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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!

One-on-One Genealogy Help – Tuesday, Feb. 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.

Young Adult Literary Council – Wednesday, Feb. 22, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Teens are invited to join the Young Adult Literary Council at the Monticello Library to share favorite books, pick up advanced reader copies of teen books to read and review, and participate in other fun activities such as author visits, game days, event planning and more. Meet new people and receive volunteer credit hours for your time with us.

Johnson County Genealogical Society Monthly Meeting – Saturday, Feb. 25, 10 a.m. – noon

Enjoy a genealogy program and visit with JCGS members about your research and family history. Free and open to the public. Meets in the Carmack Room at the Central Resource Library. February meeting topic is “Finding John Johnson” – Alice Hoyt Veen, Founder of Prairie Roots Research.

Kansas City Brick Lab Brick Exhibition – Saturday, Feb. 25, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Check out the imaginative creations of KC Brick Lab members at the Central Resource Library. This local Lego group fosters Lego innovation, and you may get inspired to build something of your own! There will be extra pieces available so you can play around with Lego and meet other builders. All ages are welcome, but we do ask if you bring children that they don’t touch the display items.

And much more happening this week …

Johnson County Library has received a prestigious national certification for best practices in volunteer management, following a rigorous process that helped make its excellent volunteer program even better.  

In late 2022, the Library’s volunteer program became Service Enterprise Certified by the Points of Light Foundation and ALIVE (Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement). Only 11 percent of nonprofits nationally achieve this certification, which focuses on 10 key areas of successful volunteer management. 

“At the end of the day, I think this provides a better experience for the volunteers, and I think it’s also about opening up our mindset to how we can utilize volunteers,” said Volunteer Services Coordinator Amber Bourek Slater. “I think about some of the new ways we are engaging volunteers.” 

County Librarian Patricia Suellentrop said the certification timing was ideal.  

“Our organization is redefining staff roles and updating goals for our next strategic plan,” Suellentrop said. “Service Enterprise is helping us see how skilled volunteers can support staff to serve our community in new ways.” 

In summer 2021, Johnson County Library was selected for the program through the Kansas Volunteer Commission. Bourek Slater participated in four months of training, joined by staffers Thomas Parks, Matt Hammes and Matt Morgan, who work with volunteers at various branches. The Library received coaching from Meg Pearson of the Kansas Volunteer Commission, to develop and implement an extensive volunteer program improvement plan. 

The results are already evident. The number of volunteers grew from 581 in 2021 to 790 in 2022 and the return on volunteer investment grew from $3.78 to $6.68 for every dollar invested in the volunteer program.  

“Our coach was ecstatic at how much the return on investment had increased,” Bourek Slater noted. 

The Library retained 107 volunteers from before COVID in March 2020. Many dedicated individuals have been with the organization for years. Teen outreach also grew to the point where 54% of volunteers are young people.  

Through the certification process, the Library improved its annual volunteer survey, created a detailed volunteer handbook, enhanced outreach in the branches with an informational brochure and developed new volunteer opportunities.  

Bourek Slater said the survey showed strong volunteer satisfaction. It also revealed the diversity of volunteer skills. For example, one person shared that he has voice-over experience, so he’ll narrate a new volunteer training video. 

Parks, the volunteer liaison at the Leawood branch, said the certification training was helpful.  

“Leawood is a very busy location and volunteers help complement what we are doing,” he said, adding that many volunteers are retirees who find great purpose in working at the Library. 

“When you are engaged with volunteers,” Parks said, “you get to see other perspectives and skills that volunteers bring to the Library. They bring enjoyment to the staff and other volunteers.” 

Bourek Slater said a few other Library systems nationwide have achieved this certification, including Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Boulder, Colorado. They have been a great resource in sharing the benefits of this work. 

The certification process helped identify the volunteer program’s strengths and areas needing improvement. Strengths include a database that allows the Library to recruit people and track volunteer hours. One area needing improvement was communication with the Library’s administrative leadership and Board, which is already happening.  

It all amounted to many small changes making a big difference for volunteers and the Library alike, Bourek Slater observed.  

“For the volunteers who are here,” she said, “if we’re engaging and we’re listening and we’re making this a meaningful experience for them that they want to be a part of, that’s great.” 

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: Lenexa Historical Society

About this collection: This collection is comprised of over 3,500 images relating to the history, development and people of Lenexa, Kansas. Particular strengths include area construction projects, photos of the Legler Barn Museum, the Lenexa Centennial celebration of 1969 and early landowners. The photographs were collected and maintained by the Lenexa Historical Society, who are headquartered at the Legler Barn Museum in Sar Ko Par Park.

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. 

Join the Scribblers Society! Offered at Antioch Library, Scribblers Society invites young writers ages 10-14 to this one-hour collaborative writing club. Writing prompts, activities and encouragement will be provided as we confront the blank page and build a community of writers with monthly meetings.



Registration is required; please register for each month. All who register receive a workbook and notebook for their writing!

Register now »

Library OnDemand – Available anytime you like.

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

Mother Goose Rhyme Time – Tuesday, Feb. 14, 10 – 10:30 a.m.

An active program at the Antioch Library of songs, classic rhymes, and fingerplays to introduce your little one to the sounds of rhymes and music to give them a head start on language learning. Designed for ages 12 months to 24 months and a caregiver. Siblings welcome. Space is limited. Pick up a free ticket at the Questions Desk when you arrive.

Tabletop Games – Tuesday, Feb. 14, 6 – 7:45  p.m.

Join us at Central Resource 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. “Ticket to Ride” is the featured game for February.

Maintain Your Ride – Thursday, Feb. 16, noon – 1 p.m.

Get your hands dirty and learn to keep your bike in tip-top shape at Central Resource Library with this free class from Johnson County Library and BikeWalkKC. Live and in-person at the bicycle fix-it stand in front of Central Resource Library, our instructors will teach you how to keep your bike in good working order with a few basic tools and some practical know-how. You will learn how to clean and lubricate your chain, fix a flat, adjust shifting and braking, and other basic bike maintenance skills. We’ll also show you how to use the Library’s bicycle fix-it stand. This is a hands-on class!

Legislative Coffee – Saturday, Feb. 18, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Discover what’s percolating in the Kansas Legislature. 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 at the Lenexa City Center Library.

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:

• Senator Dinah Sykes, District 21
• Representative Linda Featherston, District 16
• Representative Jo Ella Hoye, District 17
• Representative Brandon Woodard, District 108

Young Adult Literary Council – Sunday, Feb. 19, 1 – 2 p.m.

Teens are invited to join the Young Adult Literary Council at the Blue Valley Library to share favorite books, pick up advanced reader copies of teen books to read and review, and participate in other fun activities such as author visits, game days, event planning and more. Meet new people and receive volunteer credit hours for your time with us.

And much more happening this week …

Have you enjoyed the chess sets at Lenexa City Center Library? Our staff there often indulge in a game of chess on their work breaks.

Improve your game with online resources and live chess tutoring from Brainfuse HelpNow or stream "How To Play Chess" from The Great Courses on Kanopy, available with your Library card!

People who have been incarcerated or who require Johnson County Community Corrections supervision often need help with re-entry into normal life, including finding jobs, mental health therapy, educational opportunities or other community services. In answering that crucial need, the Johnson County Corrections Department and Johnson County Library have teamed up to offer monthly Community Resource Fairs at Central Resource Library. These one-stop shops provide access to a host of vital agencies and referrals on the road to successful re-entry.

The Central branch, 9875 W. 87th St., hosted its first resource fair Dec. 13 in the Carmack Room, with about 25 or 30 agencies and about 25 clients. It went so well that future gatherings are planned the second Tuesday of every month in 2023. 

“It’s just another great partnership with Corrections and Johnson County Library,” said Incarcerated Services Librarian Melody Kinnamon, who has worked closely with Corrections for five years to connect justice-involved clients with Library services. “Why the Library loves it, of course, is we get people into the Library. We want to connect with them and let them know all about what we can do with them.”

The idea first surfaced last year with Corrections officials who wanted to provide a central gathering space to build relationships among the agencies and clients. They quickly outgrew a large conference room at Lenexa’s Corrections location on West 87th Street, so approached Kinnamon for options. “We chose the Library because it provides a neutral atmosphere,” said Stacy Wilmes, senior case manager with Corrections. “It’s so supportive. If you walk in, you will see there are a lot of people in our community with a passion to help. If we offer this opportunity, we may be able to help identify and fill gaps that Corrections alone can’t.” 

Wilmes said she worked with a team of about eight colleagues on this important project. They want to provide sustained support and encouragement, breaking down barriers for people overcoming significant challenges. Clients are often under felony supervision and may be dealing with the aftermath of domestic violence or substance abuse offenses.  “We’re looking at long-term, generational change,” Wilmes said, adding that many clients don’t realize what the Library and other community partners offer.

Wilmes and her colleagues greet the clients at these fairs and personally connect them with providers to address their needs, such as community college courses, job training, volunteer mentors, medical and dental care, school opportunities for their children, and housing and transportation referrals. Providers also connect with each other in positive ways. “We really build on these relationships,” Wilmes said. Client testimonials say the events exceeded their expectations. They felt welcomed and valued. 

“It was convenient to have this all at one place,” wrote one client.

“It was a lot more helpful than I thought it was going to be,” wrote another client. “I don’t feel like I was just another person there. I actually felt like they all cared about bettering my life and not just trying to sign me up for random stuff.”

Wilmes said research shows that access to these types of quality referrals greatly improves the chances for long-term, successful behavioral change. Kinnamon believes Central Library is ideally located for this collaboration. It’s also a place where these justice-involved individuals were able to discover the MakerSpace, view art on the walls and get Library cards and an introduction to many online services.

“It was a great way for me to tell them about all the things we do for free,” she said. “Now, they are in this wonderful learning, exploring environment that is the Library.”