing empire-waist gowns and men in Regency-era jackets and top hats recently took to the dance floor for the Bridgerton Ball at a venue some might find surprising: the Dallas Public Library’s J. Erik Jonsson Central Library.

However, this pop-up ballroom at the downtown library was a fitting location for the Netflix show based on a series of novels and centered around Lady Whistledown’s society paper addressed to her “dearest readers.” Libraries are innovating more than ever to stay relevant in our changing times. Importantly, they strive to remain places that are welcoming community spaces.

Bridgerton Ball’s invitation to “the glittering world of high society” drew about 1,400 people. Admission was free and the event included English country dance lessons, lectures on Regency fashion, a theatrical performance and elaborate photo backdrops carefully constructed for Instagram success.

One young woman told me she often came to the library as a child. Her husband said he took her to the event to celebrate her birthday. Others mentioned seeing the event promoted on TikTok. A friend commented that fashion lectures such as the one at the ball usually cost around $60.

Thanks go to library staffers, including organizer and librarian Emily Goodwin, for their hard work on the ball.

The library’s vital role as a community center — demonstrated by the success of this event and other programming — is all the more reason to support the Dallas Public Library’s strategic plan, which calls for a major renovation of the Central Library to keep the facility the vibrant heart of the city’s library network.

I recommend that you check the programming calendar for your local libraries online. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

Katherine Leal Unmuth, Dallas

Member (District 2), Dallas Municipal Library Board

2 Dallas contractor — Here’s a compliment on an infrastructure job by a Dallas contractor. The reconstruction of Live Oak Street from Fitzhugh Avenue to just past Skiles Street was completed quickly and looks great.

Yeah, the lane switches during construction were a little crazy, but overall the job was done in what seemed like record time. I don’t know who the contractor was, but I hope the city hires them for more projects. Well done.

Margaret Rogers, Dallas/Bryan Place

3 DMN customer care — I sent a question to Public Editor Stephen Buckley about the process covering local elections and the paper’s recommendations. I immediately received an electronic email telling me my question was received and I would hear back, the normal response with an electronic receipt to an organization.

What I didn’t expect was the level of detail that followed with additional information and specific links that were available to me while I waited for a response.

I didn’t have a chance to explore any of those links, because before I could, I had a very thoughtful and complete answer from Rudy Bush, editorial page editor. It was not just empty words, but a response that took time to compose.

I thought my request was complete until I heard from Eva-Marie Ayala, Education Lab editor, with another thoughtful and complete response. My question was more of a political one, yet her response was also detailed.

Three cheers for the new program and the well-thought-out response process. Even as busy as everyone at The Dallas Morning News probably is these days, three cheers for their customer care in answering my query completely and promptly.

Perri Brackett, Lewisville

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