‘What’s Emancipation Got to do With It’ program Monday at Memorial Hall

The Hutchinson Emancipation Day organization will present a series of workshops and panel discussions at Memorial Hall on Monday, Feb. 17, from 2 to 8 p.m.

The program “What’s Emancipation Got to do With It” is part of Black History Month observances.

Noted Hutchinson historian Natasha Russell said in a press release, “This program ambitiously sets out to begin to answer this proposition from the multiple lenses of local, state, national, and even international historical perspectives. Many questions are begged, and many answers resound.”

Topics will include the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the Nicodemus Historical Society and the Kansas Black Farmers Association, with presentations centered on the annual Emancipation Day celebration in August.

The presentation schedule is:

• 2:00 Natasha Russell — Intro and Hutch Emancipation History with Theo Bias providing opening music
• 3:00 Phil Dixon — Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
• 4:00 Angela Bates — Nicodemus Historical Society
• 5:00 JohnElla Holms — Kansas Black Farmers Association
• 6:00 Dinner Break — Soup Dinner Catered by Iverson Smokehouse with Musical Accompaniment by Margo Kimble
• 7:00 Tie it together and Wrap it up — Panel Discussion and Q&A with speakers

The event is free and open to the public. It will also be livestreamed on Google Meet.

For more information, visit the Hutchinson Emancipation Day Facebook page.

The Hutchinson Emancipation Day organization will present a series of workshops and panel discussions at Memorial Hall on Monday, Feb. 17, from 2 to 8 p.m. The program "What's Emancipation Got to do With It" is part of Black History Month observances. Noted Hutchinson historian Natasha Russell

Hutchinson Public Library first to host Library of Congress workshop Tuesday

Hutchinson Public Library Adult Program Coordinator Katie Broker poses alongside a poster promoting the Treasures of the Library of Congress scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 18 CREDIT RICHARD SHANK

By Richard Shank

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Two Library of Congress Education Specialists will be at the Hutchinson Public Library February 18 to launch “Treasures of the Library of Congress,” a day-long series of workshops on everything from historical newspapers, genealogical resources, and the Veterans History Project.

Katie Broker, Adult Program Coordinator for the Hutchinson Public Library, said Hutchinson is the first city in the state to participate in the national program.

“We are very honored to be Kansas’ first city in a collaborative effort with the Library of Congress,” Broker said. “Plans were put into motion following a call this past summer from the Library of Congress.”

“Collaboratives such as this allow the Hutchinson Public Library to fulfill our mission to inspire learning, cultivate growth, and strengthen our community,” Broker continued. “A part of our mission is to coordinate programs that patrons want to participate in, from arts to natural history. This program from the Library of Congress fits perfectly with what we are doing.”

Treasurers of the Library of Congress kicks off at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday with a presentation on Historical Newspapers, followed one hour later with a workshop entitled “Genealogy Resources available from the Library of Congress.”

A 12:30 p.m. session deals with The Veterans History Project. A meeting at 1:30 is entitled “By the People Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress. At 2:30, a discussion about the Kansas Talking Book Program and the Kansas Center for the Book will be the topic. A second workshop on Genealogy Resources is slated for 3:30, followed by a session entitled “Creative Works from the New Deal,” beginning at 4:30.

The final two sessions, slated for 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively, deal with Transportation Resources and Historical Newspapers.

All sessions are held on the second floor of the Hutchinson Public Library in Meeting Room 1 and are free to attend. No reservations are required.

Following the sessions in Hutchinson, the Education Specialists will be on the road with a similar series of workshops scheduled for February 22 at the El Quartelejo Museum in Scott City before a session slated for April 5 at the Watkins Museum of History in Lawrence. The Library of Congress Kansas workshops conclude April 8 at the Girard Public Library.

Library of Congress Librarian Carla Hayden dubs the organization she leads “a library for all.”

“Holding more than 178 million items in its collections, the library offers perhaps the most comprehensive collection of human knowledge ever assembled in one place,” Hayden said. “This important learning initiative showcases the ways people can experience the depth and breadth of what the library collects, preserves, and makes available, all from their own communities.”

The history of the Library of Congress is storied. In 1800, President John Adams signed legislation establishing the Library of Congress, and soon, 3,000 books were on the shelves in a Washington, D.C. building. In 1814, during the War of 1812, the British invaded Washington, D.C. and burned the library and its contents. The naysayers said they could never duplicate what they had, but a former president soon came to the rescue.

Former President Thomas Jefferson, who was in dire financial straits, offered to sell his personal library to restart the Library of Congress, which included 6,487 books, an offer the government could not refuse. Many of Jefferson’s books were destroyed in an 1851 fire at the Library of Congress but those that survived are on permanent display today.

Hutchinson opened its first library in 1901 at Fifth and Main Street through a grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, 29 years following the founding of the city. In 1951, the library was moved to its current location at 901 North Main Street. The structure has undergone several expansions during the past 74 years.

2026 will mark the 125 th anniversary of the opening of Hutchinson’s first public library.

Hutchinson Public Library Adult Program Coordinator Katie Broker poses alongside a poster promoting the Treasures of the Library of Congress scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 18 CREDIT RICHARD SHANK By Richard Shank Two Library of Congress Education Specialists will be at the Hutchinson Public Library February 18 to