Center to include library mini branch

BENTONVILLE -- Public Library patrons will have another location to check out, return and renew materials when the Bentonville Community Recreation Center opens in a few months.

Bentonville Public Library at the Community Center will be considered a mini-branch of the library, said Hadi Dudley, library director.

Memberships

Premier memberships are available to buy. Those with premier memberships will be able to use the Bentonville Community Recreation Center during its month-long soft opening, which will allow Parks and Recreation staff to evaluate what is working well and what needs tweaking before the grand opening.

The soft and grand opening dates have not yet been announced. The center is expected to open within the next few months.

Membership rates vary depending on the package and family size. For more information, call the Parks and Recreation Department at 479-464-7275.

Source: Staff Report

The library will have a presence in two of the center's lounges. Each will have books, four computers and a self-service kiosk.

"It's an open-access, self-service library," Dudley said. "We will have something for everyone."

There will be about 2,000 titles available for checkout. Genres will include picture and chapter books for children, juvenile titles for teens and adult bestseller books. Audio books and videos will also be available to check out.

The Friends of the Bentonville Library will sponsor magazines and newspapers. Those will not be available to check out, Dudley said.

Patrons will be able to check out 30 items at a time from the library's two branches, 20 from the main branch at 405 S. Main St. and 10 from the mini branch. The limit is smaller at the center because of the smaller collection, Dudley said.

Materials can be checked out of one location and returned at the other, she added. Those wanting to check items out will need a library card.

There won't be any library staff stationed at the center, but community center staff will be trained to assist residents who have questions about the library services, Dudley said.

The two self-service kiosks have been named Parker and Rex to honor the library's partnership with the Parks and Recreation Department, Dudley said. Their interfaces are intuitive and easy to use, she continued. They will debut at the main library in the middle of March so patrons can get used to them before they're moved to the center.

"I do believe that the library's presence will give a living room feel and community atmosphere to those lounge areas," she said.

The library will eventually do some outreach and programming at the Community Center. Events will begin to roll out in the fall, Dudley said.

Library staff will be at the public tours that the Parks and Recreation staff is hosting Friday and Saturday.

The tours are full with reservations for nearly 800 people, according to David Wright, Parks and Recreation director. Officials anticipated about 500 people when they scheduled the tours.

"It's a good problem to have," he said.

Chris Cash is one of the people who will see the building during a public tour. He lives in Rogers but works as an investment advisor in Bentonville. He plans to use the facility when it opens.

"I'm extremely anxious to see what this place looks like, to see how big it is," he said of the upcoming tour. "Anything new is exciting."

Wright and Mayor Bob McCaslin have done great things with the parks and recreation in Bentonville over the past several years, Cash said.

"We know this is going to be first class," Cash said of the center.

Having the library in the Community Center gives the public another reason to enjoy it, Wright said.

"We want it to be a facility that the entire family can come to at the same time," he said. "The library adds to that list of things to do."

The center is an 80,000-square-foot facility being built on 35 acres at 1101 S.W. Citizens Circle. It will have an aquatic center with a family leisure pool and a 25-yard competitive pool, a fitness center, dance and aerobics studio, gymnasium, indoor running track, community rooms, an arts and craft room, child watch area, senior activity center and lounge area.

People can look forward to a fun and enriching experience once the center opens, Dudley said.

"That Community Center is an exciting project, and the library is excited to be a part of that project," she said.

The building sits on nine acres of the 35-acre site. The remaining 24 acres will be for Citizens Park, which will include multipurpose fields and an outdoor amphitheater.

The building cost $16.1 million and was paid for by various agencies, including the city.

NW News on 03/02/2015

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