Tag Archives: Central Arkansas Library System

History of State Capitol is topic of noon talk today

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The State of Arkansas turns 177 later this week.  A good way to mark this is to contemplate the building which has been the seat of government for over 100 of those years.

ad conclusio, per aspera; or, Two Architects, Six Governors, Dozens of Contractors, One Jailed Senator, Fifteen Years, and 2.23 Million Dollars Lead to What? is the name of a noontime conversation being hosted by the Central Arkansas Library System today, June 12.

The program, which will take place in the Arkansas State Capitol building in Room 272, will feature State Capitol historian David Ware.

It is being billed as “an irreverent overview of how the Capitol project survived.”  Construction of the Arkansas Capitol began in 1899 and stalled early due to problems with financing and failed deadlines.

With the support and vision from the project’s most emphatic backer, then-Governor George Donaghey, members of the Arkansas Legislature met for the first time in the chambers of the still-unfinished Capitol on January 9, 1911. Donaghey declared the building was “done enough” to accommodate the solons and state officers.

Bottled water and cookies will be provided; guests are invited to bring their own lunch.

Sidney Moncrief at Children’s Library today

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moncriefThe new Children’s Library and Learning Center will welcome Little Rock Hall and Arkansas Razorback basketball standout Sidney Moncrief today at 2pm.  Moncrief, of course, went on to an oustanding NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks and has been a coach and businessman since retiring as a player.

He will be discussing his books Passport to Reinventing You and Your Passport to Becoming a Valuable Team Player.  Moncrief will be available to sign books after the presentation. All are welcome. Takes place in the theater.

The Central Arkansas Library System’s Children’s Library and Learning Center is located at 4800 W. 10th St.  Set on a six-acre site, the $12 million, 30,000 square foot Children’s Library includes a computer lab with fourteen computers, teaching kitchen, large activity area, individual and group study rooms, theater, and community room in addition to a collection of more than 21,000 books, DVDs, and CDs.

Legacies & Lunch Today: Music industry legend Bill Carter

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bill_carterThe monthly Legacies & Lunch program returns today with music industry legend Bill Carter.

He will discuss his exciting, wildly varied career as an attorney, agent, and more at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies’ Legacies & Lunch on Wednesday, June 5, at noon in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street. (For instance, when the Rolling Stones were arrested in Arkansas, they called Carter.)

Carter will talk about his childhood in Rector, Arkansas and his wild ride through the music industry, plus a stint as a Secret Service agent. As an attorney, he is noted for his work with the Rolling Stones, securing their ability to enter and tour the United States in the sixties. As an agent, he represented musical artists such as Reba McEntire, Tanya Tucker and Waylon Jennings. He also served as a Secret Service agent, which he addresses in his memoir, Get Carter. His book will be available for sale and signing at the program.

The Butler Center’s Legacies & Lunch program is free and 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 918-3029.

CALS to Participate in Big Library Read

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calsReaders are encouraged to be part of a worldwide eBook club with Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) during the inaugural Big Library Read, May 15-June 1, 2013. Through the Big Library Read, libraries worldwide unite readers around a single eBook. This year’s book is The Four Corners of the Sky by Michael Malone.

The Four Corners of the Sky is a novel of love, secrets, and the mysterious bonds of families. Malone brings characters to life by exploring the questions that defy easy answers. Malone is the author of ten novels, a collection of short stories, and two works of nonfiction.

To download a copy of The Four Corners of the Sky, visit www.cals.org and click the eBook and Audio Book Catalog quick link. The Big Library Read selection will be available for all major devices, including Kindle and iPad, as well as through a web browser. During the Big Library Read, any patron may download a copy of The Four Corners of the Sky from May 15-June 1.  Following regular eBook check out procedures, at the conclusion of the Big Library Read, copies of The Four Corners of the Sky will be deleted from devices.  CALS will have a copy of The Four Corners of the Sky for check out after June 1.

The Big Library Read is a pilot project of OverDrive, a full-service digital distributor of eBooks, audio books, music, and video worldwide; and Sourcebooks, a leading independent publisher.

CALS’s downloadable library service, OverDrive, has been offered to patrons since October 2009. The downloadable collection has 16,644 titles. CALS’s thirteen branches serve patrons in Pulaski and Perry counties. For more information, visit www.cals.org.

Mark Christ to receive Booker Worthen Literary Prize

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christ_markAs one of the most fertile regions in the South, the Arkansas River Valley was highly contested territory during the Civil War. While the Siege on Vicksburg raged, equally important battles were fought here in Arkansas. This struggle is the topic of Mark Christ’s nonfiction work, Civil War Arkansas 1863, which has been selected to receive the 2013 Booker Worthen Literary Prize, awarded by the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS).
Christ, community outreach director for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, has edited a number of books and articles about Civil War events in Arkansas. He is a member of the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, serves as chairman of the board of directors of the Arkansas Humanities Council, and is a member of the board of trustees of the Arkansas Historical Association. Christ recently received the 2013 State Preservation Leadership Award from the Civil War Trust, the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States.
The Worthen Prize is awarded each year to an author living in the CALS’s service area whose work is highly regarded. It is named for Booker Worthen, who served twenty-two years on CALS’s board of trustees. The Worthen Prize will be presented to Christ at CALS’s annual event, “A Prized Evening,” which also features presentation of the Porter Prize. “A Prized Evening” will be held in October 2013; an exact date will be announced later this year.

Architecture of new LR library focus of talk tomorrow night

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READThe Architecture and Design Network presents architect Reese Rowland and Dr. Bobby Roberts in a conversation tomorrow night. (Tuesday, May 14)
Entitled “CALS Children’s Library and Learning Center: a New Paradigm,” Rowland and Roberts will discuss the process to design and build this innovative facility. The program begins at 6pm following a 5:30pm reception.  It will take place at the new Children’s Library and Learning Center located at 4800 West 10th Street.
Five years in the making, Little Rock’s new children’s library and learning center offers a range of participatory experiences designed to encourage the growth, development and well-being of its young patrons.
Situated on a six acre, landscaped tract that borders a  residential neighborhood just south of Highway 630, the 30,000 square foot facility is like no other in the region. Designed by award-winning  architect Reese Rowland, the twelve million dollar glass, steel and stone structure houses a collection of more than 21,000 books, CDs and DVDs. Among its special features are a computer lab; a spacious meeting room; a teaching kitchen; a series of study rooms and a multi-use,165-seat  theater. A greenhouse and teaching garden, set apart from the main structure, are  part of the complex which also includes an outdoor amphitheater.
Roberts will talk about how the idea for building a combined   children’s library  and learning center came about. He will also tell  how its  location was selected.  He and Rowland will discuss their roles, as client and architect, in the project’s design. They will talk about the kinds of programming  envisioned for the  facility and discuss  ways in which it plans to  engage with other  institutions and organizations in the community to serve children and their  families.
The event, part of  ADN’s Art of Architecture lecture series,  is free and open to the public. Series’  supporters include the Central Arkansas Chapter of the AIA, the Arkansas Arts Center,  UA’s Fay Jones School of Architecture and CALS. For additional information contact ardenetwork@icloud.com

 

Arkansas Literary Festival This Weekend!

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litfestlogoThe Arkansas Literary Festival, the premier gathering of readers and writers in Arkansas, has expanded to include over 90 authors in many locations on both sides of the river from April 18-21, 2013.

The Central Arkansas Library System’s Main Library campus, other venues in the River Markets and Argenta Arts districts are the sites for a stimulating mix of sessions, panels, special events, performances, workshops, presentations, opportunities to meet the authors, book sales, and book signings. Most events are free and open to the public.

Festival authors include:

Salma Abdelnour, David Abrams, Mary Stewart Atwell, Beth Ayer, Jenni B. Baker, Jan Barry, Carolyn Briggs, Kevin Brockmeier, Sam Calvin Brown, Oliver Burkeman, Mary Bucci Bush, Drew Cameron, Raquel Cepeda, Da Chen, Joseph Crespino, James Daily, Lela Davidson, Edmond Davis, Sylvia Day, James W. Erwin, Richard Ford, Ben Fountain, Tim Gallagher, Tim Gallagher, Paula J. Giddings, Kay Collett Goss, Jessica B. Harris, Ruth Hawkins, Roger D. Hodge, Ty Jaeger, Jay Jennings, Ben Katchor, Janis F. Kearney, Jeannette Keith, Brian and Terri Kinder, Steve Kistulentz, Christi Shannon Kline, Jon Krampner, Travis Langley, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Dorothy R. Leavell, Domingo Martinez, Ayana Mathis, Carla Killough McClafferty, Rosetta Miller-Perry, Lydia Millet, Pat Mora, Linda Murphy, Sara Nesson, Cynthia LeJeune Nobles, Harry Ostrer, Darcy Pattison, Lori Perkins, Leonard Pitts Jr., Garry Craig Powell, Padgett Powell, Joe Queenan, Karen Russell, Eric Rutkow, Courtney Miller Santo, Rosie Schaap, Martha Silano, Heather Sutherlin, Steve Teske, Chuck Thompson, Charles Todd, Caroline Todd, Duncan Tonatiuh, GB Tran, Dennis Vannatta, Frank X Walker, John Corey Whaley, Steve Wiegenstein, David Wesley Williams, Johnathon Williams, Rita Williams-Garcia, Christian Wiman, Jan Wolfe, Ron Wolfe, C.D. Wright, Steve Yates

This year’s Festival authors have won an impressive number and variety of distinguished awards, such as the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Pulitzer Prize for Journalism, James Beard Foundation Award, PEN/Hemingway Award, Newbery Honor, National Book Critics Circle Award, a Coretta Scott King Honor, PEN/O.Henry Prize; Pushcart Prize; Barnes and Noble Discover Prize for Fiction, Roger Ebert’s Film Festival Thumbs Up Award, Pure Belpré Award, International Griffin Prize for Poetry, International Documentary Association Best Documentary Short, Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators, and several National Book Award Finalists. Many of the presenters’ works have been translated into multiple languages and made into films.

Special events for adults during the Festival include a cocktail reception with the authors, food, wine, and spirits workshops, films, a play, and Spoken Word LIVE!, a city-wide poetry competition. Panels and workshops will feature topics such as fiction, memoir, screenwriting, super hero psychology & law, Warrior Writers Project, erotica, and more.

Children’s special events include a storytime on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion, a book fiesta, the artmobile, plays, outdoor activities, and Super Hero Activity Afternoon. Festival sessions for children will take place at both the new Children’s Library, 4800 10th Street, and the Youth Services Department at the Main Library, 100 Rock Street.

At Level 4, the Main Library’s teen center, teens can meet authors and illustrators, participate in ComiCALS, activities and panels such as a cosplay contest, video game tournament, a writing workshop, and zombie survival activities.

Through the Writers In The Schools (WITS) initiative, the Festival will provide presentations by several authors for Pulaski county elementary, middle, and senior high schools and area colleges.

Support for the Literary Festival is provided by sponsors including Central Arkansas Library System; Friends of Central Arkansas Libraries (FOCAL); Department of Arkansas Heritage; Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau; Fred K. Darragh Jr. Foundation; Arkansas Democrat Gazette; Mosaic Templars Cultural Center; Regions; ProSmartPrinting; MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History; Historic Arkansas Museum; Clinton Presidential Center; Hendrix-Murphy Foundation; Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP, Arkansas Times; Christ Church, Little Rock’s Downtown Episcopal Church; Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center; Arkansas Library Association; Henderson State University; University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service; Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre; Arkansas Governor’s Mansion; Hendrix College Creative Writing and the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature & Language; Hendrix College Project Pericles Program; Hendrix College; University of Arkansas at Little Rock, English Department; University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Department of Rhetoric and Writing; Pulaski Technical College; Jewish Federation of Arkansas; Arkansas Arts Center; Power 92 Jams; Central High School National Historic Site; National Park Service; Literacy Action of Central Arkansas; Capital Hotel; Little Rock Film Festival; and LuLav. The Arkansas Literary Festival is supported in part by funds from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Author! Author!, a cocktail reception with the authors, will be Friday, April 19 at 8pm on the fifth floor of the CALS main library building.  Tickets are available at the door.

The Arkansas Literary Festival is a project of the Central Arkansas Library System. The Festival’s mission is to encourage the development of a more literate populace. A group of dedicated volunteers assists Festival Coordinator Brad Mooy with planning the Festival. Jay Jennings is the 2013 Festival Chair. Other committee chairs include Katherine Whitworth, Talent Committee; Lisa Donovan, Youth Programs; and Amy Bradley-Hole, Moderators.