Category: News Features

Democracy can’t survive without you.

This is no exaggeration. Pulaski County faces a serious shortage of poll workers to run the general election on November 3, 2020. The Pulaski County Election Commission recently put out a call for poll workers, and CALS is helping spread the word in a nonpartisan, publicly funded effort to support our elections.

It’s a wrap! Summer Reading Club 2020 has come to a close for this summer. Kids had loads of fun as we all celebrated reading with our theme, “Imagine Your Story.” And thanks to our online book-tracking system, readers of all ages were still able to log their books, movies, and activities and win prizes!

With a grant from the Roy and Christine Sturgis Charitable and Educational Trust, the Porter Prize Board has generously donated a collection of books authored by winners of the Porter Prize to the Central Arkansas Library System and six other Arkansas libraries.

The Porter Prize is one of Arkansas’s most prestigious literary awards,

We’re all feeling the strain of the pandemic, and it’s more important now than ever to be present for each other. A friendly word or sign of caring may make a difference for someone who is struggling financially, mentally, or emotionally.

Laura Hodo of the CALS McMath Library told us a story recently about an encounter with one of our library visitors.

Raising Arkansas Beyond Our 57% Response Rate on the 2020 U.S. Census

If you see cheerful staff members in CALS masks walking around outdoors, using iPads to interview people, that’s the sight of your library system hard at work on the U.S. Census.

The 2020 U.S. Census contains only seven questions and usually takes about five minutes to complete.

In early 2019, CALS adopted a strategic plan to identify needs in our community and work to meet those needs. A pillar of that strategic plan is a new initiative to increase outreach to the Black and LatinX communities, as well as to extend all community outreach in settings outside library buildings. With these focused outreach efforts,

Kids getting bored during the summer? No worries–we have kids’ programming online, so kids can learn how to make pizza toast while they hear a great story about a dragon pizzeria!

Tui O’Baugh taught second grade for ten years before joining CALS to teach programs at our children’s library. Her know-how, enthusiasm, and warmth have been inspiring kids for two years as she teaches the cooking and storybook class called “Little Kids in the Kitchen.” This hands-on learning experience teaches kids in a dynamic way how they can turn ingredients into delicious foods.

Conjure Women is a Spellbinding Novel of Midwives in Slavery and Reconstruction

Afia Atakora’s debut novel Conjure Women is a rich quilt-work of stories based on a large cast of characters who live through the end of slavery and into the Reconstruction period. An African American mother and daughter,