Foundation Stories

written by Shelley O’Brien, Executive Director of the Johnson County Library Foundation

In March, I started as the new Executive Director. As a consultant with the Northeast Kansas Library System, I had worked with the Johnson County team previously on their strategic road map, and I knew this was a great opportunity. Every day, I am grateful to work for Johnson County Library. It is truly an honor.

April 2023 brought lots of activities, including the volunteer appreciation luncheon, honoring over 800 volunteers who keep the Johnson County Library and Friends of Johnson County Library running. We appreciate all of your hard work and dedication.

As more legislation was passed in other states that prohibited some books in libraries, the more we learned about the right to read from Johnson County Library’s own Lacie Griffin. She gave many presentations this spring and summer locally and regionally explaining the importance of intellectual freedom. It truly is the basis of our democracy and our libraries.

The end of the summer means planning for Library Lets Loose in September. It was our best attendance ever with over 600 guests. It was such a fun evening and a great way to celebrate our library system. A BIG thank you to Black & Veatch for being the Library Lets Loose Presenting Sponsor and Julie Steiner and Stann Tate for co-chairing the event.

In October, the Writer’s Conference took place at the Central Resource Library. We want to thank the Berkley Family for sponsoring the conference in memory of the late Joan Berkley, another Johnson County Library lover and advocate.

Here at the end of the year we want to thank Foundation President Leigh Anne Neal for all of her hard work. It has been a true pleasure to work with Leigh Anne. Additionally, Vickie Trott, Ava Christie, and Ben Struby are leaving the board in 2023. We thank all three of you for your dedication and service. You have made a big difference in our library system.

We are not to the end of the year yet for final impact numbers, but I want to thank everyone who donated to the Johnson County Library Foundation this year. It means a lot to me. We are on track to give another $225,000 to the library this year from our donors and grantors. In addition, we extend gratitude to wonderful people like the late Marjorie Sams, who contributed estate gifts to the library foundation endowment. This year, we are adding over $80,000 to the library endowment fund.

Shelley’s Book Recommendations

At the end of every year, I make book recommendations for my family and friends.
(Once a librarian, always a librarian.)

At the end of 2023, I wish for you and the world more peace and prosperity. Thank you for continuing to support the Johnson County Library and the library foundation. We appreciate everyone who is a part of our community.

The word Library conjures up wonderful memories of when I was a little girl and how impactful the library was for me. I loved to read and even before I could actually read words, I read picture books making up the stories! For me it was a form of escapism from the harshness of the real world. My family immigrated to the U.K. when I was about five years old. My parents didn’t speak too much English, and both worked long hours. My brother and I were thrust into a new world not speaking or reading English.

The library became an outlet for my imagination, and through reading, I traveled the world, visiting magical places.  In England, the libraries were old, stately, almost gothic buildings, often with little daylight from small windows and dim lights. The furniture, old wooden desks and chairs dotted around, and one could always find a nook or cranny to sit and read a book or do homework and study for a test. My school library, in particular, resembled what we have all seen in movies like Harry Potter – a place that stirs the imagination for all.

My friends and I enjoyed spending a day at library, returning read books and searching for new ones to check out, proudly walking home with our finds. It was a safe place for us to spend time with each other and witness the role it played in the community, with Saturday morning reading clubs for children and different book clubs for adults.

As an adult, I hope that through the Foundation, I can, in a small way, help to support the library system in Johnson County and the many ways it benefits our community.

Today’s libraries are far more complex, providing traditional books and videos and also providing digital formats, technology, groundbreaking interactive spaces like the MakerSpace and genealogy lab, meeting rooms etc. Although well-funded, I see how meaningful the role of the Foundation is in order to continue to develop new features and bring on sponsors to continue to evolve the Library system and ensure it remains a relevant and accessible resource for our community. 

As a newcomer to the Johnson County Library Foundation Board, I fondly recall my earliest encounter with the library during a field trip in elementary school. Throughout my professional journey, libraries have been an invaluable resource for research and discovery.

Today, I see libraries, with their programming and lifelong learning resources, as pillars of our community, offering knowledge and connections. Inspired by their integral role, I am committed to donating my time, skills, and resources to supporting the enrichment they provide. I believe the future of libraries is bright, evolving to meet the diverse needs of our society while retaining their core essence as repositories of knowledge.

Currently, my intellectual curiosities lead me to historical biographies and documentaries, mid-century modern design books – with a soft spot for vintage ones, local history literature, and industrial design, furthering my understanding and love for the stories and designs that shape our world.

written by L.D. Johnston

Humankind has long understood the importance of securing, storing, maintaining and making available the viewpoints, understandings, stories, art and actions of those who are able to record their observations. Each snippet of written words, each image, reveals a piece of the story of Humankind.

It is only through the passed-down, written word and images that we can comprehend the history of our species: the bigger picture of past mistakes and past accomplishments; how far we have progressed, what we have fought for, and what we are capable of, good and bad.

Large cities and small towns began to build libraries for anyone and everyone to have access to whatever interested them. The libraries helped build and improve their communities. The literacy of the citizens became enriched. People began to think about how their community could be better; how the economy could be improved; how the community could be guided into the future and not fall behind and eventually die out.

With the advancement of technology, libraries raced to keep up. They have always depended on the generosity of donations to maintain the public libraries, and the more that the community supports them, the more services they can offer, and thus the community members benefit from their own generosity. Even if the donors don’t use the library often, they benefit by living in a community of well-read, well-informed citizens.

I recently went over to one of our Johnson County Libraries soon after it opened. I felt as if I had walked into a town square: mothers sitting around tables, catching up on news with each other, while their babies slept in strollers beside them; their toddlers busy at other tables working on art projects with paper, scissors and crayons and chatting with each other; children on the floor between book racks, sharing with each other what they’d found in a book they just pulled off the shelf; an older student off by himself, reading a book and taking notes; two men in one of the small meeting rooms, computer between them, discussing something. It was such a wonderful feeling to see the community there, all using the library for different purposes.

As a genealogist, I can attest that there are many versions of each story passed down through history, and a library allows us to search out all the various versions and decide for ourselves where the truth fits within our own point of view. It is important to review things from as many angles as possible before we decide what feels right. The more sides of an issue we are allowed to explore, the broader our understanding will be of what is right for each of us. And that search across many sides makes it easier to find tolerance for those who chose another version.

If we want our communities to thrive and our citizens to take advantage of the broader education available beyond the limits of our schools, we must support our public libraries, each and every one of us. They are the conservators of all the ideas ever recorded. They hold the key to our history and the lens to our future. They hold our communities together.

I donate and volunteer for the Johnson County Library Foundation because libraries and books have always played an important role in my life. I want to help provide that opportunity for others. My first memory of a library is of the one from my grade school, where the librarian, Mrs. Sanchez, nurtured my love of reading and learning. She and my teachers realized that as long as I had a book in my hand, I was less likely to cause trouble. So, I always had a book in my hand. (And I was even allowed to shelve books as a reward!)

Those educators along with my parents also nurtured my desire to learn about all types of topics. No topic was off limits, but they created a safe opportunity for me to ask questions about and discuss any topic. This directly impacted my analytical and critical thinking skills. And, my ability to think for myself. I am so grateful they gave me these opportunities and think they should be available to every child.

Libraries serve many roles; I feel like I am always learning new things. For me, at this stage of my life, it’s about being a meeting place for the community. I go to the library for meetings for other groups I am involved with almost as much as I go to pick up books. Not too long ago we invited some family friends to join us for a library event. They ran into several friends, including a beloved staff member I also know well. In that moment the library was the mutual friend that brought us all together.

I am currently finishing Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Mind and on deck are Entre Guadalupe and Malinche: Tejanas in Literature and Art and Book Collecting Now: The Value of Print in a Digital Age. I always have a “next up” pile of books going. I will even start carrying around my next book before I finish the one I’m reading.

It would be an understatement to say that the Library’s MakerSpace had humble origins.

Its original home was not much bigger than a closet, said Shelley O’Brien, executive director of the Johnson County Library Foundation. But now the area at the Central Resource Library serves almost as a branch within a branch — offering state-of-the-art capabilities like 3D printing and providing space where creators of all types mingle.

The upgraded surroundings have “really amplified the program and amplified what we can do,” O’Brien said, putting the Library on the cutting edge of the experiential learning that will define the library of the future. “This is not a trend,” she said. “This is not going away.”

And none of that would be possible without the more than $30,000 a year that Overland Park-based Black & Veatch provides as the sponsor of the MakerSpace. The global design and engineering firm’s commitment to the Library extends to serving this year as the presenting sponsor of the Johnson County Library Foundation’s annual fundraiser, Library Lets Loose.

As an international corporation, Black & Veatch has no shortage of potential causes to back, O’Brien said, “and for them to say they want to invest their philanthropic dollars into a local nonprofit like the foundation and a local organization like the Library means a lot to us.”

Outside support is critical to providing a range of services to patrons, and O’Brien said Black & Veatch’s financial commitments play a significant role in allowing the Library “to have innovation and creativity and to provide the community with these great tools.”

There is perhaps no better spokesman for Black & Veatch and its commitment to the Library than Pete Barth, an Illinois native who moved here from Davenport, Iowa, in 2014 with his wife. He is the company’s engineering partnerships leader and serves on the board of the Library foundation.

Barth is also the son of a teacher who preached the value of reading and is an active patron of Olathe’s Indian Creek Library as the father of three kids ages 8 and under.

Barth was not exactly a bookworm as a teen, but it seems his mom’s prodding planted a seed for adulthood because reading is now a welcome stress relief. “It’s a good way for me to escape and displace,” he said.

The parent in him loves that libraries now have playgrounds and cool indoor activities that excite kids to just be at the library as a first step to gaining a love of reading. He knows that is the case with his children.

In his professional role, Barth welcomes the opportunity for the company to support a free public resource that provides equitable access to all members of the community. Black & Veatch is also happy to help students cultivate an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

“I think it’s fair to say that the library is an integral part of every community,” he said. “We are just glad to be a part of it and help to support the growth of both the MakerSpace and the library infrastructure in Johnson County in general.

“We are proud of our community, we want to be a part of the community, want to be visible in the community, and want to give back to all those communities that support our professionals and our business.”

Library Lets Loose provides essential funding for the extras the Library offers, O’Brien said, including the varied programming that keeps people coming back to the branches. Barth said Black & Veatch’s role as the presenting sponsor is a way to help “amplify the event and the importance of the library system in general.”

My most vivid childhood memories are of books and reading. I recall my mom staying up reading almost all night long on the weekends and how I spent time at my local library where I would walk down the aisles of my favorite authors, Judy Blume, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, with my head tilted to the right reading the spines and my neck getting sore. I wanted to work at the library so strongly that it just seemed like the perfect job. I never did get a job at my library once I was old enough, but I definitely applied!

Decades later, I have now been involved with the Johnson County Library my entire adult life. Getting my library card with my new Kansas address was one of the very first things I did when I became a resident. Then a few short years later, I began my journey volunteering for JCL.

I started as a Friends of Johnson County Library bookstore volunteer, working at the Blue Valley Library every other Saturday. Then I became a Friends Board member. A few years later, I became a JCL Foundation volunteer once a week, and now I am a JCL Foundation Board member!

The library is my favorite place to donate my time, talents, and treasure because it’s so easy to SEE the impact you can make at your library and the community surrounding it.

JCL’s partnerships with other organizations ensure that we’re reaching the most people and getting the experts in their fields to help.

As parents, Chris and I have fond memories of browsing the children’s floor at Corinth Library and filling up whole tote bags of books to bring home and read together with our daughter, Abi. I shared some of my favorites with her, like The Poky Little Puppy and the Little Red Hen and Ira Sleeps Over, and then we discovered new ones together like The Gruffalo and If Animals Kissed Good Night. Now Abi reads prize-winning novels like The Goldfinch and The Secret History for fun, and I think sharing our love of reading with her was integral to that.

You can help support this kind of family engagement with reading through the Johnson County Library Foundation. Come to Library Lets Loose and have a ball at one of my favorite places, and support lifelong learning and literacy at the same time.

I remember going to the local library in my hometown in Ohio, with my mom, when I was probably 3 or 4 years old. I always loved the Curious George books. Ever since, libraries have been a place of adventure and exploration in my personal life. I enjoy the miles and miles of endless opportunities for learning and discovery you have when you walk into a library.

Libraries continue to be the heart of many communities. Libraries are places to communicate, share information and gain knowledge. Libraries have evolved over the years and will continue to do so for years to come.

I love to read, yet I have to admit that Cleveland Guardians baseball is just about all I’m watching on TV and my phone. When the season is over – we’ll see.

I enjoy sharing my time and resources with organizations that are paramount to the growth of communities and people. That’s why I have been a member of the Johnson County Library Foundation Board of Directors since January 2022. I’ve volunteered with the Foundation’s signature fundraiser, Library Lets Loose, since 2017. I have to say it is an easy decision to give time and talent to support Library Lets Loose: it’s a fun event that has a lot of high energy and it’s a party! Come and Let Loose with us on September 23!

Libraries need to be supported – they definitely figure prominently in the future of our society. Libraries will continue to grow and evolve to serve as centers of knowledge and information that strive to meet the needs of all communities. I’m proud to be a part of the evolution.

My earliest Library memory is of the Oak Park branch. I loved watching the librarian go through the check-out process, stamping each card, tucking it into the pocket on the cover and sliding the books back to me!

These early moments of wonder encouraged my love of reading and learning. I loved that pile of library books to read and then when I returned them, loved the anticipation of new books I would find and check out.

Later on, in adult life, I was contemplating a career change and a move to another part of the country. The library was so important at this crucial juncture, it’s where I research new opportunities and communities.

I began my “volunteer career” with the library when I was elected to the Friends of Johnson County Library’s board of directors. I joined a passionate and dedicated group of people who work really hard to support our wonderful Library. I especially enjoyed working on the summer book sale. When I concluded my terms on the Friends board, I guess I wasn’t done supporting Johnson County Library, because I was recruited to join the board of the Library’s Foundation. I’ve served the Foundation for the past 3-1/2 years.

There hasn’t been a chapter of my life that has not featured libraries, and I want to do what I can to sustain this institution that helps so many people in so many different ways. Serving on the board of an organization I believe in is very fulfilling and has lead to new friendships and an understanding of the many positive and vital ways a library system affects its community.

This is my third year as Library Lets Loose event chairperson. The Foundation supports early literacy initiatives and other innovative learning programs, all designed to enhance the community and keep the Library strong for generations. I hope we’ll see you there, it’s the best party in town!

Because it’s about the library, I should tell you what I’m reading. I recently finished listening to Rules of Civility by Amor Towles.  After narrator Eduardo Ballerini spoke at a Foundation event, I checked out a book he narrated, The Lincoln Highway, also by Amor Towles. So good.

I come from a family of readers of books, magazines, newspapers and in the last many years e-books and compact discs. Yet, I was shocked and captivated when my oldest brother took me by the hand to enter our local public library for the very first time, at age 6.

I was seeing a magical world inside those doors in Minneapolis! How could there be so many books, so many subjects in this wondrous world?!

I have not lost my sense of awe every time I visit what is a sacred space. Where else do all citizens, regardless of income or station in life, have the opportunity to learn, to enjoy, to bask in the pure joy of our wonderful libraries? And they are free! How vital it is to our community to nurture inquisitiveness, improve literacy, and to be part of community.

My wife and I give in order to preserve that child’s sense of awe, that adult’s resource for research, that senior citizen’s place of quiet and safety.  We give because strengthening community means strengthening America.

And we give because we feel good about building Johnson County.