Renner Frankford Branch Library — Attraction in Dallas

The Renner Frankford branch of the Dallas Public Library is located in north Dallas, near Preston Road and the Bush Turnpike. Closest cross street is Frankford and Preston. Basically Plano - the shopping center down the street calls itself “The Arbors on Preston Road.” Ooh la la.

The library is easy to see from either direction off of Frankford. It’s fairly large; a bricked municipal-type building that’s not ugly enough to be built in the 70’s. I’m guessing 80’s [Edit: confirmed that the building finished construction in 1986]. The parking lot is impressively large so parking is a non-issue for drivers. If you’re a fan of DART take the Red Line to the end (Parker Road) and transfer to the 350 bus. The bus stop at Preston/Frankford is just a hop, skip and a jump away.

Given my inward groan at the exterior it was pleasant surprise to find the vestibule crackling new and spacious. A huge meeting room to the left, restrooms (spacious, well-tiled and clean) to the right. Just past the bathrooms is a small display case. On my visit the library had a wonderful collection of miniatures on display in the case.

As you enter the library proper you’ll find a delightful collection of used books for sale to your left. There are more books for sale, and more of interest to me, than I have seen at any other library.

The middle half of the main library has high vaulted ceilings, painted white. Fluorescent lights are mounted in long, thin light gray tubes, hung from a thin cable and are pointing upwards to provide dramatic indirect light.

The entire quarter of the library to the left is devoted to kids: Children’s, Juvenile and Young Adult sections. Children’s has the requisite teeny-tiny tables and chairs (which are pretty darn cute). What impressed me most were the sheer number of BOOKS! Bookshelves crammed with them, lots of different sections including one That made me smile: Award-Winning Picture Books. Call me old fashioned but books are the heart and soul of any library.

The library also has for kids a surprisingly large Teen Center, with its own “reading room” - a well defined area for lounging and reading with a large oriental rug marking the boundaries, a table and some nice looking and comfortable chairs.

For adults the library seems to have quite a bit more of both fiction and nonfiction books. About 50% more than most other Dallas Public Libraries by my reckoning. Heart and soul, baby! The separate New Fiction and Nonfiction is surprisingly large. The adult section also boasts its own reading area. Padded chairs and tables are scattered all around, making it easy to study, work, or just enjoy your book, tablet or cell.

There are extensive collections of music CDs, TV series and movies on DVD, as well as audiobooks. And I have to mention the rather astonishingly huge section for customer request pickups. There are PCs with Internet access available, but not a large number.

All in all this library is about as good as it gets. Highest...

Update (April 2022) Stopped by this location today and was happy to see that there’s been a lot of progress in recovery from flood and getting books restocked. Found several books to check out. Also great experience with librarians there today, overall much better experience than before.

(Original review) New Dallas Library cardholder. Like that this location is close to me, but was disappointed to find it is quite empty/low on books and a but disorganized. However I found out that it is due to this location losing a lot of books when a pipe burst during last years’ winter storm. Replacing books takes a long time, so I am much more understanding of the situation now and giving it 4 stars instead of a much lower rating. Hoping they can get books replaced quickly. For now, though, it is not the best location if you are looking to actually browse through the books or find something on the spot.

Editing to add: Looking forward for when they do their grand re-opening but glad they are still keeping doors open for the community in...

Fantastic library and exceptional staff. Not very busy, so it’s quiet and relaxing and has what a neighborhood library can be expected to have as far as material. As anyone in the neighborhood will recall, in Winter of 2019 there was a major freeze in the area and it damaged this location severely. Caused damage to the structure and the books as it flooded when the freeze was over; it has been closed until a few months ago as the structure was repaired and new material procured. I say this because there are a couple of negative reviews on here that must be from patrons who are not aware. This location is just being rebuilt and they are doing an excellent job of it. If you want a large library, with lots hustle and bustle and events, this is not the place for you – perhaps downtown is a more appropriate place. I am just glad to have a closer library than Fretz or Timberglen and to have the great...