Meet the Library Staff-Mike Rivera

In 1985 New York City resident Mike Rivera, driving a refrigerated truck with a load of beef through Kansas, stopped at the Overland Truck Plaza off of 119th Street. While fueling his truck, he struck up a conversation with a gal working at the truck stop. It was the beginning of a long relationship, and Mike found himself moving from New York City to Johnson County to marry a Kansas girl in 1985.

In Mike’s mind the contrast between New York City and Kansas is highlighted by his first visit to one of the Johnson County Library branches. In 1986 Mike visited Gardner Library. A “dear sweet woman”, as Mike’s describes it, ran the desk at Gardner Library. She reminded him of his grandmother. She knew her regular patrons and offered them personalized services, accordingly, in the small storefront library. All this stood in great contrast to the New York Public Library Mike grew up with—its large multi-level buildings, with shelves and shelves of books, staffed by the hundreds.

Mike has twenty-four years in the U.S. Navy. In the Naval Reserve Mike works as a Supply Logistics Officer for the Beachmaster Unit 2 (BMU-2) with a rank of First Class Petty Officer. The BMU-2 is an amphibious assault unit that holds about thirty men. It is responsible for troop support by delivering Marines and supplies to the beach. Currently, Mike is on call for possible Active Duty. However, Mike anticipates his retirement from service sometime in the next year. Mike recently nominated the Johnson County Library for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve “Above and Beyond” Award.

In 1999 Mike brought his long experience with maintenance to Johnson County Library when he began working for the library’s Facilities Department as a Maintenance Specialist. The Facilities Department works to keep the library a clean and safe environment for both patrons and staff. Mike provides maintenance for electrical, lighting, plumbing, HVAC, painting and carpentry for all the library’s buildings.

Mike’s work is a great fit for his passions. He loves to tinker and fix things. Mike recalls how as a kid he liked to take things apart. Furthermore, Mike says he really has trouble turning down helping people. The combination of being able to fix things and help people at the same time provides a very rewarding experience for him. Mike just completed his Master’s Electrician License for Johnson County achieving a lifetime goal.

Mike takes his inclination to fix things home, too. Mike has recently purchased an old two-story farmhouse in Gardner that he is in the process of fixing up. Mike describes his work in modernizing the house a labor of love. Mike considers himself a family man. He has six kids and has just become a grandfather for the second time. In his spare time Mike enjoys writing poetry, reading how-to-books and both camping and traveling with his family.

Johnson County Library Receives ESGR Award

Johnson County Library is excited to announce it will receive the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve “Above and Beyond” Award on Sunday, April 2, 2006. The award is given out to recognize businesses and other organizations that have supported their employees, who are members of the Armed Services.

Johnson County Library was nominated for the award by Maintenance Specialist Mike Rivera. Rivera, who serves in the Navy Reserves, wanted to publicly show his gratitude towards the library for its support. He is grateful for how the library has accommodated his training exercises and given him the peace of mind to know that should he be called up for active duty that he would still have his position upon returning.

Currently, the library has two staff members in the Armed Services. Lackman Circulation Clerk Andrew Guerrero, who is currently on Active Duty in Pakistan and Maintenance Specialist Mike Rivera, who is on call for possible Active Duty.

Johnson County Library wants to thank the service of these staff members, as well as service of all those that are making sacrifices for our country.

For more on the ESGR Award look here.

2006 Young Writers Reception

Cold weather didn't keep the crowd from listening to the winning stories at the 2006 Young Writers Contest. The reception was held on Friday, Feb. 17, 2006 at the Antioch Library. Writer’s ages 5 to 12 submitted their stories or poems for the contest. Local authors and illustrators selected a story from contest entries received, and then illustrated a single scene from that story. The annual event is cosponsored by the Johnson County Library and the Reading Reptile children's bookstore.

For more photos look here.

Terry Goodman Visits the White House

Library Board Chair Terry Goodman & County Librarian Mona Carmack at the White House

On February 20, 1862 William Wallace Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln, died in the Blue Room of the White House at the age of eleven, most likely from Typhoid Fever. Likewise, during the U.S. Civil War, Union soldiers camped in the East Room. It was this kind of history that weighed upon Library Board Chair Terry Goodman’s mind during his first visit inside the White House.

Terry visited Washington, D.C. on Monday, January 30 as part of the group representing Johnson County Library in receiving the National Award for Museum and Library Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Service (IMLS). The celebration included a visit to the White House, breakfast in the State Dining Room, a meeting with First Lady Laura Bush in the Blue Room, and an awards presentation in the East Room. Although the meeting with the First Lady was brief, she still communicated a strong appreciation and interest in libraries. If there would have been more time, Terry felt, she would have liked to sit down and talk more about libraries.

During the White House visit, Terry roamed around some of the rooms freely. He thought about the great opportunity it was to be able to visit such a place, particularly after 9/11. At one point he had a conversation in the East Room with Senator Ted Stephens of Alaska about the U.S. Supreme Court nomination of Justice Samuel Alito. Later, while still in the East Room, a U.S. Serviceman mistook Terry as U.S. Senator. This hasn’t been the first time Terry has been mistaken as a member of Congress. On a previous trip to Washington, a boy walking along a street mistook Terry as a U.S. Congressman. The boy requested he have his picture taken with Terry.

Following the awards presentation, a symposium was held in the afternoon with the other five winners of the IMLS award. The other winners included COSI Toledo from Toledo, Ohio, Levine Museum of the New South from Charlotte, North Carolina, Mathews Memorial Library from Mathews, Virginia, Pratt Museum from Homer, Alaska and Saint Paul Public Library from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Terry found the experience of listening to what these other libraries and museums are doing “very enlightening and enjoyable.” He remarked about there being “a lot of high caliber, innovative, creative people in the library business.”

In summing up the event, Terry used the word validation. In his mind the award validated the tremendous work of County Librarian Mona Carmack, Associate Director of Branch Services Donna Lauffer, the Friends of the Library, the Library’s Foundation and all of the staff at Johnson County Library. “It was all very gratifying.” Terry said.

When not visiting the White House or being mistaken as a member of Congress. Terry works as a banker in the community, serves as an Overland Park City Council member and is working through his second term on the Johnson County Library Board.

Puppet Show at Leawood Pioneer Library

John Glessner and his Puppet Theater

The Johnson County Library will host a puppet show on Saturday, February 18 at 10:30 a.m. at the Leawood Pioneer Library. Families are invited to attend and discover the fun and pizzazz of Puppet Theater. Library Youth Services Specialists Pam Rykken and Dorian Assenmacher will present a program to delight all ages.

The program will celebrate the donation of a puppet theater to the Johnson County Library that was developed and built through the efforts of 14 year old John Glessner, Overland Park, as an Eagle Scout project. The theater was funded by the Friends of the Johnson County Library with some materials donated by area merchants. Glessner worked closely with the Puppetry Arts Institute, Independence, and professional puppeteers to research his project. He enlisted the help of others scouts to build the theatre, which is portable and will be used for programs at other Johnson County Library locations. Always having an interest in puppetry, he also built several puppets which are being donated along with the theater.

The program is free and open to the public; no registration is required. Interpretive services and other accommodations for those with special needs are available for all Johnson County Library programs. Please request from library staff 48 hours or more in advance of the scheduled event.

Curious George Display

In celebration of today’s theatrical release of Curious George, Blue Valley Library patron Ryan Locke is sharing his Curious George collection with the public. Ryan is a Blue Valley Library Storytime regular and is really excited about having his collection on display at the library.

Ryan’s collection will be on display at Blue Valley Library until the end of February.

The Library Wants Your Art

Alright, alright, we might not have enough room to display the Milan Cathedral. But we do have enough room to display your art. So if you’re interested in the public seeing your art, then Johnson County Library is definitely interested in featuring it.

Currently, the library has over six locations where your art can be displayed. Look here for more information on how you, too, can have your art displayed at the library.

Mona Carmack Visits the White House

Mona Carmack, County Librarian, always wanted to say “I’m going to the White House” and she did just that when the doorman to her hotel asked her Monday morning where she was going. It was Mona’s first trip to the White House and a trip that she will not soon forget.

The taxi dropped off Mona’s group at 15th and Hamilton, outside the White House, an arrival time of around 8:30 a.m. As expected the group had to be processed by security, which, since the group had already been cleared, went quite easy. It was then on to the orientation for the day’s event.

After orientation, the six nominated Institute of Museum and Library Service (IMLS) award winning groups had breakfast in the State Dining Room. Mona described the breakfast as an upscale continental buffet. The buffet included a berry crumble, raspberry or cherry, something similar to a crisp, small-bite size tarts with a tomato and basil filling, trays with rows of raspberries and poppy seed bread, and chicken finger sandwiches.

Breakfast at the White House

Following breakfast the six IMLS groups moved into the Red Room where they lined up waiting to have their pictures taken in the Blue Room with First Lady Laura Bush. Mona said that upon meeting the First Lady the only surprise was that she expected her to be taller. Instead, she found the First Lady to be about 5’2”. Greetings were exchanged, photos were taken, and Mona described the following comment from the First Lady. She talked about how she used to keep up with reading all the Caldecott award-winning books, that is, until she had her kids and she just didn’t have time. The First Lady is a former teacher and school librarian. After the six IMLS groups had finished meeting with the First Lady, it was time to get ready for the IMLS Awards Ceremony.

The IMLS Awards Ceremony started at 10:30 a.m. The groups representing the six IMLS winners were ushered into the East Room for the ceremony. Mona described the East Room as smaller than what she expected. It was about the size of the large meeting room in the front part of the Central Resource Library. A section of the East Room was roped off for the media, all the big name networks were there, as well as a reporter from the Kansas City Star. Assigned chairs with name tags had been setup for each of the members in the six groups. Mona described the room as crowded. In addition to the members from the six IMLS groups and all the journalists, there were uniformed U.S. servicemen assisting as hosts and providing security for the event, IMLS staff, some U.S. Senators and other elected officials present. IMLS Acting Director Mary Chute presented the award and more photos were taken with the recipients of the IMLS awards, Chute, and the First Lady. After the ceremony, it was out to the White House lawn.

Library patron Denise Upah and County Librarian Mona Carmack at the White House

Later that day all six of the IMLS groups were invited to attend a symposium, in which they shared about their different institutions. Mona said that, in particular, she really enjoyed the presentations of what some of the award-winning museums are doing in their communities. All this, particularly, in light of the library continuing to develop richer relationships with similar institutions in Johnson County.

Black History Month

Today our nation begins the celebration of Black History Month, while, at the same time, mourning the unexpected loss of one of our nation’s treasures—Coretta Scott King.

By acknowledging our nation's history, we begin the process of reflecting upon our past. In return, this reflection allows us to become more aware of who we are today, both as a people and as a nation. Unfortunately, reflecting on our nation's history isn't always an easy task.

Let’s use Black History Month as a time to stop and reflect upon the sacrifices the King family and others have made, so that all of us could live in a better nation.

While visiting Central Resource Library during Black History Month, be sure to take a look at the Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement Exhibit, both as an opportunity to reflect upon the past and to celebrate the future. The exhibit will be on display until February 21.