Search Stories

When the Merriam Plaza Library opens next year, it will include a drive-thru, state-of-the-art technology, early literacy space in the kids section, and all the other amenities one would expect in a new branch built at a cost of nearly $14 million.

Adhering to patron feedback, the new branch at 6120 Slater St. will also have abundant natural light, a warm wood ceiling and a “green” roof with vegetation that provides a habitat for pollinators.

Yet the art integrated into the design of Merriam Plaza — which is replacing the aging Antioch Library — may well provide the most eye-catching connection to nature.

After evaluating nearly 180 submissions, the Johnson County Public Art Commission last year commissioned projects from Emily Alvarez of Kansas City, Missouri, and Sage Vaughn of Los Angeles.

Alvarez’s four-panel indoor mural will include deep blue teal and lime green among its vibrant colors and will have raised plexiglass panels featuring plants and side profiles of residents of diverse races.

The mural also has a portion with people standing on roots to pay homage to the groundbreaking work of the Webb family, leaders of the 1940s movement to desegregate schools in Merriam. The hardiness of the prairie grass she features celebrates the “community aspect of developing roots in your community that make it easier to withstand hardship,” Alvarez said.

With its emphasis on diversity, the art commission carved out a portion of the budget to include Alvarez’s work. She is awed and humbled at the confidence the commissioners placed in her against much more experienced applicants.

Vaughn’s outdoor installation features his sketches fabricated into four prairie flowers in two groupings of two apiece. The metal sculptures, some reaching taller than the building itself, are made of Corten Steel, which has a weathered, rust-colored exterior.

The flowers featured in the installation include Mexican Hat (prairie coneflowers) and a sunflower variety. Vaughn collaborated with a computer effects designer who loaded a 3D model of the Merriam Plaza building into software that, by simulating how sunlight would hit the sculptures, helped determine the placement of the installations.

Vaughn considers a project for a local library as the “absolute pinnacle” of public art and said his goal is “to take some of those flowers that are common and make them remarkable, with the idea being that it's a public space, that it is something that can help inspire memories and kind of make things locatable even for the very, very young people who access that space.”

The green roof captivated Vaughn.

“Geez man, this is perfect,” he thought. “That’s my whole jam. It’s flowers and butterflies and insects and birds. It was really fun to just say great, you guys set it up, let me just hit it, and if you guys are into this you are into it, if not, I totally get it.”

The height and scale of Vaughn’s pieces is an aspect of the work that will spark intrigue and conversations among patrons, said commission Chairman Larry Meeker. He said the colors in Alvarez’s mural might also spark debates among visitors who love the vibrancy and others who think a library should be more muted.

The fact that both of the art projects are open to interpretation is exactly what public art is supposed to do, Meeker said, offering a “double barreled” benefit to the library to complement its collection.

“Good pieces of art are open-ended,” he said. “That is also what makes a good piece of literature.”

Art installation is set to begin at the site this fall.

We are thrilled that Ryan Bernsten will be joining us for the 2023 Writers Conference! You may have already ‘met’ Ryan when he was in conversation with memoirist Diana Goetsch over the summer (see their conversation on writing, teaching, personal journeys in the LGBTQ+ community, and more here.) He will be presenting four sessions at the Writers Conference in November, from a session on travel writing to a session on playwriting, a lecture on persuasion through narrative essay, and a workshop on submitting work for publication.

Ryan Bernsten is a graduate of Northwestern University and Oxford's Creative Writing Master's program. He is the author of "50 States of Mind: A Journey to Rediscover American Democracy." In addition to working as a food-writing contributor for The Infatuation, Ryan has written for The Fulcrum, The Oxford Political Review, USA Today, and The Trevor Project, where he is the Senior Managing Editor. Ryan is an award-winning playwright whose plays have been performed across the US and UK. You may have seen him onstage at the Unicorn Theatre in “The Inheritance” or chatting with Helen Mirren as a Slytherin contestant on “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses” on HBO Max.

You can register for the 2023 Writers Conference here. Registration isn’t required but is appreciated, and your RSVP includes both days of the conference, Nov. 3 and 4. Sessions are available on a first-come first-serve basis. We will also be hosting aWriters Conference Kickoff on Thursday, Nov. 2.

Inspired by this year’s conference book, By the Book: Writers on Literature and the Literary Life from The New York Times Book Review, we asked Ryan a few questions to get to know him better:

1. What's in your TBR pile? 

Kaikeyi: A Novel by Vaishnavi Patel

2. What are you reading right now?

Reaganland by Rick Perlstein

3. Do you have a favorite book you love to recommend? 

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski or The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

4. Do you have a favorite bookstore? 

Prospero's Books

5. Answer the question you wish we had asked.

If anyone's told you that you must specialize in one writing medium, they are incorrect.

Hello and welcome to this week's #NoWaitWednesday where we look at a specific title that's ready for just the right patron to check it out in the New Release section at one of our branches right now. Hot, new, and best of all - no waiting! (If you're fast enough, that is! Make sure to click the green "place hold" button in the web catalog while logged in to reserve a copy.)  

For patrons who might like to read a good book but don't have the time, I like to recommend three specific genres: either a romance, a horror, or a thriller. These three genres in particular are engineered to hook readers early, introducing them to compelling characters and taking them on an emotional journey that keeps pages turning. A good thriller, especially, has an energy and momentum all its own - after all, thrill rides are the ones most difficult rides at the amusement park to get off from, because once you're strapped in, you're absolutely committed until the very end. Patrons love novels from thriller authors like Vince Flynn, Jack Carr, or David Baldacci, so for today's #NoWaitWednesday, let's take a look at a new book from an author along those lines.

Remi Adeleke, a former Navy SEAL, makes an impact with a blistering debut - and first in the "Black Box" series - with Chameleon. The main character is Kali Kent, born in Nigeria but raised on the streets of the Bronx and who now works for a super-secret CIA paramiliary group that focuses on only the most difficult missions. (Notice I didn't say "impossible....") The plot kicks off when they get called into investigate Lucas Van Groot, a South African commando who leads a shadowy network that makes money kidnapping business leaders and world politicians, holding them for ransom, and profiting by disrupting the global financial markets in the chaos. Kali and his crew must infiltrate this network and use all of their skills to take Van Groot down, until further revelations lead the group to investigate who's really behind everything, including a secret technology that might destabailise the whole of Eastern Europe and kick the Cold War up several degrees indeed.

Exotic scenery, breathtaking action, a well-developed good-guy ensemble, and a fast-paced twisty plot that keeps readers guessing - this one has it all. Adeleke brings a wealth of his own Navy SEAL experience to the novel, so all the spy-thriller action has more than a hint of authenticity. Speaking of authenticity, Kali Kent is no cardboard cut-out - he's a hero with a history and depth, and readers will appreciate his background and how it contributes to the novel. "Chameleon" also looks to be the first in a trilogy, so action fans won't have to wait long for more. (This has all the makings of a Netflix original, too.) 

Be sure to check back with us next week for more #NoWaitWednesday action! Thanks for reading. 

The click of the keys

On the cherished typewriter

Brings all of us joy

This attempt at a haiku is inspired by an exciting announcement: Rye Lanae Boothe will bring her Magic Typewriter Surprise to the Writers Conference this year! You can go home with your own personalized short poem, printed from her very own special typewriter. Rye wants her poems to leave you “feeling connected, uplifted, held in a caring gaze and walk away with a one-of-a-kind piece of art in the process.” How cool is that?

Rye Lanae Boothe is a poet, director, and multidisciplinary artist. Her childhood was spent onstage in the KC youth theater scene. While attending a ministry school in California, she also studied acting, dance, and spoken word poetry. She has hosted for Poetic Underground KC and Paradox KC. She has produced/directed a number of immersive art experiences, most recently Gummy Vitamins: A cross disciplinary collaborative queer art show designed to nourish the community as it inspires. In 2019, her poetry chapbook "I Have a Crush on Everyone and Everyone has a Crush on Me" debuted. Her project Magic Typewriter is ongoing and is part writing, part performance, wherein Rye writes you a snapshot of your soul on her typewriter. Rye Lanae believes in making art to heal herself and heal the world. You can find her on Instagram at @rye.lanae.boothe and on her website, www.ryelanaeboothe.com.

You can find Rye and her Magic Typewriter Surprise in the open space with other drop-in activity tables for you to enjoy in-between sessions. 

You can register for the conference here. Registration isn’t required but is appreciated, and your RSVP includes both days of the conference, Nov. 3 and 4. Sessions are available on a first-come first-serve basis. We will also be hosting aWriters Conference Kickoff on Thursday, Nov. 2.

When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in May 1954 to end legal segregation in public schools, it established one of the most fundamental precedents in the nation’s history.

The Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park in Topeka thus proved a fitting location — right before Independence Day — for a naturalization ceremony where participants swore to “bear true faith and allegiance” to the Constitution and the laws of the United States.

Johnson Countians Monica Fracachan Cabrera and Juan Calderón Táriba took part in that proceeding. The married couple’s participation marked a milestone for them and for the Library’s free U.S. citizenship class, established three years ago by Latino Services Outreach Librarian Christine Peterson.

The Library class now counts 18 new U.S. citizens among its alumni.

The couple credited Peterson and the class for providing the materials and the structured curriculum that prepared them for the rigors of becoming citizens, which starts with a 20-page application through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Applicants must also demonstrate an ability to read, write, and understand English and pass an oral civics exam with 10 questions selected from a 100-question study guide.

The Library offers the citizenship program three times a year. The program generally runs for about 15 weeks with weekly 90-minute Zoom sessions on Tuesday mornings and Wednesday evenings.

Peterson said the number of attendees is growing. She has approximately 30 people enrolled this trimester.

Originally from Venezuela, Cabrera and Táriba arrived in the United States six years ago after winning a visa lottery system to enter the United States. After spending time in Colombia, they settled in Johnson County because they had family in the area.

Their 12-year-old son, Daniel, is a middle schooler in the Blue Valley School District.

Cabrera is a research assistant for JUNTOS - Center for Advancing Latino Health at the University of Kansas, and Táriba is a mental health language coach at Children’s Mercy Kansas City.

Through Peterson as a translator, Cabrera explained why she and her husband consider it significant to become U.S. citizens.

“It’s important because this is our second home. We weren't born here, but we probably will die here,” she said. “This country opened up its arms to let us come in, and our son is now going to have those opportunities, especially in education.  Maybe my grandchildren will even be born here, but we now have a voice, and we can vote, and we can participate in the government.”

Peterson conceptualized the citizenship program when a friend asked for her assistance in becoming a citizen. Peterson was also encountering Latinos who wanted help preparing to answer the citizenship questions.

Having lived abroad, Peterson knows the limited rights citizens have in other countries. Immigrants who come to the U.S appreciate the freedoms they have here, she said, and Peterson enjoys adding context to what the candidates already know.

“I do not want them to memorize 100 questions and spit out the answers,” she said. “I want them to know the meat of the country.”