News & Announcements

The Enchanting Realm of Reading Dragons

Seeking a whimsical reading incentive to spark your little ones’ imaginations? Look no further than the enchanting realm of Reading Dragons! This magical program creates an even playing field for readers of all abilities, rewarding them for the precious moments they dedicate to the world of books.

Children may face challenges in their reading adventures,


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Meet me at the club!

Have you ever wanted to start or join a book club? CALS can help you get started! We have book club kits in a wide variety of genres. Let’s get started! Reach out to friends who enjoy reading and gauge their interest in joining a book club. Once you’ve got your group together, it’s time to set the ground rules and dive into the CALS catalog for your first book club kit!

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SB 536, Federal Funding, and Libraries

“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.


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Prom Dress Drive at McMath Library

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,


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Happy New Year!

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.


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Victory for Libraries: Judge Rules in Favor of the Freedom to Read

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.


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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,


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John Kirk Receives Library’s 2024 Booker Worthen Literary Prize

Little Rock, AR – The Central Arkansas Library System’s Butler Center for Arkansas Studies will award the annual Booker Worthen Literary Prize to John Kirk, the George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, for his biography Winthrop Rockefeller: From New Yorker to Arkansawyer, 1912–1956, published by the University of Arkansas Press in 2022.


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