Category: CALS Roberts Library Blog

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,

Little Rock’s fabric is constantly changing, as new buildings are stitched in and others are modified or removed based on the needs of the time.

One example is the long-gone Hotel Richelieu. In 1897, Lawrence D. Gleason bought the Hotel Richelieu, which was located on the northeast corner of 2nd and Center Streets,

Spring was filled with art activities at CALS, and we are gearing up for an art-filled summer!

In March, we celebrated the twentieth year that CALS has participated in the beloved downtown Little Rock event 2nd Friday Art Night (2FAN). To celebrate, we hosted the Dedicated Visual Art Studio & Gallery doing a free live screen-printing of a poster or t-shirt honoring our twenty years!