"A library outranks any other thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert."
So said Andrew Carnegie, the man who made his fortune in steel and at one point was the wealthiest man in America. In later years, he dedicated himself to philanthropy, and by the time of his death, he had given away the equivalent of $5.2 billion in today's dollars.
One of his passions was local libraries, and Little Rock was the recipient of a Carnegie grant in 1906 to build a local library which was completed in 1910. That library building was torn down in 1964, but its pillars were saved and now have a prominent place on the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) campus.
CALS now boasts a library system of 14 branches, 260 full-time employees, and an annual budget of $19 million, funded largely by Pulaski County property taxes. Executive Director Nate Coulter and the CALS board recently petitioned the people for a millage increase from 3.5 mills to 3.8 mills. This will generate $2.3 million in additional revenue per year. The yearly increased cost to each home would be about $14. The vote on this millage increase will take place Nov. 9.
So why does CALS need this additional revenue? The answer lies partially in the fundamental changes that have occurred in the book format. A library book today can come in hardback, paperback, digital, or audible form. CALS has stayed abreast of these developments, but it has caused much higher costs, especially for books in the digital and audible formats. Added to that is the need for more benefits for low-end employees and much-needed maintenance for existing buildings and equipment.
But CALS libraries are much more than places to house books for their patrons, as important as that is. CALS now operates the Ron Robinson Theater as well as the Fred Darragh Lecture Hall for talks, films, productions, and meetings. Moreover, during the height of the pandemic when school lunches were not available, CALS launched a substitute lunch delivery program (Be Mighty Little Rock) and doled out 177,000 lunches through its library branches.
Most recently, it has developed a program for minority entrepreneurs with free office space and consultation services in technological developments. It is called Rock It! Lab. There is also the early education program, Count UP tutoring, which is highly popular and successful.
When I was in the Big Brother program some 10 years ago, I would meet my little brother on occasion in the Woodruff Elementary school library. He was about 10, and after thumbing through the obligatory sports books of football and basketball greats, we would reach for illustrated books of fables with their stark depictions of good versus evil and sly versus ignorant. Next might come a biography of Helen Keller or Mowgli in "The Jungle Books."
As we read and talked, his excitement would grow, and his questions would come, rapid-fire. What better way to illustrate how a library can open and shape a young mind with universal truths?
The story of my little brother is replicated in different forms 100 times a day. A community with a vibrant library which reaches out to serve all of it citizens in multiple ways is so much the richer for it.
For example, in an effort to reach the minority communities about what CALS offers in services and opportunities, CALS has brought on board two liaisons--one for the African American community and one for the Latino community. This outreach will make these communities more aware of the cornucopia of exciting events and activities that await them at the library's door.
And I would be remiss if I did not mention two jewels in the crown of the CALS system. The first is the widely acclaimed and enriching historical resource, Encyclopedia of Arkansas. This resource is so vast that I was once told, in jest, that if a fact about Arkansas is not in the encyclopedia, it did not happen. The second jewel is the just-completed Six Bridges Literary Festival, which focuses on Arkansas writers but also brings authors from all over the country to promote their books.
There is one final point. According to a recent study by Boyette Strategic Advisers, CALS provided a huge economic benefit to the local economy over the past 10 years. Based on its operation, spending, employment, capital investments, and retail sales, that benefit was more than $1 billion.
It is imperative that we keep these centers of learning and growth operating at full tilt and not allow them to lag behind or diminish in any respect. They are simply too valuable for our communities, and too important for our future.
Vote yes for the millage increase for our libraries on Nov. 9.
Robert L. Brown is a retired Arkansas Supreme Court justice and a current CALS board member.