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Have Fun with Books!

One of our 6 by 6: Ready to Read Early Literacy skills is "Have Fun with Books." Children who enjoy books and are interested in them will naturally want to learn to read! Educators and researchers use the term print motivation to describe this area of early literacy. We've got lots of ideas about how to help little ones see that books, words, reading, rhyming are fun! Watch our Librarian Megan's fun rhyme "Two Little Rhythm Sticks" with your little ones, and then head over to our Have Fun with Books page for lots more fun ideas!

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Making TV, Literally!

Make48 is an invention competition and a nationally televised show on PBS. One of our MakerSpace gurus, Nick Ward-Bopp, volunteered at the most recent competition as a tool technician at the beginning of Season 2 filming. The Make48 team came to the MakerSpace to shoot some footage Monday, Jan. 22. Our MakerSpace and Nick are ready for their closeups! 

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Music Monday! Chloe Jacobson: True Blue

Happy Music Monday where we select a single from one of our full Local Music LIVE recording performances. This week, it's True Blue by Chloe Jacobson. We'd like to think we're your "true blue friend" because one thing good friends do is pass along really good music from up-and-coming talented folks from right here in our community! Enjoy! Learn more about Chloe and hundreds of other Local Music artists.

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It's pronounced: mon–tih–sell–oh

First things first: it’s [mon–tih–sell–oh]. We know – that’s not how Thomas Jefferson might have said it. However since its founding in 1857 the Monticello township, and now the community,  have adopted the Americanized pronunciation. So have we.

SHAWNEE, WE HAVE A BUILDING. Planning’s completed, designs are approved and permits have been issued. Monticello Library is becoming a reality in Shawnee, Kansas where Shawnee Mission Parkway abuts Kansas Highway 7.

Earthwork on the 22435 W. 66th Street site started in March 2017. After the May 10 Groundbreaking Ceremony, construction actively got underway. A concrete pad was poured; a steel framework began to describe the silhouette; utilities were connected. A retaining wall was installed on the south, and the 100-space parking lot was paved by year’s end.

Monticello Library is anticipated to be “dried in,” as they say in the construction trade, in January 2017. Once the exterior of the building is closed up, work will start in earnest to finish the interiors and to make the building systems – heating, lighting, electrical – operational.

Specific planning for Monticello Library actually got underway in 2005. When the project was fully funded in early 2016, more focus groups and staff committees weighed in to assure that the new building would meet current demands and standards. Among the features that were cited by community and staff as necessary, both in 2005 and 2016:  ample meeting spaces for public use; robust wifi and other tech support; a drive-through window; dynamic children’s programming. All of these, and more, are planned for the new facility.

The need for a Monticello branch was noted in the Johnson County Library Facilities Master Plan 1990-2010. In 2000, the Library Board first requested that the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) place the Monticello facility in the annual Capital Improvement Plan (CIP); it was requested annually after that. In 2010, the County Commissioners ratified the site purchase from Bank of America, and a small donation of land from the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth augmented the footprint for parking. The BoCC approved issuance of bonds for the site purchase, and placed the project on the County CIP timeline for construction in 2015.

The economic downturn of 2008-09 caught up with the project in 2011, and the Commissioners removed this project from the County’s 2012-2016 CIP. The Library planned to provide alternative services in the area –such as storytimes and a self-service lending machine on the future Monticello site, pending future developments…

In 2015 the Library’s Board approved the 20-year Comprehensive Library Master Plan and named Monticello Library as the first implementation priority. A public funding increase was approved that year, and the project was launched. The Clark Enersen Partners of Fairway, KS was selected as the project architect, and McCownGordon Construction are serving as construction manager to bring Monticello Library to life.

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Keepin' It Real

Whether you're a seasoned nonfiction reader or generally find Historical Romance more your style, you'll find something in our Nonfiction list to intrigue and excite! Put your holds on these hot picks now »

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Gather at the Table event. Thursday, Jan. 18. Central Resource Library. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Join Us Next Time! Gather at the Table

We had a great "Gather at the Table" event last night at Central Resource Library. We had about 90 people of all ages, from children to seniors. People chatted about everything from the silly to the serious: favorite movies, the Civil Rights Movement, and DACA. Quite a few people stayed late and we saw several people who had just met hug goodbye. Join us at our next Community Matters events and connect with your community!

 

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Throwback Thursday

Our Throwback Thursday item this week was found after searching for something to honor National Thesaurus Day. In 1968 the Friends of the Library held a contest to "Name the New Library." The winner, Mrs. Paul Spaeth, named our "Cedar-Roe" library and won not only a thesaurus, but a Home Reference Library set.

See more local history at jocohistory.org or follow our hashtag on Twitter.

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Monticello Opens this Summer

That's right! We open this summer. But if you just can't wait to see what it will look like, then come fly with us! This animated flythrough highlights what the Monticello Library will look like inside and out!

For more information about our newest addition and to get the latest updates, check the Monticello Library page.