Category: CALS in the Community

Twenty-five masked and eager faces waited in the library and learning center of Daisy Bates Elementary School on Wednesday, July 27, as CALS employee, Courtney Jones, explained which backpacks were for which grades. This group of students comes from the 385 students who attend Bates Elementary and are part of the Little Scholars after-school program.

On Thursday, June 2, the inaugural class of the Rock It Lab Incubator (RIL) Program members graduated. The Incubator program is an intensive 6-month commitment where participating entrepreneurs are given the tools to learn how to navigate the world of business ownership.

On Tuesday, June 14, the Sue Cowan Williams Library held a block party celebration! This hour and a half long celebration brought in more than one hundred individuals of all ages from within the Dunbar community and even farther away. The celebration was two-fold, a late birthday party for the branch’s namesake and to celebrate 25 years of library service to the community,

Juneteenth is a celebration held during the month of June in Arkansas and throughout the nation to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. The celebration originated in Galveston, Texas, when a regiment of Union soldiers arrived and were able to enforce the freedom of enslaved peoples on June 19, 1865. Since 2005,

Last year was a big year for the Cox Building. In January, the bookstore moved out and a brand-new business incubator program moved in – The Rock It! Lab. The RIL is a partnership between CALS and Advancing Black Entrepreneurship (ABE) focused on helping business owners (or aspiring business owners) in under-resourced communities. The program is multi-pronged,

April 17-23 is Volunteer Appreciation Week and CALS wants to express a huge THANK YOU to our wonderful volunteers. Close to 400 volunteers donate their time to the library regularly throughout the year. Volunteers age 14 and older are welcome to work at library branches. These volunteers assist with stocking shelves, cleaning, boxing pulled books,

Looking for ways to get out into the beautiful state of Arkansas, give back to the earth and not spend any money? You know CALS is here with a stellar line-up of Earth Day events all April long. Find a full list of events in April in the latest program guide.

 

On November 9, Little Rock voters went to the polls to vote on whether to increase the operational millage rate in the city. We are excited and gratified by the results.  The measure was passed with roughly 71 percent of the vote!

The support CALS received from Little Rock voters underscores what I’ve always believed: public libraries are still widely recognized as essential to a vibrant community.