Foundation Stories

In April 2023, the Johnson County Library Foundation hosted an appreciation event featuring award-winning audiobook narrator and actor Edoardo Ballerini. He read a section from the book “The Angel of Rome” by Jess Walter and was interviewed by Deputy County Librarian, Kinsley Riggs. Guests filled the Carmack Room at Central Resource Library for an Italian-inspired afternoon.

Ballerini charmed the audience with his stories about studying in Italy, about his children – one book reader and one audiobook listener.  He shared a description of his home studio where he records, which he says is smaller than a closet. Ballerini ended the afternoon by thanking everyone for supporting libraries, especially during this time when books are being banned across the country.

See photos of the event and learn more about the 1952 society here.

Annual appreciation events are hosted by the Foundation to thank and celebrate donors, those who give annually and those who have made provisions in their estate plans for a future gift. If you are interested in more information about giving to the library or becoming a member of the 1952 Society, please contact Shelley O’Brien at [email protected].

Recently, the Foundation hosted an exclusive appreciation event for our 1952 Society members featuring special guest Arthur Muir, who at 75 became the oldest American to reach the summit of Mount Everest, May 2021.

We were inspired by his program “It’s not about the Summit;  it’s about the Effort.” Art is a retired corporate finance lawyer from Northbrook, Ill who began mountaineering at age 68.  Art says, “If you just have a dream, set out with a plan, and work toward it.”

Guests included Library lovers who have demonstrated their support as a longtime volunteer, Friend of the Library or donor to the Foundation.  This event was to show appreciation for those who have made annual gifts, attend events, added the endowment, pledged planned gifts and been an advocate for all we do.

To view the presentation alongside Mr. Muir’s slides, view here.

Interested in becoming a valued member of the 1952 Society? More info can be found here.

Meet Bert Berkley!

Bert and his wife Joan started the Johnson County Library Foundation’s Joan Berkley Writers Fund. Bert and Joan were married for 62 years, until her passing in 2012. Their service to the KC community is immeasurable – and we thank them for their generosity!

Excerpt from Anglers Journal

“From the forward seat of a drift boat, Bert Berkley floats a dry fly to a quiet eddy of aquamarine water near the willow-brushed banks of the Beaverhead River. His presentation is close to flawless, and as guide Jeff Lyon invokes the standard incantation to the fish gods in these parts — “Eat it!” — Berkley is handsomely rewarded. A hefty rainbow trout smashes the fly, leaps in a splash of technicolor and zips downstream in a sizzling run that gives Berkley’s 4-weight Sage fly rod a workout.

“Tip up,” Lyon says reflexively — advice that elicits a good-natured response from Berkley. “I believe I’m doing that,” Berkley says as his rod bends in a perfect arc against a pristine Montana morning sky.

After five decades of fly-fishing all over the world and landing everything from trophy bonefish to Atlantic salmon, Berkley knows a thing or two about fighting a trout, even one that’s running “hot” like this one. Or as Lyon, a guide on this river for 21 years, will later tell me: “Bert is probably better than 85 to 90 percent of the people I take.”

Special donors, volunteers, and Friends were invited to a one-of-a-kind, virtual appreciation event for members of the JCL in January.

The Johnson County Library Reader’s Advisory Librarian Gregg Winsor presented a preview of books from the first few months of 2022 that you absolutely need to know about in a variety of different categories, whether you’re looking for something perfect for your book group or just looking for something good to read before bed.

We all know what 2020 was like and the Library kept going strong!  We had to rethink how to deliver services and materials during the pandemic and our donors kept rolling with the changes.   Online resources were as popular as ever and the Library buildings closed and re-opened with safe access books, materials, and computers.

Your support and charitable gifts were, and are, as important as ever as we adjusted and united. Highlights from 2020 included a pre-pandemic event: “A Conversation with Kevin Willmott and Steve Kraske,” a fundraiser to benefit Race Project KC.

Shortly after that, our gatherings went virtual and we celebrated the 1952 Society, the Foundation’s planned givers, and the Readers Circle, the donors who are the Library’s most loyal and generous donors.  We took to ZOOM with special guest Dr. Schuyler Jones, a renowned explorer and retired Oxford professor. 

Library Lets Loose- Virtual edition brought more brave Library lovers to a new adventure in events with 44 sponsors rallying with their support and more than 500 viewers joined in the fun online.

Throughout the summer and through the Black Lives Matter movement, Race Project KC came into the spotlight with donors making a point of supporting this program dedicated to social justice.

As the year wrapped up, our annual year-end donors came out in force and reminded the Library how much it is valued in the community.  Every dollar donated to the Library benefits our community through lifelong learning resources.

We are delighted and deeply grateful for your unwavering support.

Donors, Friends, and volunteers gathered virtually for a special appreciation event with author and cowboy storyteller, Jim Hoy, on Sunday, January 17.

Jim and his family are native to the Flint Hills of northeast Butler County Kansas.  His recently released book, My Flint Hills is his eighteenth book.  He taught literature and folklore at Emporia State University for 45 years in addition to a range of other endeavors and awards he’s received. 

Guests enjoyed his recollections of this home in the Flint Hills.   He has made a study of them—their tough terrain and quiet beauty, their distinctive folklife and cattle culture—and marshaled his observations to bring the Flint Hills home to readers in a singular way. My Flint Hills features essays describing Hoy’s Flint Hills, combining family lore and anecdotes of ranching life with reflections on the region’s rich history and nature. 

The appreciation event was organized by the Development Department that includes the Johnson County Library Foundation, Friends of the Johnson County Library, and Johnson County Library Volunteers.  Donors, Friends, and Volunteers contribute their time, talent, and financial support to further strengthen the Library’s lifelong learning resources.

View the recording of the author’s talk here.  My Flint Hills, and all of Jim’s books, are available at the Library. For more information on Jim and/or to purchase your own copy of his book, click here.

This year has been filled with challenges and the Library continues to rise to meet them. Online resources have expanded to meet patrons’ interests and the buildings are open with safe access to books, materials and computers.

Your financial support is more important than ever to meet the needs of our community. Every dollar donated to the Library benefits all Johnson Countians through lifelong learning resources.

Learn about a few of the programs and resources your charitable contribution supports.