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It’s another grand Throwback Thursday when 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

About this collection: The Johnson County Museum has a wide range of images dating from the late 19th century to the current day. A major focus of the collection centers on individuals and groups of people in domestic, recreational, scholarly and business settings.

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!

Facing Your Fears: Winning Your Inner Game – Monday, May 23, 1:30 – 3 p.m.

During periods of crisis and/or transition, the experience of getting stuck, being anxious or even becoming fearful will occur! Those anxious feelings are natural. This workshop offers women an opportunity to refocus, reframe and expand their thinking (around this period of change) so they can move forward, more quickly, and with renewed confidence and hope.

Interviewing is like Dating – Tuesday, May 24, 10 a.m. – noon

When finding a new job, it is important to make sure that you are a good fit for the company AND that the company is a good fit for you. There are strategies to figuring out whether or not a new job or position is right for you. This interactive workshop will help you find a workplace culture that is a good fit.

Walk and Read at Sar-Ko-Par Park – May 28 – June 5, All day 

Johnson County Library and Lenexa Parks and Recreation invite you to visit the Walk and Read at Sar-Ko-Par Park. Two stories, “Hello Ocean” by Pam Muñoz Ryan and “Just Be Jelly” by Maddie Frost, will be posted.

And much more happening this week »

As a child growing up in St. Joseph, Mo., Becky Carleton went regularly with her mother to library Storytimes, where she learned the fundamentals of language, reading and early childhood literacy. She still has incredible memories of the librarian who led those Storytime sessions.

“She was so wonderful. We called her Auntie Bea. She was one of my favorite people in the world,” Carleton recalls.

Now, Carleton leads Johnson County Library Storytimes as “Miss Becky” – instilling a love for reading and learning in a whole new generation of children.

It was a long and winding path to get to this point. Carleton’s family moved to Johnson County when she was in 7th grade. She didn’t enjoy formal schooling and worked as a nanny and at other jobs. But she had always seen libraries as sanctuaries of knowledge, satisfying her curiosity as a self-taught learner. She got a job in 1993 in the Periodicals Department at Antioch Library, launching what has become a wonderful career.

“It made me feel I was doing something good for the community and myself,” Carleton says. “My co-workers loved language and learning. They were my people.”

She eventually became an Interlibrary Loan clerk at Central Resource Library while earning her associate’s degree from JCCC. She also met her husband, Will Carleton, when both worked at Central. The couple married in 2004. Their daughter Kat was born in July 2006.

Carleton accompanied Kat to Johnson County Library Storytimes for nearly five years – “It was our weekly thing, just like with my mom and me” – until Kat went off to kindergarten. After that, Carleton still craved the Storytime experience.

At Central, Carleton had become an adult information specialist in 2005. She crossed paths with Youth Services Librarians Angel Tucker and Laura Hunt, who urged her to pursue her Storytime dream.

So in March 2015 she got a job as a youth information specialist at Oak Park Library, learning from Angelica Reiff, Bradley Debrick and other early childhood literacy masters. In leading her own Storytime programs, “Miss Becky” also brings the perspective of someone who participated as a child and as a parent. She knows what works to enchant and enlighten.

Storytimes had to be re-imagined during the pandemic. The youth services staff pivoted to online programming for the past two years via Facebook Live. One upside is providing access to many families who, pre-pandemic, couldn’t attend Storytimes in person.

Recently, a family approached Carleton at the Lenexa Recreation Center. They were among her regulars, but she had never actually met them. “They had only ever seen my online Storytime,” she explained. “They were so grateful.” The mom and dad shared how their one-year-old and six-year-old kids loved the sessions, and that was wonderful feedback.

Carleton currently leads Storytime OnDemand, which families can watch anytime. The short videos feature songs, rhymes and finger plays that demonstrate the 6 By 6 Ready to Read skills. Carleton will also lead Storytime on June 4 to kick off the Summer Reading program.

Working with the Library’s youngest patrons is endlessly gratifying. “I love helping them learn to read,” Carleton said. “Once you learn how to read you can do anything, and I’m a testament to that.”

She also enjoys sharing reader advisory recommendations with adult patrons and gets great satisfaction working with teenagers.

Even though she’s been with Johnson County Library for more than 29 years, she still learns something new every day. “It’s a wonderful atmosphere of growth,” she said,  "being able to learn about anything, without judgment.”

Library OnDemand – Available anytime you like.

Your doorway into live and archived programs. Arts & Culture, Career & Finance, Community Matters, Writers and more!

Silencing Your Inner Critic – Tuesday, May 17, 11 a.m. – noon

This workshop focuses on using positive self-talk and affirmations to help create a positive self-image. We also dig into how self-care is not selfish.

Goal Setting and Time Management – Wednesday, May 18, 10 a.m. – noon

This workshop will give you the skills and knowledge to identify how you currently use your time, identity your personal time management strengths and weaknesses, learn the dimensions of self-management of time and identify new habits you can implement to improve your personal time management.

Exploring Entrepreneurship – Thursday, May 19, 11 a.m. – noon

Join us for an overview of what entrepreneurship is all about. We will discuss entrepreneurship characteristics, and how to plan for opening your business.

Walk and Read at Wilder Bluffs Park – May 21 – May 30, All day  

Johnson County Library, Shawnee Parks and Rec, and De Soto Parents as Teachers, invite you to visit the Walk and Read program at Wilder Bluffs Park, located in Shawnee KS. Two stories, Boats Float! and After Squidnight, will be posted for kids of all ages to enjoy while exploring the great outdoors.

And much more happening this week »

Are you watching prices at the grocery store and the gas station go up making the balance of the savings account you worked hard to build worth less every month? 

Consider using I bonds to help your savings keep up.  The interest rate provided by I bonds is a combination of a fixed rate plus a rate based on inflation that is updated every 6 months. The interest rate for I bonds issued from May 2022 through October 2022 is 9.62%. I bonds must be held for at least 12 months, so you may want to buy a little at a time instead of putting all your savings into I bonds at once.  TreasuryDirect.gov allows each individual to setup recurring purchases of I bonds through regular withdrawals from a bank account or through payroll deductions.  Purchases can be as small as $25, with a $10,000 limit per individual each year.   

More information about I bonds is on TreasuryDirect.gov’s Series I Savings Bonds page and information about how to automate bond purchases is on their How Do I Purchase Savings Bonds page. 

To learn about more resources for career & financial empowerment, subscribe to Johnson County Library’s Career & Finance Newsletter.