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Cast Your Vote for Best Library
Voting for the Pitch's Best of KC 2022 is open through Sept. 30, and three of our locations are on the ballot for Best Library Branch on the Kansas side!
We think all our branches are pretty great, but if your favorite is Central Resource, Corinth, or Lenexa City Center, head on over to the ballot to spread the word. There's no category for Best Library Patrons but if there were, we're sure ours would win!
This Week at the Library
This week at the Library, you can join us at:
Library OnDemand – Available anytime you like.
Your doorway into live and archived programs. Arts & Culture, Career & Finance, Community Matters, Writers and more!
Walk and Read at Listowel Park – Saturday, Sept. 17 - Sept. 25, Anytime
Johnson County Library, Shawnee Parks and Recreation Department and De Soto Parents as Teachers invite you to visit the Walk and Read program at Listowel Park. “Imagine” and “Lucky Leaf” will be posted.
Young Adult Literary Council In-Person event – Sunday, Sept. 18, 2 - 3 p.m.
Teens are invited to join the Young Adult Literary Council to share favorite books, pick up advanced reader copies of teen books to read and review, and participate in other fun activities such as author visits, game days, event planning and more. You can meet new people and receive volunteer credit hours for your time with us.
The Art of Interviewing – Wednesday, Sept. 21, 6:30 - 8 p.m.
Your resume got you noticed and invited for an interview. Now it’s game time! Professional development consultant Efren Mojica of All About You Consulting will outline the entire interview life cycle: pre-interview, interview, and post-interview, as well as how to adapt to the increasingly-common virtual interview.
Writers Conference Pregame – Thursday, Sept. 22, 6:30 - 8 p.m.
Excited for the November Writers Conference? Us too! We’re so excited, in fact, that we can’t wait until November to start! Get a head start with our first-ever Writers Conference Pregame at the Central Resource Library. Meet fellow writers and conference planners, review session descriptions, register and pick up a free copy of our conference book, Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways by Sarah Stein Greenberg (as supplies last). Faculty will join, both in-person and virtually.
Search our Web Catalog using lists!
When you search our catalog, you can search by 'lists,' Librarian and user-created ways to browse for something new to read! Looking for readalikes for a favorite book, or maybe a subject your young reader is obsessed with? Try searching for lists today!
Get Your Financial House in Order
Johnson County Library is delighted to present Nancy Doyle, personal finance expert and financial literacy advocate, to offer patrons invaluable advice on managing their financial lives more effectively and confidently.
Doyle will share her insights on “Getting Your Financial House in Order,” on Oct. 11 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. via Zoom. Register online to attend.
Doyle, who is based in Chicago, is the author of two books: Manage Your Financial Life: A Thoughtful, Organized Approach for Women, and Manage Your Financial Life: Just Starting Out. In her books, speeches and consulting work, Doyle provides easy-to-understand strategies and real-life examples to illustrate key concepts for women, millennials, families and those dealing with life transitions.
She offers an independent, objective approach to financial planning, which is important in money matters. Doyle is a passionate advocate for personal financial literacy and also a big supporter of public libraries.
Doyle’s presentation is part of Johnson County Library’s fall programming. Career and Finance Librarian Marty Johannes says it fits right in with the mission of helping patrons navigate challenging times.
“Financial literacy is always an important skill to develop,” Johannes said, “but especially as we emerge from the pandemic it becomes an even more critical skill.”
At a complex time when people are bombarded with numerous financial choices, accounts and platforms, Doyle will explain how to make better financial decisions and how to gain peace of mind through a kind of financial “spring cleaning.”
According to Ms. Doyle, “getting organized is an essential first step for managing your financial life.” After Doyle presents, there will be time for questions and answers.
Doyle brings 30 years of experience in investments and wealth management. She is an experienced family office investment professional. She has also been an equity research analyst and consulted on investor relations strategies for financial services companies.
She is a graduate of Georgetown University and received her MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. She holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a Professional Member of the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals.
Doyle’s presentation is one of six Career and Finance programs offered this September and October by Johnson County Library. Other programs provide information on funding for small businesses, writing a resume that gets results and preparing for a successful job interview.
The Library will also offer the highly-popular program, Step-by-Step Through the FAFSA. Jason Anderson of Gradmetrics walks line-by-line through the FAFSA form and explains the ins-and-outs of the college admissions and financial aid process. The program will be offered online in September, and as a hybrid program (in-person and online) in October.
Information on all these programs is available in the Fall guide, available in Library branches and online.
Johannes notes that during the pandemic, the Library created a robust archive of online career and finance webinars that people can watch when it’s most convenient for them.
“We and our patrons discovered the beauty of virtual programs,” Johannes said. “For us, it has meant we’ve been able to really expand our reach beyond those who could come into the Library and beyond those who could attend the live program at a specific time.”
Most archived online programs are available on the Johnson County Library’s YouTube channel. They can also be accessed from the Career Development and Personal Finance Research webpages.
Lost Communities of Johnson County
Happy Throwback Thursday! Celebrate by time traveling through local history at jocohistory.org and be sure to follow our hashtag on Twitter!
Explore the Lost Communities of Johnson County, Kansas!
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual recognition of the diverse cultures, history and contributions of Hispanic Americans. First celebrated in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week, the month-long celebration, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, was enacted into federal law in 1988.
A Proclamation on National Hispanic Heritage Month, 2023, The White House.
The Library is here to help you celebrate with books, like the booklist below, resources, events and more! To start:
This Hispanic and Latino Heritage Libby list has a mix of eBooks and eAudiobooks for all ages.
This Hispanic Heritage Month Kanopy list has films featuring Hispanic Americans and/or celebrating Hispanic heritage and culture.
Explore the branches and roots of your family tree with a number of Library genealogy resources.
Hispanic Life in America from NewsBank, this database contains primary source documents related to Hispanic American life.
Libby has featured a specialized set of books by Hispanic & Latino authors and/or with Hispanic & Latino protagonists.
For Kids
Lightbox - Search for “Spanish” to find over 150 interactive Spanish language eBooks.
TumbleBooks On TumbleBooks, you can easily switch the language to the Spanish in the upper right-hand corner.
Meet Merriam Plaza Library
Here's your first look at the newest Johnson County Library branch, the Merriam Plaza Library.
This new location will replace the current Antioch Library, which has been a fixture in the Merriam community for over 60 years—staff and patrons alike have many fond memories of the building, some having visited Antioch their entire lives!
Plans for the new Library, located just a few blocks away on the campus of the Merriam Community Center, have been in development with the City of Merriam for several years. The name Merriam Plaza Library is fitting as it is located within the Merriam Municipal Plaza which is also home to the Community Center, City Hall and police station. The name was selected by a committee and voted on and approved by the Library Board at their Sept. meeting. The design phase is now complete and construction will begin in late 2022/early 2023, with the new facility anticipated to open in 2024. Learn more about the project in our FAQ.
For more information, visit jocolibrary.org or follow @jocolibrary on social media for project updates and photos.
This Week at the Library
This week at the Library, you can join us at:
Library OnDemand – Available anytime you like.
Your doorway into live and archived programs. Arts & Culture, Career & Finance, Community Matters, Writers and more!
Walk and Read at Thompson Park – Saturday, Sept. 10 - Sept. 17, Anytime
Johnson County Library and Overland Park Parks and Recreation Department invite you to visit the Walk and Read program at Thompson Park. “We the Kids” and “Frog on a Log?” will be posted.
In-Person Storytimes are Back! – Mondays, Starting Sept. 12.
Check the list of locations and times for details. Hearing stories is a great way to spend time with your kids and help them foster a love of reading. Stories, songs, fingerplays and movement activities foster pre-reading skills. Siblings are welcome.
The Past is Prologue: Iconic Kansas City Restaurants – Tuesday, Sept. 13, 7 - 8 p.m.
The Past is Prologue is a bimonthly program that highlights topics often left out, glossed over, or misrepresented in our history books. For our September program, we will discuss iconic restaurants in Kansas City with author Andrea Broomfield. The program will take place virtually via Library OnDemand, and the recording will be available following the program on the library's website.
Food Writing Methodology with Andrea Broomfield – Wednesday, Sept. 14, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Whether you dream about starting a food blog or submitting to Cook's Illustrated, learn about food writing with Andrea Broomfield, professor of English at JCCC and author of "Iconic Restaurants of Kansas City." Broomfield will discuss her approach to writing and her work as a food historian. This program is being held at the Central Resource Library but if you aren’t able to attend in-person, you can register to watch virtually OnDemand.
Blood Pressure Clinic – Wednesday, Sept. 14, 10 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Drop in event each month at Central Resource Library and a nurse from the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment will test your blood pressure.