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In 2017 library staff hatched a plan to share work by local artists and writers in a spiral bound, easy-to-carry publication. Ea ly editions contained work from local creatives whose work had previously been published on our Staff Picks blog or displayed in Library buildings as part of our exhibitions.  

Since then, Volume has evolved to its own contest, and we are currently accepting submissions via our Submittable page on the theme of Food Culture.  

Our food culture colors our world in many ways. Here in Kansas City, many would say our food culture is barbecue! The world’s first museum dedicated to the history and cultural significance of barbeque opened in Kansas City this April. When friends and family come to town, we treat them to our famous barbecue. Many barbecue joints have pictures of celebrities who have visited, and we host numerous barbecue contests each year. The  American Royal World Series of Barbecue is the world’s largest competition of its kind. The Kansas City Barbeque Society boasts 16,000 members worldwide.    

Whether you love it, like it, or are resigned to live with it, share your best barbecue story. Is it a childhood memory of the neighborhood block party? Who’s in charge of the grill in your family? Who taught you to be the family grill master? Do you have a special sauce recipe passed down through generations? We’re not asking you to reveal the secret ingredient but tell us the story of who gave you your treasured recipe and what it means to keep these family traditions. When you’re invited to a barbecue, what do you bring and why? Paint or draw or photograph a picture of what a delicious spread looks like to you. Tell us the story of Kansas City barbecue from your point of view. If BBQ isn’t your food culture, share what is.  

Poetry is limited to 60 lines, prose is limited to 1000 words, and visual art is only limited by your own imagination. Contest closes June 30th.

We’re looking forward to reading and viewing you work with an eye to sharing with our community! 

Architectural design work for renovations at the DeSoto and Spring Hill Libraries began in October 2024. The Library is working with bc DESIGN GROUP to develop designs for these two locations that will incorporate input heard from community members during initial public forums, making the spaces more functional and modernizing building infrastructure. This includes creating and improving gathering spaces, updating technology, and enhancing kids’ areas, in addition to updating building finishes (new carpeting, paint, furniture) and more intuitive collection layouts. The Spring Hill Library is expected to receive an expansion outward to provide a brighter, more spacious setting for Library services. 

Construction work at both locations is expected to begin later in 2025. The Library will continue to be active in these communities during construction. Stay tuned for updates on this page or @jocolibrary on social media.

Spring Hill Library: Spring Hill Library is receiving a 1,000-square-foot expansion that will house the kids collection and a 6 by 6, Ready to Read early literacy play space. Large floor-to-ceiling windows will look onto a new patio off the relocated front entrance. The current Library footprint will house the adult and nonfiction collections, public computers, copy and printing stations, as well as a new meeting room and study room. Curbside pickup will remain at the location for convenience.

Spring Hill will also be the location of a new pilot program that will grant community members secure access to the facility outside of the branch’s current operating hours to pick up holds, browse the collection and use computers and printers. Though details are still in development, we’ll announce program specifics and registration information closer to the Library’s reopening.

Anywhere you go these days, it seems someone or something is watching: tracking your location, monitoring your purchases, or recording your information searches. But there is one place where there are no prying eyes: Libraries offer a sanctuary of privacy in today’s interconnected world.

Outlined in such official documents as the Library Bill of Rights and the Confidentiality of Records, Johnson County Library is committed to providing free access to information with as few barriers as possible.

“There are many good reasons people want privacy,” said Adam Wathen, associate director of Branch Services for Johnson County Library. “We don’t want to judge why someone wants information or how they will use it.”

Wathen said the strong emphasis on patron privacy has its roots in the so-called McCarthy Era of post-World War II when many Americans were pursued for what were considered their un-American ideologies. In response to this, the American Library Association in 1953 issued its Freedom to Read statement:

The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack … We trust the people of this nation to make their own decision about what to read and believe.

The statement, of course, was not the end to the threat to library freedom. Wathen said after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon, some government officials tried to use the Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act to access citizens’ library records.

“The libraries said ‘No’ and we put up even stronger barriers to protect our patrons’ records,” he said. “If people fear for their privacy, it will endanger their access to information, and we need to protect that.”

One result of these practices is that the Library does not have record of what patrons have checked out and returned. While the item is checked out, there is an electronic record that ties that particular item to the patron’s account. But the minute it is returned, the record is erased.

“You can see what items you have currently checked out, but once you return it, that record is gone,” Wathen said.

Thanks to technology, Library staff doesn’t need to take any actions to make that happen, removing even further the staff from connecting materials to a particular patron. In most cases, while material rolls along the returned-items conveyor belt, the RFID chip attached to it communicates with the computer databases and wipes the check-out record from the patron’s account before library staff even touches the returned item.

While patron privacy is protected, there are some potential inconveniences that can arise from the system. One is that if a library user wants a list of all items they have checked out, they need to keep one themselves … the Library has no such record. Another complication is that people often leave personal items inside books or other material cases when they are returned. When the staff finds such items – family pictures, money, sentimental bookmarks – they have no way of knowing who had the book most recently. The staff does sometimes try to reunite patrons with their materials through social media posts and by keeping a lost-and-found collection.

Not all items are returned, however. According to an episode of the Johnson County Library podcast “Did You Hear” from December 2019, Library staff found what appeared to be a bag of marijuana inside a returned item. A couple of days later, a patron called and asked if they had found some “oregano” he had left behind. Staff told the person the green leafy material had been turned over to the Overland Park police department for disposal … but the patron’s identity had not been divulged because staff did not know who left behind the “oregano.”

Privacy extends beyond materials that are checked out, Wathen explained. He said Library computers are programmed to automatically delete search and history information whenever a user logs off.

The Library does retain some information about books and other materials circulation, as well as the demographics of Library users. This information is used for planning purposes and to help Library staff know what materials are popular, and what kinds of and how much information it needs to have available. The information it keeps, however, is de-identified and not connected to any particular patron.

A patron’s library use data is exempt from state public record laws.

The Johnson County Library Bill of Rights makes the privacy mission clear:

All people, regardless of origin, age, background and views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. Libraries should advocate for, educate about and protect people’s privacy, safeguarding all library use data … 

“We do not want to have barriers to people accessing the information they want,” Wathen said. “If people don’t have privacy, then the information is no longer free.

“If a fear of privacy is a barrier, we need to remove that.”

Johnson County Library is committed to protecting patron privacy, ensuring that everyone can access information freely and without barriers. To learn more about the mission, vision and values of the Library, visit jocolibrary.org/about.

We’re upgrading our library system software to bring you a more reliable, flexible and user-friendly experience. This update will support new features, improve performance and enhance the display of special characters. 
 
To make this switch, access to some services may be temporarily interrupted between May 19–23:

• Some Library services will be completely unavailable during portions of the upgrade, including placing holds and receiving account notices;
• Other services, such as account maintenance and access to some eResources, may be unavailable more intermittently;
• Libby users may consider downloading titles prior to May 19 to minimize interruptions.

We apologize for any inconvenience the outages may cause, and thank you for your patience while we make these critical behind-the-scenes improvements. Updates will be shared here and @jocolibrary on social media.

Are you having a hard time finding a critique partner who’s brave enough to give you solid, honest, constructive feedback on your stories, essays, query letters, and other writing? Brainfuse might be a solution! The library provides free, on-line writing feedback, usually within one business day. All you need is a library card, a computer or tablet with internet access, and an uploadable and editable file!

You'll find Brainfuse HelpNow in the eLearning section of our eLibrary.

Spring into collection suggestions and recommendations! Guest Librarians Piepie and Charles join host Dave to talk about the best titles, genres, and sub-genres to put a little spring in your Spring!

Check out the recommendations mentioned in this episode »

Learn how the recent executive order may affect Johnson County Library.

On March 14, an executive order was issued calling for reduction in function and personnel of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the only federal agency for America’s libraries, to the fullest extent allowable by law. While other recent executive orders may have had ripples in our community, this is the first that broadly touches many library users and has an impact on Johnson County Library's budget. 

IMLS is responsible for distributing federal money to state libraries and administering grant funding. It designates funding to Kansas public libraries via the State Library of Kansas for a range of library services across the state. The State Library has already distributed 2025 funding, so the executive order may not impact libraries until 2026. Johnson County Library received about $165,000 in funding this year, which goes directly toward purchasing physical books. As an organization, we receive no other federal grant money. 

The current Kansas State Aid funding is based on the IMLS funding level authorized in 2018 with bipartisan congressional support. This was an extension of the Library Services and Technology Act, first enacted in 1996. 

IMLS funds account for 30 percent of the State Library’s budget; the remainder of the budget for the State Library of Kansas is determined annually by the Kansas legislature. In addition to providing funds for purchasing materials, the State Library of Kansas also provides a range of library resources to Kansans. The below services may be impacted beginning in 2026:

• Kansas Library eCard: Many Johnson County residents use this card to access eLearning resources, databases and digital materials (including eBooks and eAudiobooks) provided by the State Library of Kansas.   
• Online information databases: Many of our research resources are provided by or funded through the State Library of Kansas, including:  
  • Mango Languages: Language learning with practical situations and conversations.  
  • Universal Class: Over 500 convenient online classes covering a wide range of topics.  
  • Britannica: Encyclopedic resource for students, Spanish speakers and general audiences.  
  • LearningExpress Library: Practice tests and tutorials for students of all ages.  
  • NoveList: Reading recommendations and book lists for all readers.  
  • BookFlix: Read-along books for grades Pre-K to 3.  
  • Auto Repair Source: DIY auto repair guides for thousands of vehicles.  
  • HeritageQuest Online: Census records and other genealogy research tools.  
  • Job & Career Accelerator: Resume and cover letter builders and career guidance.  
  • World Almanac for Kids: One stop reference resource for student reports and research.  
  • U.S. Newsstream: Full-text articles from Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.  
• Summer reading: The State Library of Kansas helps coordinate the national summer reading program in Kansas libraries.
• Interlibrary Loan is another popular Library service that may see changes in 2026. Federal funding supports state courier services that move materials throughout the region. Should those services lose funding, interlibrary loan would need to rely more heavily on the U.S. Postal Service, potentially leading to increased expense and longer wait times for materials.   

If you would like to learn more about this topic, here are some resources:

• Read the full text of the executive order;
• Read the full text of the Library Services and Technology Act;
• Read more about how this order would affect libraries more broadly in a statement released by EveryLibrary, a nonpartisan national organization dedicated to building voter support for libraries;
• Contact the Friends of Johnson County Library, who provides advocacy support for Johnson County Library, or the Johnson County Library Foundation. 
• Reach out to your elected officials at the local, state, and national levels for more information. You can find contact information for your elected officials by entering your address into lookup forms through Usa.gov and the League of Women Voters.

We will continue to share updates as we learn additional details about the effect on our budget and ripples to our services. Johnson County Library’s mission is to provide access to ideas, information, experiences and materials that support and enrich people's lives. We are so grateful for the continued support of our community, and would love to see you again soon at your local branch.

Have you ever been in a grocery store, walked by a display of goodies on display at the end of an aisle and picked something up that wasn’t on your list?

Has the same thing ever happened to you at the Johnson County Library? It could, you know.

Just like “end caps” at the market help you discover new food items that might not have been on your radar, those displays throughout the Libraries are designed to help draw you to discover new books, movies and CDs. And perhaps discover something else.

“Libraries are all about access and the displays are about making connections,” said Beth McDaniel, librarian at the Leawood Pioneer branch. “We can make personal connections through the art of the displays.”

Diana Spencer, a librarian at the Corinth branch and another display aficionado, said her background in retail management helps her as she considers new displays.

“You have to keep your audience in mind,” she said, explaining that different branches serve different communities that make up Johnson County.

Book displays, at their very basic, pull from the vast collection of a series of related books and bring them together under a theme, making it easy for Library visitors to find what they are looking for, or perhaps find something they didn’t know they were looking for it! Popular topics for displays are things of great public interest – like presidential elections – or seasonal – like a cookbook display during Thanksgiving and holiday seasons.

One recent display at the Leawood Pioneer branch was Valentine’s Day themed. McDaniel said she searched for all the items in the collection that had “love” in the title. While Valentine’s Day was the broad theme, the goal was broader and intended to broaden our thinking about love beyond basic romance novels. Not only were there hundreds of books, movies and music to choose from – one of the requirements for displays is that there are plenty of items to choose from – but the topic of love was as wonderfully broad as they had hoped: 

• The movie “Love Actually”
• “Why We Love Baseball” by former Kansas City Star sports columnist Joe Posnanski
• “No Love Zone,” a graphic novel in the LGBTQ orbit
• “The Love Prescription,” authored by two PhDs who have spent decades researching successful and unsuccessful relationships
• “Love and the Death of Damnation,” a musical CD by the band White Buffalo

“Sometimes, the displays might have a controversial take on a topic, but our mission is to provide access, to provide information,” McDaniel said.

The librarians keep watch on the display to make sure items are moving off of them and if not, the displays might be taken down sooner than expected. The opposite is true if a display proves especially popular. Librarians also keep watch to make sure the shelves remain stocked.

The creativity of the display gurus extends to the materials they use. Mindful of responsible use of resources, they often turn to what’s on hand. McDaniel uses (and then reuses) Plexiglas shields leftover from COVID precautions to paint with dry-erase markers. The resulting vivid 3-D drawings of owls and ravens draw patrons deep into the stacks. Spencer said the Library MakerSpace and its staff are a wonderful resource.

It seems that it is in the children’s areas where the creativity of displays is in full bloom. Spencer like to point to the “underwater” display she created in the basement of the Corinth branch with the help of a translucent blue fabric-type material that was draped over shelves to give the impression of walking underwater. McDaniel said her creation of a four-foot-tall papier-mâché penguin at the Gardner branch has remained on display long after its original purpose.

“They dress him up,” she said. “And the kids love him. I built it so he could be hugged.”

The displays are far from static. By introducing scavenger hunts or encouraging children to discover and promote a new favorite book through a Final Four-type championship bracket, Libraries and books become more inviting, fun and alive.

Collecting and examining data of what items are checked out is one way to measure the success of the displays. Another is the anecdotes of how the displays touch patron’s lives.

For instance, in January, there was a display of bilingual children's books. (There was also a scavenger hunt designed to teach children to say “hello” in multiple languages.) The books included some from several different languages: Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, French, English.

One day, Library staff saw a beautiful interaction that proved the value of the work: a mother and her daughter, curled up together on one of the big comfy chairs, with a songbook that had just been added to the display. The mother was quietly singing the songs to her daughter, then carefully sounding out the English translations of the songs. It seems the songs were in the mom's first (or more fluent) language, and that she was helping her daughter learn that language, while the mom herself was using the opportunity to learn/practice her own English.

“It was such a lovely reminder that even a simple book display can have a big impact,” said Tricia Rightmire, a patron service specialist at the Central Resource branch said. “Maybe it helps a person find their next favorite book or helps someone get access to a resource they need ... or maybe it provides a way for a parent to connect with their child, both of them learning together and building a core memory while the parent gets to share their culture with the next generation.”

Next time you visit one of the 14 Johnson County Library locations, look for one of the creative book displays and you might just discover something unexpected and delightful. 

Ben Franklin once said, “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” While tax season can be stressful, you don’t have to face it alone. Johnson County Library (JCL) is here to help, offering free tax preparation services through a partnership with AARP and connecting taxpayers to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program through K-State Research and Extension in Johnson County. Remember, the deadline to file your taxes is April 15. 

What We Offer at JCL: 

• AARP Tax-Aide Assistance: Get free help with filling out and filing your tax returns, available for adults with or without a Library card. IRS-certified AARP volunteers will assist with tax preparation and e-filing. 

• Federal Income Tax Forms: Limited printed copies are available at the Library, but most forms can be accessed online for free. We do not provide printed state forms. 

• Computer & Printing Access: Need to access or print tax forms? Use our free computers and print for a small fee, with mobile and remote printing options now available. 

• Connections to VITA Services: We connect eligible taxpayers to the KC Metro Tax Coalition’s VITA program, offering free assistance for households earning $67,000 or less. 

AARP Tax-Aide at Johnson County Library  

The AARP Tax-Aide program, a nationwide initiative, has partnered with JCL for nearly 10 years, according to Regional Librarian Bryan Voell. Last year, volunteers assisted about 800 Kansas residents at Oak Park Library. This year, the program has moved to Central Resource Library, providing free space for AARP volunteers and taxpayers. Across Johnson County, thousands benefit from these services, securing millions in refunds and saving hundreds of thousands in tax-preparation fees. 

“We see this as an extension of our services,” said Voell. “Ultimately, libraries are dedicated to free and open access to resources. This program is for people, regardless of income or class, to have access to free tax professionals who can assist them if they are unable to do it on their own.” 

The program is open to everyone, with a focus on those over 50 and individuals with low to moderate incomes. AARP membership is not required. IRS-certified volunteers—including retired CPAs, tax preparers and community members—help run the program. In 2023, 75 volunteers assisted with over 2,500 tax returns in Johnson County. 

“Taxpayers are so appreciative and thankful for the help getting their tax returns filed each year,” said Bill Kelm, one of the AARP volunteers in Johnson County. “It’s great getting to know other volunteers and taxpayers who return each year.” 

 Kelm added that he enjoys volunteering because he knows he is helping others. 

“Volunteering with the AARP Tax-Aide Program allows me to leverage my work-life skills in retirement, helping those in our community get an accurate tax return filed and receive the maximum refund they are entitled to,” he said. 

Connecting You to VITA 

JCL helps promote the KC Metro Tax Coalition’s VITA program, which offers free tax preparation for households earning $67,000 or less. In 2024, the program served 1,469 households, completed over 1,600 returns and secured $1.4 million in net refunds while saving taxpayers $435,325 in fees. Returns are filed electronically. 

“The Johnson County Library assists us greatly in communicating this service, reaching a wide geographic area and adults of all ages,” said Joy Miller, extension agent with K-State in Johnson County. She noted that participation increased last year thanks to Library outreach. 

Additional Tax Assistance Locations 

In addition to JCL’s Central Resource location, AARP offers tax services at the Sylvester Powell Community Center, Overland Park Christian Church, Olathe’s Indian Creek Library, Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Colonial Church and Hillcrest churches in Prairie Village and Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Lenexa. 

How to Get Help 

• AARP Tax-Aide Appointments & Info: Visit www.kstaxaide.com or call 913-735-5489. 

• VITA Tax Help: Visit www.johnson.k-state.edu or call 913-715-7000. 

• Federal & State Tax Forms: Find more information in the Guide from our Librarians. 

While paying taxes is one of the few certainties in life, it’s not one you have to endure alone. Thanks to AARP, the KC Metro Tax Coalition K-State Extension VITA program and JCL, there is help.