Tag: Kansas City Kansas Public Library

New music service available online from library

The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library is offering a new music service, the Freegal Music Service from Library Ideas, for online patrons.

Library patrons who have registered library cards can download and stream a select number of MP3-formatted tracks each month at no direct cost via 3-week song downloads or 3-hour streaming weekly.

The library’s subscription pays for access to the music, according to a news release.

The Freegal Music service allows patrons to access a collection spanning over 15 million songs, music videos and audiobooks from more than 40,000 music labels worldwide including Sony Music, Epic, RCA, and Columbia.

Freegal Music also offers a completely rebuilt mobile app and website which uses modern application practices to ensure an easy-to-use and enjoyable experience. The free application is available for library cardholders and can be downloaded in the Apple App Store and Google Play store.

“Freegal is kind of like Spotify or Apple Music—where you can create playlists and stream music. I often find that Freegal Music also helps me discover new artists and recall songs that I have long forgotten. Freegal [also] allows me to go back and rediscover those songs and artists that I wasn’t ready to discover then but am now—sometimes on librarian-curated playlists! I use this service almost every day,” said Steven. V. Potter Mid Continent Public Library director and CEO, on the MCPL blog.

Library Ideas is a global leader in providing digital content to all kinds of libraries, and is located in Vienna, Virginia. Its email address is [email protected].

  • Information from Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library, kckpl.org

Library’s butterfly festival to be online this year

The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library’s Lawson Roberts Butterfly Festival will be virtual this year.

The 15th annual Lawrence Roberts Butterfly Festival this year will be completely online from Sept. 21 to Sept. 25, with Monarch tagging demonstrations on video, an online scavenger hunt, and informational guides and videos on pollinators and native plants.

The public library is still closed to walk-in traffic because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and currently provides curbside service, a spokesman said. It will not have any in-person activities in the library for the butterfly festival this year.

Participants in the butterfly festival this year will be able to pick up craft and seed kits for activities curbside from the Mr. and Mrs. F.L. Schlagle Library at Wyandotte County Lake Park, 4051 West Drive, where the festival traditionally has taken place, according to the spokesman.

There is a self-guided butterfly nature walk from Sept. 18 to Nov. 6 at Wyandotte County Lake Park starting near the Schlagle Library sidewalk, with signs directing visitors.

There is also a butterfly coloring contest for ages 5 to 15 that can be done at home and returned by Sept. 30.

Voting on an online butterfly photo contest will close today.

A list of activities with the butterfly festival is online at kckplprograms.org/2020-butterfly-festival.

The butterfly festival has been held by the library every year since 2006. It is made possible by donations from the Lawson Roberts Memorial Fund.

Popular author Sister Souljah set to speak in front of 1,700 in KCK

Kansas City, Kan., Public Library will be the host of bestselling author Sister Souljah as part of the tour for her latest book, “A Moment of Silence: Midnight III.”

The event will take place Saturday, April 16, in the auditorium of Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kan. The event was originally scheduled to be held at the Main Library, but due to the phenomenal response in registrations, it was moved to accommodate more attendees.

Activist, educator, hip hop artist, and bestselling author Sister Souljah is best known for her autobiography, “No Disrespect,” and her novel, “The Coldest Winter Ever.” As a community activist, she participated in the anti-apartheid movement, organized rallies against racially motivated crimes, created the African Youth Survival Camp, and worked as the executive director of Daddy’s House Social Programs.

She is a graduate of Rutgers University and was also educated at Cornell University and University of Salamanca. More information about the event can be found at www.kckpl.org.

– From Kim Woolery, Kansas City, Kan., Public Library