Long-time assistant children's librarian retires

Kasey McKinney, recently retired assistant children’s librarian at the Garland County Library, holds up prizes given out for the summer reading program on Wednesday, June 10. - Photo by Grace Brown of The Sentinel-Record
Kasey McKinney, recently retired assistant children’s librarian at the Garland County Library, holds up prizes given out for the summer reading program on Wednesday, June 10. - Photo by Grace Brown of The Sentinel-Record

After working at the Garland County Library for 23 years, Assistant Children's Librarian Kasey McKinney became a familiar face to many families who took part in the programs offered through the library's children's department.

Recently, though, McKinney decided it was time to retire and focus more on her health and her family.

"I have been very blessed to make friends and I've worked with the best people. They call the children's department 'Happy Valley' because that's where all the fun is, but both sides have gotten closer and closer. In 2020, we became a dream team," McKinney said.

In 1997, McKinney began working at the library part-time. After three years, she moved to Conway but something brought her back to the children's department at the Garland County Library.

"I love working with kids and really liked that every day was different. It was fun and I had different people to work with. I've seen so many changes and met so many people," she said.

McKinney noted she is the last library employee from the first group to work at the Malvern Avenue location to retire. She began work at the library under the leadership of its former director, John Wells.

"I never imagined I'd work at the library. I actually told Mr. Wells I'd probably be there for a year and he said, 'Yeah, right,'" she said.

During her time there, McKinney spent all 23 years in the children's department and worked under five different children's librarians. One of her first responsibilities at the library involved programming and outreach. It soon became her main role.

"We tried to go big," she said. "I remember one year we did a sports-themed kickoff party ... I was super excited and called the Cowboys home office, NASCAR, and the Razorbacks. I got ahold of the people and we were actually able to get Tusk (the team's live mascot) to come. We could hear the fight song play as they drove up.

"And at the end of it all, they dumped the ice chest on me."

McKinney leaves behind a significantly sized pair of shoes to fill. According to Children's Librarian Tiffany Hough, her retirement is "a real loss" for the library.

"She contributed to a lot of the growth over the years. She became an institution. ... I remember the first day I spent working with her and I told her I needed her. She has been right there to support and encourage ever since," Hough said.

She noted that McKinney was essential to the growth seen in the children's library's outreach and programming over the past several years.

"She just helped build the whole program. Her hands and heart were in all of it," Hough said. "We are so sorry to see her go but she is a member of the library family."

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