The brief opening ceremony, which was held in front of the library, included participation by R.L. Thomas, chairman of the Library Board, Mayor R.L. Thornton who spoke and music was provided by the Sequoyah Junior High School band. A sizable crowd witnessed the ceremony and afterward many people, predominantly children, charged into the new branch to make applications for library cards and to take out books. For the great majority of those who registered the first day and the week following the first day and the week following the opening, it was a first visit to a public library. West Dallas had bookmobile service in several of the large housing projects, but with the opening of the new branch, the bookmobile stop was discontinued. The first branch librarian was Miss Joan Ablon.
Youngsters there are hungry for books.
The library will do a great deal to make those people citizens we can be proud of. From 1960 to 1970 Dallas West struggled with low circulation. It was the first of four new branches being constructed from the City of Dallas' 1972 Capital Improvement Program. The old library was very cramped and could accommodate only about 30 people at a time. It held only 20,000 books and the location was very bad.