Bookmarkable
Friends Bookstores Reopening
The Friends of Johnson County Library Bookstores are re-opening to help meet your gently-used books and A/V needs! The bookstores at Antioch, Blue Valley and Central Resource Libraries are now open for appointment-only shopping.
Store hours at all three locations are Mondays from 9am-4:30pm and Thursdays from Noon-7:30pm. Bookstore pricing has been standardized to make it easier to shop and to perform contact-less sales. Some items like display books, and sets, are specially priced.
The Friends are extending their member discount all Summer. Members get 20% off prices as marked, until Labor Day!
The Friends look forward to welcoming you back to the Bookstores. To shop at Antioch or Central Resource Library Bookstores, contact Becky Epperson. To shop at Blue Valley Library Bookstore, contact Karin Dembinski.
Some appointment-only shopping details:
- 24 hours advance appointment
- 30 minutes for browsing
- 4 customers limit for low-contact book shopping
- Face coverings are required in public places in Johnson County, Kansas. Wear yours to the Bookstore!
- No membership necessary!
The Stores have been deep-cleaned, along with the Libraries. The generous-hearted Bookstore volunteers are being trained on new physical distancing and daily store hygiene measures. Plexiglas partitions have been placed at cash register stations in each bookstore, and six foot “distancing” floor markings have been deployed. Face coverings are required in public places in Johnson County, Kansas. Wear yours to the Bookstore!
The Friends do not currently accept book donations at the branches. If you have donations, give a call to the Friends Operations Manager, Shanta Dickerson, to arrange drop off at our headquarters. 913 492 4791
Virtual Book Display: Fantasy!
As you know, the theme for Summer Reading 2020 is Imagine Your Story! With fairytales, mythology, and fantasy, we hope you're having a magical summer. Want suggestions about what to read next? Check out this virtual display!
TBT: Johnson County’s Hospitals and Healthcare Systems
Johnson County’s Hospitals and Healthcare Systems have a fascinating history!
Johnson County is fortunate today to be home to many outstanding hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, and other medical facilities. But this was not always the case. In thinking about how much health has been in the news with the COVID-19 pandemic, this three-part blog series will explore the history of healthcare in Johnson County. It's the latest jocohistory blog entry!
Garrulousness
We have an exciting Summer Reading-themed show! Our Librarians called in with several recommendations for your little ones. We also asked you on facebook to submit your favorite childhood titles. We mention a number of your suggestions! From those, we created a really great booklist. Before we launch into all that, Melissa Horak-Hern and Dave Carson share memories of their top-five childhood books!
Six Million Reasons to Remember
Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust Remembrance Day, is a time to learn about the Holocaust, remember survivors and victims and reflect about genocide. Join us for In Memory of Six Million as we welcome survivor Sonia Warshawski. She will share her experiences of a teenager in Poland during WWII, from ghetto to death camp. The generation of survivors is rapidly shrinking. Learn this tragic history from someone who lived it.
Thursday, April 16
7 – 8 p.m.
Corinth Library
Enter to Win Our Writing and Poster Contests
We have two contests that close on July 10, one for kids and one for all ages!
Kids! Enter to win our Fantasy Writing Contest for 3rd-8th Graders. Writers going into 3rd-8th grade are invited to share their fantasy stories with us through July 10 as part of our summer reading activities.
and...
All ages! Enter our Imagine Your Story Fandom Poster Contest! If you have a fandom, we want to see it! Make a poster and share it with us this summer through July 10!
TBT: J. Robert Oppenheimer
Sometimes history is just one week ago. That's when we released our Author Research in Action series where we take an award-winning author and let them dive-into conversation with a subject matter expert! In this rebroadcast, Los Alamos National Laboratory Program Manager and Senior Historian, Alan Carr is paired with author Robert J. Sawyer who’s written a new SciFi/historical fiction/thriller called The Oppenheimer Alternative.
Happy Throwback Thursday! Some call it the best day of the week.
Ancestry Library Edition
No doubt you heard lots of stories about your family members during your holiday gatherings. Want to learn more?
Research your family history in Ancestry Library Edition, available from home for a limited time.
Normally only available for in-library use, Ancestry.com has allowed us to offer Ancestry Library Edition to our patrons for at-home use. They have extended this remote access through March 31, 2021 - yay!
A JoCo Library How-To: The Simplest Way to Quickly Place a Hold!
Do you know the simplest way to quickly place a hold? It’s easy!
First, log into your account. Click on the blue “LOG IN/MY LIBRARY” button in the top right corner on the jocolibrary website. Now, enter the title, author or subject of the item you’re looking for.” From here, you can click on a title to get detailed information, add the title to you “FOR LATER” shelf, or, click the green “PLACE A HOLD” box. Now, you can choose where you want to pick up your hold from the “SELECT A LOCATION” dropdown menu. Don’t forget to hit that blue “CONFIRM HOLD” button. And that’s it!
Give us a couple days and you'll receive an email from us when your held item(s) is ready for pickup at your chosen Library. Your item(s) will remain on the hold shelf for seven days from the date of the email.
Praise for New Online Programming
Like many Johnson County Library patrons, Lindsey Opdyke says she learned to appreciate all the online services offered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She got the Axis 360 eBooks app. And Facebook Live programming has added a whole new dimension to her family’s Library experiences.
During normal times, Opdyke works full-time and her mother-in-law would take her young daughter, Emerson, every Wednesday to Storytime at Monticello Library. Those in-person Storytimes introduced Emerson to wonderful books, rhymes and songs since she was about nine months old.
“My daughter enjoys the interaction with other kids. She doesn’t normally have a lot of that,” Opdyke said. “Listening to a teacher that’s not a family member, that’s really beneficial. Having to follow rules and use her inside voice.”
Since Opdyke was normally busy at work, she only accompanied Emerson to Storytime on the rare Wednesday when she had a day off. Then, after the virus struck and the Library branches all closed, she learned that the Storytimes would be available online. Since Opdyke was now working from home, all of a sudden she was able to follow the Storytimes herself.
“I loved the time at home,” Opdyke said. She especially appreciated getting to watch Storytimes every weekday at 10 a.m., and getting to experience those lively settings with her daughter.
She said Emerson realizes the “virtual” Storytime is different from what she had been used to, but it still keeps her engaged and learning. “She’s a little performer,” Opdyke said. “She loves going to the Library, but I think she really loves the online Storytime as well.”
The family is thrilled they can now return to Monticello Library and stock up on actual books. But Opdyke has discovered that the Library’s innovations during the pandemic are major enhancements to what was already offered.
“We love it,” she said. “And we hope they continue to do the online programs.”