Encyclopedia of Arkansas

Encyclopedia of Arkansas
LanguageEnglish
GenreEncyclopedias
PublisherCentral Arkansas Library System
Publication date
2006-
Publication placeUnited States
Media typeDigital
OCLC68194233
Websiteencyclopediaofarkansas.net

The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) Encyclopedia of Arkansas is a web-based encyclopedia of the U.S. state of Arkansas, described by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as "a free, authoritative source of information about the history, politics, geography, and culture of the state of Arkansas."[1]

The encyclopedia is a project of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Little Rock-based CALS.[2] CALS has pledged to keep the encyclopedia in operation in perpetuity.[3]

The project was officially launched in 2006 with 700 entries and 900 multimedia items.[2] By June 2014, it had grown to more than 3,600 entries and 5,000 multimedia items;[2] as of 2021, the site had more than 6,500 entries and 10,500 pieces of media.[3] The website was redesigned in 2019 to add functions and support for mobile devices.[4] The project has a staff of five;[5] articles are written by volunteer contributors who receive a payment of 5 cents per word.[2] Tom W. Dillard was the Founding Editor; as of 2018 the editor is Guy Lancaster, who was one of the first interns.[5] The project is financially supported by the NEH; the Department of Arkansas Heritage, Arkansas General Assembly, and Arkansas Humanities Council; and by various foundations, principally the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.[2]

The most-visited page on Encyclopedia of Arkansas is that of the Little Rock Nine.[2] Other entries range from slime mold to various Civil War battles and skirmishes in Arkansas to cheese dip.[2]

  1. ^ EDSITEment: The Best of the Humanities on the Web: Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture Archived December 22, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, National Endowment for the Humanities.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Lindsey Millar, From civil rights to slime molds, the Encyclopedia of Arkansas has all of Arkansas covered with more than 3,600 entries, Arkansas Times (July 30, 2014).
  3. ^ a b "About the Encyclopedia". Little Rock, Arkansas: Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS). Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  4. ^ Froelich, Jacqueline (May 15, 2019), Encyclopedia Of Arkansas Unveils Redesigned Website, KUAR, retrieved May 15, 2019
  5. ^ a b "Staff". Little Rock, Arkansas: Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS). Archived from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.