What sets the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture apart from its peers across the country? “I don’t think any other state encyclopedia has an entry on a death metal band,” offers Mike Keckhaver, the online collection’s media editor and author of the entry on the band in question, North Little Rock’s Rwake.
Other topics on which the EOA (encyclopediaofarkansas.net) likely has a monopoly among similar projects: cheese dip (“… considered to be an important part of Arkansas’s food culture”), drag shows (“… have their roots in rural folk dramas often used as fundraisers for community institutions”) and slime molds (“… do not have a particularly attractive name, but some examples produce fruiting bodies that are miniature objects of considerable beauty”).
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas takes on topics that might be of broader interest, of course: The entry on the Little Rock Nine who integrated Central High School is the EOA’s most visited page, often, judging from the sorts of queries the staff gets, from students working on assignments, according to editor Guy Lancaster. That means the encyclopedia is fulfilling one of its original aims. A big reason the Central Arkansas Library System started the project in 2002 “was a recognition that, if we’re going to teach Arkansas history in secondary schools, we need a resource,” said Susan Gele, assistant director, public relations for the library.
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