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This Week at the Library

This week at the Library, you can join us for:

Walk and Read – Daily, All Week

“Take a walk and read a book.” Not normally sound advice, but that is exactly what Johnson County Library is suggesting families do this week at Veterans Memorial Park, Pawnee Lane, Gardner, KS) and at various locations throughout Johnson County. Walk and Read creates a family reading experience in the great outdoors! Families who participate will read two stories posted around the path, one going each direction. When you finish one story, you can flip around to the other side of the sign and begin the next story, which will lead you back around the path. 

Rethinking Aging with Janine Vanderburg – Tuesday, Sept 28, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.  

Janine Vanderburg, Initiative Director at Changing the Narrative, is a driving force in changing the way people think, talk and act about aging and ageism. In this lecture, Janine will share her experiences and commitment to leveraging the talents of people of all ages to benefit community. Janine currently chairs the Encore Network Leadership Council. Her favorite saying: “We are the leaders we are looking for.”

Moving is Learning for Babies and Toddlers – Thursday, Sept 30, 1 – 1:45 p.m.

A moving baby is a learning baby. Grounded in best practices and current research, this session helps connect the dots that link brain activity, motor and sensory development, movement, and early learning. Movement experts from Johnson County Parks & Recreation District will lead 45 minutes of activities, exercises and games at Stoll Memorial Park, 12500 W 119th St, Overland Park. Best for ages 1-3 and a caregiver.

Build Your Resilience Circle with Elizabeth White – Saturday, Oct 2, 9 – 10 a.m.

In this workshop, Elizabeth White will lead participants through questions to help identify trustworthy community members with whom to form Resilience Circles. Participants will walk away with the tools to form their own Resilience Circle support groups, where members can support each other and discuss issues related to aging and living a good life on a limited income. Before attending the workshop, we recommend watching "55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal with Elizabeth White" in Library OnDemand or reading the book.

And much more …

 

Johnson County Library Exhibiting Artist Wins Global Peace Photo Award

Nate Hofer, whose photographic work is currently on display at Lenexa City Center Library until Friday, December 31, 2021, has been named a Winner of the Global Peace Photo Award –  Alfred Fried Peace Medal. His series, "One and a Half Acres: Images from America’s Decommissioned Minuteman Missile Silos," utilizes aerial photography to explore his fears and hopes for the future of the world.

The Global Peace Photo Award recognizes and promotes photographers from all over the world whose pictures capture human efforts towards a peaceful world and the quest for beauty and goodness in our lives. The award goes to those photographs that best express the idea that our future lies in peaceful coexistence. Nate is a design director for a creative digital agency and grew up locally during the Cold War era. His work is inspired by his experiences as a child and by more recent international relations.

The Genealogist is In

Our new drop-in program, The Genealogist is In, is held at branch libraries across Johnson County. A Johnson County Genealogy Society member will be available to meet with members of the public who drop in and ask genealogy questions, obtain information on how to get started, learn about genealogy databases on library computers and what will be available at Central Resource Library when it reopens.

Save these dates:
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, Gardner Library
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021, Leawood Pioneer Library

The Effects of Ageism on Employment and Retirement

Rethinking Aging with Janine Vanderburg Tuesday, Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m.
Janine Vanderburg, Initiative Director at Changing the Narrative, is a driving force in changing the way people think, talk and act about aging and ageism. In this lecture, Janine will share her experiences and commitment to leveraging the talents of people of all ages to benefit community. Janine currently chairs the Encore Network Leadership Council. Her favorite saying: “We are the leaders we are looking for.”

Advocacy Letter Writing with Janine Vanderburg Saturday, Oct. 2, 10:30 a.m. 
In this workshop, Janine Vanderburg of Changing the Narrative will explain how to write powerful, compelling, and individualized letters to elected officials, editors, and community influencers. This call to action is a follow up to Vanderburg’s September 28 lecture on Rethinking Aging.

Meet the Author: Elizabeth White

 

55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal with Elizabeth White Thursday, Sept. 30, 6:30 p.m. 

Too many of us find ourselves approaching or in retirement without adequate savings - due to a variety of circumstances beyond our control. Elizabeth White, author of 55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal, is an aging solutions advocate for older adults facing uncertain work and financial insecurity.

Build Your Resilience Circle with Elizabeth White Saturday, Oct. 2, 9 a.m.

In this workshop, Elizabeth White will lead participants through questions to help identify trustworthy community members with whom to form Resilience Circles. Participants will walk away with the tools to form their own Resilience Circle support groups, where members can support each other and discuss issues related to aging and living a good life on a limited income.

This Week in the Library

Walk and Read – Daily, All Week

“Take a walk and read a book.” Not normally sound advice, but that is exactly what Johnson County Library is suggesting families do this week at Wassmer Park, 6700 Roe Ave, Prairie Village, KS) and at various locations throughout Johnson County. Walk and Read creates a family reading experience in the great outdoors! Families who participate will read two stories posted around the path, one going each direction. When you finish one story, you can flip around to the other side of the sign and begin the next story, which will lead you back around the path. 

Danger & Refuge: A Reading & Conversation, Meg Kearney with Wyatt Townley – Tuesday, Sept 21, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.  

The poems in Meg Kearney's and Wyatt Townley's most recent collections walk the line between danger and refuge, exploring the effects of violence, abandonment and loss. The collections do this while also finding solace, safety, acceptance and love in unexpected places. Meg and Wyatt will each read a sampling of poems from their books, and speak about the ways they have faced danger and found refuge in their art.

Moving is Learning for Preschoolers – Wednesday, Sept 15, 1 – 1:45 p.m.  

A moving child is a learning child. Grounded in best practices and current research, this session helps connect the dots that link brain activity, motor and sensory development, movement, and early learning. Movement experts from Johnson County Parks & Recreation District will lead 45 minutes of activities, exercises, and games this week at Big Bull Creek Park, 20425 Sunflower Rd., Edgerton.  Best for ages 3-6 and a caregiver.

Workshop: Finding Refuge in Form: The Sonnet & The Extended Metaphor – Saturday, Sept 25, 1 – 3 p.m.

This workshop puts the ideas from Meg Kearney’s September 21 craft talk into practice. Writers will spend the first hour exploring the power of the extended metaphor and create poems that express the otherwise inexpressible. In the second hour, we’ll talk about sonnets and what these “little songs” might lead us to sing. We’ll begin with a simple exercise to get participants thinking in fresh, concrete ways; read some sample poems; and then draft some new work.

And much more …

TBT: In Case You Missed It

How do you replace the roof of a Library in less than 1 minute? Time lapse is the only way we could come up with. Cedar Roe Library has seen many updates lately like a new reading room, new shelving and an improved kids area. The new roof is like the cherry on the cake. Enjoy!

Enter to Win!

Writing Contests:

Every month we host a new contest with prizes including a $200 honorarium and an invitation to read at a Library event. Our contest theme for September - December is The Fools Journey. One winner will be selected from submissions of poetry, short fiction, and essays. See previous winners, or read more about the guidelines and enter your original works » 

Scary Story Writing Contest:

Submit your scary story now for the Fall 2021 Scary Story Contest! This contest is open to children and teens up to 19 years old. One entry per person, please. Stories should be no more than 5,000 words. Submit your entry now »

After the contest, join us for a Friday Fright Night on October 29th from 6-7pm as we read stories by select winners from the Scary Story Contest. This event will be fun for all ages. In between readings we will feature some recommended Halloween reads. Wear your costume for an extra fun scary time!

Sticker Design Contest:

Submit your entries now for the Fall Sticker Design Contest!  Open to children and teens, we're looking for sticker illustrations to fit a Fall theme.  Winners will be selected by  Library staff and the top designs will be printed for patrons to collect in branches. Submit your entry now »

Pausing to Remember

The latest jocohistory blog entry, Pausing to Remember, relays how patrons can share community experiences in a safe setting.

As patrons visit their local Johnson County Branch during the month of September, they may come across an interactive display as they explore the building. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001, patrons are invited to share their experience of where they were that day. 

Visit the blog.