Show your loved ones how much you adore them by bringing them to the Friends of the Olathe Public Library Book Sale.   Mark your calendar for Saturday, Feb. 13 - the sale will be from 10 am - 3 pm at the Indian Creek Branch Library.  The sale will open at 10 am. 

All books are divided by categories and the prices are very, very reasonable.  Doors to the sale will close from 12:30 - 1 pm to prepare for the bag sale.  Beginning at 1 pm, shop the “Five Bucks a Bag” Sale from 1 - 3 pm.  Purchase a plastic bag at the door for $5 and fill with materials.  Buy 2 bags, get 1 free!  The sale will close early if sold out or material selection is low. 

Questions?  Call Rita at 913-971-6879.

Would you like to know about activities for children at the library between now and the end of the school year?  Then stop by Children’s Services at either Olathe library and pick up a copy of our Winter/Spring Children’s Programming booklet.  This booklet will tell you about all programs happening for children in 6th grade and younger through the end of May. 

If you are interested in information about our storytimes, be sure to also pick up our Storytimes flyer.  Some storytime sessions have already filled up for the spring, but we still have openings in most sessions. 

And don’t forget that you can always get up-to-date information on our Children’s Programs web page and on the Around the Corner kids’ blog.

Have you ever said to someone, “Oh, I’ve already seen that!”? Well, we hope you won’t think that’s true when you visit the Olathe Public Library. Please take time to look at not only the books, dvd’s, cds, or whatever else you might have come to check out, but also at the many displays, posters, and art work throughout the library. You just might see something you’ve never seen before!

Come take advantage of the free computer classes that are being offered this spring at both library locations. The majority of our classes offer a “hands-on” learning environment.

 Here is a sampling of  upcoming courses:

What is This Google Thing? 2/2/10 (10 am) @ Olathe Main

Come learn all about Google - today’s most popular search engine.  In this class, we will discuss basic and advanced searching, along with a few “shortcuts”.  We will also look at how to customize your Google page with information and resources that are pertinent to you.

Windows 7 Desktop & Features 2/8/10 (6:30 pm) @ Indian Creek Branch

A 1.5 hour lecture for adult patrons.  We will discuss the new Windows 7 desktop and its features.

All About Twitter 3/4/10 (10 am) @ Indian Creek Branch

Participants will learn the background of this free technology and how to use it to keep in touch with family and friends by “micro-blogging” or “tweeting” through the Twitter website. We will also discuss the way “Twitter” is being utilized in professional situations.  Everyone will have an opportunity to open their own Twitter accounts.

Beginning Internet 3/24/10 (6:30 pm) @ Indian Creek Branch

Beginning Internet is a 1.5 hour, hands-on-computer class for adult customers.  You will learn how to use search engines and view websites.

These are just a few of the classes that we are offering through May. Stop by at either location to register or call 971-6888 (Main) or 971-5235 (Indian Creek).

The Olathe Public Library will be open on Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, January 18. The library will be showing the original news footage of Dr. Martin Luther King “I have a dream…”  speech, filmed on location at the Lincoln Memorial on that historic day in 1963.  This video is approximately 25 minutes in length and will be shown in the Compton Board Room of the Main library 3 times on Jan. 18 at 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. No reservation is needed and all ages are welcome.

Registration for Storytime and Time for Two begins this Tuesday, January 5th. For details about the library’s storytime programs, click here.

Tom Hutcheson, Library Board President; Emily Baker, Director, and Mayor Copeland with the centennial proclaimation

Our centennial year has been a busy year. It was fun to look over old documents and photos and create a program to tell people about our history. We took the show on the road to many community groups. Hundreds of people saw the presentation. In fact, some viewers added their photos and comments to our story during the year. If your group missed the program, we will still make a presentation including all the added photos and information. We would even do a program about the future of the library in our next hundred years.

During the year we held two wonderful celebrations, one at each library. We served frosted cookies in the shape of a cupcake with a candle. Kids of all ages enjoyed the DooDads music and magician Devin Henderson’s hat trick. The parties were held near August 2 because the first library board was appointed August 2, 1909. The party at the branch was held on the 9th anniversary of their grand opening. Some of the cookies that day celebrated the 9th anniversary of the branch.

This week could have been a good time to celebrate as well. The new 1909 library board had applied to Andrew Carnegie for a grant. It was at Christmas time, 1909, when they heard that the grant was approved provided that the city would provide suitable building site and operating funds of no less than $1000 a year. That was a grand Christmas gift for the people of Olathe. The library was off to a good start.
As the centennial year comes to a close, the staff wishes you a healthy and Happy New Year! This year was a record year. We look forward to 2010, our 101st year, and all the ways we can continue to improve service to Olathe.

You can find more library history at http://www.olathelibrary.org/about/history/index.cfm.

Take a moment to come by and look at all the entries in the Choices Art Show in the Olathe Public Library’s teen area at 201 E. Park.  Art work will be on display for art enthusiasts and the public to cast votes from Tuesday, December 15th through Thursday, December 17th.  A reception to announce the winners of the art show will be held at 2 pm, December 18th in the teen area.  Family, friends, and the local community are welcome.  The art work will remain on display until January 14th.

Students from Choices, an alternative school in the Olathe School District, have been working all semester studying and practicing art.  This is the first year that students at Choices will be displaying their art work for the public.  Students worked with recycled materials and paints and equipment donated by The Frugal Framer, Wal-Mart and the City of Olathe.

Pictures of all the art will be on the Olathe Public Library Teens Facebook page!

Nearly 270 people dropped by to see the model train display at the Main Library on Thursday and Saturday.  Children and adults alike enjoyed watching the trains and asking the train experts their questions.  Special thanks to Louis O. Seibel, a member of Mo-Kan RailJoiners, Turkey Creek Division of the the National Model Railroad Association, and the Union Station Kansas City Model Railroad Society, for setting up this wonderful display!

Mango Languages has added a new feature to its already great product.  Now in addition to the nine “complete” language courses and ELL courses, Mango is offering “basic” courses.  These basic courses are shorter in length compared to the complete courses and are designed for those who don’t have a lot of time to learn or just want to learn the basics.  For example the Spanish basic course has 53 lessons, whereas the complete Spanish course has 100 lessons.  Here are the languages offered in basic:  Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Pashto, Brazilian Portugese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese.  Mango is also offering several new basic English courses for speakers of different languages.  To access Mango from home, you just need your library card and PIN.