The Saline County Library is celebrating a year of remarkable growth and community impact as it wraps up 2025 and steps into 2026 with renewed energy. From issuing over 5,000 new library cards to more than doubling donations in its Battle of the Businesses charity drive, the library has strengthened its presence across Saline County through expanded services, increased outreach, and creative programming.
And… with the launch of its annual Winter Challenge, the library invites residents to start the new year by embracing reading, writing, and storytelling in cozy and engaging ways – with prizes! Read more below.
Looking Back on 2025
The Saline County Library has completed its annual review, highlighting a year of continued growth and expanded community engagement in 2025.
Across all three library branches and online services, the library circulated 559,383 total items. Among the most frequently checked-out materials were the 1999 animated film The Addams Family, the Nintendo Switch game Splatoon 3, and the children’s book The Big Cheese by Jory John, illustrated by Pete Oswald. (The Addams Family was also among the most popular checkouts for 2024.) The most popular items from the Library of Things in 2025 included fishing rods, perler bead kits, and jigsaw puzzles.
The library also continued to grow its patron base, adding more than 5,000 new library cards in 2025. Additionally, the library experienced a 3% increase in library card renewals. Library cards are valid for three years before renewal is required.
The Saline County Library’s third branch, the East End Branch, opened to the public on April 1, 2024. In 2025, the library expanded hours at this location, opening one hour earlier at 9:00 AM and adding Saturday hours from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM in response to community demand. “Our patrons have been asking for this since we opened, and we’re excited to finally be able to make it happen,” said Amanda Garrison, East End Branch Manager.
From November 3 – 16, the library hosted its second annual Battle of the Businesses charity drive, which saw a record-breaking number of donations. Local businesses competed to donate items for library food pantries and the Warm Wishes program, which provides winter clothing to those in need. Republic Services took first place, donating 3,478 items. In total, participating businesses contributed 6,981 items – more than double the amount collected in 2024.
The library also saw notable growth on social media in 2025. The Saline County Library’s Facebook page grew by 7%, gaining 1,013 new followers, while its Instagram account increased by 15%, adding 267 new followers.
The 2026 Winter Challenge
Building on a successful year of growth and community engagement, the Saline County Library is beginning 2026 with its annual Winter Challenge. The program will run from January 1 through February 28, 2026, and is open to adults ages 18 and older at all three library branches located in Benton, Bryant, and East End.
The Winter Challenge encourages participants to immerse themselves in creating and enjoying stories across multiple formats—including books, graphic novels, writing projects, and television. Completing tasks in each category contributes toward tracked goals, with prizes redeemed at the library.
“Immersing yourself in a good story is never a waste of time.” said Laura Austin, Adult Services Manager at the Saline County Library. “Consider this challenge your permission slip to take a little time to get warm and cozy and read, watch, or write a good story this winter.”
Participants can pick up a paper BINGO sheet at any library branch, or download a copy to print at home, from https://www.salinecountylibrary.org/winter-challenge-2026/. In order to participate, challengers will need to complete and mark off tasks within their chosen category. While all challenges can be completed without visiting the library, prizes must be picked up in person at a Saline County Library location.
Prizes from the challenge are unlocked upon completing a row or column (or, “BINGO”).
- One BINGO: Small prize from Treasure Chest
- Two BINGOs: Winter Challenge mug
- Blackout BINGO (completing all tasks on a BINGO board): Prize drawing ticket for Grand Prize
Patrons may pick any or all of the following challenges to complete, and may redeem three prizes for each:
- Winter Reading – This challenge features tasks such as reading different genres, finding quiet and cozy spaces to read, sharing books with friends and family, using library resources, and more.
- Winter Writing – This challenge encourages learning about how to write effectively, trying different writing approaches, sharing your work with others, revisiting old projects, and more.
- Winter Watching – This challenge motivates patrons to try new movie genres, write movie reviews, watch with friends and family, and more.
The Saline County Library has been serving the residents of Saline County since 1931 and has three locations: Benton, Bryant, and East End. Each location provides wireless access computing as well as desktop computers for guest use and several other non-traditional items such as video games, cake pans, small tools, and more. The Saline County Library also provides a variety of events and community outreach programs. For a full list of services and upcoming events, visit www.salinecountylibrary.org or call 501-778-4766. For more information about Summer Reading Challenge programs and the library, including our hours for each location, visit www.SalineCountyLibrary.org.
