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| >Northeast
Arkansas Regional Library System |
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The Northeast
Arkansas Regional Library provides services to the libraries
in Clay, Greene, and Randolph Counties. The Regional Director
is housed in the Greene County Library in Paragould at 120
N. 12th Street.
In December 1963, the Greene County Library Board
and the Clay County Library Board and the Arkansas Library Commission joined
together to participate in a two-year domonstration program
of regional library service as defined by the Arkansas Library
Commission, aided by the Library Services Branch, U.S. Office
of Education. This was called the Greene-Clay Regional Library
Demonstration.
This regional program, supplementing existing library facilities
in the two counties, through rural bookmobile service financed
by federal aid was headquartered at the Greene County Library.
Bookmobile service was to be given to selected areas in each
county for a period of two years. The goal was to improve educational
opportunity in Greene and Clay Counties, by encouraging citizens
of all ages to read. It was expected that the counties would
continue the service at the end of the two-year program.
The bookmobile project, maintained with federal funds, included
a bookmobile, maintenance of the bookmobile, salaries of the
bookmobile staff and at least $10,000 in new books for each
of the two years of the program.
In July 1985, another two-year demonstration was started, with
Randolph County Library joining the other two counties and
the Northeast Arkansas Regional Library Demonstration was formed.
The agreement was basically the same except at least $15,000
for new books each year, was to be budgeted and part of the
financial support for the Regional Library was to be paid by
the three counties.
In 1978, because of a change in state law, the governing bodies
of the three counties signed a new "Interlocal Agreement" creating
ad perpetuating the Northeast Arkansas Regional Library. The
purpose of this agreement is to provide library service for
the residents and citizens of the Counties of Clay, Greene
and Randolph, Arkansas, supplementary and in addition to those
of the County Library in each of said counties and to perpetuate,
the existence of the presently existing Northeast Arkansas
Regional LIbrary and the services provided thereby.
The Regional Library is currently funded completely by State
Funds. The Regional Library Board is made up of three board
members from Greene County, two from Clay County and two from
Randolph County. The Regional Library Director is housed in
the Greene County Public Library in Paragould.
The bookmobile service is no longer in existence. Currently
the Regional Library coordinates and provides funds for the
Online Union Catalog and Interlibrary Loan Services between
the five libraries in Pocahontas, Corning, Rector, Piggott
and Paragould. |
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