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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!
Interviewing is Like Dating – Tuesday, Aug. 16,10 a.m. – noon
When finding a new job, it is important to make sure that you are a good fit for the company AND that the company is a good fit for you. There are strategies to figuring out whether or not a new job or position is right for you. This interactive workshop will help you find a workplace culture that is a good fit.
Goal Setting and Time Management – Wednesday, Aug. 17,10 a.m. – noon
This workshop will give you the skills and knowledge to identify how you currently use your time, identity your personal time management strengths and weaknesses, learn the dimensions of self-management of time and identify new habits you can implement to improve your personal time management.
Addressing Gun Violence in Public Spaces: Protection for everyday people in everyday life – Wednesday, Aug. 17, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Most citizens deplore the mass gun violence that is currently plaguing our nation. However, Second Amendment advocates fear their rights could be limited if laws addressing guns are changed. As this standoff continues, death tolls are increasing and anxiety levels continue to rise for citizens of all ages when in public spaces such as schools, houses of worship, retail stores and other public venues. What is the answer when it comes to mitigating gun violence in America?
Maintain Your Ride – Thursday, Aug. 18, noon – 1:30 p.m.
Get your hands dirty and learn to keep your bike in tip-top shape with this free class from Johnson County Library and BikeWalkKC. Live and in-person at the bicycle fix-it stand in front of Central Resource Library, our instructors will teach you how to keep your bike in good working order with a few basic tools and some practical know-how. You will learn how to clean and lubricate your chain, fix a flat, adjust shifting and braking, and other basic bike maintenance skills. We’ll also show you how to use the Library’s bicycle fix-it stand. This is a hands-on class!
And much more happening this week »
Our Fall Calendar is up!
Our Fall Web Calendar is now live! Browse through Book Discussions, MakerSpace events, Teen Book Swaps, the Writers Conference, and more!
Newest JoCoHistory Blog: "Was Johnson County redlined?"
"Was Johnson County redlined?" It is common to hear the suburbs referred to as redlined, but in fact most suburbs were greenlined and heavily restricted. Learn what these terms mean and find out about Johnson County’s status in the newest JoCoHistory Blog post from the Johnson County Museum: Was Johnson County Redlined?
Addressing Gun Violence In Public Spaces
Addressing Gun Violence In Public Spaces: Protection for everyday people in everyday life
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
6 – 7:30 p.m.
Central Resource Library
Most citizens deplore the mass gun violence that is currently plaguing our nation. However, Second Amendment advocates fear their rights could be limited if laws addressing guns are changed. As this standoff continues, death tolls are increasing and anxiety levels continue to rise for citizens of all ages when in public spaces such as schools, houses of worship, retail stores and other public venues. What is the answer when it comes to mitigating gun violence in America?
Join American Public Square at Jewell for this special “KC at the Square” event as we discuss ideas for our community to address gun violence in public spaces.
The event will be moderated by: McClain Bryant Macklin, director of policy and strategic initiatives – Health Forward Foundation.
Distinguished panelists include:
- Rev. Adam Hamilton, senior pastor – The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
- State Representative Jo Ella Hoye, KS-17 and volunteer for Moms Demand Action for Gun Safety
- Jeron Ravin, president and CEO – Swope Health
- Caleb Daniels, marketing coordinator – Frontier Justice
2022 Fall Guide is Here!
The cover of the Fall 2022 Guide features portraits from artist Patti Streeper, whose work will be featured at the Central Resource Library this fall and who will detail the process for choosing her subjects at an event on November 3.
You'll find articles about:
- De Soto Library: Past, Present and Future
- Library Citizenship Classes
- Library Master Plan Update
Event listings for:
- Birth to Six Programs
- Kids & Family Programs
- Teen Programs
- Book Discussions
- Exhibitions
- Arts & Culture
- Career & Finance
- Community Matters
- History
- Language Learners
- Writers & Writers Conference
- Genealogy
Catch up on:
- Volunteer News
- Friends News
- Foundation News
The Guide is produced three times a year and released before each January, May and September. It features Library articles, event listings, updates and news. Pick one up at a Library location near you!
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!
Resume Tips to Get You Noticed – Monday, Aug. 8, 10 – 11 a.m.
If you are struggling with creating a resume for your first job, re-entering the workplace, or making a career change this session is for you!
Silencing Your Inner Critic – Tuesday, Aug. 9, 11 a.m. – noon
This workshop focuses on using positive self-talk and affirmations to help create a positive self-image. We also dig into how self-care is not selfish.
Blood Pressure Clinic – Wednesday, Aug. 10, 10 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Drop-in event at the Central Resource Library each month and a nurse from the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment will test your blood pressure.
Personal Budgeting Tips – Thursday, Aug. 11, 10 a.m. – noon
Learn personal budgeting tips to help you create a budget. In budgeting what's most important is finding a way that works for you! This workshop will review several budgeting tools so you can be the boss of your money.
Friends of the Library Donation Drop-off – Saturday, Aug. 13, 9 – 11 a.m.
Do you have gently used books to donate to the Friends? We hold Drive-up Donation Events every Saturday (except during inclement weather). Volunteers will be available to accept your donations on Saturdays from 9:00 am to 11:00 am at Friends Headquarters - 8279 Melrose Dr., Lenexa, KS 66214.
Explore
"Explore" is the first section listed in our website's navigation. It's intentional. The reason we prioritize exploring is, to us, it is a synonym for learning. We're all about learning!
Click explore and see what you'll learn. It's your gateway to:
Reading Ideas
Johnson County-specific Resources
Patron Spotlight: Sasha Smith
Library patron Sasha Smith is the mother of a four-year-old son, Wren, and a one-year-old daughter, Juna. Without a vaccine for very young children during the COVID pandemic, Smith has had to be quite cautious about their activities.
Still, she has found Johnson County Library to be an incredible help in keeping her family engaged with fun books and enriching materials.
“The Library is an essential part of our family life,” Smith wrote in response to a recent Library patron survey on Facebook. “We check out picture books, kids’ and adults’ novels and nonfiction, music CDs and audiobooks. We spend hours every day interacting with Library content.”
Before the pandemic, Smith frequently took Wren to read and play at the Cedar Roe and Antioch Libraries. They particularly enjoyed the Storytime at Antioch with “Miss Dorian,” (retired Antioch Youth Information Specialist Dorian Assenmacher).
Smith hopes to resume those in-person Library visits soon but says that even during the pandemic “the Library Is still a focal point of our lives and an incredible resource.”
Smith grew up in Ohio and fondly recalls going to Storytimes crowded with kids as a child. Whenever she moved, one of the first things she did was get a Library card.
She met her husband while attending a master’s program in Counseling Psychology. About six years ago, they moved to Johnson County. They use the Cedar Roe branch regularly to pick up Holds, and they are prolific readers.
“We usually have about 100 books at a time,” Smith said. Most of those are for the children but Smith and her husband are also avid Library users. She has too many personal favorite books to count, but particularly highlights Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson and Wise Child, by Monica Furlong.
Her daughter’s favorite books include Plinka Plinka Shake Shake, by Emma Garcia, all about musical sounds. Her son’s favorites include "The Boy Who Grew Dragons" series by Andy Shepherd.
She has signed the kids up to attend some virtual events being offered through the Library’s “Oceans of Possibilities” Summer Reading program.
Smith finds out about Library events via the printed guides, website, email and Facebook. She learned a lot from Johnson County Library’s online parent education classes with author Julie Bogart.
While she is currently a stay-at-home mom, Smith is still keenly interested in community mental health, child development and education, and she appreciates Johnson County Library’s commitment to all those services.
She sees the Library branches as places that nurture community mental health and wellness just as much as counseling centers do.
“I think it’s been such a great resource for us as parents and people living through a global pandemic,” she said. “And such an amazing resource for the community: a place to hang out, charge your phone, enjoy heating or air conditioning, get resume help or job support. They offer so many amazing programs.”
She is eager for the day when it’s once again safe for her to visit Cedar Roe’s cozy children’s area with her kids, and when they can take advantage of other in-person opportunities.
“Probably as soon as the kids are vaccinated,” she said, “the Library is the first place I want to take them.”
16 Civil War veterans - 1905
Museum Memories
It’s another grand Throwback Thursday when we encourage you to time travel through Johnson County's history. JoCoHistory is a collaborative presentation of the history from the Johnson County Museum, Johnson County Library and many JoCoHistory partners. Explore historical photographs and documents about the people, places and organizations of Johnson County, Kansas, from the 19th century to the present.
Collection spotlight: Johnson County Museum
About this collection: The Johnson County Museum has a wide range of images dating from the late 19th century to the current day. A major focus of the collection centers on individuals and groups of people in domestic, recreational, scholarly and business settings.