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Juliana Flinn is a professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas – Little Rock. She has lived here for 35 years.  Her pastimes include acting in community theater, hiking, practicing yoga, and playing with grandchildren. 

I’m a cultural anthropologist, and I’m convinced that the reading I did as a child set me on that path. 

The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) has added Juneteenth to the organization’s paid holiday schedule for employees effective in 2021. The library system notes this is an important step toward building a more equitable community by acknowledging the experiences and obstacles affecting people of color, particularly those in the African American community.

“I can start by imagining how the public library can help us find ways to move our country’s policies closer to her creeds,” wrote CALS Executive Director Nate Coulter in a statement released on June 3 following the killing of George Floyd by an officer in the Minneapolis Police Department.

The past weeks have been an exceedingly painful reminder of how America has not yet overcome its lengthy history of institutional racism. The tragedies of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor are part of a relentless stream of horrific events involving police and vigilantes that reveal deeper flaws in our country, and the stark and ever-present threat faced by black and brown Americans.

Do you need to know more about debt collection law, bankruptcy, or landlord/tenant law since COVID-19 disrupted the economy? How can you make sure your wishes for your health care are known if you are disabled while in the hospital? What do you need to know about public benefits if your job is furloughed or eliminated?

When CALS libraries had to close their doors to the public according to CDC guidelines, our staff sought ways to bring helpful library programming online.  And in a world where the ground seems to be constantly shifting underfoot with every daily newscast, many of us are seeking ways to maintain a positive and peaceful mindset.

Our staff is taking care to keep our book returns and circulation process as safe and sanitary as possible during the pandemic.

We know how important it is to have a process for returning books and other physical items that protects the health of our staff and keeps you and your loved ones safe.

May 4, 2020 UPDATE

CALS will be closed to the public and all programs have been suspended until further notice. Due dates have been extended to May 18 and fines will begin to accrue on May 19. Beginning Monday, May 11, curbside service will be available from 9:00am-6:00pm at all branches,

I have never loved the public library the way I do right now.

Seeing the halls of the library silent and dark and deserted today, after weeks of absence while working from home, moved me to tears as I finished photographing the empty stacks, empty public service desks, empty study tables.

The few people in the building to provide curbside service and security happened to be some of my most passionate and public-spirited coworkers.