Category: Check it out!

The American Library Association Annual Convention took place in Chicago June 22-27. Eleven CALS staff members were able to attend this year, from a variety of departments across the system including communications, human resources, branch management, youth services, and community resources.

The conference brought in 15,000 library workers and students for this multi-day convention.

It’s summer in Central Arkansas and you know what that means – warm (ok, let’s be real, HOT) temps and kids with extra energy to burn off. CALS has five ways to help beat the summer boredom. There are of course the obvious things you can do at the library like check out books and read in a corner until you go home and read some more (was that only me as a kid?) but CALS has so many other ways to have fun all summer long,

You might remember back in October we began offering the plus pack from the streaming service, Kanopy. We wanted to know if it was a service that our patrons enjoyed. And enjoy, you did! So starting June 1, we are offering the full catalog of Kanopy streaming services (as always, included free with your CALS card).

May is AAPI Heritage Month, and recognizes the contributions and influence of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. The reason May was chosen comes back to two important dates; May 7 and May 10. May 7, 1843, marks the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States.

Thanks to Libby and OverDrive (the platform that CALS uses for ebooks), CALS has access to a program called “Together We Read,” which allows for simultaneous reading of books. (If you weren’t aware, despite being a digital file, ebooks are still checked out one at a time and “count” toward the life of the book).

Some weekends you just know that you want to spend it on the couch, binging something, moving only to refill your snacks or to change from comfy clothes into comfier clothes. When you’ve run through everything new on the streaming services, that’s where the Binge Box comes in. CALS has a selection of pre-chosen movies that will get you through even the longest weekend.

Freegal has launched a new platform, Freegal Music+. Transforming Freegal Music into a state of the art streaming platform and app. We all enjoy music through our phones, Bluetooth speakers, car, or computers. Now with over 18 million songs from 200+ genres, including today’s top music. Read here to find out all the music options CALS has to offer.

Off the Shelf will feature new releases in both physical and digital media, exhibitions, and highlight larger system- wide programs. We hope this publication serves our patrons by providing current news about our collection-- the foundation of all great libraries.