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Teen Summer Volunteering Opportunities
Several Library locations are looking for teen volunteers this summer! We’ll need help with a variety of tasks like distributing summer reading books, assisting with in-person programs, refilling book displays and other Library duties. Submit a volunteer application for one of these Library locations:
You must be 13 years old by June 1 to participate. If you don’t see a location in our list of opportunities, that means the volunteer spots at that Library are full. You can still help out by submitting book reviews or participating in our Young Adult Literary Council. We look forward to seeing you this summer!
Art Returns!
Did you know, art exhibitions have returned to our locations!
The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.
~ Pablo Picasso
You can see new works displayed Monday, May 2 to Sunday, August 21 at Leawood Pioneer and Lenexa City Center. More locations will be hosting art as well, so keep watching our exhibitions page for locations, dates and details!
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!
Resume Tips to Get You Noticed – Monday, May 9, 10 – 11 a.m.
If you are struggling with creating a resume for your first job, re-entering the workplace, or making a career change this session is for you!
Personal Budgeting Tips – Wednesday, May 11, 10 – 11 a.m.
Learn personal budgeting tips to help you create a budget. In budgeting what's most important is finding a way that works for you! This workshop will review several budgeting tools so you can be the boss of your money.
In Memory of Six Million – Thursday, May 12, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Join us for our 12th annual In Memory of Six Million Holocaust Remembrance program. Hear a survivor speak from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum via Zoom. As survivors grow fewer as the years go on, we are incredibly grateful to offer this opportunity to our patrons. The survivor will speak for 30 minutes allowing 30 minutes for audience questions at the end. The program will be recorded and available for viewing after the event.
elementia issue xix Reception – Friday, May 13, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Celebrate the 19th issue of elementia, the teen literary magazine published by Johnson County Library. Explore concepts of our theme "The Unknown" with readings from published teens, artwork, music and more.
Register by midnight on Sunday, May 8 to get a gift box (while supplies last) »
Walk and Read at Celebration Park – May 14 – May 22, All day
Johnson County Library and Gardner Parks and Recreation invite you to visit the Walk and Read at Celebration Park, 32501 W 159th Street. Two stories, Surf’s Up by Kwame Alexander and Shy Ones by Simona Ciraolo, will be posted.
Women's Employment Network
Check out our selection of events from the Women's Employment Network, including
De Soto Library: Past, Present, Future
The De Soto Library, at 33145 W. 83rd St., is one of three small community branches on the outskirts of the Johnson County Library system, along with Edgerton and Spring Hill. These branches are seen as vital anchors and gathering spots, integral to the fabric and character of their close-knit towns.
For Lori Ross, a lifelong De Soto resident and system-wide materials handling clerk with Johnson County Library, the branch is an institution and a wonderful resource for northwest Johnson County, west of Shawnee and Lenexa.
“It’s a good staple of the community,” Ross said. “It’s very much a connection to the world.”
For Branch Manager Christian Madrigal, De Soto is special because it’s a small branch where many patrons know each other and get to know the staff, talking about favorite books and developing positive relationships.
Especially before the pandemic, many residents used the branch for access to the entire Johnson County Library collection. In 2019, the branch had 1,735 card holders and a collection of 15,373 materials. It had 30,000 visits that year and a circulation of 37,000 items.
“I think the community really utilized the Holds system there,” Madrigal said. “Lots of people dropped in to use computers for job searching and to stay connected. We still have two regulars who come in every day to get the newspaper and stay current.”
For years, the branch had an active book club whose members hope to resume meeting soon. It remains a popular hub for teens, families and retirees who check out materials and rely on the Library Wi-Fi.
The branch has a storied history, and Lori Ross has an especially meaningful connection to its origins. Her great-grandmother, Edna Ross, started the first De Soto lending library in the mid-1950s, with books on shelves in the family’s store, Ross Electric and Plumbing Shop, on the town’s main street. That lending library lasted until Johnson County Library started providing a weekly bookmobile stop in 1957. By 1966, the bookmobile was so popular that it was parked in town and manned by volunteers.
In 1967, the prominent Coker family built a 1,200-square-foot Library at a convenient downtown location, next to the Post Office, near an elementary school, and just down the street from the Ross family store. The original facility, which opened in October 1967, had 3,000 titles and was leased by Johnson County Library.
De Soto continued to grow in population. By the early 1980s, it was clear the community needed a larger Library. A 3,776-square-foot building was constructed on the same site and opened in June 1982. That’s the Library that Lori Ross visited almost daily as a schoolchild for books and to hang out with friends. This year marks its 40th anniversary.
Ross and her mother Kathy now run the De Soto Historical Society on the upper floor of the old Ross family store, a block from the Library. The proximity is wonderful; people often visit the Historical Society and then head to the Library just as it opens.
Madrigal is excited that Johnson County Library is embarking on a renewal study for its community branches and is holding Listening Sessions to get patron suggestions. Working with Clark & Enersen architects, staff is looking at how to maximize the building for programs, possibly using temporary partitions to create meeting spaces. Other requests are to enhance the Spanish language collection, offer MakerSpace software and expand Library hours.
Madrigal is optimistic about the future, with the renewal study serving as a roadmap. It will be, he says, “an opportunity to provide or extend Library services that can match or be taken into consideration with our staff and patron feedback.”
Celebrate Children’s Book Week!
Join us May 2 - 8 as we celebrate Children’s Book Week! Challenge kids to talk about what, why and how they read! This year's theme is “How Do You Book?”
Need reading ideas? Here is a sneak peak at our Summer Reading booklist. Also, you'll always find booklists, recommendations and storytimes on our Birth to Six page.
Let Landscape be Your Guide!
Let Landscape be Your Guide: A Workshop with Kansas City Veterans Writing Team and Johnson County Library
While "landscape" may remind you of physical geography, for the artist, it refers to much more than a fixed physical location. Join the Kansas City Veterans Writing Team (KCVWT) and Johnson County Library as we examine all the worlds we inhabit: our personal landscapes.
The workshop will kick off with a discussion followed by workshops, critique groups and a panel discussion. We will end with a celebratory Open Mic. Our goal is to write, critique and share.
Kickoff Event
Friday, May 6, 2022
7 - 8:30 p.m.
Online event
Workshops & Discussion
Saturday, May 7, 2022
9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Online event
Register:
In Memory of Six Million - Survivors
Thursday, May 12, 2022
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Online event
Join us for our 12th annual In Memory of Six Million Holocaust Remembrance program. Hear a survivor speak from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum via Zoom. As survivors grow fewer as the years go on, we are incredibly grateful to offer this opportunity to our patrons. The survivor will speak for 30 minutes allowing 30 minutes for audience questions at the end. The program will be recorded and available for viewing after the event.
This program will be hosted using the meeting software Zoom. A Johnson County Library staff member will contact registrants via email the day before the meeting with instructions on how to access the Zoom meeting. You do not need to download any software or create an account.
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!
Personal Branding and Networking – Tuesday, May 3, 11 a.m. – noon
How do you present yourself? Join an ICG Professional Certified Coach as she talks about personal development, networking strategies, and ways to best highlight the qualities that make you an excellent employee and coworker.
Behavioral Interviewing – Tuesday, May 3, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Are you prepared to highlight your best qualities when answering questions about how you've handled situations in the past? Every interview includes at least a few behavioral interview questions – in this virtual workshop you will find out which are the most common and get tips on how to answer them.
Book Discussion: Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line – Wednesday, May 4, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
The only thing better than a good book is talking about it! This Summer 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.
Recovery Conference: Strength through Perseverance – Friday, May 6, 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Individuals with lived experience with a mental health condition or substance use, along with caregivers and the community are invited to join Johnson County Mental Health Center for the 2022 Recovery Conference: Strength through Perseverance.
Let Landscape Be Your Guide: Kansas City Veterans Writing Team and Johnson County Library – Kickoff Event – Friday, May 6, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
While “landscape” may remind you of physical geography, for the artist, it refers to much more than a fixed physical location. Join the Kansas City Veterans Writing Team (KCVWT) and Johnson County Library as we examine all the worlds we inhabit: our personal landscapes. We will begin with discussion of landscape with Paul Darling and Mark Turcotte, followed by workshops, critique groups and a panel discussion. We will end with a celebratory Open Mic. Our goal is to write, critique and share.