Tag Archives: Central Arkansas Library System

Lilly Ledbetter is 2013 Ira Sanders Distinguished Lecturer tonight

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calsledbetterThe Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) 2013 Ira Sanders Distinguished Lecture will feature Lilly Ledbetter, an advocate for fair pay. The free lecture will be held Thursday, August 22, at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street. Ledbetter’s book, Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond, will be available for purchase at the event. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture.

In 1998, Ledbetter filed a gender pay discrimination suit against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in federal court and won a jury verdict of more than $3 million. After a series of appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the lower court’s ruling. Despite her defeat, Ledbetter continued her fight until the Supreme Court decision was nullified when President Obama, on January 29, 2009, signed into law the first new law of his administration: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. While she will never receive restitution from Goodyear, Ledbetter said, “I’ll be happy if the last thing they say about me after I die is that I made a difference.”

CALS established the Rabbi Ira E. Sanders Distinguished Lectureship to commemorate the memory of Dr. Sanders’ 40 years of service on the library’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Ira E. Sanders served as rabbi at Temple B’nai Israel for 38 years. He was a founder of Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind, the Arkansas Eugenics Association (later Planned Parenthood Association), and the Urban League of Greater Little Rock, where he served as an executive and advisory board member for more than 30 years. Lectures honor Dr. Sanders’ commitment to intellectual freedom.

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are appreciated, but not required. RSVP to pedwards@cals.org or 918-3009.

Dedication of Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center today

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READThe Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center will be dedicated on Monday, July 8, during an afternoon of events beginning at 1:30 p.m. at the children’s Library,  4800 W. 10th Street.

Admittance is free, but registration is required, and limited to 150 attendees and four attendees per registration. Each adult must be accompanied by a child of up to twelve years. Attendees may register at http://centralarkansaslibrarysystem.eventbrite.com or by calling the children’s Library at 918-3870.

Additional programming will be ongoing throughout the day.

The CALS Board of Trustees voted on Thursday, June 27, to recognize Hillary Rodham Clinton for her services to children by naming the new children’s Library in her honor. The board wished to specifically acknowledge the work she did as a citizen of Arkansas, including service for the Children’s Defense Fund, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Arkansas Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youth, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Arkansas Educational System Task Force, Rural Health Advisory Committee, and many others, including her ground-breaking work as co-chair of Arkansas’s Educational Standards Committee. Also recognized is her continued work at the national and international levels to improve the lives of all the world’s children.

CALS’s Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center is one of fourteen CALS branches serving Pulaski and Perry counties. For more information, call 978-3870 or visit www.cals.org.

CALS Legacies & Lunch today at noon explores early banking

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cals_int_sponsor_butlerStereotypes hold that rural people in early Arkansas kept their money under their mattresses. Maybe they had the right idea back then. The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies will host “The High Costs of Arkansas’s Early Banks,” a free talk by Dr. Scott Lien, as part of its monthly Legacies & Lunch lecture series, Wednesday, July 3, at noon in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street.

Lien will discuss Arkansas’s experiences with the state’s first two chartered banks, from the days before the Civil War. The banks offered help to some while foreclosing opportunities for others. Lien is a history professor at Lyon College in Batesville. His research focuses on how democracy has affected opportunities of all Americans.

The Butler Center’s Legacies & Lunch program is free, open to the public, and supported in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert will be provided.

The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies is a department of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS). It was founded in 1997 to promote the study and appreciation of Arkansas history and culture. The Butler Center’s research collections, art galleries, and offices are located in the Arkansas Studies Institute building at 401 President Clinton Ave. on the campus of the CALS Main Library.

For more information, call 918-3086.

CALS offers Puppet Making Workshop

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Puppets come in all shapes and sizes – from finger puppets to over-sized puppets requiring several people to manipulate.  On Friday June 28 and Saturday, June 29, the Central Arkansas Library System is offering a two-day workshop.  Participants will learn how to build a large-scale puppet in at the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Children’s Library and Learning Center, 4800 W. 10th Street, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. each day.

Participants will build puppets spanning up to 40 feet which require 3-20 people to operate and can be used in parades and theatre. Workshop attendees will learn how to make puppets with materials such as PVC pipe, wire, paper mache, fabric, clay, cardboard, recycled materials, and more. A variety of puppets will be constructed, involving moveable parts, wings, and long, undulating bodies. The workshop will be conducted by Jo Ann Kaminsky, an Arkansas native who is a licensed professional counselor, board-certified art therapist, and registered play therapist.

The workshop is free, open to the public, and limited to 30 participants ages 8 and up. Attendees are expected to participate in both days of the workshop. Registration is required; to register, call 918-3879.

The CALS Children’s Library and Learning Center is one of fourteen CALS branches serving Pulaski and Perry counties. For more information, call 918-3086 or visit www.cals.org.

(Please note, based on information received, this entry originally had different dates for the workshop.)

Ark Literary Fest presents THE NEW 22 at MacArthur Museum

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1371603221-new_22_copyMilitary and literature buffs should enjoy The New 22, a free Arkansas Literary Festival program, Thursday, June 20, at 6:30 p.m., at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 East 9th Street.
The New 22 is a panel discussion featuring authors Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, and David Abrams, Fobbit. These books have been compared favorably to Joseph Heller’s influential novel Catch-22. Set in Dallas and Baghdad, respectively, the novels offer satirical takes on some of the hard contradictions soldiers face. A reception and book signing will follow the program. Both books will be available for purchase.

Ben Fountain is an award-winning author whose debut novel, Billy Lynn’s Long Half-Time Walk, received numerous awards including the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. David Abrams, who retired in 2008 after a 20-year career in the active-duty Army as a journalist, has received several military commendations including being named the Department of Defense’s Military Journalist of the Year in 1994. His debut novel, Fobbit, was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2012 and a Best Book of 2012 by Paste Magazine, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Barnes & Noble.

The Arkansas Literary Festival is a program of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS). The New 22 is sponsored by the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. The event is free and open to the public; reservations are requested. Please RSVP to pedwards@cals.org or 918-3009. For more information about the Arkansas Literary Festival, visit www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org.

June 2nd Friday Art Night is busting with Fun

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2nd Friday Art NightJune is Busting Out All Over with great art and music downtown on 2nd Friday Art Night.  Visual art, music, refreshments, a trolley for transportation can all be yours for the low price of FREE.  The festivities run from 5pm to 8pm, unless otherwise noted.

Among the highlights:

  • Old State House Museum (300 West Markham) will feature Geoff Robson and David Gerstein performing duets for violin and cello.
  • Historic Arkansas Museum (200 East Third) will celebrate the opening of its new Arkansas Made Gallery; in addition there will be live music by Parkstone.
  • Edge Gallery (301B President Clinton Ave) will be featuring contemporary art.
  • Butler Center Galleries (401 President Clinton Ave) is showing Creative Expressions; Arkansas Arts Educators; From the Vault: Works from the CALS Permanent Collection; and Old School: Remembering the Brinkley Academy
  • Courtyard Marriott Downtown (521 President Clinton Ave) is teaming up with Spirited Art Little Rock and hosting a painting class in its cafe beginning at 6:30pm.
  • Hearne Fine Art (1001 Wright Ave, Suite C) will host an opening reception for Reflections In Silver: Silverpoint Drawings by Aj Smith & Marjorie Williams-Smith.
  • studioMain (1423 South Main Street) they are featuring a UALR Student Furniture Showcase.  This has become an annual exhibit of furniture pieces created by students of the UALR Applied Design program.

Great Typo Hunt focus of Darragh Lecture

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Great_Typo_HuntJeff Deck, author of The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time, will speak at the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) 2013 Fred K. Darragh Jr. Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, June 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street.

Deck is a writer, editor, and typo hunter. The Great Typo Hunt, co-authored with Benjamin D. Herson, details their trip around the country correcting grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors in public. Copies of the book will be for sale at the lecture; Deck will sign books at a reception following the talk.

The Fred K. Darragh Jr. Distinguished Lecture is held annually to celebrate Mr. Darragh’s contributions to public libraries and his service to CALS. He served on the boards of many organizations, including CALS, the Arkansas Library Association, Southern Regional Council, Peace Links, and the Arkansas Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

He served as President of the Arkansas Council on Human Relations, President of the Little Rock Urban League, and President of the National Council for Community Services to International Visitors in Washington, DC.

Reservations are appreciated, but not required. To RSVP, email pedwards@cals.org or call 918-3009. For more information, contact 501-918-3086.