Renovation Update

The Main Library is currently closed for extensive renovations. During this process, the Main Library services are available at “Mini Main,” located across the street at the Bobby L. Roberts Library of Arkansas History & Art.

The construction has caused our parking lot access to be temporarily changed. Currently, our surface lot is only accessible via 2nd Street, with limited spaces.

The most convenient parking is the parking deck on the corner of President Clinton Ave. and Rock St., right beside the Main Library. Please bring your ticket inside the “Mini Main” library and we can validate it for you.

Library Square Parking Rates

Two off-street parking areas are available to CALS patrons. If you are visiting the Main Library ask staff to validate your parking ticket to receive an extended free parking period.

An open-air parking lot is situated on the east side of Rock St., directly opposite the Main Library. And, a multi-story parking garage is located immediately north of the Main Library on the corner of Rock St. and President Clinton Ave. In both cases, the parking rates are as follows:

0 – 30 minutes: FREE
31 – 1 hour: $2.00
1 hour 1 minute – 2 hours: $4.00
2 hours 1 minute – 3 hours: $6.00
3 hours 1 minute – 4 hours: $8.00
4 hours 1 minute – 5 hours: $10.00
5 hours 1 minute – 6 hours: $12.00
6 hours 1 minute – 7 hours: $14.00
8+ hours : $16.00
Overnight: $16.00

About the Main Library

The Main Library, the flagship of the Central Arkansas Library System, is housed in the renovated Fones Brothers Warehouse in the historic River Market District. The third site for the library, a 132,000-square-feet facility, opened at 100 Rock Street in 1997. The Main Library offers patrons thousands of books and audiovisual items for children and adults. The five floors feature the Sturgis Center for Technology Training, a public computer lab; dedicated areas for children and teens; reading rooms on the first and fifth floors; individual and small group study areas; public meeting rooms; wireless Internet access; and an extensive reference department.

Library Square is comprised of the Main Library; the Rock It! Lab; the Ron Robinson Theater (a movie theater and performance hall with 315 seats), and the Bobby L. Roberts Library. The Roberts Library houses the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, including a genealogy and Arkansas research room; and the Galleries & Bookstore at Library Square, which features original art made by Arkansas artists and a large collection of gently used books for sale.