Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes
Photography above provided courtesy of Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes. By Cody Berry Way back when I was writing entries for the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, its editor Dr. Guy Lancaster, sent me an Arkansas Times article about Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes by David Ramsey. Dr. Lancaster asked if I was interested in writing an entry on Barnes … Continued
Watch Oscar Worthy Films with your library card!
Did you know that the Oscars will be announced on March 2nd? That’s right around the corner! In this annual awards ceremony for outstanding achievement in film is definitely one to tune in to if you are an avid cinephile (lover of movies!) 🎥❤️ Here at the Saline County Library, we love movies too! Before … Continued
The Integration of Benton School District
By Cody Berry On February 4, 1965, the Benton Courier announced that the Benton School Board had officially agreed to comply with Civil Rights regulations in order to obtain federal funds through the National Defense Education Act. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on “race, color, or national origin,” so 1965 was … Continued
Charles Cunningham: A Life of Service
By Cody Berry Years ago, now, I met Charles Cunningham at a meeting in which the fate of the Palace Theater was being discussed before it was renovated. If only I had known more about him at the time. At some point I was asked to put an entry together on Benton’s Ralph Bunche Community, … Continued
Benton’s Ralph Bunche Community
By Cody Berry Saline County’s African American community has longstanding history. Since the county was founded in 1835, there have been people of color living here who were member of both free and enslaved families. In 1838, there were 416 slaves and two free black citizens living in Saline County. By 1860, there were 749 … Continued
How to Use Libcal: Your Library Calendar!
Navigating the Calendar There’s a couple of different ways you can navigate through the many different library events on our calendar, depending on your preference! On the left hand side is a gray box. This has all of the months listed on it. From here, you can easily click which month you’d like to view … Continued
I Love My Library!
UPDATE: DRAWING IS OVER. YOU MAY STILL SUBMIT FEEDBACK USING THE SURVEY BUT YOU WILL NO LONGER BE SUBMITTED INTO A DRAWING. From February 1st until April 1st, the Saline County Library is looking for feedback! We need your help in filling out as many surveys as possible to inform our Strategic Plan for 2025-2029 … Continued
The Gann Museum’s First Exhibits and Renovations
By Cody Berry This week’s story is focused on some of the renovations that the Gann Museum’s first board of directors undertook to convert the former library into a museum and its first exhibits. On May 22, 1980, someone known only as “B.F” wrote in the Benton Courier that the very first renovation the Gann … Continued
2024: An Awesome Year in Review!
The Saline County Library tackled a lot of our goals this year! Y’all checked out a LOT of books, movies, video games and more at the library… a 13% increase, actually! There were a couple of items that were REALLY popular, like the new animated Addams Family movie, Super Mario: Wonder, and Diary of a … Continued
A Special Relationship Part III: The Gann Museum Becomes a Non-Profit
In my previous article, I talked about how the library leased the Gann Building to the Saline County Art League in the ‘70s and how the first Gann Museum Board was formed. Now I’m going to talk about the next step in the museum’s journey. To become an independent non-profit, Pat Dunnahoo and the other … Continued