Butler Center for Arkansas Studies
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[edit] Address and Contact Info
Physical Address: Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201
Mailing Address: 100 Rock Street, Little Rock, AR 72201
Research Room Telephone: (501) 320-5700
Fax: (501) 537-4559
Website: http://www.butlercenter.org
Blog: http://butlercenter.blogspot.com
Email: arkinfo@cals.org
Principal contacts for the collection: Please call the main telephone number for information. This number will reach the main desk in the research room.
[edit] Hours and Usage Restrictions
The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies is located inside the Arkansas Studies Institute (ASI). The main ASI research room with access to material from both the Butler Center and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Archives and Special Collections is located on the second floor. It is open Monday-Thursday from 9:00am-8:00pm, Friday-Saturday from 9:00am-6:00pm and on Sunday from 1:00pm-5:00pm.
Researchers must register when entering the ASI research room. Access to the manuscript collections requires the researcher to present valid photo identification and sign a use form. This form will become part of a permanent file. A request form must be filled out for items located in the closed stacks; this includes the bulk of the archival material.
Staff may request researchers to wear gloves when using some collections. In addition, individual manuscript collections may have specific restrictions.
The Arkansas Studies Institute reserves the right to inspect personal belongings, such as purses or bags, when researchers exit. Learn more about the Arkansas Studies Institute at http://www.cals.org/arstudies/index.htm.
[edit] Online Catalogs and Finding Aids
Online finding aids are available for the manuscript collections, photographs, and maps at http://www.butlercenter.org/manuscript/index.html
The Butler Center Digital Collections main page an be accessed at http://www.digital.butlercenter.org/index.php. This includes manuscript finding aids, lesson plans, and the AV/AR audio visual database of Arkansas oral history interviews, lectures and other video footage, as well as the Aftermath Map Collection that tracks changes in Pulaski County, Arkansas after the 1957 Little Rock Central High School Desegregation Crisis, information and collections from Forgotten: The Arkansas Korean War Project, and information about Ruled By Race: A Classroom Exploration of Arkansas's Past and Future.
Additional items, including genealogical sources, can be accessed through the Central Arkansas Library System online catalog at http://vera.cals.lib.ar.us/
[edit] Collection Summary
The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies has many manuscript collections that offer unique glimpses into the state's history. These collections contain correspondence, photographs, and other original materials documenting Arkansas and its people.
An extensive photograph collection documents the history of the state and its people. The photograph collection is arranged topically (i.e. Military, Education, Business, Industry & Natural Resources, etc.). There are also a few individual photograph collections. Most notable are the Clifton E. Hull Photograph Collection, which focuses on the architectural history of central Arkansas; the James W. Leslie Photograph Collection, with an emphasis on the history of southeast Arkansas; and the R.E.L. Wilson Photograph Collection, which chronicles the Lee Wilson & Company plantation in northeast Arkansas.
In addition to manuscript collections and photograph collection, we have a large collection of historic maps. While the focus of the collection is Arkansas, there are also a number of regional, national, and world maps as well. Some of the earliest maps date to the 17th Century. The Arkansas maps are divided by type (state, county, and municipality). There are also separate categories for Civil War and miscellaneous maps.
The Arkansas Studies Institute as a whole is the state's largest free-standing facility dedicated to the study of Arkansas and houses the collections of six Arkansas governors. Additional information about items from the UALR Archives and Special Collections available in the ASI research room can be found at http://www.ualr.edu/archives.
[edit] Usage Discussion
Suggestions for approaching the material:
Housing and getting by for less in the area:
