CALS Recognized for Community Impact

Library noted for imagination, focus on equity

The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) was acknowledged recently by the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation and Library Journal in the announcement of the second annual Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize. Developed in partnership between the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation and Library Journal, this award recognizes the public library as a vital community asset and honors a library that has achieved this recognition to the highest degree through relationships with civic stakeholders and the community.

This year Cranston Public Library in Cranston, Rhode Island, won the prize, but CALS was one of three libraries given Honorable Mention. Meredith Schwartz, editor of Library Journal, said CALS “stood out as well for their imaginative and replicable focus on equity, social justice, and the health of their communit[y].”
In addition to the Honorable Mention, CALS was featured for the distinction on page 18 of the November 2020 edition of Library Journal.

The other libraries to receive Honorable Mentions are Union County Library in Union, South Carolina, and Gwinnett County Library near Atlanta, Georgia.

Founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey of Dewey Decimal System fame, Library Journal is a prominent library trade publication.

For more information visit cals.org or call 501.918.3048.