Search Stories

The Past is Prologue is a bimonthly program that highlights topics often left out, glossed over, or misrepresented in our history books. For our January installment, Professor Matthew Sanderson of Kansas State University will give a presentation on Immigration in Kansas. Since settlement in the 19th century, the story of Kansas has largely been a story of immigration. This presentation explores how immigration today compares to immigration since the 1860s, connecting the trends in the benefits and challenges that communities face when the new people move in. Looking at history, how can today's Kansas towns and neighborhoods develop socially and ecologically resilient communities? The social processes of integrating new cultures into increasingly shared space will be examined, as well as the impact these changing demographics have on their natural environments.

Thursday, Jan. 13
7 – 8 p.m.
Online event
Register »

Volunteering with Johnson County Library offers so many great benefits for our volunteers.

• Physical – volunteering helps keep the mind and body active;
• Social – it's a great way to meet new people with similar interests;
• Fine free status for our most active volunteers;
• Volunteer activities such as
  • Facebook and Goodreads groups;
  • Special invites to events;
  • and Book clubs featuring books picked by our volunteers.

On Thursday, Jan. 13th, the Volunteer Book Club will be meeting to discuss The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

Want to join the fun? One-time, short-term, and regular volunteer opportunities are available. Visit our list of opportunities to learn how you can become a Library volunteer.

Incarcerated Services Librarian Melody Kinnamon fervently believes Library services are for all Johnson County residents, including incarcerated individuals who can’t visit the branches. This year, Johnson County Library has expanded its outreach to Johnson County Corrections Department facilities on the New Century, KS, campus. Library staffers also assist Adult Residential Center clients serving alternative work-release sentences, and clients receiving intensive substance abuse treatment at the Therapeutic Community Center.

Kinnamon and other members of the Library’s incarcerated services team resumed in-person visits to the campus in April 2021. They’ve seen an uptick in the number of Library cards issued, called “justice cards.” And a pleasant Library space at the Adult Residential Center has been enhanced with additional books and more office hours. “The justice cards are Johnson County Library cards that are issued to the Corrections Department clients who reside within that system,” Kinnamon explained. “We are focusing more on this population and serving their specific needs better. I can see [the initiative] continuing to grow.” Kinnamon says about 100 new justice cards were issued in 2021, an increase over 2020. Clients can continue to use them at Johnson County Library locations even when they no longer reside at Corrections facilities.

Before the pandemic, Kinnamon and others offered in-person Library office hours on campus one day per week. From March 2020 through April 2021, they provided services virtually via Zoom. But they are now able to offer in-person Library office hours every Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. As many as 40 clients visit each time. “The Corrections Department is so amazing,” Kinnamon said. “They have welcomed us and accommodated us.” The department provides a lovely, sunny room with comfortable chairs. Johnson County Library arranges for local artists to display their work, and Johnson County Library Foundation grants provided thousands of dollars to purchase books, which clients can check out on site. ARC even added several children’s books in late 2021, after a client shared that they wanted to read to their child during their weekly video visit.

Library staffers also help clients find and check out up to three books each time from throughout the Library system, which are delivered to the campus by Johnson County couriers. “I really enjoy our conversations,” Kinnamon said. “We get to do a lot of readers’ advisory work.” Library staff and clients discuss favorite authors and books of all genres. Kinnamon recalls one man who visited the Library every Wednesday. He told her it was the best part of his week. “He could just be a Library patron for those 30 minutes and he said it meant a lot to him,” Kinnamon recalled. Other clients are equally appreciative.

Kinnamon and Information Specialist Scott Stone also lead a lively book club gathering with 8-10 clients once a month on campus. She said she learns so much from the clients, who are thoughtful and well-read. “It’s wonderful. I love that it’s voluntary,” she said “It says something that we have a waiting list. We have great, wonderful discussions.”

This partnership between Johnson County Library and county government is visionary and very worthwhile, Kinnamon emphasizes. “We are one of the few public Library systems in the nation that has an Incarcerated Services Librarian, that has realized the importance of serving that community,” she said. “We are very progressive and I just really appreciate both the [Library] Board’s support and Corrections’ support, and the partnerships within the County. The Library, Corrections, Johnson County Mental Health Department, Johnson County Library Foundation, everybody getting together to serve these people. We’ve got a lot of great people working to serve this population.”

You can find this story featured in the Spring 2022 Guide. The Guide is your source for Library news, upcoming events and programs, service highlights, Friends of Johnson County Library and Johnson County Library Foundation news and more. Pick up your copy at a Johnson County Library near you.
 

Creative exhibitions are finally back in Johnson County Library branches, and Local Arts Librarian Bryan Voell couldn’t be happier.

“We’re just excited to have art back and to be working with artists again,” Voell said.

For years, the Libraries have been great spaces for the public to view distinctive paintings, sculptures, ceramics and other works by local artists. The COVID-19 pandemic halted all that in March 2020.

But in 2021 the Library’s local arts committee determined that art was one positive way to resume providing in-person programming. The displays reappeared in September, with a new round of exhibits beginning in January.

“Exhibitions is a passive program,” Voell explained. “It draws people in but it’s not something where we are putting people in close proximity with each other. People can enjoy the art safely.”

It’s another way to make the Libraries welcoming and meaningful for patrons.

“It’s being inspired by what they see on the walls, it’s learning about the artists and it gives the artists themselves another place to share their work.” Voell said. “We do provide an honorarium to the artists. That was important as well. Artists especially have been hurt drastically by the COVID experience, the shutdown. So this was a way for us to open that avenue of sharing their work.”

Johnson County Library has partnerships with the Kansas City Artists Coalition at the Blue Valley and Oak Park Library branches; with InterUrban ArtHouse at Leawood Pioneer; and with The Arts Asylum at Antioch. Those organizations curate exhibits from artists in their networks.

The Library also currently has gallery displays at Cedar Roe, Gardner, Lenexa City Center and Shawnee Libraries, with Corinth resuming exhibitions in January. And art will reappear on Central Resource Library’s brand-new gallery wall after it reopens.

The Lenexa City Center Library hosted a particularly significant exhibit in the fall. It featured a photographic series of decommissioned Minuteman Missile silos by Nate Hofer that was named a winner of one of five Global Peace Photo Awards, presented in Austria in September 2021. The award honors works internationally that capture humanity’s quest for a peaceful world.

“It was good timing for us. That was really cool,” Voell said.

While galleries were closed during the pandemic, Voell and the committee started a virtual program called Artists In Sight, in which he interviewed local artists about their work, their creative process and what inspires them. Those interviews are available on the Library OnDemand portion of Johnson County Library’s website. With the galleries back open, it’s another great way to promote the shows.

New exhibits are up from January through April 21, with featured artists including Kathy Liao, Brittany Noriega and Angie Pickman.

“It will be an awesome display,” Voell said of next year’s exhibits. “We have a pretty incredible list of artists.” 

Johnson County Library also celebrates student art work at the Blue Valley branch. In the past, work by  Blue Valley School District students has been posted in the gallery space. In 2022, it will be in the area frequented by young readers. The student display is coordinated by information specialists Jess Wagner and Rachel Novotny, who are part of the Library’s local arts team.

“There’s plenty of wall space outside what used to be the Storytime room and then as you go into the youth area,” Voell said. “It will be viewable by kids who may not go by the gallery.”

You can find this story featured in the Spring 2022 Guide. The Guide is your source for Library news, upcoming events and programs, service highlights, Friends of Johnson County Library and Johnson County Library Foundation news and more. Pick up your copy at a Johnson County Library near you. The Spring 2022 Guide is also available to view online at jocolibrary.org.

Leawood Pioneer Library will be closed Monday, Jan. 10 through Friday, Jan. 14 for building maintenance and will reopen as scheduled at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 15.

Holds ready for pickup but not checked out by 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 8 will remain on-shelf until the building reopens. Check your library account for specific dates. Please contact us no later than Thursday, Jan. 6 if you would like to pick up your available holds from another branch during the closure period.

Returns will be accepted at the branch during the closure. For other Library needs, such as public computers and access to the collection, please visit one of our other Johnson County Library locations. Corinth Library (8100 Mission Rd., Prairie Village) and Blue Valley Library (9000 W 151st St., Overland Park) are the closest in proximity to Leawood Pioneer.

Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we work to improve your facilities! Visit jocolibrary.org and follow @jocolibrary on social media for updates.