The Library’s Modern Era
By Cody Berry
On August 25, 1998, a vote was taken on a .7% mileage increase and a quarter cent countywide sales tax to fund improvements to the Saline County Library. It passed and later that year three Benton businessmen donated 5.2 acres of land on Smithers Drive for the new branch. The Library Board decided to leave the Palace Theater building on 15, 19991. The library tax was extended to build new branches in August 2000, but the move didn’t happen then.
In honor of the library’s 70th birthday, ground was broken in 2001 for the future Mabel Boswell Memorial Library in Bryant and the Bob Herzfeld Memorial Library in Benton. The Bryant branch held a grand opening on February 10, 2002.2 The next year it was announced that June 21, 2003, would be the last date that the library would occupy the Palace Theater building. The Benton branch was closed from June 22 until July 20 so it could move to 1800 Smithers Drive. The newly built main branch in Benton had its grand opening on August 10, 2003.3
When the Benton branch was built, it was not named after longtime library supporter Bob Herzfeld. That dedication occurred after his tragic passing in October 2004.4 The Library Board voted to name the library’s main branch in his honor on December 14, 2004. 5 The Bryant branch was renamed the Mabel Boswell Memorial Library on August 15, 2009. Saline County Library has added another library in East End on April 1, 2024, and the Gann Museum.6
So, in just 95 years, the library has gone from a project created by a group of ladies during the Great Depression to one of the most respected institutions in Central Arkansas. From its humble beginnings to now, the library has served all residents of Saline County for nearly a century. As the county has grown so has its library to meet the needs of a growing population which today is more than 100,000 people.
If you are interested in learning more about the founding of the library in it’s earlier eras, check out my article about the Junior Fortnightly Club.
A special 95th birthday party for the library is happening at the Benton branch on Saturday, June 27 at 10:00 AM. We’ll see you there!
Citations:
1 Steve Perdue, A History of The Saline County Library, 2012, p. 17-18; “Changed Planned in Library Here,” Benton Courier, May 23, 2012; p. 17-19; “Library Tax pass,” Benton Courier, August 26, 1998, p. 1; “Land Given to Benton Library, Benton Courier, December 31, 1998, pp. 1, 3; “Saline County Library Moving From Downtown Benton,” Benton Courier, September 12, 1999, p. 1.
2 Steve Perdue, A History of The Saline County Library, 2012, 19-21; “Bryant Library Doors Opened,” Benton Courier, February 11, 2002, p. 1; “New Library Facility is a hit with Patrons,” Bryant Times, February 14-20, 2002, p. 1.
3 Steve Perdue, A History of The Saline County Library, May 23, 2012; p. 24-25; “Director shelves library’s opening,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, July 19, 2003, p. 1B; “Library Opening Postponed,” Benton Courier, July 20, 2003, p. 1.
4 “Robert Leo Herzfeld Obituary,” Roller-Ballard Funeral Homes, https://www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Robert-Leo-Herzfeld?obId=47864652, Date Accessed 6/24/2026.
5 Steve Perdue, A History of The Saline County Library, May 23, 2012, p. 28-30.
6 “Saline County Library Opens East End Branch,” Saline County Library, https://www.salinecountylibrary.org/saline-county-library-opens-east-end-branch/, Date Accessed 6/24/2026.