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Johnson County Library has a dynamic duo. They work behind-the-scenes but leave an indelible mark of artistic creativity and passion on the system’s educational and promotional materials.

Jennifer Taylor and Cindy Frazer are the Library’s two graphics coordinators, playing an essential role in communication and outreach.

“We are part of the customer experience department,” Taylor explained. “We do all of the printed materials, the bookmarks, the flyers, the newsletters, the guide magazines, all the summer reading promotions, the Writers’ Conference [materials].”

The work includes posters, lobby boards, banners, signage, and name badges, Frazer adds. “Anything that’s printed, business cards -- everything comes through this department.” They also ensure materials look good online.

It’s an enormous task, but they’ve been working collaboratively together for decades and love what they do.

“I like the variety. I always have something different,” said Frazer, who recently designed both printed and online materials for the Writers’ Conference. “There’s always something new. So there are new things we get to figure out.  How to make something work. A new way to get it out there.”

Taylor particularly enjoys working on summer reading promotions.

“Since I started here in 1992, I’ve designed all of the [materials] for summer reading, for every year,” she said. “Sometimes I’ve gotten to work directly with the artists doing the artwork for it, which is fantastic, just the creation of the overall look for summer reading. I get to take it off from there to design the posters and the bookmarks and the reading logs and the images that are going online now.”

Frazer was hired to do layout and manual paste-up in the pre-digital days of 1985 and started the graphic arts department in 1988.  Taylor joined her in 1992 and the two have been a great team ever since, sharing life’s milestones.

“We’ve been through weddings, marriages, babies….kids graduating the same time,” said Taylor, who has two sons, ages 25 and 21. Frazer also has two sons, ages 33 and 25.

The Library’s writers and other content providers take great pride in their work. Taylor and Frazer see their role as enhancing communication and giving Library materials the right “look” through an attractive palette of colors, fonts, and other design decisions.

 “We want to make sure we’re making it look the best we possibly can,” Taylor said, “to honor the work that’s been put into it.”

Johnson County Library’s Lenexa City Center location will be temporarily closed Thursday Jan. 7 until Tuesday, Jan. 12 due to a potential COVID-19 exposure. In an abundance of caution, the closure includes the drive-thru window, materials return and the holds pick-up lobby. Holds on materials that were available at the branch will be extended.

A professional deep cleaning will take place while the branch is closed. All staff who were potentially exposed have been notified through contact tracing, and affected staff will be quarantining and monitoring for symptoms before returning to work. Library staff is working with the health department to determine any additional necessary steps and will continue all health and safety protocols, such as masks and social distancing, to minimize risk of exposure.

Johnson County Library’s other 13 branches remain open, and the Lenexa City Center branch is anticipated to reopen as scheduled at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 12. Visit jocolibrary.org or follow @jocolibrary on social media for updates.

The Johnson County Museum is a collecting institution - that means the Museum needs your help to tell the community’s history! But what does the Museum collect? Check out this new JoCoHistory Blog post to find out more, and how you can share your stories, photos, documents, and objects!

For January's 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. 

Thursday, Jan. 7, 7:00 - 8:00 pm. Register now »

It's New Year's Day! Hello 2021. Hello to an all new you! The Library is here to help you make all of your dreams come true. Let's make those positive changes happen. 

First, start with a brainstorming list. If you had a magic pill you could take to make your life better, what would your life look like tomorrow? Write down your answers. Prioritize your top five. Here's an example:

1. Get my finances in order
2. Learn something new 
3. Reduce stress
4. Explore my family tree
5. Make time to read more (a lot more) 

Whatever is on your top five list, contact a Librarian. Call, email, text. We'll help you find the Library resources you need to make 2021 a success!

Or, create your own adventure as you peruse the self-help collection in our catalog!

During this pandemic, board games have been a valuable pastime for many people, whether it's breaking some out with the family and friends or learning how to play games on new online platforms. At Johnson County Library, our Table Top Games Committee has been trying to think of ways that we can share our passion with our patrons even if we can’t meet in person. We are looking forward to online gaming events starting next year, so if you are interested in playing games, please stay tuned for our first program starting January 6th!

Courtney shares her favorite games throughout her life

Hey there! I’m Courtney and I work and host Tabletop Games at the Antioch branch. I got involved with board gaming at the library just as the program began expanding from being hosted at just one location, to eventually five locations, which gave me the opportunity to join this awesome team. My favorite thing about Tabletop Games at the library is the community of people it brings together and the connections we make while playing games with each other.

I have enjoyed board games for as long as I can remember enjoying anything. So, it’d be hard to tell you how I got into board gaming, but what I can tell you is what some of my favorite games have been, starting from the beginning.

Cooties: This is the first game I can remember. As a small kiddo, being able to build a cute little critter while playing a game was super exciting to me. Fun stuff!

Guess Who: I played this a lot as an elementary-aged kid. At the time, I liked that I could be all smug about figuring out JUST the right question to ask to knock down as many possible people as I could manage. As an adult, I appreciate the introduction to deductive reasoning that I got while doing it.

Clue: My affection for games seems to have grown hand-in-hand with my affection for mysteries. I loved it when I got to figure out who did it!

Scattergories: This is the first game I played with my whole family that everyone seemed to be interested in (in contrast to the kids’ games that I knew weren’t being played for the benefit of the adults). I learned how neat party games can be with the right group!

Trivial Pursuit: I played this frequently with my high school friends. It was our default plan when we were looking for free things to do with our time indoors. My friend group was a bit nerdy, so this was right up our alley.

Settlers of Catan: This is the first “Eurogame” I ever played. I was introduced to it while I was visiting, in college, one of my nerdy friends from high school. I remember being excited the idea that there were all these other board games out there like this that I had never even heard of.

Stone Age: Still my favorite worker-placement game! I feel like the mechanic for gaining resources, with its mix of strategy and randomness, is both creative and very appropriate to the theme.

Race for the Galaxy: My favorite thing about this is how everyone is always engaged in playing; there’s very little waiting for other people to finish their turn. Also, space is really neat!

Love Letter: This is a current go-to standby for my gaming friends. The rules are super easy, it can be played really quickly, and you can put as much strategic thinking as you want to into your playing. Also, it’s a good game for having fun while being a bit of a jerk.

Camel Up: It’s about betting on racing camels, which is as absurd as it sounds and makes for lots of boisterous interactions. This is currently my favorite game for large groups with players of varying ages. It’s got crazy camel fun for everybody!

Azul: A quiet, strategic game with beautiful art that has been nice to play during such a chaotic year. The pieces are really lovely and it’s a nice experience even when you lose, which is definitely something I can appreciate, especially right now.

Read our other Table Top Games Committee members' stories and favorite games »