CALS Blogs

 On Thursday, July 27, a group of patrons gathered in the community room at Dee Brown Library to celebrate. While most people spend their summers avoiding the heat and relaxing, this group was working on building their language skills. The language acquisition program at Dee Brown offered two options- English as a second language and Spanish as a second language.

The Witherspoon Arts & Cultural Gala and Award Ceremony is hosted by the Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library. It recognizes artists and purveyors of the arts for their accomplishments and contributions to the arts, literary arts and cultural community. The award recognizes the achievements of high excellence and accomplishments.

Latina Sheard was awarded the The Witherspoon Librarian of the Year Award –

At CALS we have long prided ourselves on adjusting to the needs of many while being good stewards of the money that we manage. We have made efforts to offer non-traditional items through our “Library of Things” program where patrons can check out everything from toys and telescopes to tools and fishing poles.

While we have added more physical items that are atypical in nature,

It is getting hot, hot, HOT outside but CALS has all the ways to keep you cool (both in spirit and in temperature). Jump into the activities around Summer @ CALS at any of our branches, or check out the variety of programs (free and ticketed) at the state-of-the-art Ron Robinson Theater. Meet some authors and check out all the fun with food available this month.

Ditch the summer stagnation and dig out the pen and paper (or computer, it’s up to you). Sometimes the greatest adventures take place on just one page. Submit your one-page story for a chance to win! Additionally, participants’ work will be added to an anthology published as a free eBook on Amazon. Submissions are open from 6/3-6/28 &

On Thursday, May 30, the air was electric in the historic Cox Building, the home of the Rock It! Lab; not just from the lively tunes being played by DJ Swift 720, nor the food from Afrobites (although it was delicious), but from the excitement of listening to five soon-to-graduate individuals taking part in the pitch competition.

June means summer, which means Summer @ CALS is back! From crafts and concerts to magic and baseball, there’s something fun all June (and July) long—and the best part is that it’s free! Load up the car and head to your local library to take in all the activities; events kick off early in the month,

The Rock It! Lab is helping launch businesses all over town. The newest, Chicago Flamin’ Grill Express opened on April 30 to a welcoming crowd. For those not familiar, the Rock It! Lab (RIL) is a partnership between CALS and Advancing Black Entrepreneurship (ABE) that helps potential entrepreneurs who have previously been underserved, including minorities,