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READ to a Dog with Pets for Life – Tuesday, March 7 or Wednesday, Mar. 8, 3:30 –  5 p.m.

Join us at the Antioch Library on March 7 or Central Resource on March 8. The Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program 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 dogs.

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

Join us for a fun-filled evening at the Gardner Library 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. This month our featured game is Dixit.

National Genealogy Day Open House and Resource Fair – Saturday, March 11, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Join us at Central Resource Library to connect to your past for a day of discovery to begin your family research journey. Tour the genealogy area, learn about Library and Society resources, pick up a resource kit with forms and information and get one-on-one help from Society members. Attend sessions on internet genealogy, Find a Grave, Ancestry.com and more. Visit genealogy themed group exhibits in between these wonderful sessions! RSVPs help the Library estimate the number of expected attendees and allows us to contact guests when unexpected changes occur. Registration is not required to attend. Additionally, registration does not guarantee a reserved seat.

Legislative Coffee – Saturday, March 11, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Discover what’s percolating in the Kansas Legislature at the Gardner Library. Representatives and Senators with constituents in Johnson County will discuss the new legislative session, followed by Q&A. You bring the questions; we provide the coffee and doughnuts. Registration is not required to attend in-person.

Can't join us in-person? This event will be streamed live on YouTube. Register for this event and a Johnson County Library staff member will contact registrants via email the day before the meeting with instructions on how to attend virtually. You do not need to download any software or create an account.

Attendees will include: 

• Representative Allison Hougland, District 15
• Representative Bill Sutton, District 43
• Representative John Resman, District 121

And much more happening this week …

Dog + kid + book = fun!

Give your kids a fun, laid back chance to practice by reading to a dog or cat. These friendly, certified therapy pooches and kitties are ready to listen (along with their human teammate). A child's reading improves with practice – and the dog or cat's vocabulary will benefit, too!

Pencil in a pup appointment at a nearby Library »

Genealogy, the study of one’s ancestors and family history, has become an all-consuming passion for many people, especially with the advent of online records and DNA tests. 

In Johnson County, people have access to an incredible resource, thanks to a partnership between the Library system and the Johnson County Genealogical Society. Central Resource Library houses the materials and the Society provides knowledgeable volunteers, creating a tremendous information destination, free of charge. More information is on the Library's genealogy research page.

The partnership will be on full display when Central brings back Genealogy Day in person March 11, after a hiatus due to COVID-19. The event will be free and open to the public 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  

Genealogy Day attracted 300 people on March 7, 2020, just before the pandemic disrupted normal activities. The Genealogical Society, based at Central, went online for nearly two years. It resumed in-person services after Central underwent a major renovation and reopened in February 2022. 

Genealogy Day is just one example of a relationship that has benefited the Library and the Society since 1973. 

Marsha Bennett, Society vice president of education and outreach, describes Central’s Genealogy area as “like a library within a library.” The Society collection totals about 8,000 items, made available to the public through the Library, including books, newspapers on microfilm, maps, Native American records, obituaries, directories, yearbooks and other archival materials to help people research their past. Databases also connect patrons to military, Census and other vital records. 

The Genealogical Society provides volunteers every day except Sundays to work one-on-one with patrons, often serving as detectives to help unlock family mysteries going back generations. 

“Having the genealogy volunteers here is invaluable to the Library,” said Local History Librarian Amanda Wahlmeier. “We do not have the staff capacity to offer these services. They have the expertise that staff does not.” 

Many people only know family trees to their grandparents, and have no idea how to start looking further back to learn their origin story. “It’s a matter of helping people find their ancestors,” said Darlene Jerome, the Society’s immediate past president. “I tend to think of it as finding their roots.”  

Genealogy Day will include presentations about Ancestry.com, exhibits about DNA testing and activities for kids. It will also showcase new and exciting features, including the recently-released 1950 Census records and the Memory Lab. 

Society members are particularly excited about new Memory Lab equipment, purchased with a JCL Foundation grant. Scanners and other devices will allow people to convert old photos, slides, 8MM movies and other documents to digital formats such as a flash drive. Beginning April 3, patrons can use the equipment for free, by appointment. 

“You can take [that digital information] home,” Bennett explained. “You can put it on your computer. You can put it on your phone. The nice thing now is you can then share information easily with family members.” 

This is the Society’s 50th anniversary project. Such cutting-edge technology is available in about 15 Library systems nationwide but is unique to this region.  

“There’s nowhere in the whole Midwest that is doing this,” Bennett said. “No other libraries.” 

The Genealogical Society receives queries from places like California and England and can now help people virtually over Zoom. More than 800 people attended the society’s monthly meetings in 2022 and interest is spreading among young people. 

Jerome says the Library/Genealogical Society partnership has blossomed in the past five years, sparking questions from other Library systems. 

“I’ve been contacted twice in the last six months from other societies that know of our relationship and want information,” she said. “They are envious.” 

It can only grow and keep getting better, Bennett agreed. “It’s just a win-win for everybody.” 

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: Overland Park Historical Society

About this collection: Over 1,300 photographs documenting Overland Park life with special emphasis on local businesses, the Strang Line interurban railroad and school personnel.

Begin your journey with the Black & Veatch MakerSpace. No matter if you are an entrepreneur or just a tinkerer getting started, we invite you to take that first step down a path of creativity, curiosity, learning and making. 

The artists and small businesses featured in this video got their start in the Black & Veatch MakerSpace!

• David Christopher Coss – An IT technician by day, Coss’s colleague told him about the free-to-use laser cutter in the MakerSpace for efficiency in his sculptural creations. Coss displays his work in galleries and art fairs across Kansas City. 
• The Puzzle Playground – Business owner Eddie Kempf’s father-in-law had long designed puzzles but had no desire to run a business and wasn’t sure where to start with manufacturing. Once Kempf discovered the free laser cutter at the MakerSpace, they were able to turn their hobby into a full-fledged small business with hundreds of designs. They sell at art fairs and maker markets in the region. 
• Chemically Speaking – Warren and Erika are a husband and wife out of Olathe who had an idea for science and nerd-themed barware. The MakerSpace was the perfect place to test their concept and later launch their business on Etsy, where they are now rated one of the site’s star sellers. 
• Amado Espinoza – Amado Espinoza is a Bolivian multi-instrumentalist, composer and professional instrument builder. When he couldn’t find some of the traditional Bolivian instruments he needed here in the States, he decided to build his own in the MakerSpace. He and his wife utilized the space on a regular basis for a number of creative projects and refer their friends to its resources. 

What will be your journey? 

The Black & Veatch MakerSpace at Johnson County Library offers a wide variety of resources to the community at no additional cost, no matter your age or level of technical skill. Maybe you’ve always had a creative idea but no clue where to start, or want to save money by doing a project or repair yourself. MakerSpace staff can direct you to the right programs and tools to accomplish your goal and help you in every step of the process. 

Here are a few fun ideas on how residents can utilize the Black & Veatch MakerSpace in the new year: 

• Looking to get organized? 3D-print organizational tools customized to fit your space such as drawer dividers, hooks and boxes. Download templates from Maker-recommended sites such as Printables.com or Thingiverse.com and MakerSpace staff can help you set the dimensions you need. 
• The new year is a great time to refresh your style. A tutorial on the MakerSpace Instagram page walks viewers step-by-step through the creation of fun and funky acrylic earrings using the laser cutter, tape and paint. 
• If you’re planning a big trip or family reunion in 2023, use the vinyl cutter and heat press to make personalized shirts for everyone in your group. MakerSpace staff can help you create a unique design, or you can purchase templates online from sites like Etsy. 
• Redecorate by using the CNC router to carve signs or artwork for your home from wood. More ambitious DIYers have even created custom cabinetry! 
• Save money by repairing and tailoring your clothing using one of the MakerSpace’s two sewing machines and serger. Snag a spot in one of the Intro to Sewing classes this spring and you’ll be hemming like a pro in no time. 
• Don’t have time to come into the Space but looking for a creative outlet? Reserve a circulating Maker Kit for fun projects the whole family can do together at home. 

A full list of offerings, equipment tutorials, FAQs and more are available at the MakerSpace section of the Johnson County Library website. While reservations are not required to use the equipment, they are highly recommended. Walk-ins can be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis if there are no existing reservations.  

Johnson County Library’s MakerSpace, located at Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th St in Overland Park, is supported through a generous grant from Black & Veatch. The space is open Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Sunday (closed Wednesdays). Hours vary by day – call 913-826-4600 or visit jocolibrary.org/makerspace for more information.  

One of our teen reviewers recently read and reviewed Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Yuval N. Harari.

In the nonfiction novel Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari takes the reader on a journey through the human experience from the homo genus’s creation until now. He accomplishes this by focusing on how the three principal revolutions - cognitive, agricultural, and scientific - came to be and how they shaped our development. The first of them, the cognitive revolution, touches on how we developed our trademark intelligence. The second, the agricultural revolution, touches on how we transitioned from hunter-gatherer societies to villages that farmed and herded livestock. Finally, the scientific revolution touches on the start of technological development and scientific exploration.

This novel, Sapiens, is arguably the best book I have ever read. The language is easy to understand, and the content both relatable and fresh; I only have praises. Whether you love nonfiction or are like me and stick mostly to fiction, I believe this is a book everyone should read. The only score it deserves is five out of five stars for its astounding ability to enlighten and inform any reader.

Check out Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind »

Whether it's finding activities to keep them busy or understanding what's going on inside their heads, being a caregiver of young children can be challenging. Each month's caregiver workshop explores a different topic to support and enrich relationships between kids age birth to 6 and their caregivers. In March, discover American Sign Language to use with your baby. Presented by Shira Fogel, founder of Tiny Talkers.

Caregiver Workshop: Intro to Baby Sign Language

March. 1, 7-8 p.m.

Register »