“A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never-failing spring in the desert.” – Andrew Carnegie
April 6–12 is National Library Week—a time to celebrate the vital role libraries and library professionals play in transforming lives and strengthening communities.
McMath Library is on the hunt for new or gently used prom dresses, cocktail dresses, shoes, and all those dazzling accessories for our annual Prom Dress Drive! All sizes are welcome, so let’s make dreams come true! Just a heads up – donations need to be fresh and clean! On Saturday, April 5,
As we welcome 2025, I want to take a moment to reflect on the work we did together with our many partners in 2024 and share how our efforts will continue to shape the future of our community. Last year gave us plenty of reasons to celebrate. And it also invited us to review and reaffirm the values at the core of the library’s mission.
Over the past several years, CALS and libraries across the nation have faced a growing wave of book challenges aimed at limiting access to diverse materials. This impact was felt in Arkansas with the passage of Act 372, signed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on March 31, 2023. This law imposes restrictions on library materials and creates criminal penalties for librarians.
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,
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,
CALS continues to work toward our mission of being the Library Rewritten, and with that brings change and evolution. You might remember a time pre-pandemic when event calendars were available in a printed format. Once branches shut down, those documents were offered digitally. And at the end of last year, we questioned if that was really the best solution.
We are excited to announce this year’s presenters and schedule for the Six Bridges Book Festival. Lots to look forward to this year with CALS and Six Bridges! For a full list of presenters click here.
Because we know you like to read, and because we imagine you might like to hear one of your favorite authors, we wanted to reach out to you. As you probably can guess, wellknown authors often have very high speaking fees, think $10,000 to $100,000+. As the Fest’s budget is very small, ordinarily the Fest does not offer speaking fees. This makes it difficult to recruit many high-profile authors. With the help of some remarkable volunteers, the Fest has had some amazing good fortune over the years, yet realistically we know that some authors we’d like to feature (and think you would like too) will never come for travel and lodging only.
That’s where you come in. Book clubs are filled with passionate readers. And some of you might be willing to help us with this goal. Chairs Susan Santa Cruz and Gael Sammartino are already “off and running” with several pledges from book club members. We hope you’ll consider donating. Donations are tax deductible. Checks should be made to CALS Foundation, and sent to 100 Rock Street, Little Rock, AR 72201. Please designate “Book Club Campaign” in your check’s memo section.
For anyone who donates, later down the line we’ll be sending a short list of authors we think might be able to be secured with funds raised. If you donate, you will get to vote on these, and possibly hear the author at the Fest. We hope you’ll consider this.
Any donation is appreciated. Thanks for your consideration and we hope to see you at the 2020 Fest (April 23-26)!
Honor or memorial gifts are an everlasting way to pay tribute to someone who has touched your life. Give a donation in someone’s name to mark a special occasion, honor a friend or colleague or remember a beloved family member. When a tribute gift is given the honoree will receive a letter acknowledging your generosity and a bookplate will be placed in a book. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 or calsfoundation@cals.org.
Spreading your gift out through monthly contributions is a great solution for your budget and ours. Your monthly donation provides ongoing and predictable support we can count on to fund educational and cultural programming for the patrons, communities, and neighborhoods being served by CALS.
Leave your legacy with a planned gift that can help ensure quality materials, programming, and services for our libraries. For more information, contact 501-918-3025 or calsfoundation@cals.org.
Or, sign up for Kroger Rewards and a portion of your purchases at Kroger will be donated to the CALS Foundation. Simply go to krogercommunityrewards.com, click “Create an Account” to sign in, and select CALS Foundation as your organization to support.
The CALS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations made to the CALS Foundation are tax-deductible for United States federal income tax purposes. Read our Privacy Policy.
The Six Bridges Book Festival is a project of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS). If you have a CALS library card and would like to preview the work of this year’s Festival authors, you may check out a book, eBook, or audiobook using the CALS catalog.
The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. Creating an account gives you access to all these features.