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What do you do when calamity strikes the world yet again? How do you handle the confusion of trying to unravel the news? As someone who works at a library, perhaps it’s not surprising that I turn to...the library. What book or film can I find that connects me to someone’s story so I can more clearly see and hear the events from those involved. 

In recent years, I've needed the library a lot! To better understand the Black experience in America, some helpful reads for me have been “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi, “A Black Women’s History of the

U.K. National Theatre Collection– a new streaming video service that makes the best of British theatre available worldwide to libraries, schools and universities– should be on the radar of all theater nerds or the theater curious.  The collection features a unique archive of 30 high quality video recordings of world-class productions to fit every taste: Shakespeare, Greek Theatre, Comedies, European Classics, American Classics, Adaptations of Novels and New Writing. 

Do the mellifluous tones of a sexy British and/or Irish accent make your heart purr?  Are you envious of ramblers outfitted in Wellington boots and walking sticks as they explore the moors of the English countryside?  Do you chortle as two posh, aristocratic women trade elegantly raised eyebrows and witty barbs over tea?  Does the sight of Queen Elizabeth II opening Parliament in the Imperial State Crown and crimson velvet Robe of State fill you with tearful reverence? 

Going to the movies these days is crazy expensive, including snacks, and it’s quite literally bad for your health at present due to COVID-19.  What’s a movie buff to do?  Johnson County Library has this situation on lock.

It wasn't until about five years ago that I became a fan of audiobooks. The tedious commute to my temp job required more than just a string of good songs, I wanted a story to elevate my journey there and back. I can't recall the first audiobook I chose, but I quickly became hooked. And then I discovered the glory of downloadable audiobooks, which enabled me to bring stories into more than just the driving parts of my life--suddenly, things like gardening or cleaning or cooking could also be times for story.

Here are other reasons to love audiobooks:

·         If, like me, you love books

The past two months of quarantine shutdown have been bizarre to say the least. Surprised by how hard it's been to focus on simple tasks and know how to deal with whatever each day might bring, I turned to another time in history where the whole world was under threat and people had to deal with a cloud of confusion that hung over everything--World War II. Obviously COVID-19 is not the same as WWII by any means, but I was inspired and encouraged to read the stories of how women in particular faced the challenges of such a world-impacting crisis.

I think my favorite book was A Woman of No

“I don’t mean to bother you,” the question usually begins, “but I’m looking for my next book, and I just don’t know what I want to read.” Honestly, that question is one of our favorites to get in days that are often filled with new card sign-ups and telling people where the restroom is.

The most challenging requests are usually from voracious readers because, well, they’ve read most of the usual culprits already. And while sometimes we magically have the perfect title stashed in our figurative back pocket for just such an occasion, even our magic runs out sometimes. For those situations, we

"Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems." While I am emotionally in full agreement with Rainer Maria Rilke's poetic words on the season, when it comes to plunging my hands into the dirt to see what wonderful partnership I can form with Nature and her bounty--it is what I don't know that comes rushing to mind, muddling my enthusiasm in the confusion of what to do next. Whether you're interested in beautifying your landscape, planting edibles to munch on, or figuring out what to do with what you grow, books abound. But which ones offer easy-to-absorb advice that quickly get you back outside or whipping up magic in the kitchen?

Originally shared on the JoCo History blog.

The Obituary Index, maintained by the Johnson County Genealogical Society (JCGS), consistently tops the list of most visited JoCo History website collections. Upon first glance, the index can seem overwhelming, but once you learn how to use this tool, it can serve as a valuable resource in genealogical research.

Volunteers from the JCGS comb through the obituary sections of area newspapers each month to extract basic information about the deceased. They compile the name, date of death, and newspaper information including the date published and

In March of this year ProQuest announced they were “advancing the research experience for family history enthusiasts and genealogical experts with a new version of its popular HeritageQuest® Online.” Being an avid family researcher, I was always a little disappointed that we could not access Ancestry.com from home through the Johnson County Library as there was always so much more to find on Ancestry.com than there was on HeritageQuest. To me, Ancestry really knew how to locate what I was searching for.  But now, with the upgrades to HeritageQuest, there is so much more to discover and, with