Main Library — Central Arkansas Library System
🏢 Central Arkansas Library System · Little Rock, Arkansas
Main Library — Central Arkansas Library System
Flagship of the largest library system in Arkansas, the CALS Main Library has anchored Little Rock's River Market District since 1997 inside a reimagined 1920 warehouse — freshly reopened in September 2025 after a $31.5 million renovation that transformed the 160,338-square-foot Fones Brothers building into a six-floor community hub with a rooftop terrace overlooking the Arkansas River.
🕑 Library Hours
| Monday | 9am–6pm |
| Tuesday | 9am–6pm |
| Wednesday | 9am–6pm |
| Thursday | 9am–6pm |
| Friday | 9am–6pm |
| Saturday | 9am–6pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
Hours may vary on holidays; check the library site before visiting.
📍 Location, Contact & Directions
Address: 100 South Rock Street, Little Rock, AR 72201
Phone: (501) 918-3000
Website: cals.org
Plus Code: 8669PPWM+R3 (Little Rock, AR)
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📖 About Main Library — Central Arkansas Library System
The Main Library of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) occupies an adaptive reuse of the Fones Brothers Hardware warehouse, constructed in 1920 and transformed into a library in 1997 by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects — the first major development project in Little Rock's River Market District. CALS itself was formed in 1975 through the merger of the Little Rock Public Library (founded February 1, 1910, with an $88,100 Carnegie Foundation grant, drawing 500 card applicants on opening day) and the Pulaski-Perry Regional Library System. A $31.5 million renovation closed the building in September 2023 and reopened it to the public on September 29, 2025 — exactly 28 years after the 1997 opening — adding a rooftop terrace, a video and podcasting production studio, dedicated social-services offices, a teaching kitchen in the children's center, and basement public access for the first time. Today CALS is the largest library system in Arkansas, serving Pulaski and Perry counties through 18 locations with approximately 1.5 million items.
⭐ What makes this library special
- Housed in the 1920 Fones Brothers Hardware warehouse, adaptively reused in 1997 and comprehensively renovated in 2023–2025 for $31.5 million by the original architectural team (Polk Stanley Wilcox + WER + Stocks-Mann Architects)
- 160,338 sq ft across six floors with a rooftop terrace offering panoramic views of downtown Little Rock and the Arkansas River
- Joann and Garth Martin Children's Center — features a teaching kitchen, sensory room, wellness room, garden, and story-time stages
- Christopher Michael Rice Teen Center (ages 13–18) on the second floor, with computers, young-adult collections, and a kitchenette
- CALS traces its Carnegie roots to 1910 — and made history in 1951 by integrating African American adult patrons, three years before Brown v. Board of Education
📱 Digital Resources — Free with Your Library Card
CALS cardholders access these digital collections free:
📚 Services
- Public computer labs and technology classrooms
- Individual and small-group study rooms (2-person and 4-person)
- Meeting and event rooms (third and fourth floors)
- Darragh Center conference and event space (fifth floor, views of downtown)
- Podcast and video production studio (fifth floor)
- DIY Memory Lab — digitize personal photos, films, and audio
- Notary public services
- Interlibrary loan
- Mobile printing and scanning
- Library of Things: telescopes, birdwatching kits, fishing poles, mobile hotspots
- On-site social workers (three offices in basement)
- Boulevard Bread Company café (Mon–Sat 8am–3pm walk-up window)
- Rooftop terrace (open to public)
🎸 Programs
- Children's storytimes and programming in the Joann and Garth Martin Children's Center
- Teen programming and digital workshops in the Christopher Michael Rice Teen Center (ages 13–18)
- Count Up Math Tutoring for students
- Summer reading program (all ages)
- Adult learning and workforce development programs
- Six Bridges Book Festival — annual literary festival hosted at the Main Library
- Community events on the rooftop terrace and in the Darragh Center
📍 Nearby Libraries in Central Arkansas
Distances are approximate straight-line miles from this library.
All libraries in Little Rock · Browse all Arkansas libraries →
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the history of the building the Main Library occupies?
The Main Library sits inside the former Fones Brothers Hardware warehouse, built in 1920 in what would become Little Rock's River Market District. When CALS moved in on September 20, 1997, the conversion by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects was the first major development project in the emerging River Market area. Carnegie pillars salvaged from the original 1910 Little Rock Public Library at Louisiana and 7th Street were later erected outside the building in 2009 as a nod to that history.
When did the library reopen after its renovation, and what changed?
The Main Library closed in September 2023 for a $31.5 million renovation and reopened to the public on September 29, 2025 — exactly 28 years after first opening at the Rock Street location — with a grand community celebration on October 4, 2025. The renovation, designed by Polk Stanley Wilcox, WER Architects, and Stocks-Mann Architects, added a rooftop terrace, a podcast/video production studio, a teaching kitchen in the children's center, on-site social workers in the basement, and opened basement public access for the first time.
Where do I go for Arkansas history, genealogy, and the Arkansas art collection?
Those resources live at the adjacent Bobby L. Roberts Library of Arkansas History & Art, just steps away at 101 South Rock Street. The Roberts Library houses the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, more than 10 million documents and photographs on Arkansas history, on-site Ancestry.com and Fold3 genealogy access, an Underground Gallery for art exhibitions, and the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
How was CALS formed, and how did it make history on civil rights?
CALS was created in 1975 by merging the Little Rock Public Library — founded February 1, 1910, with an $88,100 Carnegie Foundation grant, drawing 500 card applicants on opening day — and the Pulaski-Perry County Regional Library System. In a milestone ahead of federally mandated school desegregation, CALS began admitting African American adult patrons in 1951, three years before the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision. Today CALS is the largest library system in Arkansas, operating 18 locations across Pulaski and Perry counties.
📋 This library offers notary services. See what a library notary can do — what to bring, fees and appointments — and find other libraries with a notary notary services by state.
🧰 This library lends a “Library of Things.” See what you can borrow besides books and find other libraries with a Library of Things Library of Things by state.
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