Bookmarkable

Bookshelves in an art gallery might detract from the experience, but on the other hand, art can enhance a visit to the library.

With that thought in mind, the Johnson County Library has gallery space in 10 of its branches. Art showcases creativity and tells stories just like the books, music, and movies in the Library’s collection, said Local Arts Librarian Bryan Voell.

“Art is a way to inspire people,” he said. “It provides the start of a conversation in the library. It becomes a way to reflect on our community.”

The Library changes the exhibits during spring, summer, and fall trimesters, and managing the rotation of artists is a heavy lift for the staff who serve on the local arts team in addition to working their main Library jobs. Voell, for instance, is an adult services librarian. So the Library has hired InterUrban ArtHouse to curate the exhibits in all the gallery spaces, except for the one at the Central Resource Library, which the Library will continue to manage. InterUrban ArtHouse, a nonprofit located in downtown Overland Park, is expected to take over in January.

As an organization that rents out studio space and offers arts programming, Voell said InterUrban ArtHouse is a perfect partner for the Library. “We see them as the experts,” he said. “This is what they do best.”

With its exhibits, the Library has brought in artists ranging from neophytes to mid-career. From that perspective, Voell said Library users should not notice the switch to InterUrban ArtHouse.

Patrons might, however, notice an uptick in arts programming at the Library now that Voell and his team are freed up from most of the curation duties. Voell said his arts position is an unusual one for a library, and he considers himself fortunate to be working for an organization that places such a high value on art.

The exhibits highlight the work of artists from throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area and around the region, and a central coordinator helps make that experience a positive one for the artists and the staff.

“And in the end,” Voell said, “it's the patrons who end up enjoying the art, getting inspired by the art, and there's an educational component as well.”

He was reminded how much the exhibitions can mean to patrons when he recently encountered a woman with a mobility scooter looking at the art at the Central Resource Library. Her limited mobility made it difficult for her to get to art galleries and museums, she told Voell, so the Central gallery was an important resource. “This is where she comes to enjoy the art and learn about the artists,” Voell said.

The fact that the Library serves a “huge cross-section of people, including people who otherwise would never have an opportunity to see contemporary, local art,” is one reason InterUrban ArtHouse is happy to take on curation duties, said CEO Angi Hejduk said in an email.

“We are excited to facilitate the relationship between artists and public art space,” she said, “creating opportunities for artists representing diverse communities and backgrounds to have their work on display.”

InterUrban ArtHouse will help artists pick items to display from their body of work and make digital catalogs of each exhibit, Hejduk said. The organization also assists with installation and marketing. “Each artist is elevated through their experience,” she said.

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of #NoWaitWednesday, where we take a look at a title from our adult New Release shelf that's just waiting for a lucky patron to discover it. Fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thriller, horror - we look at all kinds of books here at #NoWaitWednesday, however it's been a while since we've looked at romance in this space. It seems all of Kansas City is buzzing about the relationship between Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and Taylor Swift, one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. Even though Kelce is a star in his own right, Swift is several degrees of magnitude larger, and I'm sure there's something about dating someone like that that comes with its own difficulties. Let's dive in to a novel about a romance between a rock star and a regular guy and the obstacles that just might come from it: Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman. (Maybe we can give Travis some tips!) (While we're on the topic of romance - have you listened to our latest JoCoLibrary Uncovered podcast about some of our favorite romance novels?)  

In Charm City Rocks, Billy Perkins is a single dad deep in his 40s whose life hasn't turned out exactly the way he thought. However, on the main he's doing pretty okay for himself: he's a music teacher who lives in an apartment above a local Baltimore record store, Charm City Rocks, and the most important thing in his life is his teenage son, Caleb, who's a high school student looking ahead to college. While Billy is divorced, he has a great relationship with his ex, and he enjoys nothing more than hanging out and watch music documentaries with Caleb. When the topic of an all-female indie rock band that became the hottest thing on the charts for a short minute back in the day comes up, Billy mentions that he had an immense crush on the band's drummer, Margot Hammer, who retreated from the limelight after a famous - and disastrous - performance on the national stage. She then married a famous actor after the breakup of the band, and, while currently separated, lives a quiet life in New York City.

Caleb goes to the internet and arranges a meet-cute between his dad and Margot, who travels down to Baltimore, and after meeting Billy, does an impromptu sit-in playing drums with local bar band. She thought she had put her music career behind her, but caught up in the moment, her electrifying performance goes viral, reminding the world of her talent and igniting a long-dormant interest from her record company. While in Baltimore, Margot not only strikes up a relationship with Billy and meets a charming, eccentric cast of locals, but she also starts wondering what a second chance at a music career might look like - and who she might want to spend that career with.

Smart, warm, and comfy, and more sweet than spicy, this feel-good Generation X romance novel is all about second chances, perfect for fans of Linda Holmes or Annabel Monaghan. As adult characters with almost-grown children approaching middle age, Billy and Margot both bring a lot of baggage to their relationship, and the novel takes care to portray their passions and obstacles with care: Billy is a centered nice guy but has a lack of ambition and can't help but be a bit star-struck in his crush's presence, while Margot's previous fame-driven relationships, a parasitic music industry, and a fear of betrayal continue to haunt her. I love that Norman's novel looks at the realistic difficulties that a more mature relationship brings - bodies don't work exactly like they did in their 20s, for example, and both characters have children who need to be prioritized in whatever future they create. But with time and a bit of work, these two might just make it. Norman also uses the charm of the old-town neighborhoods of Baltimore as a perfect backdrop to this romance novel that deserves to be on your hold list. Check it out!

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

Bilingual Storytime – Monday, Oct. 16, 10:30 – 11 a.m.

The whole family will enjoy stories, songs, fingerplays and movement activities in both English and another language at Central Resource Library. Exposure to other languages can help develop early language learning and boost pre-reading skills. Fun for the whole family.

Toda la familia podrá disfrutar tanto en inglés como en otros idiomas: historias, canciones, juegos de manos y dedos, y actividades para trabajar el movimiento con los niños. El contacto con otros idiomas en los niños ayuda a desarrollar el aprendizaje temprano y a mejorar las habilidades de prelectura. Habrá diversión para toda la familia.

READ to A Dog with Pets For Life – Tuesday, Oct. 17 & Nov. 21, 3:30 – 5 p.m.

Join us at Central Resource Library for the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program that improves children’s reading and communication skills by employing a powerful method: reading to a registered therapy dog or cat! These animals volunteer with their owner/handlers as a team. Please note: space is limited for this program; kids will get a ticket at arrival and wait their turn to read to one of several animals.

Permission to Withdraw: Enjoying Your Retirement Savings Without Outliving Them – Wednesday, Oct. 18, 10 – 11 a.m.

Come to this featured event at the Central Resource Library. Once you have accumulated retirement funds during your working years, it is time to retire and to start withdrawing from those funds and enjoying your retirement years. But the key question is: Just how much can I afford to withdraw each year without incurring the risk of running out of money? The answer depends in large part upon how those funds are invested, and so your investment strategy may be the key to answering that question. Emerson Hartzler, retired finance executive, will address that key question. You may be surprised by the answer!

Candidate Forum: Overland Park City Council Candidates (Wards 5-6) – Wednesday, Oct. 18, 6 – 7 p.m.

The Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley Post will be hosting 11 nights of local candidate forums ahead of the Nov. 7 general election, giving Johnson County voters a chance to hear directly from the candidates who want to represent them in city government and on school boards. This forum will be held at the Blue Valley Library. The full list of events is here.

Caregiver Workshop: Music Matters – Wednesday, Oct. 18, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Discover how music can have a positive effect on your child’s development. Kristi Hanson, music therapist and owner of Stepping Stones KC, will share practical ways music can affect behavior, emotional regulation, and keep early learning fun! Designed for caregivers of children ages 0-6. All caregivers welcome.

And there’s much more happening this week … 

Already have a busy week?  Remember, you can watch recordings of many of our programs at your convenience with Library OnDemand. 

Our Writers Conference is coming up Nov. 2-4. Read all about the presenters as we post our interviews with them in the weeks leading up to November -- and RSVP for the Conference!

Check out the Full 2023 Writers Conference Schedule (PDF, TXT) or the Schedule at a Glance (PDF, TXT).

To-do lists keep us on task and grocery lists ensure we come home with everything we intended to buy. But prioritization is much more daunting when it comes to the Johnson County Library’s vast collection. Enter Matt Imrie.

A native of South Africa who found his way to our region by marrying a woman from Paola, Kansas, Imrie’s official Library role is as a youth services information specialist in Gardner.

But his unofficial title is that of the Library’s king of lists, serving patrons by grouping books, music, and movies around many themes. His lists appear on bibliocommons, the third-party platform the Library uses for its electronic catalog.

Imrie pursues his avocation through the belief that reader’s advisory is one of the library’s core services, making a collection of more than one million items more accessible to users.

“No one can trawl through everything to find everything they want,” he said. He likes introducing users to older works that are sometimes overshadowed by new releases.

Since starting with a Halloween series in October 2019, Imrie has compiled nearly 800 lists around topics as diverse as Kansas history and “The Rocky Horror Show.”

Imrie has also parsed the library’s holdings around jokes, world events, and celebrity deaths. Imrie highlighted U.S. history as he studied to become a U.S. citizen and found material on the loss of a loved one while grieving for his father, who passed away from COVID-19 early on in the pandemic.

His recent handiwork marked the 40th anniversary of a little-known incident that brought the world to the brink of nuclear armageddon and noted the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

BiblioCommons serves libraries throughout the U.S. and internationally, and Imrie presented on the art of list creation and curation at last year’s users conference. He spoke about his father's death as an example of finding inspiration from various places.

If pressed for time, Imrie can compile resources in a matter of minutes, such as finding as much material as he could when musician Jimmy Buffett died in September. But in other instances, Imrie might take hours or days to find the right mix.

“I try to be as thoughtful as I can and make sure that it's balanced for a wide range of readers,” he said.

This year marks 50 years since “The Rocky Horror Show” debuted as a musical, and Imrie counts that list as one of his favorites. The movie version came out in 1975.

Imrie got to thinking about all the movies referenced in the opening song of the production, “Science Fiction/Double Feature.”

He thought, “Hey, these are all movies that I’ve seen and I’ve enjoyed. I wonder if the library has them.” He liked the list because it demonstrated that he himself could learn something from a list he put together.

Imrie is even working on a master list of all the lists compiled for the Library. “It's not the easiest thing to find specific collections,” he said.

Welcome to another fabulous Throwback Thursday! You know that JoCoHistory is the place to time travel through local history with its Blog and collection of photos and historical documents. But did you know, about the JoCoHistory Research Tools? Here you'll find a portal to local history projects, local history on the web, a comprehensive list of Johnson County museums and historical sites and other regional museums. 

JoCoHistory Projects

• Johnson County Obituary Index

On the Web

• Kansas Memory - Johnson County
  A project of the Kansas Historical Society, this site contains digital images of letters, diaries, photographs, government records, maps, museum artifacts and much more.
• Missouri Valley Special Collections Digital Gallery
  Over 11,000 images of archival material such as letters, photographs, postcards, advertising cards and maps from Missouri Valley Special Collections at Kansas City Public Library.
• Territorial Kansas Online
  A virtual repository of archival documents dating from Kansas' territorial period, 1854-1861.
• Missouri Digital Heritage
  Digitized collections from libraries, archives, historical societies and museums all across Missouri (formerly Virtually Missouri).
• Map of historic sites
  Map of local historic places, museums and historical societies.

Local History Museums and Sites

In Johnson County:

• Gardner Historical Museum
  The museum occupies the 1893 Folk Victorian house built by Herman B. Foster. Exhibits feature topics important to Gardner history: the Grange, the Overland Trails, schools, a turn-of-the century kitchen, as well as historical memorabilia and photos of Gardner's past.
• Johnson County Museum
  Includes the Johnson County Museum of History, the Lanesfield School, and the 1950s All Electric House. The museum also features a research room with access to documents, maps, photographs and manuscripts related to the history of Johnson County, Kansas from 1820s to present.
• Legler Barn Museum
  The Legler barn was built by Adam Legler in 1864, razed in 1972 and restored in 1983 as a community Museum. It features permanent and temporary exhibits about Lenexa and the surrounding area.
• Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm
  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site is the last remaining stagecoach stop on the historic Santa Fe Trail still open to the public. Three original buildings are preserved: The Mahaffie Family Home/Stagecoach Stop, two-story Ice House, and Wood Peg Barn.
• Oxford Schoolhouse
  Built in 1877, this one-room schoolhouse operated until 1955. In 2003 it was moved from 135th and Mission to its current location at Ironwoods Park. The school is now restored and interpreted as a circa 1910 schoolhouse.
• Shawnee Indian Mission
  The manual training school attended by Shawnee, Delaware, and other Indian children from 1839-1862. The Shawnee Mission also served as an early territorial capitol, a supply point on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails, and as a camp for Union soldiers during the Civil War. The Mission was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968. The Mission also has a research library that is open to the public by appointment.
• Shawnee Town Museum
  Shawnee Town is a living history museum that opens a window to life in a small farm community in the years leading up to the Great Depression. Visitors can stroll through the 3-acre park and visit historic buildings that include a school house, farmstead, chapel, fire station, local businesses and gardens.

Other Regional Museums

• Kansas Museum of History
  Museum operated by the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka.
• Kansas City Museum
  Located within the Corinthian Hall mansion, the Kansas City Museum offers exhibits on regional history and natural history, as well as a planetarium and authentic 1910 soda fountain.

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of #NoWaitWednesday where we take a look at a great book on the New Release shelf at a local branch that's just waiting for you to place your holds. We know that patrons don't like being 432nd in line for the latest New York Times blockbuster, but there's always plenty of great stuff to read right under your nose.  

Our patrons have a seemingly insatiable appetite for lush and vivid historical fiction set around World War II. From All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr to The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah to The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn, many of these titles and plenty more are still popular years after publication as patrons find out about them through book clubs, library book lists, and word-of-mouth. For today's #NoWaitWednesday pick, we wanted to highlight something that fits along those lines - although you might want to move fast, as even this title, based on a true story of two brave women saving art from the clutches of the Nazis during WWII, might not last on the shelves for very long. We present: our Readers Advisory Librarian Gregg's review of The Paris Deception by Bryn Turnbull!

The novel opens in 1938 with the German government burning modern art in a giant fire outside the Reichstag. The Nazis viewed modern art as a corrupting force and ridiculed paintings and sculptures they thought were too stylized or too abstract, calling them "Entartete Kunst" - degenerate art. Jumping ahead to 1940, the Nazis have invaded France, capturing many art museums and looting priceless artifacts along the way. Sophie Brandt, who fled Germany to France to pursue her love for art history, must make a difficult choice when she reluctantly accepts a position sorting through stolen artifacts - mostly from Jewish families - as the museum where she works, the Jeu de Paume Museum, becomes the epicenter and storage depot for much of the looted artwork. She decides to use her position inside the museum to protect the art she loves so much and that she believes is important to history. She approaches her brother's wife, Fabienne, a talented artist in her own right, and together they come up with a plan - create forgeries of the "degenerate art" that's slated to be destroyed and smuggling the originals out of France and to safety.

Author Bryn Turnbull creates an absolutely compelling tale, combining knowledge of early 20th century art world with the thrill of a well-planned heist novel guided by the engine of historical accuracy. Throughout the novel Sophie and Fabienne's plan could get discovered at any time, and the two face dangers and dodge many close shaves aiding the Resistance while forming a powerful bond that surprises both of them. A great example of Historical Fiction and Women's Fiction mixed together with a powerful message of historical bravery will please plenty of readers. 

For for those readers to truly prize historical accuracy, Turnbull devotes pages writing about the hero who inspired the novel: Rose Valland, the overseer of the Jeu de Paume museum in Paris during the time of the occupation, where she carefully tracked the movement of countless pieces of art and passed the information over to the Resistance, who were able to retrieve mush of what was looted. She received the Legion of Honour award - among the many others - for her efforts and vision.