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Meet cartoonist Josh Neufeld and learn the craft of cartooning! Best-selling comics journalist Neufeld will share the trajectory of his career, teach how to write for comics, and lead a workshop on how to draw a successful comic. Check out the events below to register. These events will all be held virtually on Zoom.

Meet the Cartoonist: Josh Neufeld Tuesday, April 4, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Writing for Comics with Cartoonist Josh Neufeld Wednesday, April 5, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

How to Draw a Successful Comic with Cartoonist Josh Neufeld Saturday, April 8, 9-11 a.m.

For many years, Johnson County Library provided tabletop game nights for enthusiastic patrons, capitalizing on the growth and popularity of modern board games. 

The pandemic forced those events to go virtual. But now, these fun intergenerational events are resuming at four branches. Patrons are encouraged to explore the incredible variety and creativity of 21st century board games, dice and card games. This is not just Monopoly and Clue. Today’s games allow participants to experience imaginative worlds, artfully drawn. Tabletop games test participants’ intellectual and reasoning abilities. They require strategic thinking and can inspire both competitive and collaborative approaches. “Gaming is having a really big heyday,” notes Tami Thomas, youth information specialist at Blue Valley Library. “It’s a very popular activity.”

Josh Neff, an adult information specialist at Blue Valley, said the Library branches provide a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere for people to try out an amazing selection of games, all for free. “It’s being able to get out and do something. There are a lot of modern games now and so many different styles of games,” Neff said. “There are some that are really competitive. There are some that are really cool.”

Game nights are being offered each month from 6 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. at Blue Valley, Gardner, Monticello and Central Resource Library. The schedule through April is available on the events calendar. Patrons can try out the Library’s games with coaching from staff, or bring their own. They can come and go as they please. Light refreshments are provided. Patrons can also enter drawings for some game giveaways at the end of the spring season.

On a recent Wednesday night at Blue Valley, Neff demonstrated the collaborative game Forbidden Island. He worked with a mom and her teenaged daughter to collect treasure and then escape the island. It’s a tough game to win, but they did. Meanwhile, Thomas showed a father and young son how to create dinosaur theme parks with the game Draftosaurus. Three teen volunteers played the card games Pirate Fluxx and The Mind with a patron. Many more games were available to try, including Settlers of Catan, Wits and Wagers, and King of Tokyo.

Neff said the game nights began at Lackman in 2013. Attendance was sparse at first but he and others were confident it would take off. “We were sure there was a desire for this in the community,” he recalled. They were right. Within a year, they outgrew Lackman’s meeting room space and moved to a larger venue at Antioch. By 2019, five branches were hosting game nights year-round. “It built because of word of mouth,” Neff said. “We definitely had people talking about it, bringing friends along. We had a lot of regulars. It’s a good way to be social.”

During the pandemic, the virtual game nights also gradually grew in popularity. But Library staffers are eager to resume in-person gatherings this year. They realize it will take some rebuilding again, but believe it’s a great way to promote a sense of community. Thomas recalls watching one couple playing a game with another family and getting along well. “They ended up becoming friends and getting their kids together,” she said. It’s also a great way to learn. “Playing games actually helps you with a lot of great skills,” Thomas said, “Collaboration, problem solving, creative thinking.” She said they are geared up to have patrons back in person and connect with them through games. “Everyone is welcome at the Library,” Thomas said.

Check out our Guide from our Librarians: Explore Career Options

When choosing a career, assess first your interests, personality and skills. Then match that information with occupations. These are tools to help you do that. Get help identifying your skills and interests. Get advice on how to choose a career based on your personality. Discover what careers match your skills. 

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!

Bilingual Storytime/ Hora de Cuentos – Monday, March 20, 10:30 – 11 a.m.

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

Space is limited. Pick up a free ticket at the Questions Desk when you arrive.



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.

Hay cupo limitado, al llegar a la biblioteca tome un boleto gratis en la recepción.

One-on-One Genealogy Help – Tuesday, March 21, 9 a.m. – noon

For One-on-One or DNA and Genetic help, visit the Johnson County Genealogical Society at www.jcgsks.org to schedule an appointment. A volunteer will contact you by email to set up an in-person or a Zoom session link for you prior to the scheduled date.

Tabletop Games – Tuesday, March 21, 6 – 7:45 p.m.

Join us at Monticello Library for a fun-filled evening with family members and friends, old and new, and become a part of the Johnson County tabletop gaming community. Kids, teens and adults can enjoy a variety of games together, including collaborating to escape the Forbidden Island, getting creative with a round of Dixit, or strategizing their way to victory as King of Tokyo! Discover and learn new games from our collection or bring your personal favorite to share. Come and go as you please. Refreshments are provided. Each month, our gaming librarians will feature a family-friendly game and teach you how to play it. Monticello's featured game for March is Forbidden Island.

Two Chapters Book Club – Wednesday, March 22, 4 – 5 p.m.

Come read with us at the Central Resource Library! A librarian will read aloud the first two chapters of a favorite book and you can decide to check out a copy to take home if you like it. If the chapters are short, we might sample more. We’ll have snacks and activities related to the book. Ages 7-11.

History on Tap presents: The Kansas City Monarchs and America’s National Pastime – Wednesday, March 22, 7 – 8:30 p.m.

Kick off the baseball season right with the fantastic conversation on the Kansas City Monarchs at the Shawnee Town hall! Featuring Phil Dixon, historian and co–founder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, we will explore the impact of the Negro Leagues on America’s Favorite Pastime. The history of Negro League baseball in America mirrors the racial strife experienced by African Americans in society, and was plagued by discrimination, racism, and inequity while its athletes were celebrated for their resiliency, professionalism, and athleticism. The Kansas City Monarchs barnstormed across Kansas and the region to play more than 400 games against local towns between 1920 and 1957. Alcohol is served at this event so attendees must be 21 or over. 

This event is in partnership with Shawnee Town 1929.

And much more happening this week …

Oak Park Library, located at 9500 Bluejacket St. in Overland Park, has been a cherished neighborhood branch since 1970. It has a cheerful, family-friendly atmosphere that’s popular with patrons who walk or drive in from nearby residential areas. But the building needs updating, which is due to happen later this year.

Oak Park Library will be closed for renovations beginning Monday, Aug. 7 through mid-December. In addition to infrastructure upgrades to electrical and HVAC systems, a few of the changes you’ll notice include paving and entry enhancements and remodeled public restrooms. 

No services will be available at Oak Park during the closure period. Returns, holds pickup, public computers, printing and copying, meeting rooms and access to the collection are available at our other 13 locations across the county, including Central Resource Library (9875 W. 87th St., Overland Park). Central Resource is less than two miles from Oak Park and features a convenient drive-thru for holds pick-up and materials return. 

Here are a few important dates to keep in mind: 

• Friday, July 21 is the last day to request an item for holds or Interlibrary Loan pick up at Oak Park. After this date Oak Park will no longer show as an option for a holds pickup location.
   
• On Tuesday, Aug. 1, all not ready/pending holds with a requested pickup location of Oak Park will be reassigned for pickup inside Central Resource Library. You can also log into your Web Catalog account and change the pickup location, or suspend your hold until Oak Park reopens.
   
• Saturday, Aug. 5 is the last day of services at Oak Park. Available holds not picked up by close of business at 5 p.m. will expire.

​​​​Branch Manager Jared Harper said those renovations will help ensure a bright future for this wonderful branch. “What distinguishes Oak Park now is it is an older Library that has charm to it,” Harper said. “It is a branch that is really well loved in the community.”

Harper said many parents fondly recall visiting the branch as children and now enjoy bringing their own children there. One added amenity is its location adjacent to Overland Park community garden plots. Oak Park was built during a time of great population growth and new residential development in Johnson County. Voters approved a $1.5 million bond issue in 1967 to expand Antioch and Corinth and to build two new branches: Cedar Roe and Oak Park (originally called the Southwest Library and then renamed for the adjacent Oak Park neighborhood).

Oak Park opened Nov. 3, 1970 and held an open house dedication in February 1971. It expanded in 1982.

After Central Resource Library opened in the mid-1990s on 87th Street, just two miles north of Oak Park, Library leaders briefly considered closing the Oak Park branch in 1999. But countless patrons sent postcards, pleading to keep it open. They praised the convenient location, the collection, the friendly staff and the vibrant atmosphere. Oak Park stayed open.

“It’s such a fixture in the community,” Harper observed. 

Oak Park is in the middle of the pack as far as busyness, but it has the largest circulation of any Johnson County branch without an automated sorter. In 2018, it recorded more than 197,000 visits and circulated more than 291,000 materials.

In the early 2000s, Oak Park was known as the hub for Latino services, including English Language Learner classes and other programs. Then-branch manager Maggie Vallazza was passionate about reaching out to the Latino community, as were Spanish-speaking staffers Christine Peterson, German Perilla and others.

In 2015, Harper explains, Spanish services were expanded throughout the system. Vallazza has retired and Peterson is now based out of Central, concentrating on youth Latino services. But Perilla continues to serve Spanish speakers who visit the branch, which retains the largest Spanish-language collection in the Johnson County Library system.

Now, Oak Park is known for serving young families, with a large and diverse children’s collection, heavily-used computer stations and a popular Holds service. 

Last year, the branch shut down for about a week to remodel the circulation area for better work-flow and to update the staff break room. This year’s improvements will require a prolonged closure but are timed to come after the busy summer rush. Harper said patrons can visit Central Resource Library during that time. More changes are expected in 2024, when the branch is due to get new shelving and some new furniture.

“Getting new shelving next year would just really brighten up the space,” Harper said.

It’s another grand Throwback Thursday where we encourage you to time travel through Johnson County's history. JoCoHistory is a collaborative presentation of the history from the Johnson County Museum, Johnson County Library and many JoCoHistory partners. Explore historical photographs and documents about the people, places and organizations of Johnson County, Kansas, from the 19th century to the present.

Collection spotlight: Johnson County Museum Aerial Photographs

About this collection: More than 8,000 color slide transparencies that are aerial views of Johnson County. The collection consists of 45 dated sets. The sets range in quantity from just a few transparencies to several hundred, dating from April 1980 to July 2002, and each set systematically documents the county from west to east. The sets were typically taken twice a year, in the spring and fall, to document agricultural land-use. Each transparency centers on two square miles.