Funding from grant backs encyclopedia
An $82,474 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities will support the Encyclopedia of Arkansas at the Central Arkansas Library System, according to a recent news release from the library system.
The money is part of $87.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to be distributed to various cultural and educational entities by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
"We saw our usage increase dramatically during the pandemic, as both students and teachers had to turn even more toward online resources for Arkansas history," the encyclopedia's editor, Guy Lancaster, said in a statement included with the news release issued Thursday.
"That really drove home for us how much the Encyclopedia of Arkansas served as a democratizing force, making available to everyone with an internet connection information that had previously lain only in yellowing newspapers or local archives," he added.
The funding will provide salary support for the encyclopedia's staff historian, plus stipends for contributors and money for web upgrades, according to the news release.
Officials to outline event's resources
The city of Little Rock will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Monday to detail programs and services that will be available during "Rights After Wrongs," an all-day event scheduled for Saturday.
According to a news release, Rights After Wrongs "is an event designed to provide resources and support for individuals with criminal convictions."
Participants at the news conference will include the city's chief equity officer, Dionne Jackson; Leta Anthony, chair of the Central Arkansas ReEntry Coalition; and Jonathan Hutto of the Center for Arkansas Legal Services.