Blog Entries

You awaken in a dark cabin in the woods. It is the middle of the night and you have no memory of why you are there. What do you do?

Do you remember those Choose Your Own Adventure books? They were popular back when I was a kid, and they still check out from the library today. During these times, it’s easy to feel like we don’t have much control over our lives and the world around us. Well, this won’t change the global situation, but it’ll help you take back some power! For this virtual event, YOU get to pick your own path to adventure. That’s right -- you call the shots. Every sto...

President Snow (Hunger Games), Bellatrix Lestrange (Harry Potter), and Jeanine Matthews (Divergent) have banded together to form one master plan to take over and make captives of their subjects, controlling their minds and stealing their wills. Never backing down from a fight, you vow to stop them and restore freedom. However, Simon (One of Us is Lying), secretly working for Snow, sneaks out one night to gather intel on your plan and rats you out. Snow sends out his Great Kami Dragon to capture you, locking you deep inside a maze of five doors. There is no escape. Or is there?

E...

Library Visits

The Main Library is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.  The Miller Branch Library and the Windsor Drive Branch Library are open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.  No appointment is required.

Social distancing is observed.  Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Dewey’s Café is currently open for drinks only.  Meeting rooms are not available.  

Please do not enter the library if you have a cough or fever or have tested positive for COVID-19 within the l...

We have some great virtual programs for kids and teens this summer.  Here are a few of our featured online events ... for more virtual programming of all kinds, please checkout our events calendar, Facebook page, and YouTube Channel. 

Animalogy: A Day in the Life of Animalogy Animals!

Wednesday, June 3, 2 PM, Facebook LIVE - Available for viewing on the library's Facebook page through August 31

Imagine your story through the eyes of live animals!  Join our friends from Animaloyg/NHECM for a Facebook Live event.  You will spend a "day in...

Hey guys! Miss Leah here. Hopefully, all of you are doing well and hanging in there these days. I really miss hosting Teen Lounge every month and getting to see all of you. I look forward to the day that life can return back to normal! I bet you do, too. Until then, there are still plenty of ways for you to get involved with us at the Fort Smith Public Library. In fact, it’s time for our Summer Reading Program!

The theme this year is Imagine Your Story. In light of current events, the summer reading program and all other programming will be online this summer. Piece of cake for yo...

Are YOU ready to read for fun and prizes?  

I hope so because the summer reading program is ready for you! The theme of our program is Imagine Your Story. This year, it's all online beginning on June 1 and ending on August 14!  We have a really neat program called READsquared, and all you have to do is go to the READsquared website, register, and start reading (or listening!).   For every minute you spend reading or listening, you will earn one point.  Before you know it, you will have 1,000 points!  When that happens, you will have earne...

Hey all you cool cats and kittens!  We are busy working on various projects while we are closed, but we miss you all tremendously.  Here are just a few of the things I ( Mrs. Tiffany :) miss the most: Laptime storytime.  I miss sitting in the floor with everyone, singing and reading books.  I miss Hudson’s excitement for bubbles.  I miss Ellie and Grace sitting beside me, helping with the closing songs.  I miss sweet Audrey’s smiles and Calder’s serious face.  I miss everyone. Friday storytime.  I miss listening to Mrs. Melanie’s stories and...

Hey guys! Leah here. Hopefully everyone is staying safe and healthy out there. This is certainly a time of adjustment, isn’t it? For us at the library, it has meant postponing events. But then we thought, “Just because we aren't able to host these events in person, that doesn’t mean they cannot happen at all.” As many of you have seen, the Fort Smith Public Library now has a YouTube channel with all kinds of fun Storytimes with Ms. Robin, Ms. Tiffany, and Ms. Rachel. If you check us out on Facebook, you’ll see the STEAM projects I’ve prepared, along with other helpful resources and act...

This is an interesting time, isn’t it? With the COVID-19 issue being so prevalent in the world, safety is the first priority. With that said, it’s also important to maintain some degree of normalcy.  To all the teens out there, here are some ideas to host your own virtual Teen Lounge while maintaining your social distance:

First things first, you’ll need snacks. That goes without saying.

Next, come up with something you all can do “together” via FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, etc. It could be anything- get creative! Many crafts can be made out of stuff you already have at h...

Welcome to hoopla, a digital media service that allows you to borrow movies, music, audiobooks, ebooks, comics, and TV shows to enjoy on your computer, tablet, or phone – and even your TV! With no waiting, titles can be streamed immediately, or downloaded to phones or tablets for offline enjoyment later. There are hundreds of thousands of titles to choose from, with more being added daily. Hoopla is like having your public library at your fingertips. Anytime. Anywhere.

Fort Smith Public Library customers will need their library card (in good standing; no fines of $2...

The safety of our library customers, staff, and community is our top priority.  To support efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, all four locations of the Fort Smith Public Library will close at the end of the day Monday, March 16, and remain closed until further notice.  Please check our Facebook page or the library website for updates.

Due dates for all materials currently checked out will be extended, and no overdue charges will accrue while the library is closed.  Library staff will be available by phone and email to assist with family history and general r...

April 4-11, 2020 is Money Smart Week!  Eight years ago, the American Library Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago teamed up to create Money Smart Week – a national public education program that promotes financial literacy.   Last year, libraries in all 50 states participated by providing information and programming designed to help people learn how best to save, spend, and invest.  Financial education is important at every age.

There are several programs being offered at the Fort Smith Public Library during Money Smart Week, that a...

The Education & Research Services team at UAMS (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) has put together a resource guide with information about Coronavirus Disease 19 (2019-nCoV). The pages provide authoritative, up-to-date information for clinicians, laboratories, researchers and the public. 

Included in the resource guide is the Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by Johns Hopkins CSSE, an interactive web-based dashboard hosted by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University, to visualize and track reported cases of 201...

New Books are Ordered Throughout the Year!

Ordering books for kids and teens is a constant responsibility of the Youth Services Librarian. Have you ever wondered how new books get ready to be checked out?  The first step is to decide which new books to order.  The budget for children's and teen books is funded through the Fort Smith Public Library Endowment Trust, and there are many, many more books available to buy than what the budget allows. Some new books are an immediate “Yes!”  For example, the latest Dog Man book or the newest Diary of a Wimpy Ki...

Exciting news! We have added several popular titles to our Young Adult collection. These include The Fault in Our Stars, The Harry Potter series, The Hate U Give, and many more. The exciting part? ¡Estos libros estan en español! Here at the library, we proudly offer Spanish editions of all genres for both niños y adultos. We recently discovered that our YA Spanish section needed some revamping, and we got right on it. There are now romantic novels, action-packed thrillers, coming-of-age stories, and age-old classics, all for our Spanish-speaking teens. We hope our customers enjoy ...