Did you hear?

Spring into collection suggestions and recommendations! Guest Librarians Piepie and Charles join host Dave to talk about the best titles, genres, and sub-genres to put a little spring in your Spring! Check out the recommendations mentioned in this episode »  

Warm up to recommendations that we know you'll love so much! Charles continues as host while Dave continues working with his team to build a new website. Charles is joined by Patron Support Specialist Kelsey and Program Support Clerk Cara to share Winter Wonders picks from our collection. But we don't stop there as Brian reads Charles' "'Twas the Night Before the Podcast"—a re-conception of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and Charles treats us to his mad skills on the euphonium as he shares "Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, 'Winter'" by Antonio Vivaldi. Listen and please let these wonders brighten those dark days of winter! Check out the recommendations mentioned in this episode »

We have recommendations to help make your fall more cozy! Charles takes the host seat and is joined by Librarians Piepie Baltz and Allie Gibler to recommend books and more from our collection that will make you feel cozy as we begin to spend more time indoors during the fall. Check out these recommendations mentioned in the episode »  

Wanna get away? We've got your passport to podcast pleasure. Join Charles, Gregg and Dave for beach-reads, summer audiobooks and the Library as a “third space.” Segments: 03:47—Beach-reads 16:56—Summer-worthy audiobooks 26:25—The Library as a third space  

Subgenre Deep-Dive: Momoirs What's a Momoir you ask? Well, a Memoir, as you know, is essentially a personal account of memories—it's narrative nonfiction. A Momoir is a personal account of memories from a mother's perspective. We invite you to enjoy another collection deep-dive with Gregg as he hosts a discussion with Kelsey and Caitlyn about a subgenre worth your time and attention: Momoirs! 

There is a lot of good in Johnson County. Our schools, libraries, parks, cultural diversity and community. Those things don't happen without the vision and hard work of unsung heroes who fight the good fight and overcome odds. On this episode of the JoCoLibrary Uncovered podcast, Andrew Gustafson—Curator of Interpretation, Johnson County Museum, Arts and Heritage Center—presents the fascinating stories of three individuals who truly helped make this little corner of the world that we call home, better. Learn about the contributions from: John Barkley  Corinthian Nutter  Erik Erazo  Their stories are intriguing, and yet, they are Unsung Heroes! Our Unsung Heroes Recommendations:   Charles' Choices: Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age by Kurt Beyer and DNA: Secret of Photo 51  Dave's Double-feature: Everything Everywhere All at Once (a Kanopy offering) and Underdog  From our catalog: Unsung Heroes Reading and Website Link List

Let's Cozy Up to the Romance Genre Did you know that Romance is the most popular fiction genre out there?  It's true! According to WordsRated—a research group that focuses on the book industry—romance novels sold 39 million volumes from 2022 to 2023, bringing in $1.44 billion.  This is probably not news to those readers out there trying to request some best-selling romance novels and finding long holds lists for authors like Colleen Hoover. Her books became a popular on TikTok last year, and though we now are doing a better job keeping up with demand, when it released in October of 2022 her book “It Starts with Us” already had nearly 900 people with it on hold through the Johnson County Library.  What draws people so passionately to this genre? For those who may have never picked up a romance novel, where should they start? Gregg is back with some friends who just might have the answer to those questions! What draws people so passionately to this genre? For those who may have never picked up a romance novel, where should they start? Gregg is back with some friends who just might have the answer to those questions! Our Romance Recommendations:   Charles' Choices: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen & Hot and Badgered by Shelly Laurenston Dave's Double-feature: Pretty in Pink and High Fidelity From our catalog: Romance Favorites!

“Libreria” vs “Biblioteca” Have you ever been confused by a word that looked like another word? You know, like bear and bare or idol and idle?   Today's episode of JocCoLibrary Uncovered isn't about homophones or false cognates. But it is about how words can seem like one thing but mean something else, particularly in Spanish, and especially the words "Biblioteca" and "Libreria."   We're a bit past the mid-way mark of Hispanic Heritage Month, so it's fitting that our Latino Services Librarians, Christine and German, are our guests today. They do the hard work of explaining cognates and how words that look like other words can lead to confusion.   We also discuss the confusion that comes when a person experiences a Library in one country and then moves or visits another place, and how that can sometimes influence perceptions of what Libraries are like away from home. To some, differing understandings of what libraries are and are not in other countries may affect their perception of what Johnson County Library offers patrons—and Christina and German help us clear that up.   Our Recommendations:     Charles' Choices: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Gótico) & Our America: a Hispanic History of the United States by Felipe Fernández-Armesto   Dave's Double-feature: visit the streaming video section of our eLibrary. On Kanopy you'll find "Guie'dani‘s Navel." And look for "Visiones: Latino Art & Culture." This is a series that explores visual art, performing arts, music and dance as a way to discover Latin American culture.    Learning Links: jocolibrary.org/español German Perilla, Univision KC, Falsos Cognados Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month Fiction for National Hispanic Heritage Month! Photos of Libraries in Bogota Columbia Biblioburro the Library Donkey

Creative Nonfiction In his writing blog, Find Your Creative Muse, Dave Hood provides a great summary definition of Creative Nonfiction: “A historical text presents the facts and causes and effects, and significance. Creative nonfiction does the same, but also adds narrative, including storytelling, dialogue, setting, character development. Writing Nonfiction History relies on an authoritative tone and is written in the third person."  In this episode, we interview Jim Cosgrove, author of the creative nonfiction title Ripple: A Long, Strange Search for A Killer. You may be familiar with Cosgrove as a nationally recognized, award-winning children's entertainer known by young fans as Mr. Stinky Feet. He is also the author of three children's books and Everybody Gets Stinky Feet, a collection of inspirational essays from his time as a parenting columnist for The Kansas City Star. Cosgrove spent his time during the COVID pandemic and subsequent lockdown to finish his incomplete investigative work focused on finding the killer of a family friend, Frank McGonigle. His resulting book, Ripple, is Cosgrove's story about Frank's cold case. He uncovers connections to a ruthless local crime boss and the blunders by the threadbare sheriff's department. “Our story is no different from what a lot of families have dealt with. A child, a brother, whoever. They got murdered in a violent way that didn't make any sense. ~Ripple, A Long Strange Search for a Killer - Jim Cosgrove We use Jim's book as an exemplar of creative nonfiction because he walks us through his experience researching and writing. We truly get the story behind the story! We also bring in Local History Librarian Amanda Wahlmeier who walks us through regional reference resources available so you too can research the next great creative nonfiction true crime novel! Our Recommendations:      Charles' Choices: Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and The Wickedest Town in the American West by Tom Clavin & The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.    Dave's Double-feature: visit the streaming video section of our eLibrary: On Kanopy you'll find Capote—a biographical drama about the author Truman Capote and his writing of the non-fiction novel In Cold Blood. It details the 1959 murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. And, All the President's Men—both the movie on DVD and the book by Carl Bernstein. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford star in this true story of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovering the White House involvement in the Watergate break-in.   From our guests: search for Jim Cosgrove in our catalog and you'll find the title we discussed today: Ripple in print, eBook and downloadable audiobook formats. You'll also see 12 other titles by Jim—music and books for kids—which just goes to show what a diversely talented individual Mr. Cosgrove is!   From our catalog: Creative Nonfiction   A Helpful Writing Resource: Find Your Creative Muse. Learn How to Write Poetry, Fiction, Personal Essays, and More, a blog by Dave Hood.

It's National Preparedness Month which is an observance each September to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. So, get prepared: Get informed (we suggest registering at NotifyJoCo for emergency alerts.) Make a plan Assemble a Kit Maintain your kit And, make sure there's a good book in that kit! Can we suggest a Post-apocalyptic fiction title? We welcome back Gregg Winsor and friends to take a deep-dive into Post-apocalyptic fiction—a subgenre of science fiction where some disaster has occurred, and we discover IF the characters were … prepared. Our Recommendations:   Charles' Choices: The Passage by Justin Cronin & Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton Dave's Double-feature: visit the streaming video section of our eLibrary—: On IndieFlix you'll find a 14 minute Drama/Science Fiction film from 2022 called Riley. On Kanopy under one of our favorite categories—The Great Courses—learn about Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature.  From our catalog: Post-Apocalyptic Stories  Important Preparedness links: Official National Preparedness Month website: ready.gov Notify JoCo FEMA and the American Red Cross: Preparing for Disaster American Public Health Association: Natural Disaster Preparedness Quiz    

In honor of Labor Day, we invited five staff members with very different behind-the-scenes jobs to answer three simple questions. You've heard the saying, “That's like comparing Apples and Oranges” right? Well, Dave and Charles take it one step further with Apples, Oranges and Bananas. We picked staff with jobs that touch every part of the Library system—Josh: the Warehouse Manager, Patti: the Executive Assistant, Bryan: a Courier, Julie: a Training Specialist and Brian: a MakerSpace Facilitator. Hear what these individuals do and learn about the Library from unique perspectives. We even let them play Librarian and suggest great titles.        Our Recommendations:   Charles' Choices: Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull Dave's Double-feature: Apollo 13 and Seven Samurai in Kanopy  From our catalog: every title mentioned in the episode

"Like most cities during Prohibition, Kansas City had illegal alcohol, bootleggers, speakeasies, cops on the take, corrupt politicians and moralizing reformers. But by the time the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed, Kansas City had been singled out by one observer as one of the wettest cities, as well as the wickedest.“      ~ Prohibition in Kansas City, Missouri: Highballs, Spooners & Crooked Dice by John Simonson  Your history-loving hosts, Charles "T-Bone" Hower and the "Jackalope"—AKA Dave "Curtains" Carson—spill the beans and sing like canaries to reveal the darkside of Kansas City history. It's Kansas City True Crime on the JoCoLibrary Uncovered Podcast.  Join us as we explain how a lawless culture that began before the Civil War evolved into political and criminal empires that ultimately drew the FBI's focus as they fought to put an end to decades of crime and violence. We bring in special guest Erik Stafford who is a historian, storyteller and a Kansas City History Tour Guide to shed some light on stories that have lived in the dark for too long. Show notes and booklist for recommended reading and research.

What is the difference between thrillers and mysteries? What are good recommendations in each of these genres? Readers Advisory Librarian Gregg is back with colleagues Piepie and Bet to do a deep dive into thrillers and mysteries and titles that are a good mixup of the two genres. Our Thriller and Mystery Recommendations:   Charles' Choice: Hell is Empty, Craig Johnson Dave's Double-feature: No Country for Old Men and Memento in Kanopy in our eLibrary From our catalog: Thrillers and Mysteries

Bonus Episode! In June of 2020, we produced a podcast episode about J. Robert Oppenheimer. It was part of a series we called "Author Research in Action" where we invited two guests—one an award-winning author, and the other a subject matter expert. We stepped back let them interview each other and we recorded their conversation. Considering the movie Oppenheimer—The story of the American scientist and his role in the development of the atomic bomb—is currently in theaters, we thought it appropriate to revisit this episode.   Reference Librarian Helen Hokanson hosts a discussion on the Manhattan Project and so much more. Los Alamos National Laboratory Program Manager and Senior Historian, Alan Carr is paired with author Robert J. Sawyer, who's written a new SciFi/historical fiction/thriller called THE Oppenheimer Alternative.  Our recommendations:    There are more than 240 Booklists on Oppenheimer in our catalog One of our Librarians produced a list titled: Thanks Oppenheimer! Another of our Librarians created a list that acknowledges the cultural impact of both the Oppenheimer and Barbie movies: Barbenheimer 2023

What is a hobby? Some say it's any activity you might engage in during your leisure time for pleasure. We disagree. Vehemently! We say it has to have some personal enrichment component. Why? Well mostly because we have so many great leisure time resources that we couldn't fit them into one episode!  Last month we talked about fun activities that bring you pleasure. This month, we're exploring how the library can help with your enriching leisure activities. The Librarians are back to provide a deep-dive into hobbies. Readers Advisory Librarian Helen Hokanson leads a discussion with librarian Jess Gilson, MakerSpace facilitator Lydia Perez and clerk Joyce Mitchell. They share their hobbies and introduce you to all kinds of Library resources.    Our Hobby recommendations:    Charles' Choice: Model Railroading in our eMagazine section Dave's video recommendation: go to jocolibrary.org/elearning, scroll down to the “Great Courses” section and click: “Go to Great Courses.” You will land on the Kanopy page with all of the Great Courses categories. Loh and behold, the second row is the category “Hobbies!” Learn how to draw, cooking techniques, dog training and more! From our catalog—Hobbies  

July is National Anti-boredom Month. We combat boredom with fun! If you listen to public or community radio, or you watch PBS, you are very familiar with “The Fund Drive"—that's "fund" with a "D." We're not going to do that! Instead, we'd like to introduce a NEW concept—an annual FUN drive—that's ‘fun' without a ‘D'. That's right: “Fun Drive”  See, while a “Fund Drive” garners funds, a “Fun Drive” gathers what our Librarians and Patrons consider “fun"—we're talking guilty pleasures, passions, interests, whatever you engage in just for the fun of it. We then take a deep-dive into Library programs, services and even the collection to show how the Library can help you have fun and win your battle against boredom!  It's a fun episode. Literally. Our Fun recommendations:    Charles' Choice: Kirby and the Forgotten Land for Nintendo Switch   Dave's Double feature: streaming video from Kanopy. Waiting for Guffman & Pee-Wee's Big Adventure   Fun Drive Recommendations from our catalog   And, what's more fun than Dad jokes?  

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” – Emily Dickinson If you look up the term "hopepunk" online, the first definition offered up describes it as "A branch of speculative fiction featuring characters fighting for positive change, radical kindness, and communal responses to challenges." But, we can't just leave it at that. We need examples! Readers Advisory Librarian Gregg Winsor drops by with Josh Neff and Jo Field who share Hopepunk titles that they hope you will enjoy. Our Hopepunk recommendations:    Charles' Choice: Sourdough by Robin Sloan   Dave's Double feature: streaming video from Kanopy. Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour and Alone   Hopepunk Recommendations from our catalog  

Individuals faced with temporary detention at the Adult Residential Center (ARC) in New Century, KS, rely on access to Johnson County Library materials on their road to recovery. Incarcerated Services Librarian Melody Kinammon introduces us to members of the ARC therapeutic community, Phil and Dia. They share how exploring books and using the on-site library has helped them. Also, Youth Services Librarian Jayma Zook shares her experience with Read to Me—incarcerated parents are recorded reading aloud and the Library provides a copy of the recording and the book to their child. It's all part of what we call: “Outreach Services.” We uncover programs, stories and services you might not have known about.  Our recommendations:     Charles' Choice: Night of the Ninth Dragon by Mary Pope Osborn (from the Magic Treehouse Series)      Dave's Double feature: streaming video from Kanopy. Language and Literacy Development and Father and Daughter.     Melody: Literature for Justice reading list with a variety of titles—nonfiction and fiction—that address the United States criminal justice system.   This is a list she's always updating!     Jayma: The Daddy Book and The Mommy Book. She says both are very popular with the Read to Me crowd, but one that comes to mind that talks specifically about incarceration is Missing Daddy by Mariame Kaba.  It has a discussion guide at the end to help facilitate a discussion with kids about this hard topic.     Books mentioned in the episode: JoCoLibrary Uncovered - Incarcerated Booklist

Acclaimed author Jacqueline Woodson—who will join Johnson County Library to launch the All Together Now 2023 Summer Reading program—talks about her writing and reading with Readers Advisory Librarian Gregg Winsor. Woodson discusses how she navigates jumping between genres and audiences, her writing process, collaborating with illustrators, and connecting with communities through outreach. She even gives us a glimpse into her upcoming book!   Jacqueline Woodson's books at Johnson County Library.  

Our librarians are back and this time Gregg Winsor brought a couple friends along—librarians Caitlin Perkins and Wendy Gish—to talk in-depth about their favorite weird and wild science books! "Microhistories" are a genre of nonfiction books dedicated to a deep-dive on one particular topic, like snails, psychedelics, or communication amongst trees.    Our recommendations: Charles' Choice: American Serengeti by Dan Flores Dave's Double feature: streaming video from Kanopy. Super Size Me: The Fast-Food Industry in America. and NOVA Universe Revealed: Milky Way. Weird and Wild Science Recommendations

It's almost time for Summer Reading and who better to recommend kids titles than kids?! We attached googly eyes to our mighty handheld recorder and took to the stacks to ask over 20 children which books they love and what they like about them. We also asked adults what their favorite books were when they were kids. This episode is 20 minutes of pure joy that will leave you with a list of gems, and just might remind you of what sparked your interest in reading to begin with! Recommendations from our collection: Charles' Choice: Last Stop on Market Street – Matt de la Peña Dave's Double feature: Kanopy Kids: Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend and Kitten's First Full Moon Library Kids on Library Books list Adults Recall Their Favorite Books From Childhood list  

Welcome to our first collection deep dive episode! We begin with a genre selected by our readers advisory librarian Gregg Winsor, “Books about book lovers.” Gregg will be serving as more of a moderator for most of our future deep dives, but for today he has brought a couple friends along—Piepie Baltz and Kelly Downs—to chat about their favorites in the genre. JOCOLIBRARY UNCOVERED Podcast Collection Deep Dives: Books About Book Lovers recommended reading list.

In this episode of JOCOLIBRARY UNCOVERED, it's a deep dive into the Library's relationship with the arts. Johnson County Library supports the Local Arts in so many ways! Start with our collection. You'll find many types of arts books at the library – graphic design, architecture, photography, how to books, journals turned into books, knitting books. We provide exhibition spaces for artwork to be displayed at several branches and it changes out three times a year. We cohost a major film festival with the city of Lenexa. We produce a nationally renowned Teen Arts and Literature publication: Elementia featuring original work by teens in our community. And, the MakerSpace provides a space for you to be hands-on with your craft. Charles and Dave talk with Librarians Bryan and Jen about these and more.    

A Kaleidoscope brings to life an endless variety of shapes and patterns. What would a kaleidoscope of sound be like? We dedicate this episode to the harmonious melody of voices, tones, music and other noises that bring the Library to life every day. Explore the world of Library sounds with us in three segments: past, present and future. Past: Celebrate the best podcast moments of the year. Present: Experience the auditory kaleidoscope created by a mosaic of sounds found in the Library. Future: Hear what Elissa Andre, external communication manager, is most looking forward to in 2023!

We are thankful for you our listening audience and for the many good people, ideas and things that fill our lives with coziness and "comfortable conviviality" with feelings of wellness and contentment. We dedicate the episode to warmth and thankfulness. We explore the concept of Hygge, interview two chefs to help you stretch yourself as a home cook and create delicious dishes that will make your Thanksgiving feast more flavorful, and we even interview a turkey. A big shout out to Chef Brett Dehart who is co-owner/operator of two kitchens at a very popular food hall in downtown Overland Park. Much appreciation to Chef Kolika Simmons who is a chef and food blogger. Many thanks to them for adding their expertise to this episode! And finally, our gobs of gratitude to our gobbling thespian, Brian Berrens who played Larry the Turkey!

Our eighth annual Writers Conference will be Thursday, Nov. 17 - Sunday, Nov. 20. In this episode, Readers' Advisory Librarian Helen Hokanson and Adult Services Specialist Lisa Allen talk about our 2022 Writers Conference. How do we choose our faculty? Do we take potential presenter suggestions? How does the in-person experience differ from the virtual version of the past couple of years? We have fun taking a deep dive into these questions and feature readings by authors Anne-Marie Oomen and Polly Alice McCann. 

Our tribute to game shows continues with Library Jeopardy and Wheel of Fiction! Whad'ya know about the Library? Join former Jeopardy auditionee, Austin, as he does such a great job hosting that even Alex Trebek would be proud. Charles and Dave battle in a head-to-head Library trivia tournament of titans! Then, we bring in in Collection Development Librarian Beth and Reader's Advisory Librarians Gregg and Helen. They spin the wheel, but will it be fortune or failure as they are given book descriptions from our catalog and they're asked to identify titles? Spoiler alert, we chose really hard ones!  It's the Library Lowdown Quiz Showdown Part II!  BTW, if you missed Part I where we play Bluff the Librarian and Library Password, whad'ya waiting for?!

We love quiz podcasts and radio programs like “Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!” We also live for getting to know everything there is to know about Johnson County Library! What do you know? What do we know? Get ready for a variety of Library games! In this fantastically fun episode, we play Bluff the Librarian with Local Arts Librarian Bryan and Library Password with Matt, Patti and Courtney. Be sure to stay until the end when we announce the winners of our at-home crossword and word search!

Extra! Extra! Hear all about it! Did you know the Johnson County Library has a podcast? If not, this special episode is the perfect place to begin listening. By spending a mere 15 minutes with us, you too will be able to answer with a resounding "Yes!" to the question: "Did you hear?" We discuss the annual one night only party at the Library we call: Library Lets Loose. You are not going to want to miss this festive, lively after-hours celebration and fundraiser for Library Lovers at Central Resource Library. If you are 21 years or older, we invite you to join our Honorary hosts Senia and Will Shields to enjoy food, drink, music, our MakerSpace and truly good people! Tickets and more information: libraryletsloose.org

Are the kids headed back to school? We have resource for them, for the little ones who aren't quite old enough yet, for you and for anyone who just wants to learn something new! We bring in the experts with the super Librarian knowledge and skills to give you and yours an advantage. Our lineup? eResources: Hope Harms, Collections – eResources Librarian. Special power? She CAN judge a book by its cover! Kids: Emily Devore, Youth Services. Special power? She can read four books at a time turning pages with both hands AND both feet! Carrie Worth, Youth Service. Special power? Book teleportation. She makes an art of hands-free shelving. Teens: Kate McNair, Teens. Special power? Makes a mean vegan chocolate cake!  It's the Back to school episode. It's everything you need to know in 20 minutes!

Do you make? We at the Library encourage you embrace the creative process in some way by making something. What? Well, anything you want! Need ideas? You can always visit our MakerSpace. Online, we have In-depth tutorials and Circulating Maker Kits. In-person, you can make something as simple or complicated as you want with equipment available to you to make your project come to life. Try 3D Printing, CNC Cutting, Computers & Software, Electronics, Laser Cutting, Sewing and Vinyl Cutting. Do you want to start small? Then grab some supplies and join us as our friends from the MakerSpace guide you  through an exciting hands-on Make-along activity! Adults or adults with children will have fun with this activity. Supplies: Polymer clay Rolling pin or dowel rods A couple popsicle sticks (or two pieces of something flat and about 1/4" thick Textures–you can come into the MakerSpace to create textured dowel rods or patterned plates, but you can also just look around your house! See what you already have. Heavily textured fabrics, cookie or mint molds, plant leaves or pasta would all work. Be creative.  Small cookie cutters  Listen and Make!

This kid-friendly family episode explores Summer Reading 2022 in the most fun way possible. We interviewed snow cone-loving Narwhals, a dolphin with an infectious laugh, a starfish who knows he's a star, a euphoric crab who's not crabby at all, a jellyfish who loves peanut butter, a very deep tuna and many more aquatic creatures to get book recommendations and hear about their favorite parts of summer reading. If you're not careful, you might just learn something about these citizens of the sea! We hope you enjoy these aquatic antics!   Check out all of the book recommendations mentioned in this episode. Music by:  Moonlight Beach by Kevin MacLeod  Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/6671-moonlight-beach  License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license  Chee Zee Beach by Kevin MacLeod  Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3490-chee-zee-beach  License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license  Beach Party by Kevin MacLeod  Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3429-beach-party  License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license 

Today on the Did you hear? podcast, we explore MESMERIZING MEMES AND MORE (supply your own echo effect) We give you some history, the behind-the-scenes philosophy, strategy and everything else when it comes to creating social media content for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

April - Silver and Gold We asked the same 10 questions of an employee who just began her career at Johnson County Library and of an employee counting down the days until retirement. Their answers may surprise you!

Well, we've done it! We've reached the last episode in our seven-part series we've called "Discover Your Library." We saved the best for last! In this episode, we explore the collection. What better way to begin than with a reading from an author in our collection, Sierra Simone? We follow that with interviews with every member of the collection development team to reveal some things you probably didn't realize about how and why the Library chooses what to include in our collection. If that weren't enough, we hear from musical guest Alisa Jefferson! 

We have arrived at part seven of our eight-part Discover your Library series. In this Did you hear? episode, we give you a behind the scenes look at our Events. Programs and Events Coordinator Joseph Keehn talks about what led him to Johnson County Library and how his job has changed over the years—including adapting to the challenge of programming during COVID. Several Librarians call in to share memories of their favorite Johnson County Library event. Author and panel presenter from our largest event, the annual Writers Conference, Nick Lopez, shares an original written work that won our 2020 Imagine Your Story Writing Contest. Dave's a serpent and Charles is Mongoose. We get a new lead in the In Search of Paul Rudd segment. So, what are you waiting for?

Some call it Civic Engagement. We call it Community Matters! The Library has a plethora of programs, events, services and resources for you, yes you, to be a more informed citizen.  Ashley Fick drops by to share her journey to becoming our Civic Engagement Librarian. We get the inside scoop on the "how," "what" and "why" behind Legislative Coffees, Civics 101, Gather at the table, the News and Views group, Librarian Research Guides and Elections.   Members of the Civic Engagement committee phone in to share why they participate on this important team and explain why community matters.  Charles talks to Community Matters book club coordinator Melanie Fuemmeler. Our music guest is Jill Westra & Them KC Boys sharing the track "Speedin' Again" and an essay from author Virginia Brackett. Come spend an entertaining hour with us. Who knows, this might just be the episode where we finally find Paul Rudd! (Spoiler alert ... it's not.)

We're back again for your monthly Library Insider. it's the Did you hear? podcast and we are on part 4 of our Discover Your Library special. This month? The Arts!  Music, art exhibitions, writing ... we have so much to offer artists and you! In this episode: Musical guest The Wires Local Writer Martha Gershun reads her short story: "The Hatch" Local Arts Librarian Bryan Voell chats about exhibitions, our new Artists in Sight on demand offerings, and the local music blog  We sample an interview with Artist Sol Anzorena A talk with artist Dianna Bartel and so much more! Art is transformative and transcendent. Let us take you away for the next hour or so.  

We wanted to hear our Librarians' journeys.  We were especially interested in stories from Librarians who've: had multiple positions at Johnson County Library held the same position for many years had interesting career paths leading them to us Now, we used the label "Librarian" loosely. We wanted to include the stories public-facing staff as well. This is the third episode in our Discover Your Library series of the Did you hear? podcast.  Join us for these often funny, sometimes touching and always compelling stories!  

"Our Patrons" is the second in a series of seven episodes we're devoting to the theme: Discover You Library! here on the Did you hear? podcast. Our Librarians chime in to share their favorite stories about our patrons. It's sometimes funny, often heart-warming and always interesting. Join Charles and Dave as we attempt to answer the question, "just who are our patrons?"

Exciting news! We were able to record in-person for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. Not-so-exciting news...the audio isn't perfect—we're rusty. But, listenable? Yes!  In this episode we have even more exciting news. We're introducing a 7-part storytelling series we're calling "Discover Your Library." From now until the end of the year we will be sharing stories from patrons and Librarians. We'll look behind-the-scenes of our events and our collection. We'll explore the connection between the Library and civics. We'll reveal how the Library plays an important role in supporting local arts. We introduce you to our new series AND we play some fun getting-to-know-you games so you can learn a little bit more about your podcast hosts. Did you hear?  

It's another Did you hear? podcast episode with Shannon, Jack, Charles and Dave! In this episode, we offer closure to poetry month and suggest poetry should not be confined to a single month. We crammed this episode full—like an over-stuffed el grande burrito—with flavorful content from all kinds of tasty angles. (OK, we're not poets, but we love poetry!) Hear poets featured in elementia A look back at our Poetry Walk and how it lives on digitally Exciting upcoming poetry writing programs and a visit from an impressive author Physical art as poetry What happened to KCUR's New Letters on the Air? Our haikus! Your haikus! And the latest installment of In Search of Paul Rudd All this and more! It's the Poetry episode and it's not to be missed. When is this delightful episode available? Right now! 

What do we mean by "Parents as Teachers"? Well, parents as teachers can mean being involved in your child's K-12 education--COVID distance learning or not. But, COVID has maybe forced many of us to be a bit more involved. Whether it's homeschooling or home learning that complements traditional school, Library resources available to help. Parents as Teachers describes the role, relationship and resource of you as a critical educator. We pursue stories loosely-related to this broad theme and have some fun as well. Be sure to stick around until the end for another edition of In Search of Paul Rudd.

The Did you hear? podcast makes its triumphant 2021 return. It's been a while since you last heard from your Library insider, but we're back! This year, we have some changes. We are now a monthly podcast. New episodes are released on the first day of each month. Also, we now have a small group of hosts who bring behind-the-scenes stories to life for our thematic episodes. This month's theme? "Things You Can Still Do at the Library." We bring you stories about Udemy, the MakerSpace, a retiree helping you make sense of mint.com and budget, and bringing famous authors to storytimes. All this and Dave has a brain glitch causing him to forget the name for the prestigious annual award for children's book illustrators (Before you scream at your phone or computer, it's the Caldecott Award.) Enjoy!    

Did you hear? host Dave presented on podcasting--specifically for Libraries and nonprofits--at the Kansas Library Association's annual conference. We share his presentation as a podcast episode. Enjoy. Here's the description we provided for the program:We believe subscribable communication is an effective and fun way to reach library audiences—even those you’d never think are podcast addicts. We want to share the lessons we’ve learned over the course of two years and counting while producing the Johnson County Library’s “Did you hear?” podcast. It’s been a twisting and turning journey. We’re ready to help you develop your own pod-voice! Find about strategies taken to engage listeners (and listeners-to-be), how to include library staff in unexpected ways, and why we don’t devote every episode to an upcoming library event. Don’t let the maze of equipment and platforms or time that might be involved intimidate you—we cover all that technical stuff too! This is our last episode of 2020. Look for our return in 2021 with some fun changes!    

Cash Bail. What is it and why are we talking about it on the Did you hear? podcast? The Library has always been engaged in the community and we're committed to serving all of our patrons. If you weren't aware of the numerous community outreach services we offer, have a look! Representing our incarcerated services, Librarians Kate and Flannery interview Lauren Worley of KC Bail Fund. 

It's another 5 for 5 episode. We talk to another 5 groups of people about 5 topics for 5 minutes at a time. This time around: Instagram MakerSpace Steamroller Printing Press Online Storytimes Newsletters galore Super Special Mystery Guest We thought about adding even more goodness into this episode, but there is such thing as too much of a good thing.  

We go around the Library to hear from 5 different voices for 5 topics 5 minutes at a time! We call it Five for Five. In this episode: Census wrap up Career and Finance online series Book party Debate watch parties  Collector’s corner  If this episode had any more goodness stuffed into it, there'd be an explosion of confetti.

In this episode of Did you hear? we present the winners of our Youth Fantasy Writing contest this summer. We talk about this amazing contest and hear from some of the winners. Kids from 3rd through 8th grade participated and we think you'll be impressed by these young authors.

We’ve got another “Author Research in Action” episode for you! Just a reminder--we take an award-winning author, and let them dive-into conversation with a subject matter expert! In this case, both authors did their research from inside. Inside what or where? For that answer, you just have to listen ...

We have a number of online events including gaming! What kind of gaming? Well, after watching the epic 80’s-set Sci-Fi series Stranger Things, have you become intrigued about the role-playing game: Dungeons and Dragons? In this episode, we talk a bit about online programs and invite three staffers to show Dave the ropes as they play a round of D&D! The following music clips were used as the soundtrack to our epic adventure: The Descent by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4490-the-descentLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Strength Of The Titans by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/5744-strength-of-the-titansLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Hidden Agenda by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3872-hidden-agendaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/