Parsons Public Library

This Week at the Library:

• Monday, January 30, 2012, Join Miss Willie for Story Hour. This week she will be reading, Snowmen All Year, by Caralyn Buehner. Ages 2-6 are welcome. Story hour starts at 6:30pm in the Children’s Room.
• Tuesday, January 31, 2012, Join Miss Willie for Story Hour. This week she will be reading, Snowmen All Year, by Caralyn Buehner. Ages 2-6 are welcome. Story hour starts at 10:00am in the Children’s Room.
• Wednesday, February 01, 2012, Join Miss Willie for Story Hour. This week she will be reading, Snowmen All Year, by Caralyn Buehner. Ages 2-6 are welcome. Story hour starts at 10:00am in the Children’s Room.

Kevin J. Rabas

Parsons Public Library will offer a three-part book discussion series February through April entitled “World War II Generation.”

The first meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 27, at 6:30 pm.  Kevin J. Rabas will lead a discussion of The Cloud Atlas by Liam Callanan, which highlights stories of love, magic and spirituality, an American military program, and the secret history of Japanese balloon warfare.  Rabas is an associate professor of English at Emporia State University, where he co-directs the Creative Writing Program.

World War II profoundly reshaped the world, in part because it was so total a war, engaging civilian populations so fully and covering so much of the globe.  As a result, it has proven to be an irresistible subject for literature and film.  This reading series bypasses the more familiar territories of the war by selecting recent books that address less-familiar aspects of this world-wide conflict.

The series continues with The Gardens of Kyoto by Kate Walbert (March 12) and Once Upon a Town by Bob Greene (April 16).

The series is sponsored by the Kansas Humanities Council, a nonprofit cultural organization, as part of its Talk About

Kansas Humanities Council Logo

Literature in Kansas (TALK) program.  The Council’s Resource Center is furnishing the books and discussion leaders for the Parsons TALK series.  For more information about KHC, visit www.kansashumanities.org.

Members of the community are invited to attend the free programs, which will take place at the library, 311 South 17^th St.  To check out books and for more information about the reading series, contact the library at 620-421-5920.

Carmaletta M. Williams

In honor of Black History Month, Parsons Public Library will host “Free Did Not Mean Welcome”, a presentation and discussion by Carmaletta M. Williams on February 6, 2012, at 2:30.

Millions of African Americans walked away from the South after Emancipation looking for freedom.  For some it meant a journey to Kansas, a “free state.”  Williams will discuss how many realized that for Black people in Kansas, “free” did not necessarily mean “welcome.”

Williams teaches English and is the Executive Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Johnson County Community College.  She specializes in African American literature and has presented programs on the African American experience to national and international audiences.  Dr. Williams is a familiar face to patrons of Parsons Public Library, having given programs here in past years on Gordon Parks, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

“My great-grandmother was born in Topeka during the Exoduster Movement.  I wanted to know what drew them from Tennessee to Kansas,” Williams shared.  “I learned that Kansas’ reputation was the draw, but it made me realize that “free did not mean welcome” in Kansas.”

“Free Did Not Mean Welcome” is part of the Kansas Humanities Council’s Kansas 150 Speakers Bureau commemorating the

Kansas Humanities Council Logo

Kansas sesquicentennial.  The special edition Speakers Bureau features presentations and discussions about Kansas and what it means to be a Kansas over time and across generations.

The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to participate in their communities.  For more information about KHC programs, contact the Kansas Humanities Council at 785-357-0359 or visit online at www.kansashumanities.org.

Members of the community are invited to attend the free program, which will take place at the library, 311 South 17^th St.  For more information, contact the library at 620-421-5920.

This Week at the Library:

• Monday, January 23, 2012, Join Miss Willie for Story Hour. This week she will be reading, There’s a Dragon in the Library, by Dianne De as Casas. Ages 2-6 are welcome. Story hour starts at 6:30pm in the Children’s Room.
• Tuesday, January 24, 2012, There will be no story hour today.
• Wednesday, January 25, 2012, Join Miss Willie for Story Hour. This week she will be reading, There’s a Dragon in the Library, by Dianne De as Casas. Ages 2-6 are welcome. Story hour starts at 10:00am in the Children’s Room.
• Thursday, January 26, 2012, Young Adults ages 13 – 18 are invited to Game Night from 5:00pm – 6:30pm.

The Library will be closed, Monday, January 16, 2012, in order for staff to be with their families for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will reopen, Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 9:00am. Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful weekend!

This Week at the Library:

• Monday, January 16, 2012, The library will be closed in order for staff to be able to celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. Day with their families. We will reopen Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 9:00am. Hope everyone has a wonderful & safe day!
• Tuesday, January 17, 2012, Join Miss Willie for Story Hour. This week she will be reading, Me and My Dragon, by David Biedrzycki. Ages 2-6 are welcome. Story hour starts at 10:00am in the Children’s Room.
• Wednesday, January 11, 2012, Join Miss Willie for Story Hour. This week she will be reading, Me and My Dragon, by David Biedrzycki. Ages 2-6 are welcome. Story hour starts at 10:00am in the Children’s Room.

This Week at the Library:

• Monday, January 09, 2012, Join Miss Willie for Story Hour. This week she will be reading, Martha Blah Blah, by Susan Meddaugh. Ages 2-6 are welcome. Story hour starts at 6:30pm in the Children’s Room.
• Tuesday, January 10, 2012, Join Miss Willie for Story Hour. This week she will be reading, Martha Blah Blah, by Susan Meddaugh. Ages 2-6 are welcome. Story hour starts at 10:00am in the Children’s Room.
• Also, Tuesday, January 10, 2012, Board Meeting is scheduled at 5:30pm in the Multi-Purpose Room.
• Wednesday, January 11, 2012, Join Miss Willie for Story Hour. This week she will be reading, Martha Blah Blah, by Susan Meddaugh. Ages 2-6 are welcome. Story hour starts at 10:00am in the Children’s Room.

This Week at the Library:

• Monday, January 02, 2012, The library will be closed in order for staff to be able to celebrate the New Year with their families. We will reopen Tuesday, January 03, 2012 at 9:00am. Hope everyone has a wonderful & safe weekend!
• There will be no story hour this week. Story Hour will resume Monday, January 09, 2012.

Get the first look at our January – April 2012 newsletter. Find out if your favorite author is releasing a new book, or what new activities you can sign up for. Just click on Our Current Newsletter and see what’s coming up!

The Library will be closed, Saturday, December 24 – Tuesday, December 27, 2011, in order for staff to be with their families for Christmas. We will reopen, Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 9:00am. Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful weekend!