The Birth of the Saline County Library 

By Cody Berry 

The Saline County Library wasn’t created by the county or by the City of Benton. It was a direct outgrowth of a group of ladies called the Junior Fortnightly Club in 1931. The Junior Fortnightly Club was organized on February 6, 1930, with eleven original members, but they soon gained their goal of sixteen members in their first year. In March 1931, the Club undertook a letter writing campaign asking 22 local organizations for donations of books. Soon, the ladies had collected 600 books altogether, 300 of which came from Club members.¹ 

Permission was granted for the use of two rooms on the second floor of the Walton Building in downtown Benton. Electricity was provided by the City of Benton; fuel bills were paid from the Club treasury and book rentals. In December 1934, the library became a PWA (Public Works Administration) project and was open six days a week. Junior Fortnightly Club members kept an active interest in the library as an advisory board.² In December 1935, the library became a project of the city. The Benton Public Library, as it was known then, opened on December 30 with Miss Ina Hall as its librarian. It was managed by the City Council and the Library Commission under the supervision of State Librarian Gertrude Webster.³ 

In 1936, the Benton Public Library got its own building behind the Walton Building near where City Hall was located at the time on South Street. The new building opened to the public on “Library Day,” April 3, 1936.⁴ That small building was intended to be the library’s permanent location, but it would quickly outgrow the space and move again. Next time, I will talk about the Gann Memorial Library and its librarian Mrs. Ella Daugherty Pitcock.  

Citations:

¹ “Junior Fortnightly,” Centennial Edition – Benton Courier, March 25, 1937, p. 71. 

² “Junior Fortnightly,” Centennial Edition – Benton Courier, March 25, 1937, p. 71. 

³ “Public Library Now Project of City of Benton,” Benton Courier, December 26, 1935, p. 1 

⁴ “Library Day Is Friday, April 3d; In New Quarters,” Benton Courier, March 26, 1936, p. 1