As the director of the largest public library in Arkansas, and someone who loves books and our 250 year old American project in self-governance, this is an extremely disturbing essay.

Many years ago I had the good fortune to take a course from & then serve as TA for Dick Neustadt. Later still I was a weekend guest with my wife at his modest vacation home on the Cape. He was an exemplary public official & teacher. No, he did NOT offer lessons on the virtues of appeasing tyrants.

In Huntington Beach, the message from the community is loud and clear: libraries belong to the people, not to politicians. www.everylibrary.org/huntingtonwin via @everylibrary.bsky.social‬

What's extra weird about the idea of BlueSky as containment or a bubble, is that it's generating significantly increased traffic for news websites — whereas they've made it near-impossible to get anyone on Twitter to click through, leave the site, & read articles.

People get mad at me on bluesky but I rarely get called slurs, see someone posting a bullshit chart about how people like me are subhuman, and no one complains when i Romapost. People seem to actually read pieces I share! As far as social media experiences go it’s about as good as it gets

Yes, thanks to city voters who enabled this in May of ‘22 when they approved an extension of their property tax (at a lower millage rate!) that supports CALS’s capital improvement bonds. By fall Little Rock will enjoy a beautiful modern downtown public library that will be the envy of larger cities.

The headline is accurate but falls short of describing the sweeping scope of this deeply flawed legislation that bears a strong resemblance to objectionable provisions of Act 372. A federal court permanently enjoined those sections of Act 372 last December. edition.arkansasonline.com/article/2818...

President Trump's executive order to eliminate the Institute of Museum & Library Services would have disastrous effects for communities nationwide. We call on all Americans who value reading & learning to reach out to their elected leaders. Read ALA's full response: www.ala.org/news/2025/03...

Here is the link: edition.arkansasonline.com/article/2836...

There are no easy answers to the societal challenge of a steep rise in the number of people without a place to live. But there are some helpful measures that cities like Dallas & Nashville have taken and Little Rock is now trying. Public libraries everywhere are on the front lines of this struggle.

The Central Arkansas Library System has a simple mission statement: We connect people. We nurture potential. We grow community. No better example of CALS putting this into practice than our partnership with a local nonprofit, Advancing Black Entrepreneurship, to foster small business creation.

Yup, it works. Want a book the library doesn’t have? Ask ‘em for it.

This 1977 picture of Dale Bumpers and Jimmy Carter from the Oval Office hangs on my office wall. Both were young progressive governors first elected in 1970.They broke the grip of old guard segregationists in GA & AR, were courageous, incorruptible, & thankfully shaped my worldviews as a young man.

The best thing you can do for an author is to request their book from your library. The library will usually get it for you! The author will get an immediate sale, and libraries will know there is a demand for their future books! Just google your library name plus "book request" or walk in and ask

A federal judge struck down parts of an Arkansas law that included prison sentences for librarians and booksellers for providing books that might be considered “harmful” to minors. nyti.ms/3DIpLBi

Another media outlet’s account of this significant ruling in the federal court in Arkansas.

This is a great victory for the first amendment, public libraries, librarians, bookstores, authors, and readers; and a defeat for censorship and those who would seek to have the government limit access to what other people and their children can read.

This is very good news for those of us who are Tesla owners and want to keep driving an EV but can’t come to terms with buying another Tesla after Elon Musk has shown the world who he is.

1/2 Point too obvious to make, except as illustration of contrasting media info-spheres: Imagine for a moment that UHC suspect were: Black, Muslim, immigrant, undocumented, trans, "antifa," from Calif—"other" in whatever way. We know that Fox, Trump, entire GOP + MAGA would base ads on it forever

www.thebulwark.com/p/how-to-be-.... Thank you, @monacharen.bsky.social

This may not sound like much but adding these 5 positions will give the City access to substantial HUD funds that can get more people housed. Doing so is humane and just; and it also provides support for merchants, providers, librarians, and residents who face daily the sad effects of homelessness.

open.substack.com/pub/fallows/... My wife and I are so impressed with this idea that we are planning to implement it when our 19 mo old grandson turns 12. Thanks ⁦‪@JamesFallows‬⁩ for inspiring us.

Thanks to ⁦‪@TimAlberta‬⁩ who captivated > 330 with his program ⁦‪@CALibrarySystem‬⁩ last night about his best selling book. His experiences as an evangelical give him credibility and insight to report courageously the dangers to the democracy and Church of worshipping politics and America.

One of the kindest souls to ever hold high office in Arkansas has died.Someone once said that David Pryor could tell you to go to hell and you’d look forward to the trip. He was decent, intelligent, resilient, and honorable. I was blessed to know and admire him for > 44 years.

kesq.com/news/2024/03... My youngest child, a 2019 University of Missouri journalism grad, and product of Little Rock public schools, is a member of his newsroom Union’s negotiating team. Today Gannett reached an agreement with Tom’s local to end their strike that began yesterday.

2018 trip to our library by @jfallows.bsky.social to talk about his and his wife’s book, “Our Towns: A 100,000 Mile Journey Into the Heart of America,” still resonates. The authors chronicle local leaders who elevate pragmatic problem solving over rancor and division afflicting national politics.

No one is more devoted to improving the future of his native Arkansas than this columnist for the daily newspaper. www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com/post/take-th...

@jfallows.bsky.social, Cirrus owner and pilot, might help with this Arkansas aviation question. The pilot was experienced corporate pilot. It was cold wet day. Some speculation the plane didn’t get airborne because ice had not been removed from the wing before take off but this suggests otherwise.

The origins of this decline are chronicled here:

www.kuaf.com/show/ozarks-... The role of the state library board and the importance of the public library in small towns around Arkansas are explained clearly in this public radio story.

Our governor has appointed a former state senator to the AR state library board. Here is a video he posted on his social media about the fate coming to librarians “push[ing] the LGBTQ agenda” on minors. At about 38 min mark he calls out one of the damned by name. www.facebook.com/watch/live/?...

One school district succumbs to book banning pressures and cuts of its 11,000 students from access to the public library’s digital content. arkansasadvocate.com/2023/11/17/c...