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The Library has always been a valued and important place in my life. My earliest and happiest memories of the Library are from childhood, when my mother would take me to Corinth Library to the children’s area on the lower level. We would select as many books as we could carry to take home and share together. Inside those books were adventures, places and lessons that would help shape me as I grew up.

My parents nurtured in us a love of reading from as early as I can remember. They also set me on a course for success with a strong foundation. On many evenings after dinner all through elementary, middle and high school, my parents and I would go to the Library and seek out the books or materials each of us liked to read. The Library was the setting for time spent together. 

As I grew up, the Library continued to be the place for study and research all through school. As a working adult, the Library has been a place where I could go to research or write to support my work in education and post-graduate studies. My husband grew up in a small town in Kansas, and his mother, who was an avid reader, shared a passion for reading and the value of the Library with their family. Today, Bill and I enjoy finding great books to read and enjoy at our local Johnson County Library branch.

Through my lens as an educator, daily I see the value of our Johnson County Library as a place of support for children and families.The 6 by 6 program offers families with young children tools and information to encourage early literacy development. Storytimes, interactive exhibits and book walks that families can enjoy together are so important to instilling a love of reading in children and helping parents partner in shared literacy with their children. The Homework Help program, along with wonderful youth-focused Library initiatives like the teen literary magazine, elementia, that allow students leadership experience and a platform through which to hone their creative writing and storytelling talents, positively support young people in our community.

Johnson County Library continues to evolve to support the needs of a changing society and community. The Library-as-community-hub, where people can come to support their needs no matter their age or stage in life, is a mission to which our Library has been very committed. Offering access to technology for those who may not have it for workforce needs or to connect with critical resources can be life-changing.The Black & Veatch MakerSpace provides opportunity for individuals of all ages to explore a hobby, create an invention or launch a small business concept.

It is the diversity, not only of whom the Library serves but also what the Library offers, that makes our Johnson County Library such an important part of our community. It is not only a love of books and the Library and nostalgic memories of special times spent with family, but it is also the valuable programs and services offered that are making a difference in our community that inspire my husband and me to support the Johnson County Library Foundation.

-- Leigh Anne Neal

Welcome to another fabulous Throwback Thursday! You know that JoCoHistory is the place to time travel through local history with its Blog and collection of photos and historical documents. But did you know, about the JoCoHistory Research Tools? Here you'll find a portal to local history projects, local history on the web, a comprehensive list of Johnson County museums and historical sites and other regional museums. 

JoCoHistory Projects

• Johnson County Obituary Index

On the Web

• Kansas Memory - Johnson County
  A project of the Kansas Historical Society, this site contains digital images of letters, diaries, photographs, government records, maps, museum artifacts and much more.
• Missouri Valley Special Collections Digital Gallery
  Over 11,000 images of archival material such as letters, photographs, postcards, advertising cards and maps from Missouri Valley Special Collections at Kansas City Public Library.
• Territorial Kansas Online
  A virtual repository of archival documents dating from Kansas' territorial period, 1854-1861.
• Missouri Digital Heritage
  Digitized collections from libraries, archives, historical societies and museums all across Missouri (formerly Virtually Missouri).
• Map of historic sites
  Map of local historic places, museums and historical societies.

Local History Museums and Sites

In Johnson County:

• Gardner Historical Museum
  The museum occupies the 1893 Folk Victorian house built by Herman B. Foster. Exhibits feature topics important to Gardner history: the Grange, the Overland Trails, schools, a turn-of-the century kitchen, as well as historical memorabilia and photos of Gardner's past.
• Johnson County Museum
  Includes the Johnson County Museum of History, the Lanesfield School, and the 1950s All Electric House. The museum also features a research room with access to documents, maps, photographs and manuscripts related to the history of Johnson County, Kansas from 1820s to present.
• Legler Barn Museum
  The Legler barn was built by Adam Legler in 1864, razed in 1972 and restored in 1983 as a community Museum. It features permanent and temporary exhibits about Lenexa and the surrounding area.
• Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm
  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site is the last remaining stagecoach stop on the historic Santa Fe Trail still open to the public. Three original buildings are preserved: The Mahaffie Family Home/Stagecoach Stop, two-story Ice House, and Wood Peg Barn.
• Oxford Schoolhouse
  Built in 1877, this one-room schoolhouse operated until 1955. In 2003 it was moved from 135th and Mission to its current location at Ironwoods Park. The school is now restored and interpreted as a circa 1910 schoolhouse.
• Shawnee Indian Mission
  The manual training school attended by Shawnee, Delaware, and other Indian children from 1839-1862. The Shawnee Mission also served as an early territorial capitol, a supply point on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails, and as a camp for Union soldiers during the Civil War. The Mission was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968. The Mission also has a research library that is open to the public by appointment.
• Shawnee Town Museum
  Shawnee Town is a living history museum that opens a window to life in a small farm community in the years leading up to the Great Depression. Visitors can stroll through the 3-acre park and visit historic buildings that include a school house, farmstead, chapel, fire station, local businesses and gardens.

Other Regional Museums

• Kansas Museum of History
  Museum operated by the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka.
• Kansas City Museum
  Located within the Corinthian Hall mansion, the Kansas City Museum offers exhibits on regional history and natural history, as well as a planetarium and authentic 1910 soda fountain.

Johnson County Library, in partnership with the City of Merriam, is excited to share initial renderings of our new Library with the community. The 15,000 sq. ft., single-story building will replace the existing Antioch Library, which has served the community since 1956. The square footage is similar in size to the branch portion of the Antioch building, so the size of the collection will not change. The new Library, located on the Merriam Community Center campus off Slater St., will include several 21st century amenities that can adapt to community needs for another 60-plus years.
 
This design, by Dake Wells Architecture, is the result of collaboration between the Library, the City, and you! Our goal is to complement the existing architecture and landscape on the Community Center campus, creating a jewel for the city and a destination for residents and visitors from across the metro to play, work, relax, and discover.
 
We’ll share more details about this project this summer once the design and materials have been finalized. Until then, here are a few ways we are incorporating your feedback from last year’s public input sessions into plans for the new library:

• An eco-friendly green roof creates a visual extension of the current landscape;
• The expansive “front porch” offers a welcoming outdoor space for campus visitors;
• Sculpture-like light monitors on the roof provide natural light and a connection to nature;
• Cozy window nooks along the east and west sides of the building preserve a beloved feature of the existing Antioch building;
• A drive-thru window adds convenience for on-the-go materials returns and holds pickups.

Other anticipated improvements include new shelving that offers greater accessibility and sight lines throughout the branch, a variety of comfortable seating options, study spaces and a meeting room, new computer technology, and an interactive kids’ space.
 
We know that libraries are more than just a building—they are a collection of people of different ages, interests, abilities and needs. No matter who you are, how you want to use the library, there will be a space for you at our new Library in Merriam!
 
Construction is anticipated to begin early 2023, with the new Library open to the public in 2024. More information to come via jocolibrary.org and merriam.org; until then check out a 3D model of the new building at Antioch Library May 9-31, and in the Merriam Community Center lobby beginning June 1. 

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”

~ Ibn Battuta

Your Library Card can lead to an epic odyssey! 

Happy travelers know the secret to adventure-awesomeness: planning. 

Step 1. Have a strategy! 

Navigation

• Go old school. Get a Road Atlas. Have you ever relied on your phone for navigation only to encounter a "no-service area" for 3 hours? Never again.
• Snag a Travel Guide. Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, Fodors, Eyewitness and more guarantee a trip  tailored to your tastes.     

Entertainment

• Music. Every road trip needs a soundtrack. Years later you'll hear song from it that takes you back to the sights and smells of your roadie. Will you have phone reception? If so, our streaming music services are the way to go. No service? No worries! Good old-fashioned CDs are still available for checkout. ;)
• An audiobook. Remember how Listening to Will Wheaton voicing Ready Player One got you from here to Dallas and back a couple years ago? Get them in pretty much any format you want, even an eAudiobook.
• Snackage. You're going to get hungry and the stops are sometimes few and far between. Our advice? Snack-up! 
• Have a contingency plan for that abomination your hotel is calling "cable." An eMagazine and eNewspapers will give you solid alternatives.
• Make sure you've viewed this travel tutorial at least once before hitting the open road. :D

Step 2. Pick up your holds from your favorite location.

Step 3. Roll.

If you've browsed our Web Calendar lately, you'll notice the new look and feel. It's easy to search by keyword, filter by event type or age group, and much more! Browse what's happening »

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!

Online Bilingual Storytime / Hora de cuentos bilingües en línea – Monday, April 25, 10 – 10:30 a.m.

The whole family will enjoy this flexible Storytime. Hearing stories is a great way to spend time with your kids and help them foster a love of reading. Stories, songs, fingerplays and movement activities foster pre-reading skills. Fun for the whole family.

Toda la familia disfrutará de esta especial hora de cuentos bilingües. Escucha historias con tus hijos y ayúdales a cultivar el amor por la lectura. Al contar cuentos, interpretar canciones, hacer juegos con los dedos y realizar actividades de movimiento fomentamos las habilidades previas a la lectura. ¡Diversión para toda la familia!

One-on-One Genealogy Help via Zoom – Tuesday, April 26, 9 a.m. – noon

Basic Genealogy and DNA one-on-one help are now being held online via Zoom specific to your questions and research. Visit the Johnson County Genealogical Society at www.jcgsks.org to schedule an appointment. A volunteer will email a personal Zoom meeting link to you prior to the scheduled date.

Online Storytime –  Friday, April 29, 10 – 10:30  a.m.

The whole family will enjoy these flexible Storytimes. Hearing stories is a great way to spend time with your kids and help them foster a love of reading. Stories, songs, fingerplays and movement activities foster pre-reading skills. Fun for the whole family!

Writing Contest –  Friday, April 29, All day

For our current writing contest, we want you to write about water. In connection with our summer theme, Oceans of Possibilities, share how you felt the first time you traveled to the shore and stepped into the ocean, how water inspires or limits you, or how it shapes your work or family life. Don’t be afraid to include Johnson County’s own lakes, rivers and aquifers – while they are certainly not oceans, the water cycle connects it all. Submit at readlocal.submittable.com. Winners receive $200, and an invitation to read at a Library event.

And much more happening this week »

In March, Librarians Jayma Zook and Melody Kinnamon delivered 10 boxes of new books to Johnson County’s Juvenile Detention Center. This addition of new titles updates and expands an existing collection available to JDC residents.

“[Teen Services Coordinating Librarian] Kate McNair worked so hard some years ago to secure grants to build this collection at the Juvenile Detention Center,” Kinnamon said. “But grants aren’t always available, so we needed a more sustainable plan for keeping this collection current.”

Starting this year, the Library has set aside a portion of the Incarcerated Services Committee’s budget to obtain new titles and refresh old copies of popular books. This will allow the Library to maintain this collection just like it would at any other branch.

“This is one of the best examples of JCL Values in practice. The Library recognizes that this underserved, at-risk population needs equitable access to books to support and enrich their lives and they’ve made it a priority,” Kinnamon said.

Youth Services Librarian Jayma Zook took on the task of selecting books for this collection. The items purchased were chosen for broad appeal but also to fulfill the specific needs of the teens at the JDC.

“Jayma used her skills as a YS Librarian to make sure the collection was diverse and inclusive, and also had different formats and reading levels. She made sure there were some graphic novels and some easy-to-read titles,” Kinnamon said. “She did a great job.”