Font size options
Increase or decrease the font size for this website by clicking on the 'A's.
Contrast options
Choose a color combination to give the most comfortable
contrast.
Learn about Arkansas's Freedom of Information Act from law professor Robert Steinbuch
The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), codified in Arkansas Code Ann. §§ 25-19-101 to 25-19-110, grants citizens of Arkansas the right to inspect and copy public records of state and local government agencies, unless those records are specifically exempted. This law also mandates that most meetings of governing bodies be open to the public. One of the most comprehensive and strongest open-records and open-meeting laws in the country, many Arkansans are unfamiliar with how the law applies to government entities and how they can use the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act to hold government officials accountable to the taxpayers they serve.
Join us for a presentation by University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law faculty professor Robert Steinbuch, author of the treatise on the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
Robert Steinbuch joined the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law faculty after several years in government and private practice, including having clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals, worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, and served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Professor Steinbuch is a weekly columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and he has also published in law reviews, legal periodicals, medical journals, and other venues.
Various state and national news sources have interviewed Steinbuch for his legal expertise. His coauthored article on “mismatch theory” was cited recently by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas regarding university admissions, and his article “Mere Thieves” was republished in the Securities Law Review as one of the year’s 10 best securities-law articles. He authored the treatise on the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, and he has served as an expert witness on complex economic matters and testified before the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. He has also testified many times before the Arkansas legislature and worked with various legislators to draft legislation. He was the chair of the Arkansas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Steinbuch holds the Arkansas Bar Professorship at Bowen. As a Fulbright Scholar, he taught in Poland in 2015 and continues his affiliation with the program. He held the position of medical-legal editor for the Journal of the National Medical Association, was a commissioner on the Arkansas Commission for the Newborn Umbilical Cord Blood Bank Initiative, and served on the boards of the Society of Chest Pain Centers and the Healthcare Accreditation Colloquium. Steinbuch is a repeat recipient of the law school’s Faculty Excellence Awards in both scholarship and service.
Today's hours
We're open 9:00AM to 6:00PM
Fletcher Library was established in 1974 and was named for John Gould Fletcher, a Little Rock poet who won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1937. The grand opening was originally planned for August 1974 but was delayed by a month when the library learned the shelving would not be delivered on time. After the shelving company notified the library of a second delay, the intrepid staff lined up the entire collection on the floor with the spines up and opened the library without shelves!
In 1996, a new, much larger building was built behind the original location. It was designed in the Craftsman style to blend seamlessly with the surrounding neighborhood. Fletcher Library won the 1996 Design Award from the American Institute of Architects, Arkansas Chapter, and is largely considered one of the most beautiful libraries in the Central Arkansas Library System.
In 2017, the library was closed 4 months for construction and renovations. Fletcher Library now includes a community building with 3 meeting rooms and a warming kitchen available for public use. Fletcher Library continues to be a vital hub serving the Heights, Hillcrest, and Midtown neighborhoods.
