Category: CALS Roberts Library Blog

Franklin Williams is one of many Arkansans who served in the armed forces of the United States during both World War II and the Korean War. His collection at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System contains a notable sample of the type of communications developed on behalf of those in military service in the middle of the twentieth century.

The bond between the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies and the Center for Arkansas History and Culture—a collaboration between the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) and the University of Arkansas Little Rock (UA Little Rock) that makes archival materials from both entities available to the public in the Research Room at the CALS Roberts Library—began as a dream of the possibility of connecting patrons with local history in an organized way that meets the standards of archivists and genealogists on a national level.

I always knew that June was Pride Month for the LGBTQ+ community, but I didn’t know until recently that July is Disability Pride Month. As soon as I found out, I got excited to create a program highlighting Arkansans with disabilities who have become known locally, nationally, and internationally for their incredible accomplishments.

The labels we assign to people in our lives are sometimes inadequate when describing their place in history. The names we call our grandparents are often different than the names their children assign to them or the names their friends and extended family assign to them.

I know my grandfather as “Paw Paw.” His name is Willie Toombs,

The Harrison-Jones Family Papers (MSS.12.21), although they are small collection, provide insights into a surprising variety of topics. Based on the personal papers of Eula Ruth Jones Harrison, the collection documents both the Jones family of Clark County and the Harrison family of Howard County. Of special interest is the material documenting the military service of Lewis T.

Summer @ CALS, the summer reading program at the Central Arkansas Library System, is in full swing, and this year’s theme, Color Our World!, celebrates making and enjoying art.

One of the ways we’re celebrating our colorful, art-filled world at the CALS Roberts Library is the Studio Scans program with the DIY Memory Lab.

For the first Lizard Luau of Summer @ CALS, the staff and patrons at the CALS Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center welcomed Megan, who works for Arkansas Reptile Rescue. I brought the lizard stickers and the reptile toys, the lizard coloring sheets, and the presentation full of pictures and factoids to the Children’s Library.

I had the honor of being one of twenty-five archivists selected to participate in the Archives Leadership Institute (ALI) hosted at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville June 8–15, 2025. Funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, ALI brings together archival workers from across the country to reflect, learn, and grow as leaders in our field.

The muscadine is a kind of wild grape native to North America. It’s not the kind prized by connoisseurs, but here in the South it has become somewhat emblematic of regional foodways, being transformed into jellies and wine (often very sweet) or just eaten by the handful. Back when I was teaching a fall graduate class,

As Father’s Day approaches, I’ve been thinking about how every community has members who stand out as father figures. One of those figures who influenced my life is Charles E. Bussey Jr.

In 1979, Mr. Bussey worked with Ernest G. Green, who was the first African American graduate of Little Rock Central High School and then became Assistant Secretary of Labor under President Jimmy Carter,