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Scheduled:

Interlibrary Loan is getting a new look on Monday, Dec. 13

Interlibrary Loan Down for Maintenance on Monday, Dec. 13.

We are upgrading Interlibrary Loan! 

As part of the upgrade,

  • The site will now be mobile-friendly, allowing you to interact with the site on a wider variety of devices.
  • The new mobile-friendly interface will look much different but will have the same great functionality for requesting materials.
  • You will be able to view details of active requests.
  • And since Interlibrary Loans are not allowed to be renewed, we've removed that option. 

The transition to the new interface will begin Monday, Dec. 13 and we expect the work to be complete before end of the day. During this time, the login button to Interlibrary Loan will be temporarily removed. Patrons will automatically see the new interface after logging back into Interlibrary Loan. 

 

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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!

Online Bilingual StorytimeMonday, Dec. 13, 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.

Virtual City Bicycling – Thursday, Dec. 16, Noon – 1:30 p.m.  

Learn the rules of the road and cycling confidence in this FREE class from Johnson County Library and BikeWalkKC! Our instructors will encourage you to ride farther and explore our region on bikes. 

Facebook Live Book Party – Thursday, Dec. 16, 7 – 8 p.m.  

Facebook Live Book Parties are live events where this week, Josh, a member of the library will booktalk on Space Opera. This Book Party will be held on Facebook live. Visit JoCoLibrary on Facebook and be sure to ‘follow’ us to get notifications when we go Live if you have a Facebook account. You do not need a Facebook account to watch our Book Party.

Young Adult Literary Council – Sunday, Dec. 19, 2 – 3 p.m.  

Teens are invited to join the Young Adult Literary Council to share favorite books, review titles for the Library website and participate in fun activities. You can meet new people and receive volunteer credit hours for your time with us.

And much more happening this week …

 

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Curbside Holds Pickup

For many of us, this is a really busy time of year. Trying to get more done but not having more time can be stressful to say the least. This may even mean giving up some of the things you enjoy until things start to settle down. Luckily, you can still enjoy all your favorite materials from Johnson County Library with the ultra-convenient Curbside Holds Pickup service at the Cedar Roe, Gardner, Leawood Pioneer, Oak Park and Spring Hill Libraries. When you’re placing your items on hold, select one of the Curbside Holds Pickup branches and enjoy the perks of curbside pickup.   

This service has been very popular and for good reason. You simply pull up to a reserved parking spot in your comfortable vehicle. Text that you’re there and in no time, your items are brought out to you. Then as you are pulling out of the parking lot you’ll wonder why you didn’t do this sooner. It’s simple, fast and stress-free. 

Curbside Holds Pickup service was launched last year to give patrons a contactless pickup option at the Cedar Roe, Gardner and Leawood Pioneer branches. Due to the popularity of the services, it was then expanded to Oak Park and Spring Hill Libraries.

While you are always welcome to pick up your materials inside the branch, you also have the option for contactless holds pickup from the comfort of your vehicle. With curbside service now at those five locations along with drive-thru windows at the Blue Valley, Lenexa City Center and Monticello locations, a contactless holds pickup option is available in all quadrants of Johnson County.

Hours for curbside service mirror the current branch hours, but the service closes 15 minutes prior to the close of the branch. Please note that Curbside Holds Pickup service may be temporarily suspended during severe weather, including extreme temperatures.

To use the curbside service:

  1. Look for the parking stalls designated with blue Curbside Hold Pickup signs in the branch's parking lot.
  2. To initiate the pickup, text the word HOLD to the phone number on the sign and follow the prompts. Message and data rates may apply. Please note you must be present at the Library to initiate pickup.
  3. When staff has located and checked out your material, a Library staff member will bring out your hold(s). Pop your trunk or roll down a passenger window so staff can safely place your item(s) in your car.

 

Many have already discovered the convenience of the Curbside Holds Pickup service at Johnson County Library. If you haven’t tried it yet, now is a great time with the busy holiday season. To learn more about the curbside service, checkout the Curbside Holds Pickup FAQ »

 

 

Scheduled:

Gently Used Kids Books For Sale

Find deals on used kids books at the Friends of Johnson County Library Kids Books Warehouse Sale!

Saturday, Dec. 11, 12 - 5 p.m.

at Pine Ridge Office Park, 8279 Melrose Dr, Overland Park, KS 66214.

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A Sign of Things to Come

There is a beautiful new Johnson County Library sign installed on the outside of Central Resource Library and it is just a little hint of all the big changes you will see inside! What will you discover?

  • Additional and reconfigured study and conference rooms.
  • An expanded, relocated Kids area with more natural light, window seating and a storytime room.
  • A new drive-thru for convenient holds pickup and returns.
  • A lot of “back-of-the-house” and “behind-the-scenes” upgrades that will result in materials being available for patrons more quickly throughout the entire Library system.

We can’t wait to welcome you back Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022! Join us at 2 p.m. for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, then check out all the wonderful changes made over the prior year.

 

 

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Throwback Thursday: History of the Central Resource Library

A wonderful article detailing the History of the Central Resource Library can be found on the JoCoHistory Blog. 

Discover its origins, learn about previous construction, its relocation, openings and re-openings, detailing a story that began in the 1950s and continues to be written as we welcome you back on Feb. 22, 2022!

Library Origins

In the early 1950s, the libraries of Johnson County were run by community volunteers. Some housed small libraries in their homes, some worked out of local buildings – barbershops, schoolhouses, and shopping centers – and others operated traveling bookmobiles. With support from the community, an official Johnson County Library was established in 1953 with funding and a permanent location in Merriam, Kansas. Three years later, the Library moved to the location at Shawnee Mission Parkway and Antioch (the current Antioch Library) and designated this the Headquarters Branch.

Read the full article »

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Open Book is Out Today!

The December issue of The Open Book eNewsletter is out today!

What is The Open Book?  This newsletter provides updates on Library branches, upcoming events and programs, service highlights and how the Library is evolving to meet your needs. 

Have you subscribed

It’s now easier than ever to stay informed about all that’s happening at Johnson County Library. Sign up today!

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Extraordinary Volunteer is Stalwart at Book Donation Center

At age 82, Friends of Johnson County Library Larry Leighton still goes to work six days per week. He devotes nearly 40 hours per week to his duties. And as he jokes, “They double my pay every month.”

In fact, Leighton works as an incredibly dedicated volunteer with the Friends of Johnson County Library’s book donation sorting center. He gets paid in free cups of coffee, the friendship of other volunteers and in a deep sense of satisfaction for performing a worthwhile service.

“It’s fun. It’s interesting. I do enjoy it,” Leighton says.

Leighton oversees a small team of volunteers at the sorting center at 82nd and Melrose Drive in Lenexa. They take gently-used donated books and sell them on various websites. Using a computer program, Leighton assesses the books’ price and popularity and posts them for sale.

Orders come in from all over the country (even from overseas), sometimes from bookstores but mostly from individuals. The team prepares them for mailing to the book buyers.

Years ago, Leighton started volunteering a few hours per week, but as others have rotated in and out, he’s assumed more responsibilities. Now he’s there seven hours Mondays through Fridays and four hours on Saturdays.

His team consists of five book listers and five book shippers, all women. “They are all really nice gals,” he says. He enjoyed working with Matt Delaney, the Friends of JCL business manager who retired earlier this year. He appreciates Shanta Dickerson, the Friends of JCL operations manager.

The book sales are a major revenue generator for Friends of JCL. Leighton has a list of dozens of books or book sets that have sold for over $100 this year, including complete Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew sets; a Calvin and Hobbes set; and an original Stephen King Hardcover Book Club edition.

Leighton grew up around dairy cows in College Station, Texas, where his dad was a Texas A&M professor. There weren’t many playmates living nearby, so he entertained himself by reading, including the Hardy Boys and Mark Twain. He’s still an avid reader of history and fiction.

He studied aeronautical engineering at Texas A&M, served in the Air Force in Indiana 1961 -1964, then worked for Procter & Gamble in Dallas and Cincinnati. After an Air Force buddy with a job at Hallmark talked about what a great company it was, Leighton applied and was hired.

He moved with his wife and two young children to Overland Park and worked for Hallmark from 1967 to 2000. He had a series of management positions in a very fulfilling career.

Leighton’s first wife died unexpectedly in 1990 and he was a widower for a few years before he remarried. He and his wife Paula live in Leawood and have a wonderful marriage, but Leighton says volunteering helps him stay busy.

After retiring from Hallmark at age 61, he enjoyed playing golf, but soon realized he needed a greater purpose in his life. He volunteered at various golf courses and with Heart to Heart, Intl. and Cross-Lines Community Outreach before he saw a notice about Library volunteering. At the book sorting center, he found his niche.

“It gets me out of the house. It lets my wife have some time,” Leighton said. “She’s a sweetheart. I love her dearly and I want to let her have her space.”

Plus, he gets to socialize with nice people and give donated books new life. And it’s a great benefit to the Library.

“I have no plans to change,” Leighton said, “as long as they need me.”

 

 

 

 

 

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This Week at the Library

This week and ANYTIME at the Library, you can join us at:

Library OnDemandAvailable anytime you like

Your doorway into live and archived programs. Arts & Culture, Career & Finance, Community Matters, Writers and more!

Artists in Sight: Sylvia August

A landscape and equine photographer, Sylvia Augustus spent almost five years living and working in Yosemite National Park as a preservation architect. While at Yosemite, her free time was spent taking photographs of the Sierra Nevada area. Prior to Yosemite, her photographic focus was on the built environment. During her tenure at Yosemite my photographic practice shifted from the built environment to landscapes and wildlife. Augustus’s main body of photographic work focuses upon documenting wild American Equine and their struggle for survival. She sees her work as “a service to the community at large; sharing a story about how society has failed one of the last great American icons; the wild horse.”

The Past is Prologue: Nicodemus, Kansas

For this installment of The Past is Prologue, Nicodemus Historical Society executive director Angela Bates will present on Nicodemus, KS, a small, unincorporated town in Graham County. Nicodemus is the only remaining western town established by African Americans during the Reconstruction Period following the Civil War. Today the town is a National Historic Site.

Maker Projects

Build something cool and flex your creative muscles with projects from the Black & Veatch MakerSpace Team! Choose a project and follow along the tutorial for real DIY videos. There are a wide range of ways to explore your creativity from LED paper lanterns to a Pop Tart pillow or Paracord bracelet.