On July 18, 2017, the heads of four KC-area library systems joined KCPT’s Nick Haines for a public conversation at the Plaza Branch about Libraries Out Loud, a documentary series produced for KCPT’s Flatland website that celebrates the work of local libraries. Segments of videos were shown and discussed, touching on the ways today’s libraries fulfill their traditional missions in addition to offering other vital community services.

Check out the entire video series >

Kansas City consistently ranks among the nation’s most literate cities, per an annual study by Central Connecticut State University, in no small part because of the quality and contributions of its libraries. The coveted National Medal for Museum and Library Service has gone to three area systems: the Johnson County Library (in 2005), Kansas City Public Library (2008), and Mid-Continent Public Library (2014).

Filmmaker and documentarian Michael Price celebrates their work, and that of the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library, in a collection of short films, Libraries Out Loud, produced for KCPT-TV’s Flatland website.

The Library and KCPT premiere the four shorts, each five to six minutes long and focusing in turn on building community/combating loneliness, literacy, bridging the digital divide, and entrepreneurship. The heads of the four library systems – Johnson County’s Sean Casserly, KCK’s Carol Levers, Mid-Continent’s Steve Potter, and KCPL’s Crosby Kemper III – join KCPT’s Nick Haines in a series of brief discussions following each screening.