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Breaking Ground at Lenexa City Center Library
At 8:15am on Tuesday, November 28, 2017, County officials gathered to break bread – er, donuts – and ground at the site of the forthcoming Lenexa City Center Library. Construction of the branch is at preliminary stages: permits are being pulled, equipment and trailers are being moved into place. It might not look like much, or, well, anything now, but Lenexa’s 40,000 square feet on two stories will double the size of and replace our current Lackman Library. Opening is expected mid-to-late 2019.
Throwback Thursday
Happy National Opposite Day! We searched the JoCoHistory for something worthy of this "holiday" and came up with a Johnson County masquerade party! This was the Olathe Club of the Deaf posing in costume for the "opposite sex" masquerade party of February 24, 1951.
See more local history at jocohistory.org or follow our hashtag on Twitter.
New Friends Board on Board
The newly-seated board of directors of the Friends of Johnson County Library lost no time in getting oriented and getting down to work.
Members spent the morning of January 6 together catching up on Friends history and reviewing accomplishments from the past few years. The first full board meeting of the year, on the following Tuesday, January 9, heard lively discussions about committee assignments and strategic direction for the Friends in 2018 and beyond.
The Board also toured the MakerSpace at Central Library. The Friends Bookstore at Central now sells a few supplies useful in the MakerSpace. Business is, so far, good!
The Board has plans to travel its monthly meetings around the system to get to know Libraries and programs better. They'll visit the Friends Sorting Center in February and the Antioch bookstore in April. The executive committee, under the able direction of President Julie Steiner, plans to work with the Library and Foundation to flesh out strategic planning during the course of this year.
If you're interested in joining the Friends, we'd love to have you! Become a Friend today »
Welcome Stephanie Stollsteimer!
We warmly welcome Stephanie Stollsteimer as our new Executive Director for the Johnson County Library Foundation. Stephanie joined the team on Monday, January 8, 2018.
Stollsteimer has a Master of Business Administration degree and her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. She has worked for a range of not-for-profits and has a passion for libraries and public service. She previously aided United Soccer Coaches as Marketing and Membership coordinator. She has also worked with the Kansas City Ballet, the Women’s Foundation of Greater Kansas City, and as Executive Director of the SkillBuilders Fund.
We’re grateful for the professionalism and experience that Ms. Stollsteimer brings to the Foundation mission of helping the Library build its collection and resources, offer programs for patrons of all ages, and better serve the needs of our community.
Shawnee's New Maker-made Chess Set
Shawnee Library has a new chess corner, with pieces and a board made in our Black & Veatch MakerSpace! Come over and play!
Have Fun with Books!
One of our 6 by 6: Ready to Read Early Literacy skills is "Have Fun with Books." Children who enjoy books and are interested in them will naturally want to learn to read! Educators and researchers use the term print motivation to describe this area of early literacy. We've got lots of ideas about how to help little ones see that books, words, reading, rhyming are fun! Watch our Librarian Megan's fun rhyme "Two Little Rhythm Sticks" with your little ones, and then head over to our Have Fun with Books page for lots more fun ideas!
We've Gone to the Dogs
Conversations with Bronwen Dickey, author of Pit Bull: The Battle Over and American Icon, pet adoption events, guest speakers from KC Pet Project and more this Spring!
Pet a Bull, Saturday, Jan 27, 12:30pm @ Antioch Library
Pet Adoptions, Saturday, Jan 27, 1:45pm @ Antioch Library
Pet a Bull, Saturday, Feb 10, 11am @ Leawood Pioneer Library
Pet Adoptions, Saturday, Feb 10, 12:30pm @ Leawood Pioneer Library
The KC Pet Project Story, Wednesday, Feb 14, 8am @ Central Resource Library
Evolution of a Pit Bull with author Bronwen Dickey, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 12pm @ Central Resource Library
Pit Bulls in our Communities with author Bronwen Dickey, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 6pm @ Central Resource Library
Pit Bulls as Targets of Breed Specific Legislation with author Bronwen Dickey, Wednesday, Feb 28, 8am @ Central Resource Library
Pet a Bull, Saturday, March 10, 11am @ Gardner Library
Pet Adoptions Saturday, March 10, 12:30pm @ Gardner Library
Read to a Dog all Spring long at multiple branches.
Making TV, Literally!
Make48 is an invention competition and a nationally televised show on PBS. One of our MakerSpace gurus, Nick Ward-Bopp, volunteered at the most recent competition as a tool technician at the beginning of Season 2 filming. The Make48 team came to the MakerSpace to shoot some footage Monday, Jan. 22. Our MakerSpace and Nick are ready for their closeups!