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First commercial building: grocery, cigar store and confectionary.
Overland Park's Past in Pictures
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.
De Soto, Edgerton, and Spring Hill Renewal Study
Johnson County Library invites you to share your thoughts on how our community branches in De Soto, Edgerton, and Spring Hill can better serve you and your families, friends, and neighbors.
Your honest feedback during the De Soto, Edgerton, and Spring Hill Library Renewal Study will guide the conceptual designs our Library Board will review and approve later this year, with construction anticipated to begin in 2023.
Share your thoughts in one of two ways:
- Join us for our virtual event:
Join our Information and Listening Session 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 3. You will hear from Library leadership and representatives from our design team Clark & Enersen about the project before splitting into breakout rooms for the individual branches. Registration is encouraged but not required.
- Take a survey:
Tell us about your experiences with our Library services and facilities in this quick survey. The survey will take approximately five to 10 minutes to complete and contains a mix of multiple choice and open-ended questions.
Please contact us with any questions regarding this study. Thank you in advance for your time, and we look forward to seeing you soon at the Library!
Triumph Over Your Taxes
Need to print a form, find a resource, or get some assistance with filing? The Library and AARP are here to help.
Federal tax forms and instructions are available to pick up at the Central Resource Library.
The Tax Help Guide contains tons of resources compiled by our librarians. You'll find:
- Federal and State forms. (We're happy to help you print any form at any location for 15 cents per page.)
- Ways to file your taxes for free.
- Resources for tax help.
- Formularios de impuestos (taxes) y ayuda en español.
- Book lists full of tax-related titles.
AARP Kansas Tax Aide provides free tax assistance and preparation for low- and middle-income taxpayers with special attention to those ages 50 and older. You do not need to be a member of AARP or a retiree to use this service. To make an appointment, go to www.kstaxaide.com or call the AARP at 913.735.5489. AARP provides this service at several Johnson County sites, so be sure to explore other locations for the best availability.
This Week at the Library
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!
News & Views – Tuesday, Mar. 1, 10-11 a.m.
Join other members of our community to discuss timely topics popping up in books, newspapers, podcasts, television shows, and more. Read a book or an article, listen to a radio show or a podcast, watch a documentary or news segment on the topic at hand and come ready to discuss. This discussion will focus on the relationship between race and the media. We've curated a list of titles that address how race is portrayed in stories, representation in the newsroom, and why this subject matters. Pick one from our list or read your own!
Public Service Loan Forgiveness: The Time is Now – Tuesday, Mar. 1, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
The PSLF program grants tax-free loan forgiveness of borrowers' entire federal student loan balance after making 120 monthly payments while working for a "qualifying" employer. The U.S. Department of Education recently announced major changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program which temporarily relaxed requirements allowing many people to receive credit for past payments if certain criteria apply. The relief is time-sensitive with a deadline of October 31st, 2022. If you work for a 501(c)3 nonprofit, the government or military, this is a session you won’t want to miss! Presented by Jason Anderson, CPA, CFP, Senior Consultant at Gradmetrics.
Book Discussion: Station Eleven – Wednesday, Mar. 2, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
The only thing better than a good book is talking about it! This Spring we're offering both in-person and virtual book discussions. Register to save your spot. Registrants will receive a copy of the book that they will then return to us at the end of the session. Wednesday, March 2 we're discussing Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Register for this program online or call 913.826.4600.
Caregiver Workshop Series
Would you like to learn about the benefits of Process Art for young learners? Join us, as an art educator from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art helps us explore how children can use everyday household items to engage in an artistic process that promotes language development, innovation and confidence.
Caregiver Workshop: Power of Play in Process Art with the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Tuesday, March 8, 7 p.m.
Register »
After this event, you'll be able to watch the program on Library OnDemand, where you can also watch the other programs in the Caregiver Workshop series »
Artist Loves Serving Community as Lenexa Library Clerk
Lisa Jacobs-Haberstroh has worked in the insurance industry and has had her own business as an artist. For five years, she was an enthusiastic roller derby competitor in her spare time.
But she has really found her niche working for Johnson County Library, first at the Gardner branch and now as a clerk at the Lenexa City Center branch.
“I have very much enjoyed my time. I basically have been put on this planet for camaraderie and collaboration,” Jacobs-Haberstroh says. “That’s what I’ve learned about myself. The people that work at the Library are amazing. They are creative and nice and great to be around.”
Jacobs-Haberstroh’s father was in the Army and the family moved around a lot. She was born in Germany and also lived in New Mexico, New York and Florida. After graduating from an arts magnet high school and community college in Florida, she moved to Kansas City to attend the Kansas City Art Institute, where she studied printmaking and art history.
She had a passion for drawing and for printmaking (linoleum cuts and wood cuts) but had student debt and knew she needed to make a living. So after graduation she got an insurance company job.
As a kid she had enjoyed roller skating. Some Art Institute friends talked her into joining them in the Kansas City Roller Warriors, a roller derby league at the Winnwood Skate Center.
“That’s what I did for fun and relaxation, for release, camaraderie,” she now says. It was a lively sport, complete with fake fights. It’s where Jacobs-Haberstroh met her husband, Ryan, who was a roller derby referee and would “break up my fights.”
Injuries forced her to quit, but she has kept in touch with those good friends and now does yoga to stay fit.
After she got married in 2013, she left the insurance company and created her own printmaking business, called Shorticorn Studios. But doing art by herself in her Shawnee home was lonely.
Several roller derby friends had enjoyed being Library clerks in Kansas City, Kan. Jacobs-Haberstroh had always loved to read, so she looked for Library job openings and was delighted to be hired as a page at Gardner Library in 2015.
Ultimately she became a clerk at Gardner, went to Oak Park, and then was hired on the team that helped open the Lenexa branch in 2019.
She really enjoyed interacting with patrons on the desk. Clerks now work mostly back office, and Jacobs-Haberstroh cherishes her colleagues. She also loves helping patrons at Lenexa’s drive-thru and while she’s shelving books.
“It’s a really beautiful space,” she says about the Lenexa branch.
Even during the pandemic, Lenexa has remained busy. “We’ve been really excited seeing how the public will use the space,” she said. “They can finally come in and start getting comfortable.”
She now pursues art for enrichment, not business, and has a stockpile of prints to share with friends who visit. Her home studio is called “The Glitterdome” because she glittered the floor with 16 pounds of gold glitter and floor epoxy so it shines like a diamond.
Her husband enjoys wood-working, and she sometimes accompanies him when he flies his model planes. She has four cats to cuddle with in winter and enjoys gardening in summer.
Working for the Library feeds her soul. “I really believe in Libraries, in what they give to the community,” she said. “The way we are open and there for whatever the public needs us to be.” 
1911 Kansas School for the Deaf football team
KSD Archived in Images
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: Kansas School for the Deaf
About this collection: Over 4,000 images documenting the history and culture of the Kansas School for the Deaf. The photographs depict student life, faculty and staff gatherings, school buildings, athletic teams and auxiliary deaf activities in the region.
Travel the World with CultureGrams
No passport? No problem! Explore bite-sized information from CultureGrams about history, culture and geography of states and countries around the world.
World Edition contains reports on 209 countries and territories—including every United Nations member state—focusing on categories like language, personal appearance, greetings, visiting, family, life cycle and more.
States and Provinces Editions feature colorful, easy-to-read reports that describe the diversity and history of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and all 13 provinces of Canada. Each report includes maps, flags and symbols, as well as sections on history, economy, geography, population, indigenous peoples and recipes.
Kids Edition teaches kids more about the world around them. Each report contains images, historical timelines and fun facts, along with sections on history, population, “life as a kid,” games and sports, education and more.
Central Resource Library is fully open once again!
The main portion of Central Resource Library has been closed since February 2021, and we have all been eagerly awaiting reopening. We are excited to announce today is the day!
Find the ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by County Librarian Sean Casserley on our Facebook page! Watch it live at 2 p.m. or watch the video later.
What's changed? Among the highlights:
- More study/conference rooms. This project will add or relocate five public study/conference rooms, as well as rooms on the staff side – adding availability for patrons.
- An expanded, relocated Kids area (see our time lapse video capturing the transformation of the space) with more natural light, window seating and a storytime room.
- A new drive-thru for patron returns and holds pick-up.
- Materials Handling efficiencies. Our materials handling spaces, through which new materials, holds and other Library items flow, are being reorganized for operational efficiency. We anticipate this will result in materials being available for patrons more quickly throughout the entire Library system.
Welcome back! Come discover all the wonderful changes.