Library Feature Stories

Keep informed about library happenings and read feature stories of human interest. Information about activities, services and library materials that you, the library customer, care about, but the media might not.

Recent Library Feature Stories Blog Posts

Library Partners With Red Cross for Veterans Drive

Did you know that many of our area veterans struggle to afford toothpaste, winter gloves and shampoo? I didn’t.

Sunday Afternoon with Kansas Author Helen Alley-Taylor

Join Kansas Author Helen Alley-Taylor as she talks about her fictional memoir East Toward Home on Sunday, November 13, 2011, 2:00-3:00pm in the Topeka Room (204). This fictional account of the lives of Eddy & Jessie who lived in Melvern, KS looks back over their relationship beginning during the great depression and lasting for almost [...]

My Country Comes First, Athletes Who Served in the Military

Each person who serves in the military makes a sacrifice. Here is a list of some of the notable athletes who stepped away from the life of an athlete to serve their country. These people, along with countless others, deserve to be in our thoughts this month as our nation honors veterans. Bob Feller. At the [...]

The Dry Humor of Wicked Autumn

Wanda Batton-Smythe had many enemies, actually almost the entire village of Nether Monkslip at one time or another probably could have strangled her. Wanda was a bit over the top- bossy, demanding, and not really caring what she said or the feelings she hurt. Still it was a shock to the small English village when she turned up murdered…

Michael Koryta’s Latest Supernatural Thriller

An early morning phone call asks Chief Deputy Kimble which he would prefer to investigate- a homicide or a suicide. Later, Wyatt French is discovered shot. French was something of an eccentric who drank too much but was known for building a lighthouse not by the ocean but in the mountains of Kentucky.

Wrestlemania Reading Challenge

Get extreme and do the 2011 Wrestlemania Reading Challenge! Read five books, graphic novels, or magazines between October 25 and November 1 and fill out the log to win a WWE poster.

Sports Novels for Young Adults

Chris Crutcher’s recent visit to the library reminded me how much of an impact his books, and other sports fiction, had on me while I was growing up. Like many kids, I liked to read, but only if the books were about subjects in which I was interested. Unfortunately for me, books on Bigfoot and [...]

The Ones That Got Away –Thirteen Disturbing Stories

Thirteen might be considered unlucky but in a collection of horror short stories it might be the perfect number. The Ones That Got Away is a collection of thirteen short stories by Stephen Graham Jones. Many of the stories take everyday or normal life events and masterfully twist them into disconcerting tales. Vivid and descriptive, these stories…

Decorate Your House for the Fall

Follow a few simple steps to decorate your house for the fall.

Teen Read Week @ TSCPL

October 16-22 is Teen Read Week. TSCPL is celebrating with many fun filled programs. Monday the library is sponsoring Books & Bites in David J’s. Teens listens to a short review about the top 25 teens books and share a snack. Wednesday Chris Crutcher will be coming to Highland Park High School and TSCPL. He will [...]

Sunday Afternoon with Kansas Author Imam Omar Hazim

Islam in the Heartland of America by Imam Omar Hazim offers readers curious about the world’s fastest growing religion a close-up look at how Islam is taught and experienced in a mosque in Topeka, Kansas, America’s heartland. He will speak as part of the library’s Sunday Afternoon with Kansas Authors Series on Sunday, October 23 [...]

Library Story Bloggers

Charity Rouse

Charity is a Public Service Specialist working with genealogy and local history reference in the Topeka Room/Genealogy. Her start at TSCPL came as a genealogy researcher soon after the Baker Genealogy Center opened in November 2007. In early 2009, she became a Genealogy volunteer and in May 2010 she came to work at TSCPL. She earned her Master of Library Science degree from Emporia State University in December 2011. One of the Topeka Room programs Charity coordinates is the "Sunday Afternoon with Kansas Authors" series.

Gina Millsap

As the Chief Executive Officer of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, I lead an organization of 225 incredible employees serving a library-loving community of 173,000. With 36 years in the industry, I’ve worked in three extraordinary libraries in Missouri, Iowa and Kansas and have been a library director for fifteen years. I am nationally known for presenting on cutting edge issues, including 21st century librarianship, process improvement, the use of market segmentation to grow and develop library services, and the strategic changes necessary for libraries to thrive in the 21st century. I’m a Library Journal 2007 Mover and Shaker , past president of the Library Leadership & Management Association (LLAMA) of the American Library Association, serve on the board of Library Renewal, an organization working on solutions to ebook and digital content issues for libraries, and am currently a candidate for president of the American Library Association.

Matt Pettit

Matt is a Public Service Specialist for the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library. His areas of responsibility include library services to nursing homes, senior, retirement and congregate living centers; service to homebound library users, and the Kansas Talking Books service. Matt also works on technology issues and special projects for the library, including supporting the Red Carpet Service’s Adaptive Computer Center and Talking Books NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) on Demand.