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Take a Look at The Open Book
The Open Book is out today!
What is the Open Book Newsletter? It provides updates on Library branches, upcoming events and programs, service highlights and how the Library is evolving to meet your needs.
Have you subscribed?
In this issue you'll find information about our service of the month, a report on Central Resource Library reopening, a story on new offices for our Development Department (Library Volunteers, Friends of Johnson County Library and the Johnson County Library Foundation), a fun DYK and upcoming happenings including our featured event: Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture Series: Journalist Yamiche Alcindor.
6 by 6 animals
Window seating in Kids Area
Computers in the Kids area
Computer area for adults
Meeting rooms
Central Resource Library reopens Tuesday, Feb. 22!
The wait is over. The excitement is palpable. Central Resource Library will reopen on 2/22/22!
What awaits you?
Among the highlights:
- More study/conference rooms. This project will add or relocate five public study/conference rooms, as well as rooms on the staff side – adding availability for patrons.
- An expanded, relocated Kids area with more natural light, window seating and a storytime room.
- A new drive-thru for patron returns and holds pick-up.
- Materials Handling efficiencies. Our materials handling spaces, through which new materials, holds and other Library items flow, are being reorganized for operational efficiency. We anticipate this will result in materials being available for patrons more quickly throughout the entire Library system.
This Week at the Library
Library OnDemand – Available anytime you like
Your doorway into live and archived programs. Arts & Culture, Career & Finance, Community Matters, Writers and more!
Online Bilingual Storytime/ Hora de cuentos bilingües en linéa – Monday, Jan 31, 10-10:30 a.m.
The whole family will enjoy this flexible Storytime. 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. Fun for the whole family.
Toda la familia disfrutará de esta especial hora de cuentos bilingües. Escucha historias con tus hijos y ayúdales a cultivar el amor por la lectura. Al contar cuentos, interpretar canciones, hacer juegos con los dedos y realizar actividades de movimiento fomentamos las habilidades previas a la lectura. ¡Diversión para toda la familia!
Caregiver Workshop: Power of Nature Based Play with Rosanna Munoz – Wednesday, Feb. 2, 7-8 p.m.
Whether it's finding activities to keep them busy or understanding what's going on inside their heads, being a caregiver of young children can be challenging. Each month's caregiver workshop explores a different topic to support and enrich relationships between kids age birth to 6 and their caregivers.
Book Discussion: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet – Wednesday, Feb. 2, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
The only thing better than a good book is talking about it! This Spring we're offering both in-person and virtual book discussions. Register to save your spot. Registrants will receive a copy of the book that they will then return to us at the end of the session.
Legislative Coffee
The 2022 Kansas Legislative Session is in full swing. Johnson County Library and the League of Women Voters are partnering to present a series of Legislative Coffees featuring Kansas State representatives and senators from Johnson County.
- Saturday, Feb. 12, 10 a.m.
- Saturday, Feb. 19, 10 a.m.
- Saturday, Feb. 26, 10 a.m.
- Saturday, March 12, 10 a.m.
Legislators will discuss current events and issues happening in Topeka, as well as their respective committee work. Ample time will also be included for questions from constituents, offering citizens an opportunity to connect with local senators and reps from the convenience of their own home. When you attend the Legislative Coffee series online, you give voice to the issues that affect and matter to you and your community.
State and local government are more intimately involved in daily life than national government, directly impacting the education our children receive, our healthcare options, the roads we drive upon and much more. In fact, Congressional Quarterly found that when compared to Congress, state legislatures passed 6 times more proposed bills and resolutions, most passed more bills overall, and states pass bills at a faster rate on average. Yet studies repeatedly indicate that Americans are increasingly uninvolved in local/state politics as compared with the national scene. It is essential that citizens participate in the political process and voice their needs and concerns to ensure the Kansas government is responsive to their wishes and needs.
To learn who represents you in the Kansas House and Senate you can map your legislators. Simply input your address and discover the names, party affiliation, and contact information of your elected leaders.
You can also visit Kansas Legislature for details about your elected officials and what’s happening in Topeka. You can track the status and content of a bill or committee, look up current Kansas statutes and live-stream House and Senate sessions. Project Vote Smart also maintains a comprehensive database of contact information and voting records of Federal and State legislators.
Library Legislative Coffees will take place virtually on Zoom from 10-11 a.m. and will feature participating state legislators on the following Saturdays:
February 12 – Rep. Jo Ella Hoye, Rep. Mari-Lynn Poskin, Rep. Rui Xu, and Rep. Timothy Johnson
February 19 – Sen. Pat Pettey, Sen. Cindy Holscher, Sen. Mike Thompson, and Rep. Jerry Stogsdill
February 26 - Sen. Dinah Sykes, Rep. Linda Featherston, Rep. Lindsay Vaughn, and Rep. Dan Osman
March 12 – Sen. Ethan Corson, Rep. Stephanie Clayton, Rep. Jarrod Ousley, and Rep. Brandon Woodard
Johnson County Library and the League of Women Voters are non-partisan organizations dedicated to educating voters and connecting citizens with their elected representatives.
Every Kansas State legislator from Johnson County has been invited to participate.
Arthur Jensen of the Art-Jen Farm in Olathe displaying his Holstein, the first prize winner at the Holstein Parish Show in Paola. 1956.
Acclaimed Archives
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 Archives
About this collection: Largely images from annual reports produced by Johnson County staff over the first half of the twentieth century, most notably the County Agricultural Agent and the Home Demonstration Agent. Numerous activities of those two offices are depicted, including programs with area farmers, homemakers and 4-H clubs.
Meet the Author: Gordon Korman
Gordon Korman is a New York Times bestselling author of more than ninety books for kids and young adults, most recently Linked and Operation Do-Over, released in January, 2022. His writing career began at the age of twelve when his seventh grade English assignment became his first published novel. He will talk about where ideas come from, his two genres of humor and adventure, and what it was like to grow up publishing books for kids.
Thursday, Feb. 24, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Online event
Register »
What's better than a Library eNewsletter?
It’s now easier than ever to stay informed about all that’s happening at Johnson County Library. We’ve created a few monthly newsletters to help meet your specific needs. Sign up today!
Choose the eNewsletter or eNewsletters that appeal to you:
- The Open Book Newsletter
Updates on Library branches, upcoming events and programs, service highlights and how the Library is evolving to meet your needs. - Career and Finance Newsletter
Up-to-date and valuable career and finance information to help you make progress on your goals. - Kids & Family Newsletter
Highlighted events, resources, and valuable kids and family recommendations. - Summer Reading Newsletter
Event schedules, reading recommendations and summer fun for the whole family.
Looking for eNewsletters from the last several months? Find those past issues of The Open Book, Career and Finance eNewsletter and Kids and Family eNewsletter in our eNewsletter archive.
elementia Call for Submissions
elementia is a teen literary zine published to represent and uplift young adults (up to age 19). We will be accepting submissions for Issue XIX for just another week!
Take this opportunity to immerse yourself in our theme: "The Unknown."
Submit your original poetry, short stories, essays, comics, or artwork through Tuesday, Feb. 1.