Central Arkansas Library System

The Back to School Safari at CALS Children's Library and Learning Center yesterday was SO. MUCH. FUN!

Thanks to all the families who visited the library to join in the festivities. We hope everyone has a safe and productive school year!

Prepare an easy, healthy, and affordable meal in the comfort of your own kitchen. Register for a free recipe kit. Pick up the kit at Children's Library on Wednesday, August 21.

Join us in learning how to make a recipe with Chef Juliana Bledsoe. Juliana learned this recipe during her time at Campo, a rustic Italian fine dining restaurant formerly located in Reno, Nevada. Never made a poached egg? No problem! Juliana will teach us new techniques in the kitchen that will build confidence and inspire any beginner cook in the kitchen.

Don't forget to register for your FREE recipe kit which includes a recipe card and all of the ingredients to follow along. events.cals.org/event/11596914

Due to the Razorback game scheduled at War Memorial Stadium, the CALS Children's Library and Learning Center will close at 5:30PM on Thursday, August 29.

Arkansas caviar? What?
The CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas stepping up to spark our curiosity on a day that ends in "Y" - nothing new about that!

Photo Friday!

Caviar, anyone?

Arkansas caviar, which is distributed nationally, consists of eggs from certain freshwater fish caught in the state’s rivers. The commercial fishers who supply the product to wholesalers generally obtain the eggs from the Arkansas, Mississippi, White, Cache, and St. Francis rivers in eastern Arkansas from late November until early April. The eggs come from paddlefish aka spoonbill catfish (pictured here), shovelnose sturgeon, and bowfin. Armenian brothers Melkoum and Mouchegh Petrossian often are credited with popularizing caviar in Paris, France, in the 1920s and spurring a worldwide interest in the product. Read more here: https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/caviar-7569/ and browse our thousands of other images here: https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/media/

It's Fest Friday, and Six Bridges Book Festival just dropped another exciting selection of authors we can look forward to seeing at the 2024 Fest next month! Check them out at SixBridgesBookFestival.org

Officials with the Arkansas Board of Newsletter Safety are warning subscribers of the weekly CALS email newsletter to exercise caution when opening today's newsletter. A spokesperson said this warning was primarily due to how overwhelmingly awesome the library is.

What library news could have prompted such a thing? Well...

- An interview with Six Bridges Book Festival featured author Lana Williams The Tender Gardener on the CALS Blog! cals.org/blog/lana-williams-queen-of-container-gardens
- The next Repair Café coming up this weekend at CALS Dee Brown Library
- Another Lawyers in the Library event with Center for Arkansas Legal Services scheduled at CALS Williams Library
- Lots more!

Be sure to sign up to have all the library news sent directly to your inbox at cals.click/newsletter. But, please, exercise caution!

It's getting wild at the CALS Children's Library and Learning Center! Stop on by our Safari Zone on August 17, 10AM-1PM to enjoy a Meet & Greet with live animal ambassadors from the Little Rock Zoo, haircuts and dental screenings, cooking demos, crafts, games, and so much more!
For more information visit events.cals.org/event/11285539

Always a blast to hang out with the folks at The Vine! Check out the upcoming back-to-school events around CALS.

Central Arkansas Library System hosts back-to-school events CALS has a series of events and activities to get everyone in the school spirit.

Thanks to Be Mighty Little Rock, students have access to free after-school meals at these library locations.

More information about Be Mighty's anti-hunger campaign, upcoming events, and how you can get involved is at cals.org/be-mighty-little-rock

Local businesses are already signing up for the Bookworm Bargains program! Thanks to Mr. Keith's Kettlecorn, The Original ScoopDog, The Green Corner Store, Museum of Discovery, and others who have already joined team Bookworm.

Bookworm Bargains is how we're celebrating Library Card Signup Month with our friends at North Little Rock Public Library System, and for the month of September it makes your library card the most valuable card in your wallet.

Businesses choosing to join the “Bookworm Bargains” program can decide on their level of discount. Options include a percentage discount, a gift (with or without a purchase), a “buy one get one” promotion, or a limited unique experience.

If your business is interested in participating in the “Bookworm Bargains” program and contribute to the celebration of Library Card Sign-up Month, please get in touch with LaReina Fuentes at [email protected] or Kevin Newsom at [email protected] by the August 16 deadline.

More info is at cals.org/blog/cals-and-nlrpls-seek-partners-for-bookworm-bargains-program.
Is there a business you'd like to see offering discounts just for showing your library card? Tag them in the comments!

We were recently honored to host a special visitor at Library Square when SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman toured the CALS Rock It Lab to discuss the positive impact of connecting small businesses to much needed resources, which is exactly what we and Advancing Black Entrepreneurship - ABE are doing at the Rock It! Lab.

To find out how the CALS Rock It! Lab can help give you the tools, guidance, and training necessary to start, grow, and scale your business, visit cals.org/rock-it-lab/

Join us August 22 at CALS Williams Library for another Lawyers in the Library event. This event will feature a presentation from Center for Arkansas Legal Services on the topic of Public Benefits, including information on programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, Medicare, and more.
More info is at https://events.cals.org/event/10041506

And mark your calendar now to attend a presentation on record sealing at CALS Dee Brown Library coming up later this year.

The improvements to CALS Terry Library are really coming along! Here's an update on what library patrons visiting Terry can expect in the coming week.

Loving the Olympics and not quite ready to let go? We may not have a definitive treatise on the history of competitive breakdancing in Australia, but we do have these and other great books to help sustain your Olympic spirit. Check them out at your favorite CALS location or in our online catalog at cals.bibliocommons.com.

"Thinking about a new cycle as we move deep into the second half of 2024 here at CALS, we knocked out a solid first half. And we have so much more planned for the rest of the year."

Our most recent email newsletter included information about the 2024 Six Bridges Book Festival, new items in the library's collection, library resources like digital magazines and a new language learning platform, and a letter from our Executive Director, Nate Coulter (read the full letter at cals.org/news/notes-from-nate-traditions-of-excellence-at-cals).

Be sure to sign up to have all the library news sent directly to your inbox at https://cals.click/newsletter.

It's getting wild at the CALS Children's Library and Learning Center! Stop on by our Safari Zone on August 17, 10AM-1PM to enjoy a Meet & Greet with live animal ambassadors from the Little Rock Zoo, haircuts and dental screenings, cooking demos, crafts, games, and so much more!
For more information visit events.cals.org/event/11285539.

It's Fest Friday! See these exciting authors and more at the 2024 Six Bridges Book Festival! Check them out at SixBridgesBookFestival.org

Some days, no matter which timeline you’re on, all it takes to be a hero is having the right card! Check out your favorites in comics, movies, and more with your CALS card. The origin story begins at our online catalog at cals.bibliocommons.com.

The CALS Cruiser bookmobile is preparing for roll out! Of course, this won't be the first bookmobile we've operated.
Take a look at these two classics!

Check out this cool feature Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects has in store for CALS Main Library!

As part of the exciting renovations at the Main Library, we're transforming the first-floor ceiling into a vibrant display of words in the children's and public areas. We need your help to fill it with inspiring quotations, passages, and excerpts from books, poems, etc.! We're looking for suggestions under 200 words, with some spaces perfect for 30–40-word selections.
Think libraries, reading, free expression, Little Rock, Arkansas, or any beautiful words that spark discovery, learning, and cultural expression. Submissions can be contemporary or from the public domain, and we'd love to highlight famous Arkansas authors. Join us in creating a unique and inspiring piece of the Main Library by visiting
calsweb.wufoo.com/forms/main-library-pages-ceiling-graphic/.

It's almost time for Back-to-School, and we've got events planned for students of all ages and their families. Check out all the parties, games, crafts, and more on our events calendar at events.cals.org/events?term=BackToSchool&r=thismonth.

It's hot outside, but being cool is easy when you've got a library card 😎

We've got thousands of new titles coming this month read while sipping a cold beverage in the shade. Or - even better - inside!

Check them out by visiting your favorite CALS location or by browsing our online catalog at cals.bibliocommons.com/explore/recent_arrivals.

Thanks to everyone who joined us at CALS - Sanders Library Saturday to celebrate Mrs. Amy Sanders’ 100th birthday! It’s a rare privilege to be able to continue honoring the life of someone of such impact along with them and be counted among friends.

Sherwood woman celebrates 100th birthday with family, friends It was a big day in Sherwood as a woman credited with dedicating her life to her family, community, and country is turning 100.

It's easy to write off August as a time to focus on back to school, but with CALS, it's so much more than that. Make time for music, crafts, author talks, and friendship bracelets.

Find out what’s happening around CALS this month in the new issue of Off the Shelf!
https://cals.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CALS_OffTheShelf_August2024.pdf

We were honored to spend time with Mrs. Amy Sanders yesterday at her 100th birthday celebration at (you guessed it) the Amy Sanders Library in Sherwood. Happy, Happy Birthday! 🎉🎂🥳

It's almost ready! We can't wait to roll out with the CALS Cruiser bookmobile!

Garden to Table Cooking Classes at CALS Children's Library and Learning Center presented Apple Seeds, Inc. & Be Mighty Little Rock.

During the program, your child will visit the garden, prepare recipes, and sit down to enjoy a healthy meal they've made.

More at http://events.cals.org/event/11252638 and
http://events.cals.org/event/11252639

Local businesses are already signing up for the Bookworm Bargains program! Thanks to Pyramid Art, Books & Custom Framing, Bella Vita Jewelry, Platnum BBQ, and others who have already joined team Bookworm.

Bookworm Bargains is how we're celebrating Library Card Signup Month with our friends at North Little Rock Public Library System, and for the month of September it makes your library card the most valuable card in your wallet.

Businesses choosing to join the “Bookworm Bargains” program can decide on their level of discount. Options include a percentage discount, a gift (with or without a purchase), a “buy one get one” promotion, or a limited unique experience.
If your business is interested in participating in the “Bookworm Bargains” program and contribute to the celebration of Library Card Sign-up Month, please get in touch with LaReina Fuentes at [email protected] or Kevin Newsom at [email protected] by the August 16 deadline.
More info is at cals.org/blog/cals-and-nlrpls-seek-partners-for-bookworm-bargains-program.

Is there a business you'd like to see offering discounts just for showing your library card? Tag them in the comments!