From Oct. 19 to 25, the 20th annual National Friends of Libraries Week celebrates volunteers who support public libraries. Locally, the Friends of Johnson County Library are marking the week by highlighting their mission of advocacy and community connection.
The Friends are the Library’s largest donor, giving more than $2.5 million since 1999. In 2024 alone, volunteers contributed over 21,000 hours and processed about 600,000 donated items. The Friends’ Book Nook, at 8281 Melrose Drive in Lenexa, is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 16,000 gently used books are available, starting at 25 cents, with members receiving a 20 percent discount.
“The heart of our organization is advocacy, but it’s also about connecting people,” said Shanta Dickerson, Executive Director of the Friends. “While book sales are important, it really is about bringing people together.”
A signature Friends program is the annual bookmark contest, which invites people of all ages to show what the Library means to them through art. “We don’t assign a theme,” Dickerson said. “We encourage people to share why they enjoy Johnson County Library and to express their creativity and storytelling in ways that are exciting for them.”
This year, more than 400 submissions were received, allowing the Friends to expand from 14 to 20 winners. Designs ranged from playful animals to clever wordplay, like coiled snakes reading “Snakes and Sensibility” and a killer whale declaring “Reading is fintastic.”
This Friends of Libraries Week, the organization will host a member open house and debut merchandise featuring this year’s winning bookmark artwork. Winners are especially excited to see their creations come to life on t-shirts, and all of this year’s winning designs will appear together on a special mug.
“Purpose and meaning matters to all of us,” Dickerson said. “Having a place to spend a couple hours a week surrounded by books and people who love books and are very pro-library is more important than ever. There is so much we can do, and the impact we can have, to make our community a little better in any way we can.”
To learn more or join the Friends, visit friendsofjcl.org. Explore all the Library resources at jocolibrary.org.
