Notes from Nate: Traditions of Excellence at CALS

While January is known as the beginning of the year for everyone, I spent so long going to school, sending my kids off to school, teaching at the law school, and being married to a teacher that I think of August and September as the actual start of the year. Meeting new teachers and classmates, finding my way around a new schedule and set of classrooms, and seeing friends again used to give me renewed energy – in spite of the late summer heat.

Thinking about a new cycle as we move deep into the second half of 2024 here at CALS, we knocked out a solid first half. And we have so much more planned for the rest of the year.

In April, we successfully reopened the remodeled Williams Library with a series of events, including a fundraiser that will help sustain programming at the branch. Moving the entrance to the east side of the building facing our partners at Dunbar Middle School now seems so natural that before long patrons won’t remember that the entrance was ever anywhere else. We’re glad to have the branch back up and running. We have less ambitious but important updates happening now at Terry Library, McMath Library and Dee Brown Library. The work at Main Library continues to make steady progress; you can keep up with the changes at cals.org/main2025. We will soon have something exciting to add, where we will need the community’s creativity to help us get it right. Be on the lookout for how you can make your mark on Main.

We just wrapped up one of the most successful Summer @ CALS seasons, with almost 11,000 people participating! Our programmers put together an amazing assortment of fun summer activities, including two Library Nights at Dickey-Stephens Park. I’m excited to see our annual summer reading program continue to keep people engaged with reading during the summer months.

We have held three well-attended Used Book Sales out at our Port location. We appreciate the continued enthusiasm for the sale despite the remoteness of the temporary location. The proceeds from these sales continue to fund important programming like our children’s after school meal program from Be Mighty, and the annual Six Bridges Book Festival.

The Book Festival in late September is just around the corner. Planning is in full swing, and as always, we think there will be something for every reader’s interest. Mark your calendars for September 22-29. We will start with a few virtual events before diving into the in-person discussions on Thursday. We will have cooking demonstrations in the new Williams Library community kitchen, a party on Friday night, and wrap things up with Little Readers Rock, the Root Pie Contest, and a special event with Ann Patchett and Robin Preiss Glasser on Sunday. You can meet local and nationally acclaimed authors, including some familiar faces like Eli Cranor, Ayana Gray, and Nate Powell, with newcomers Pulitzer winner Ilyon Woo, Crystal Wilkinson, Marcela Fuentes, and Alice Driver.

Another exciting thing happening soon is that we are expanding our reach with the addition of the long-awaited bookmobile. This library-on-wheels, which we have dubbed the “CALS Cruiser,” is set to hit the streets in September. We will attend events within the community, but more importantly, it will help us reach patrons in areas where our existing branches are simply not convenient.

September will be a packed month. In addition to the Book Festival, two of our branches are noting significant milestones – Fletcher will celebrate 50 years with a 70s-themed party on September 7, while Thompson Library will celebrate 20 years later that same month.

We recently wrapped up a public survey that will help us write our strategic plan for the next three years. We appreciate the candid feedback from patrons about what we are doing right and what we could do better. I might be biased, but I think the future of CALS in the next few years is extremely promising. I am confident our wonderful staff will exceed your expectations most every day because, as I like to say to everyone, CALS punches above its weight.

There are a lot of challenges in our community and world to be concerned about for the future. But for a long time, going back to the first day of kindergarten for my oldest child in August of 1995, CALS has been a shining illustration of the best of local public service organizations in Arkansas. The fall we have planned for you will continue that tradition of excellence.