Library adds new books to inventory
Posted on Wednesday, November 7, 2007
"Patience, " "Cooperation, " "Courage "and "Self-discipline "are just a few of the titles of new children's books at Bella Vista Library.
The new books, which arrived Oct. 17, were the first half of a $ 10, 000 order using money from a grant from the Carl and Allen McKinney Charitable Trust, said Library Director Marianne Farner.
Using the Bentonville School District curriculum for kindergarten through fourth grade, Farner ordered 114 nonfiction books, she said.
"With all the colors and pictures in the books, the books are quite expensive," said Myrna McGee, assistant librarian.
"These are beautiful books, and children love their bright colors, engaging pictures and easy reading," Farner said.
In addition to books on moral attributes, the subjects of the new arrivals include: geography; careers, such as dentists, firefighters, garbage collectors and school bus drivers; astronomy; economic books about spending money, check writing and a free-market economy; weather; plants and animals; history; and the environment.
One of the reasons the McKinney trust gave the library the money was because it would help children in Benton County, explained Diana Smith, client advisor-trust specialist for Arvest Bank.
Carl McKinney and his wife, Alleen, established the trust in 1991. The couple were lifelong residents of northwest Arkansas, and Carl McKinney was owner and manager of the Callison-McKinney Funeral Home in Bentonville.
"Their love of Bentonville and northwest Arkansas led them to establish a trust for the benefit of the children, youth, elderly, poor and disadvantaged," Smith said.
Directors of the trust are Ed Clifford, with the Bentonville-Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce; attorney Blaine Jackson; and Diane Wells, manager of the Arvest Trust Department.
In 2007, the trust awarded $ 152, 290. Smith visits many of the recipients to see what the money has done.
As an Arvest trust specialist, some of Smith's duties are to invest and distribute the money and arrange meetings of board members.
"It's extremely gratifying to award these moneys. It's awesome," Smith said.
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