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Black & Veatch Support ‘Amplifies’ Library Services
It would be an understatement to say that the Library’s MakerSpace had humble origins.
Its original home was not much bigger than a closet, said Shelley O’Brien, executive director of the Johnson County Library Foundation. But now the area at the Central Resource Library serves almost as a branch within a branch — offering state-of-the-art capabilities like 3D printing and providing space where creators of all types mingle.
The upgraded surroundings have “really amplified the program and amplified what we can do,” O’Brien said, putting the Library on the cutting edge of the experiential learning that will define the library of the future. “This is not a trend,” she said. “This is not going away.”
And none of that would be possible without the more than $30,000 a year that Overland Park-based Black & Veatch provides as the sponsor of the MakerSpace, she said. The global design and engineering firm’s commitment to the Library extends to serving this year as the presenting sponsor of the library foundation’s annual fundraiser.
As an international corporation, Black & Veatch has no shortage of potential causes to back, O’Brien said. “It means a lot to us for them to say they want to invest their philanthropic dollars into a local nonprofit like the Foundation, and a local organization like the Library.”
Outside support is critical to providing a range of services to patrons, and O’Brien said Black & Veatch’s financial commitments play a significant role in allowing the Library “to have innovation and creativity, and to provide the community with these great tools.”
There is perhaps no better spokesman for Black & Veatch and its commitment to the Library than Pete Barth, an Illinois native who moved here from Davenport, Iowa, in 2014 with his wife.
He is the company’s engineering partnerships leader and serves on the board of the Library foundation. Barth is also the son of a teacher who preached the value of reading and is an active patron of Olathe’s Indian Creek Library as the father of three kids ages 8 and under.
The parent in him loves that libraries now have playgrounds and cool indoor activities that excite kids to just be at the library as a first step to gaining a love of reading. He knows that is the case with his children.
In his professional role, Barth welcomes the opportunity for the company to support a free public resource that provides equitable access to all members of the community. Black & Veatch is also happy to help students cultivate an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
Library Lets Loose provides essential funding for the extras the Library offers, O’Brien said, including the varied programming that keeps people coming back to the branches. Barth said Black & Veatch’s role as the presenting sponsor is a way to help “amplify the event and the importance of the library system in general.”
“I think it’s fair to say that the library is an integral part of every community,” he said. “We are just glad to be a part of it and help to support the growth of both the MakerSpace and the library infrastructure in Johnson County in general.
“We are proud of our community, we want to be a part of the community, want to be visible in the community, and want to give back to all those communities that support our professionals and our business.”
Barth was not exactly a bookworm as a teen, but it seems his mom’s prodding planted a seed for adulthood because reading is now a welcome stress relief. “It’s a good way for me to escape and displace,” he said.
Lenexa's Video Library
New JoCoHistory Blog Article
Lenexa’s Video Library: The Life and Times of Johnson County’s Largest Video Store
It all began in the early-to-mid 1980s. Holly DeNeff was in dental school, but had come to feel that dentistry wasn’t the right fit for her after all. She wanted to start her own business and started looking around for the right industry. At the time, there were two boom industries for budding entrepreneurs: tanning salons and video stores. Holly mulled both of them over, working briefly at both to learn the businesses from the ground up. She worked her way up to a store manager position at National Video (a national chain with several locations in the area) and thought that maybe she’d found her industry.
Stories About a Wicked Past
KC True Crime
"Like most cities during Prohibition, Kansas City had illegal alcohol, bootleggers, speakeasies, cops on the take, corrupt politicians and moralizing reformers. But by the time the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed, Kansas City had been singled out by one observer as one of the wettest cities, as well as the wickedest.“
~ Prohibition in Kansas City, Missouri: Highballs, Spooners & Crooked Dice by John Simonson
Your history-loving hosts, Charles "T-Bone" Hower and the "Jackalope"—AKA Dave "Curtains" Carson—spill the beans and sing like canaries to reveal the darkside of Kansas City history. It's Kansas City True Crime on the JoCoLibrary Uncovered Podcast.
Join us as we explain how a lawless culture that began before the Civil War evolved into political and criminal empires that ultimately drew the FBI's focus as they fought to put an end to decades of crime and violence. We bring in special guest Erik Stafford who is a historian, storyteller and a Kansas City History Tour Guide to shed some light on stories that have lived in the dark for too long.
KC True Crime Recommendations:
Booklist, websites and resources mentioned in the episode.
This Week at the Library
Library OnDemand – Available anytime you like.
Healthy Heart Nutrition Seminar – Tuesday, Aug. 29, noon – 1 p.m.
Community health workers from Johnson County Department of Health & Environment will be onsite in Conference Room 20 to provide healthy heart nutrition guidance.
In Conversation: Diana Goetsch & Ryan Bernstein, Moderated by Stuart Hinds – Friday, Sept. 1, All Day
In This Body I Wore, Diana Goetsch recounts her late-in-life gender transition. Ryan Bernsten’s 50 States of Mind chronicles the author's journey through America, with an aim to discover if it really is divided. Stuart Hinds, Curator of Special Collections & Archives, and Co-founder of the Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America, will moderate a discussion, exploring how Goetsch and Bernsten approached writing about personal stories and explorations of democracy. Available in Library OnDemand Friday, September 1.
This Body I Wore with Diana Goetsch – Friday, Sept. 1, All Day
Poet and essayist Diana Goetsch presents her acclaimed memoir, a 2023 ALA Notable Book, hailed as “achingly beautiful” by The New York Times Book Review. This Body I Wore chronicles the budding trans communities of the late 20th century, and sheds light on today’s struggle for trans equality. The book is also a love letter to New York City and a meditation on subjects ranging from education to Buddhism, to becoming an artist and surviving child abuse. Available in Library OnDemand Friday, September 1.
Walk and Read at Antioch Park – Saturday, Sept. 1 – Sept. 10, All Day
Family and friends of all ages are invited to join Johnson County Library for a walk in at Antioch Park! Walk and Read creates a reading opportunity for all, in various parks throughout Johnson County. Those who participate will read two stories posted around a path, one going each direction. When you finish one story, you can turn around to the other side of the sign and begin the next story, which will lead you back around the path. The stories are Old Friends by Margaret Aitken and Kitty by Rebecca Jordan-Glum.
The Walk and Read program encourages physical activity, literacy and family time. The paths are stroller and wheelchair friendly, allowing for all to join in the fun! Dates are subject to adjustment due to inclement weather conditions. Sponsored by Shawnee Mission Parents as Teachers.
Candidate Meet and Greet
Are you interested in learning more about the school board candidates on your ballot? Join us for a Meet and Greet with the candidates. You'll have the opportunity to introduce yourself, ask questions and learn more about their stances on the issues impacting your local schools over coffee and donuts.
- Saturday, Sept. 30, 10-11 a.m.
Meet and Greet Blue Valley Board of Education Candidates @ Blue Valley Library
- Saturday, Oct. 28, 10-11 a.m.
Meet and Greet Gardner Edgerton Board of Education Candidates @ Gardner Library
Free Period Products Coming to Library Restrooms
Johnson County Library now provides period/menstrual products, free of charge, in restrooms within all 14 branches, for the public’s convenience and comfort.
On August 10, the Library Board approved an agreement with the Strawberry Week Society, a local nonprofit that collects and distributes free menstrual products to schools, hospitals, shelters and community organizations, to increase accessibility and combat period poverty.
Youth Information Specialists Emma Fernhout and Heather Miller advocated for this service and said Strawberry Week has been a great partner.
“My experience is, if I go to a gym or an airport and I see period products in the bathroom, especially if they are free, then I immediately feel like that organization cares,” Fernhout said. “I know the power that carries, and it just seemed in alignment with what the Library wants people to feel.”
Strawberry Week Founder and CEO Micheala Miller donates these products (tampons and pads) throughout the metro area, and had already seen how successful this initiative was in the 10 Kansas City Public Library branches. She was delighted to collaborate with Johnson County Library as well.
“They’ve been amazing to work with,” Michaela Miller said. Most community groups she works with help people for whom the cost of menstrual products is a hardship. But she notes that Libraries serve the broader public.
“Items like these are so mandatory for half the population to use, it’s something that is appreciated,” she said. “We believe that like hand soap and paper towels, period products should be readily available in public restrooms. Through this partnership, we are able to accomplish that.”
Strawberry Week will make its donations quarterly, for an annual total of about 10,000 pads and 6,000 tampons, saving Johnson County government more than $3,000 if it were to purchase the products. The Library will spend about $375 on containers.
Library staff said this project enhances customer service, fosters a welcoming and healthy environment and safeguards patron privacy.
Fernhout said the idea first came to her a few years ago and she put together a proposal to address the need.
“I think a lot of us have experienced a patron asking for products, or we’ve been that patron whether it’s at the Library or at another business, and just realizing that there were no products available,” she said. “That seemed like a huge barrier to accessibility and feeling welcomed and safe.”
Heather Miller eagerly joined Fernhout to explore a solution.
“We talked to branch managers, we talked to operations and administration, and everyone was very supportive,” Heather Miller said.
Serendipitously, Strawberry Week sent an email in early 2022 to Johnson County Library with information about its mission. Strawberry Week sponsors large collection drives and also gets grants to purchase products. Micheala Miller works in real estate professionally, but she devotes her volunteer time to combatting period poverty.
“It’s fulfilling and a passion project for me,” she said.
The email was passed along to Fernhout, and it felt like the answer to what she was seeking. Fernhout and Heather Miller met with Micheala Miller and Kansas City Public Library representatives, who were very encouraging. They reported that patrons didn’t take huge quantities of the products, but used them as needed, like paper towels or other hygiene items.
“They (KCPL) gave us the drive to keep going, saying you can do it in a big branch system,” Heather Miller recalled.
Fernhout said working with Strawberry Week on all the logistical details has been very rewarding.
“They really just want to serve their community,” she said, “in the best way they can.”
JoCoHistory Blog: Meadowbrook Park
New Blog Entry
Meadowbrook Park is a beautiful (and busy!) park in suburban Prairie Village today. But did you know that there were many different land uses in the area throughout history? Learn about the Indigenous populations, family farms, luxury estates, postwar suburbs, and “open membership” golf clubs that came before JCPRD’s public green space in a new #JoCoHistory Blog post from the Johnson County Museum.
No Wait Wednesday
Hello and welcome to #NoWaitWednesday, where we pick an item off the New Release shelf at one of our library branches that's available for a lucky reader to discover. There are always plenty of gems at the library to find that don't require a two-month wait on the hold lists, and the New Release shelves are always a great place to explore and find your next favorite read.
Medusa is a familiar figure in Greek mythology - a female monster with snakes for hair and a gaze that turns men to stone, usually presented as an antagonist to the hero Perseus, who then cuts off her head to use as a weapon. That's where her story usually ends, but there's plenty of background material that many casual mythology fans might not know: Medusa was one of three sisters - the Gorgons - along with Stheno and Euryale. Their story forms the basis of Lauren J. A. Bear's novel "Medusa's Sisters," which is today's #NoWaitWednesday selection.