Blog Entries

A bottled water drive for The Day Room at Next Step Homeless Services will be held during the month of August at all Fort Smith Public Library locations.  Bottled water is essential for homeless clients, especially those unsheltered. As we continue to face much warmer weather, staying hydrated remains a daily challenge for the homeless.  Cases of individual-sized bottles (16 ounces) are desired; feel free to drop off your donations at any Fort Smith Public Library Location.  For library locations or more information on this or any of the Fort Smith Public Library’s services, ...

We are pleased to announce that Miss Leah will be the Main library's new teen specialist. She will be taking over Teen Lounge, STEAM Team, and LEGO Club. 

Leah has a passion for adventure, and a strong desire to learn something new everyday. She hopes to encourage and inspire teens to fully explore themselves and the vast world around them. Her aim is to provide an inclusive, fun, and safe environment for teens to relax, get creative, and socialize. All teens are welcome to join Leah's programs, all aimed to promote literacy and confidence. 

Leah...

In an interview with the New York Times, James Holzhauer, who dominated the game show Jeopardy for many weeks and earned $2,462,216, shared how he prepared for the show.  “I have a strategy of reading children’s books to gain knowledge. I’ve found that in an adult reference book, if it’s not a subject I’m interested in, I just can’t get into it.  I was thinking, what is the place in the library I can go to get books tailored to make things interesting for uninterested readers? Boom. The children’s section.”

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing on Ju...

On Saturday, July 13th, families and aliens alike gathered together at the Miller Branch and used the force to make creative crafts, play interesting games, and enjoy refreshing Wookie cookies and Jabba juice.  We even had some visitors from the 501st Legion - Greedo, a storm trooper, and a TIE fighter pilot - show up to partake in the fun!  The library got a little busy, so Greedo moved behind the circulation desk to check a few books out to customers.  

Author Anita Paddock will appear at the Miller Branch Library (8701 South 28th Street) on Monday, July 22, from 2 - 4 PM for a book signing event. Author of the popular true crime novels Blind Rage and Closing Time, Anita’s brand-new true crime release is Cold Blooded, the true story of the murder of four people in the Arkansas River Bottoms. 

On a cold January morning in 1981, a knock on an apartment door began what would become one of the bloodiest crime sprees in Arkansas history.  In the coming days the bodies of newlyweds Larry and Jawana Price, businessman Holly Ge...

Beat the heat of the summer at the Miller Branch – you might even win big!  The annual Fort Smith Public Library’s summer reading program is underway during the months of June and July and the library is doling out PRIZES for READING!  How fabulous is that?  Make summer reading a family event; everyone can partake in the summer reading program fun: children, teens, and adults!

How are we able to offer the summer reading program?  The U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services provides a grant to the Arkansas State Library.  Friends of the Library assist...

Did you know that the Library is now on Instagram?  Follow us at fortsmithlibrary to see the latest book suggestions, library news, event information, and more library fun! 

#thelibraryisopen

June is Audiobook Month and it’s a great time to try out an audiobook, if you have never given them a chance.  Why audiobooks?  They offer just one more way to enjoy more BOOKS!  What’s better than that?  If it’s hard to find time to sit down and read a book, an audiobook will make cooking, cleaning, working out, and other errands, more entertaining!  Make long summer road trips with the children a breeze with a family-friendly audiobook playing.  Listening to books can create a different experience for readers of all ages ...

It is officially summer! School is out, Parrot Island is open, and the Teen Summer Lottery has begun. The Teen Summer Lottery is our version of a summer reading program for people between the ages of 13 and 18. If you are 12 years old, you get to choose between participating in the Children's Summer Reading Program or the Teen Summer Lottery.

You may sign up at any library location at any time during the Lottery, which runs from June 1-July 31. It is best to sign up at the location where you will pick up your prizes. 

The rules ...

Join us for an evening with Athlete, Author, and National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Jennifer Pharr Davis on Tuesday, June 11, at 7 PM at the Main Library (3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith).  Jennifer Pharr Davis is a lover of long journeys and good stories.  She is an author, speaker, record setter, and 2012 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year who has covered more than 14,000 miles of long-distance trails on six different continents.

In 2011, she set the overall fasted known time on the 2,181-mile Appala...

Neil Gaiman once wrote that "a library is a place that is a repository of information and gives every citizen equal access to it. That includes health information." Mental health conditions are common among teens and young adults. 1 in 5 teens and young adults live with a mental health condition. At the Fort Smith Public Library, we want to help teens find the information and stories they need to understand mental health. 

Since May is National Mental Health Awareness month, we want to raise awareness of mental health and fi...

The children’s summer reading program encourages reading for pleasure and is designed to minimize summer learning loss. The objective of the summer reading program is to keep kids actively engaged in reading while encouraging family involvement at the same time. Preschool children who are too young to read independently can also participate. Because the best way to raise a reader is to read to a child, they will receive credit for the books read to them.  The theme this year is A Universe of Stories, so get ready for a universe of fun!

Let your mother know how much she means to you with a handmade Mother's Day Card from May 1 - May 11.  Stop by the Dallas Street Branch Library and use your creativity to make your own personalized card for Mom!  This drop-in do-it-yourself craft activity is open to all ages during regular library hours.  All materials are provided at this free program. 

The Association of American Publishers launched the first Get Caught Reading Month in 1999, to encourage a love of reading at all ages.  This nationwide campaign is now managed by Every Child a Reader and supported by the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation.  Ads and posters portray famous actors, authors, athletes, singers, and even well-known book characters taking up the cause to get “caught reading” a book.

In May, the staff at the Miller Branch wants to catch you reading!  A display in the library entrance shows off some of our customers who were "busted" reading insi...

Have you ever tried to pick up one of the letters on the sidewalk in front of the Main Library?  You are not alone!  Many of our library visitors, both young and old, attempt to pick them up when they spy them on the ground.  The bronze letters spell out the title of the sculpture in the fountain "T-R-A-N-S-E-N-D-U-R-A-N-C-E" beginning with the "T" at the fountain and ending with the "E" in front of the building.  The sculptor, Douglass Warnock, entitled his work Transendurance, a compound word inspired by the two qualities he thought best exemplified the strugg...