Poem in Your Pocket Day

April is National Poetry Month, and tomorrow, Thursday April 26th, is Poem in Your Pocket Day. What is Poem in Your Pocket Day? Here is the description from Poets.org:

The idea is simple: select a poem you love during National Poetry Month then carry it with you to share with co-workers, family, and friends. You can also share your poem selection on Twitter by using the hashtag #pocketpoem.

Need help finding a poem? There are many good resources available online, including the Poetry and Literature page of the Library of Congress,  the Scottish Poetry Library, the Poem-a-Day email from Poets.org, and Poetry Archive. Check out Arkansas poets Maya Angelou, Miller Williams, and C.D. Wright. And of course, your local library will have plenty of books of poetry to choose from - we even have some here at the Arkansas State Library.

So go find a poem and share it tomorrow.

Obituary Searches

Obituary searching is one of the many services that the reference staff of the Arkansas State Library perform for the public. We will search the Arkansas Gazette and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for patrons who provide us with a name and date of death. The search covers approximately one week following the provided date. Unfortunately, we cannot do a search without the date of death. 

The Arkansas Gazette archives go back to 1819 on microfilm, and the Democrat-Gazette records are available through an online subscription from 1984 to the present, as well as on microfilm.

Requests can be made in person, over the phone, and through the Ask A Librarian form on our website.

Ask us anything

Time for your semi-regular reminder about the reference services available at the Arkansas State Library.  While our primary mission is to serve state agencies and state employees, we are ready and willing to answer questions from the general public, public librarians, school teachers, college students, high school students, and everyone in between. If we can't find the answer in our databases and collections, we will do our best to find someone who does have the answer.  You can contact us by phone during office hours at (501) 682-2053, or any time by using our handy Ask a Librarian form, or by writing us at:

Arkansas State Library, Attn. Reference
900 West Capitol, Suite 100
Little Rock, AR 72201

Please include a reliable way to reach you; if you have email but only check it once a month, make sure we also have a phone number and/or mailing address.

If you prefer, you can also come to the library and speak to us in person.  Our hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4:30 PM. 

We generally answer questions within 24 hours, except during weekends and holidays.

Arkansas State Capitol's 101st Birthday

Next Tuesday, April 10th, at 6 PM, the Architecture and Design Network will be hosting a program in honor of the 101st birthday of the Arkansas State Capitol building. Capitol historian David Ware will give a talk about the origins of the capitol and several architects who have worked on restoration and remodeling projects at the capitol will add their comments about the challenges they encountered.

The event is free and open to the public. It will be held in the Supreme Court Chamber, on the second floor of the Arkansas State Capitol. For more information about the location and time, click here.