Nicknamed the "The Natural State", Arkansas is the 29th largest state with an area of 53,225 square miles, of which 9,740 miles are streams and 453,868 acres are lakes. One half of the state's total population of 2,692,090 lives in urban areas. According to the 2000 Census, 78.6% of the population is White, 15.7% is African American and 3.2% is of Hispanic origin. The state is home to four historically black colleges and universities: Arkansas Baptist College, Philander Smith College, Shorter College and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The largest city, Little Rock is also the state's capital. The University ofArkansas is located in Fayetteville. Hot Springs is home to nearly 50 geothermal springs and is popular with tourists. The name Arkansas is linked to a French pronunciation of the original Indian tribe inhabiting the state and means "South Wind" in the Quapaw language.

Health Departments

• Arkansas Department of Health
  Health warnings, resources for keeping your hometown healthy, resources for moms and kids, birth/death certificates, statistical data, and more.

Community Based Organizations

• ARHealthLINK
  Consumer health website. Includes evaluated national resources on health topics related to Arkansas. Also lists non-profit groups and health-related organizations. Created and maintained by the UAMS Library and Arkansas Consumer Health Information Network (ARCHIN).
• Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC)
  The AFMC is dedicated to the clinical evaluation and improvement of health care in Arkansas. Working closely with hospitals, physicians, and communities, AFMC promotes high quality yet cost effective health care through provider and consumer education.

Library Information

• Area Health Education Center Libraries
  Each Area Health Education Center [AHEC] Library covers a different region of the state.
• Arkansas Children's Hospital Library
  Serves as the Center of Pediatric Health Information for the state. Designed to help health professionals and patient families better care for their patients and children. Open to employees, patients and their families, area health professionals and the community.
• Arkansas Library Association
• Arkansas Library Catalogs Online
• Arkansas Regional Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped
• Arkansas State Library
• ARKLink
  ARKLink's mission is to increase, enhance, and facilitate cooperation among libraries in the state of Arkansas through consortia purchasing of resources, expanding access to resources, and encouraging partnerships between and among libraries. It also includes a reciprocal borrowing program.
• Patent & Trademark Depository Library
• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Library
  Arkansas' largest health science library and designated as the NN/LM Resource Library for the state of Arkansas. Provides backup health sciences information resources and services to the AHEC libraries, hospital libraries, and individual health professionals. Outreach Services include instruction and support for NLM's services and products such as PubMed, Loansome Doc and MEDLINEplus and participation in the states' professional health science academies' and societies' conventions as an exhibitor.

State/Local Associations

• Arkansas Academy of Family Physicians
• Arkansas Association for Healthcare Engineering
• Arkansas EMT Association
• Arkansas Medical Society
• Arkansas Nurses Association
• Arkansas Occupational Therapists Association
• Arkansas Pharmacists Association
• Arkansas Physical Therapy Association
• Arkansas Psychological Association
• Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association

Special Populations

• Arkansas Minority Health Commission
• Bureau of Primary Health Care Databases
  Search by state in the Medically Underserved Areas & Medically Underserved Populations or Health Professional Shortage Area databases.

Statistical Information

• Arkansas Crime Information Center
  Crime statistics in Arkansas, a victim's guide and more.
• Arkansas State Census Data Center
  Provides in-depth census data and population projections. Includes the Children's Research Center (CRC), a major source of information on the well-being of Arkansas' children and their families. Indicators in the CRC's database include demographics for each county, the safety and security of children, health, education, and economics.
• HRSA State Health Workforce Profiles: Arkansas
  Accurate and current data on supply, demand, distribution, education and use of health personnel.
• State Health Facts Online: Arkansas
  Data on demographics, health, and health policy, including health coverage, access, financing, and state legislation.
• State Snapshots 2005 from the National Healthcare Quality Report
  Arkansas's overall healthcare quality performance compared to all states and how it has changed.

Other Resources

• Healthy Schools
  State-level school health policies from the National Association of State Boards of Education.
• Access Arkansas
  Links to state and local government including information on tourism, business, communities, family and online services.
• Arkansas Democrat Gazette
• Arkansas Education Television Network
• Arkansas Legislature
• Channel 4 KARK [NBC]
• Channel 7 KATV [ABC]
• Channel 11 KTHV [CBS]
• Hola Arkansas
  Arkansas' bilingual newspaper