Holiday Hours
All branches of the Central Arkansas Library System will be closed Monday, February 17, in observance of President's Day. Regular hours will resume at all branches Tuesday, February 18.
Read more...
Showing posts with label cals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cals. Show all posts
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Monday, December 9, 2013
CALS sets Food for Fines dates
Shed unwanted library fines this holiday season. The Central Arkansas Library System is continuing its annual tradition of helping those in need by holding its annual Food for Fines week beginning Monday, December 16 and continuing through Sunday, December 22.
The Food for Fines program gives patrons an opportunity to help others in central Arkansas while offsetting fines for overdue library materials. Patrons may donate non-perishable food items when returning overdue materials to erase the fine for that item as well as any other existing overdue fines. Each non-perishable food item brought represents one dollar. Patrons may donate up to ten food items to cancel up to ten dollars of fines. Food donations may not be used to waive charges for items that are lost or were previously billed to patrons. We encourage patrons to bring additional food items to help with the food drive.
Food collected during the drive will be donated to Arkansas Rice Depot, which has been working to alleviate hunger in Arkansas for more than 25 years. Donations will also be used to support Rice Depot's Food for Kids program, which operates during the school year providing backpacks of "kid-friendly" food children can take home to eat during the weekend. Items needed for Food for Kids are ravioli, peanut butter, tuna, canned fruit, pudding cups, cereal and granola bars.
CALS libraries in Little Rock include: Main Library, 100 Rock Street; Hillary Rodham Clinton Children's Library and Learning Center, 4800 W. 10th Street, Dee Brown Library, 6325 Baseline Road; Fletcher Library, 823 North Buchanan Street; McMath Library, 2100 John Barrow Road, Oley E. Rooker Library, 11 Otter Creek Court; Terry Library, 2015 Napa Valley Drive; Thompson Library, 38 Rahling Circle; and Williams Library, 1800 Chester Street. CALS libraries in surrounding communities include: Max Milam Library, 609 Aplin Avenue, Perryville; Maumelle Library, 10 Lake Pointe Drive, Maumelle; Esther D. Nixon Library, 703 W. Main Street, Jacksonville; Amy Sanders Library, 31 Shelby Drive, Sherwood; and Millie M. Brooks Library, 13024 Hwy. 365 S., Wrightsville.
For more information contact 918-3000.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Holiday Hours
All branches of the Central Arkansas Library System will close at 6pm Wednesday, November 27, and will remain closed through Friday, November 29, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Read more...Monday, July 15, 2013
The Parapet Project
To top off (literally, or maybe, literarily) the new library in the renovated Fones Hardware Building, CALS set out to develop a list of authors to immortalize in stone at the top of building.
The Parapet Project provoked some rather colorful commentary from the community. For example:
“Bobby [Roberts], it appears you’ve been out in the sun too long without a hat and consequently have turned up with your dipstick about an inch shy of your oil. Metaphorically speaking, of course. . . . I refer to the plan to put the names of authors hammered into concrete all around the parapet of the building. It looks nice . . . but will eventually cause you to lose whatever fragile grip on reality you currently have. . . . You have put yourself directly into the path of a runaway locomotive.” Frank Fellon, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, March 13, 1995
But eventually, the parapet prevailed. Nominations from the public poured in and the committee members labored over the tough task of creating a ballot. Library card holders voted on a number of authors from twelve major categories: Arkansas, Applied Science, Pure Science, Social Sciences, Philosophy & Religion, History, American Literature, Children’s Literature, Southern Literature, Poetry, Popular Fiction, World Literature.
The end result — the winners of the literary death match — can be seen atop the Main Library. And, as far as I know, everyone walked away from the project with their sanity intact.
Author nomination form, 1995
Vote Flyer, Front and Back, 1995
Read more...
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
The Cox Building
Thomas Cox & Sons Machinery Company as it appeared in Little Rock and Pulaski County Arkansas Illustrated, a book published in 1907.
Thomas Cox first entered the machinery business in Dardanelle in the late 1800s, but later expanded his business into Little Rock’s “machinery market” in 1905. The office and salesrooms of the Thomas Cox & Sons Machinery Company were located at 322-324 East Markham Street, while the warehouse and boiler platform were located catty-corner from this office at Second and Commerce Streets. The company’s wrecking plant was located in east Little Rock.
The Thomas Cox & Sons Machinery Company’s warehouse was constructed around 1906. The curve of the warehouse’s south wall resulted from the presence of railroad tracks. A 1907 description of the company lists the warehouse as carrying: “a most complete line of general mills supplies and [as] the general agents for the DeLoach saw and single mills, the Houston, Stanwood & Gamble engines and boilers, the Straub Machinery Co.’s corn mills, and the Farquhar threshing machine and portable outfits…” This machinery company went out of business in 1925, but the building was used as a warehouse until 1999.
Capital improvement bonds approved by Little Rock voters in 1998 allowed the Central Arkansas Library System to transform the warehouse into what is now known as the Cox Creative Center. Since its restoration in 2001, the adaptive reuse of the Cox Building allows this antiquated structure to function as a book and gift shop, art gallery, and meeting area for library events. Read more...
Monday, June 10, 2013
Fones Brothers Warehouse
After opening a metal shop in Little Rock in 1859, Daniel G. Fones founded a hardware business in in 1865. When his brother, James A., joined the business a few years later, the company became known as the Fones Brothers. In August of 1888, the business incorporated as a stock company and became the Fones Brothers Hardware Company. The hardware company operated out of multiple locations in Little Rock during its many years of operation.
The last of these locations was on Second and Rock Streets, the current site of the Main Branch of the Central Arkansas Library System. The Fones Brothers Hardware Company opened at this location in early 1921 and carried “a full line of shelf goods, heavy hardware, implements, stoves, refrigerators, screen doors, wire and builders’ hardware.” A January 1921 Arkansas Gazette article describes the construction of the final Fones Brothers Warehouse. The warehouse was built of “reinforced concrete construction and [was] fire proof, and [was] further protected by a Globe Automatic Sprinkler system.” This article states “the floor loads by this building are the heaviest of any building located in Arkansas” and also notes the presence of “two micro-leveling electric elevators.” The railroad running south of the Cox Building ran along the north side of the Fones Brothers Warehouse and allowed the company to “unload seven carloads of stock at one time.” The Gazette also reports the presence of segregated toilet and shower facilities.
The Fones Brothers Hardware Company in 1977. Photograph by Ken Hubbell.
The Fones family sold the company in 1983 and operations ceased in 1987. In 1993, citizens approved a bond allowing the Main Library to move into the Fones Brothers Warehouse from its former location on Louisiana Street. The new Main Library opened in a renovated Fones Brothers Warehouse in 1997. Read more...
Monday, December 3, 2012
From the photograph collection:
Clifton Hull Photograph Collection
PHO 37-A-22
Clifton Hull Photograph Collection
PHO 37-A-23
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Holiday Hours
The Arkansas Studies Institute will be closed Monday, February 20 in observance of President's Day. Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, February 21.
Read more...Thursday, July 21, 2011
FOCAL Book Sale
FOCAL Book Sale
Date: Friday - July 22 to Saturday - July 23
Main Library Basement • 100 Rock Street
Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday 1-4 p.m.
FOCAL members may enter at 9 a.m.
River Market Books & Gifts • 120 River Market Ave.
Friday & Saturday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 1-5 p.m.
FOCAL members enjoy 50% off "gently read" books and 25% off new books at RMB&G!
FOCAL Preview Party
Thursday, July 21, 5-7 p.m.
Memberships available at the door.
Get ready for the Friends of the Central Arkansas Library System (FOCAL) book sale on July 22-24. The Main Library basement, 100 Rock St., is fully stocked with great books, audiobooks, and VHS tapes for children and adults. Beginning Friday, shoppers can purchase $.50 paperback books and $1 hardback books. Don't miss boxes of prepackaged books available for $1, each which contains 25 books.
FOCAL members can shop the Main Library basement from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Memberships are available at the door. The sale will open to the public beginning at 10:00 a.m. Sale hours on Sunday are from 1-4:00 p.m.
At River Market Books & Gifts, 120 River Market Avenue, FOCAL members receive 50% off gently read books during the sale. Sale hours for River Market Books & Gifts are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1-5:00 p.m. Sunday.
For more information about the sale, please call 918-3000.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The Butler Center is hiring!
Archival Assistant -- Full-time position
The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, a department of the Central Arkansas Library System, seeks an organized, detail-oriented person to help process collections of historical documents. Responsibilities include accessioning, arranging and writing descriptions of the collection, and creating databases and indices.
The archivist will be expected to work independently on collection processing, work cooperatively with staff members and with the public, assist researchers in our research room, and perform other duties as required.
Strong writing skills, computer skills, ability to lift a 30-pound box, and a college degree required. Manuscript processing experience, familiarity with digital processing, work toward an advanced degree, and knowledge of Arkansas history preferred.
Some evening and weekend work required. Salary from $27,000 with excellent benefits.
The Butler Center is a comprehensive Arkansas history organization located on the Main Library campus in Little Rock’s River Market District. Send resume and CALS application to the attention of Brian Robertson, Butler Center, 100 Rock Street, Little Rock, AR 72201 or email them to brianr@cals.org; (501) 320-5723. Applications must be postmarked by January 31, 2011.
Visit the CALS website for more information.
Monday, September 20, 2010
CALS 5th Floor Writers' Names Election Begins
Voting to determine the writers' names to be incorporated into the remodeled 5th floor of the Central Arkansas Library System's (CALS) Main Library will be held from September 20 - October 15. The space will become the Main reading room for the downtown Library. The election is sponsored by Regions Bank.
The ballot contains the names of 165 writers and is available online, at CALS branches, and at Regions Bank locations. Biographies for writers on the ballot are available online. Library patrons nominated writers to be included in the décor of the remodeled 5th floor of the library, and a committee of scholars prepared the final ballot.
Each participant voting for the writer who receives the most votes overall will be automatically entered for a drawing to receive $500 worth of "gently used" books from River Market Books & Gifts, the library's used book store. Completed ballots may be turned in to designated ballot boxes at CALS branches, Regions Bank locations, or mailed to
100 Rock St.
Little Rock, AR 72201
Decorating libraries with the names of important writers is an old tradition. CALS incorporated this tradition into the renovation of the Fones building as the site of the new Main Library in 1995, when library patrons voted on the names which were engraved on the parapet of the Main Library.
CALS libraries in Little Rock include: Main Library, 100 Rock Street; Dee Brown Library, 6325 Baseline Road; Fletcher Library, 823 North Buchanan Street; Terry Library, 2015 Napa Valley Drive; Thompson Library, 38 Rahling Circle; Williams Library, 1800 Chester Street; and McMath Library, 2100 John Barrow Road. CALS libraries in surrounding communities include: Max Milam Library, 609 Aplin Avenue, Perryville; Maumelle Library, 10 Lake Point Drive, Maumelle; Esther D. Nixon Library, 703 W. Main St., Jacksonville; Amy Sanders Library, 31 Shelby Drive, Sherwood.
For more information contact Susan Hill Gele at 918-3086. Read more...
Friday, August 27, 2010
Special Bookplate Celebrates CALS’s Centennial
Donating a book for someone is a wonderful way to honor or remember them. In celebration of 100 years of service to our community and our 100th anniversary, the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) has designed a special centennial bookplate. For a donation of $15, this special bookplate will be placed in a book. Bookplates will be sold through December 31, 2010. Patrons may not request a certain book, but may request a subject or a branch for the book to be housed.
Payment for the plates may be made with cash, a check made to CALS Endowment, or a credit card; and may be purchased online at www.cals.org, in any of the branches, or over the phone at 918-3029. A form must be completed with the donor’s name and address and the honoree’s name and address. When a plate is purchased in honor or memory of someone, CALS will send an acknowledgement to the honoree or the honoree’s family. Acknowledgements will be sent immediately, but the plating process may take up to 2 months for completion.
CALS libraries in Little Rock include: Main Library, 100 Rock Street; Dee Brown Library, 6325 Baseline Road; Fletcher Library, 823 North Buchanan Street; Terry Library, 2015 Napa Valley Drive; Thompson Library, 38 Rahling Circle; Williams Library, 1800 Chester Street; and McMath Library, 2100 John Barrow Road. CALS libraries in surrounding communities include: Max Milam Library, 609 Aplin Avenue, Perryville; Maumelle Library, 10 Lake Pointe Drive, Maumelle; Esther D. Nixon Library, 703 W. Main St., Jacksonville; Amy Sanders Library, 31 Shelby Drive, Sherwood.
For more information contact Susan Hill Gele at 918-3086.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Holiday Hours
In observance of Independence Day, the Arkansas Studies Institute and all branches of the Central Arkansas Library System will be closed Sunday, July 4 and Monday, July 5. Regular hours will resume at all locations Tuesday, July 6.
Read more...Thursday, November 5, 2009
FOCAL Book Sale
It is that time again!
A record number of gently read books await shoppers for the final FOCAL book sale of 2009. The sale, which will begin Friday, November 6 and continue through Sunday, November 8, offers shoppers $.50 paperback books and $1 hardback books in the Main Library basement.
Volunteer coordinator Linda Halbrook also noted that more than 300 boxes of prepackaged books are available for $1 each. "These dollar boxes are sorted by genre and each contains 25 books," she said. FOCAL members can shop the Main Library basement from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday; the sale opens to the public at 10 a.m. Sale hours on Sunday are 1 to 4 p.m. for everyone.
FOCAL members will get special deals on great books as well as a sneak peek at the expansion of River Market Books & Gifts during a book sale preview party Thursday, Nov. 5 from 5-7 p.m. Books will be housed on the second floor of the Cox Creative Center as well as the first floor and the basement level, transforming River Market Books & Gifts into Little Rock's only three-story bookstore. Public sale hours at River Market Books & Gifts will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.
FOCAL memberships will be available at the door at River Market Book & Gifts as well as the Main Library. Memberships will be valid through 2010. The Main Library is located at 100 Rock Street, and River Market Books & Gifts is located at 120 Commerce Street. If you would like more information about the sale, please call 918-3000.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
BASE, Books for Arkansas Students’ Education
What do you know about BASE?
BASE, Books for Arkansas Students’ Education, is an innovative program to provide free books about Arkansas’ natural, cultural, and political history to public high schools across the state. The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) and the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies developed BASE for media specialists and teachers in all Arkansas public high schools. Schools have been allotted points, based on their school district’s economic need, with which to buy BASE books. When the purchaser has chosen his or her volumes CALS will ship them to the school. The school pays no money for this service, which is funded by donations to BASE.
How can you help?
Donate! CALS and the Butler Center need donations of new and used Arkansas history and culture books. To donate, mark your books “BASE donation” and drop them off at any CALS branch or at River Market Books & Gifts on the Main Library campus in downtown Little Rock. Books may also be mailed to: 100 Rock St., Little Rock, AR 72201. Click here to see our book wish list.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Event: Dedication of Count Pulaski Way
A dedication ceremony for Count Pulaski Way is set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 23 at the Concordia Museum, 409 President Clinton Avenue, in the Arkansas Studies Institute on the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Main Library campus. Count Pulaski Way includes the Carl and Lorene Martin Plaza and a walking mural of the Lower Arkansas River Valley.
Four stone columns make up the Carl and Lorene Martin Plaza. The columns were part of the original Carnegie Library but were removed and considered scrap when the library moved to the Louisiana St. location. Mr. Martin recovered the columns from their original site. Dr. Bobby Roberts, CALS Director, located the columns and brought them back to be part of the Main Library landscape.
The Lower Arkansas River Valley Walking Map is a 200 feet mural that depicts the geology, flora, fauna, and cultural history of this important stretch of land around the Arkansas River. Over ten artists worked on the Lower Arkansas River Valley Walking map. These artists include professionals and students who were led by Steven Ochs, a specialist in public art and designer of the mural.
Count Pulaski Way is named in honor of Count Casimir Pulaski, for whom Pulaski County is named. Serving both automobiles and pedestrians, the Way consists of a rebuilt portion of Rock Street that is reminiscent of early stone roads; the Lower Arkansas River Valley Walking Map; and two alleys. The Way was partially funded by Pulaski County through the support of County Judge Floyd G. "Buddy" Villines and the Pulaski County Quorum Court.
The groundbreaking is open to the public. For more information contact Susan Hill Gele at 918-3086.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Holiday Hours
In observance of Independence Day, all branches of the Central Arkansas Library System, the Arkansas Studies Institute, and the Butler Center will be closed Friday, July 3 - Sunday, July 5. Regular hours will resume Monday, July 6.
Read more...Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Holiday Hours
In observance of Memorial Day, the Main Library, the Butler Center, and the Arkansas Studies Institute will close Friday, May 22, at 3 p.m. and will remain closed through Monday, May 25. Normal operating hours will resume Tuesday, May 26.
Read more...Friday, January 16, 2009
Holiday Hours
The Butler Center and the Main Library will be open on Monday. All other branches of CALS will be closed.
Come by and say hi! This friendly blogger will be working and will be glad to help you get started on your research.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Holiday Hours
This blog is taking a break for the holidays. Expect us back on January 5th.
The Butler Center will keep regular hours Tuesday (9:00-6:00) with all branches of the Central Arkansas Library System closing at 6:00pm.
We will be closed on Wednesday the 24th and Thursday the 25th. Open for regular hours on Friday the 26th and Saturday the 27th. Then closed again on Sunday the 28th.
On Wednesday the 31st, all branches will be closing at 6:00pm. We will be closed on Thursday the 1st for New Years.
Did you get all that? Enjoy the holidays. See you in 2009.
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