Bentonville Schools Book Bus is Back and Better Than Ever
The Book Bus reached an estimated 1,900 families last summer. With an upgraded ride, local educators hope to reach even more children this summer.
Sam Hoisington
June 08, 2025
The Bentonville Schools Book Bus, a library on wheels, is back for the summer and better than ever.
The bus makes stops across the attendance zones for eight elementary and middle schools, providing convenient access to books during the summertime.
An upgraded bus was introduced for the program this year. It has space for more books, as well as Wi-Fi and a TV that plays encouraging messages from school staff.
“There are about 70 percent more bookshelves on the new bus,” said Carol Halbmaier, a librarian at Vaughn Elementary who helped start the program. “It has air conditioning, which is huge. The old book bus was not air conditioned, so you can imagine riding around in the unairconditioned bus in July in Arkansas.”
The Book Bus reached an estimated 1,900 families last summer. With two new schools added and an upgraded ride, Halbmaier hopes to reach even more children this year.
Librarians are known to encourage reading — it’s sort of their whole thing — but Halbmaier said summer presents an especially good opportunity to hook students on reading since they have more free time.
How It Works
Each school handles its weekly route a little differently. For some schools, the bus may stay parked in a central lot. Others make stops throughout neighborhoods. Most routes run in the afternoon or evening, and the program continues through the end of July. Precise schedules for stops are posted on individual school social media accounts.
There are more schools involved than ever before, but even if a student’s assigned school isn’t participating this summer, families are welcome to visit any stop.
Unlike during the school year, there is no checkout system. Students typically borrow one or two books on the honor system each week.
“They don’t have to have a library card. They don’t have to check it out officially. It’s pretty laid back in the summer,” Halbmaier said.
Most of the time, books find their way back to the bus, but on the off chance they don’t, well that’s just one more book in a child’s home.
“If we lose a book, there are a lot of statistics about actually having books in your home and how that improves literacy,” Halbmaier said.
There are also books available for children who aren’t yet in school. Halbmaier said it’s never too early to start reading, and those younger children will be Bentonville students one day.
Staff from each school volunteer to work the Book Bus, including teachers, counselors, and administrators.
“Students come for the books, but also that connection as well,” Halbmaier said. She doesn’t have any trouble finding staff members who are willing to help.
A Look Back
Halbmaier, who was working at Osage Creek Elementary at the time, and Kim Moss, the librarian at Creekside Middle School, came up with the idea for the Book Bus in 2019 during an end-of-year conversation about ways to keep students reading over the summer.
“It kind of fell in our lap. We had always talked about worrying about our kids not reading in summer,” she said.
Once the idea reached the district’s transportation department, things came together in a matter of weeks.
The district identified a school bus that was no longer suitable for regular routes. With a shoestring budget and a few donations from local businesses, staff members got to work. Transportation staff built the shelves, and an art teacher painted the outside using donated spray paint.
“It was fast and furious, but we got started that year,” Halbmaier said.
That first summer, the Book Bus only served Osage Creek and Creekside Middle School. COVID-19 forced a pause in 2020, but more schools were added in the years that followed.
The old bus served the program well for several years. But after five summers on the road, it was time for something new.
While the original book bus came together in a matter of weeks, Halbmaier and her crew have been working on the upgraded bus all school year long.
The outside of the new bus features painted bookshelfs with a book representing each school in the district. One day, Halbmaier hopes, the Book Bus program will be able to serve every single one.
