LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) Foundation has received a $500,000 grant to support various programs and expand the capacity of the library’s Memory Lab, which provides personal archiving and digitization services.
The grant from the Mellon Foundation’s Public Knowledge program is one of the largest in CALS’s history, and it will be used to meet the following needs:
- Hire a full-time Memory Lab Coordinator
- Expand the hours of the DIY Memory Lab at Roberts Library to include Saturday hours
- Expand the formats of media that can be digitized at the DIY Memory Lab
- Create micro memory labs at nine of CALS’s neighborhood branches
- Extend outreach into Central Arkansas neighborhoods to share training and resources with community members so they may organize and digitize their own archives
- Fund the salary of the staff historian of the Encyclopedia of Arkansas (the most comprehensive single source on the history and culture of our nation’s twenty-fifth state)
- Pay for website upgrades for digital collections from the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies
“I’m thrilled about this grant, which will allow us to expand our Memory Lab services and help more people organize and digitize their family photos, documents, and home movies,” said Heather Zbinden, Programs & Website Coordinator for the Roberts Library.
Zbinden has led personal archiving programs at CALS since the launch of the library’s DIY Memory Lab.
“Making personal archiving resources more accessible is an important part of preserving family history and Arkansas history,” she added.
This is the Mellon Foundation’s first grant in Arkansas since 2016.
“I am excited about the opportunity to bring memory labs to our branches both within Little Rock and in our two-county service area,” said CALS Regional Manager Joe Hudak. “Local and family history is important, especially for people who are not always included in traditional histories. Putting memory labs in place at branches is an exciting next step in reaching our patrons where they are, promoting and preserving Arkansas history, and providing services that reach more people in our community.”