The necessity for a library to cater to the burgeoning area of Johnson County, specifically between State Line Road and Metcalf, and south of I-435, was initially recognized in the Johnson County Library facilities plan of 1979. In the early 1990s, the Marned Corporation, the developers behind Town Center Plaza, generously donated the land for what would become the Leawood Pioneer Library to the Johnson County Library system. This location was strategically advantageous, boasting high visibility from the main road, proximity to a well-loved shopping and dining hub, and mere blocks from the national headquarters of Sprint, then the largest employer in Johnson County.
Final designs for this new branch were completed by mid-1992, with construction commencing in 1993. The Leawood Pioneer Library officially opened its doors on May 23rd, 1994, followed by a formal dedication ceremony on June 18th. The library’s name is a tribute to the city of Leawood and the historic pioneer trails – Oregon, Santa Fe, and California – that traversed this region between the 1820s and 1870s. At its inception, the Leawood Pioneer Library spanned 11,800 square feet and housed approximately 31,000 items.
From its very beginning, the library was a bustling community hub. In 1995, its first full year of operation, the Leawood Pioneer Library recorded an impressive circulation of 406,001 items. The library’s collection gradually expanded from its initial 31,000 items to over 77,000, and more public computers were added to meet growing demand over the years. This increasing popularity led to overcrowding. The meeting room was repurposed to create more space, and finding available seating or workspace became challenging.
Recognizing the library’s vital role in the community, the original building design incorporated the possibility of future expansion. Plans to enlarge the library were underway as early as the late 1990s. By 2006, plans and funding were solidified for an expansion of approximately 8,000 square feet. In September 2008, the library closed for renovations, and a temporary service point was established in the Town Center Mall across the street to ensure continued access for patrons. After just over a year of work, the fully renovated and expanded Leawood Pioneer Library reopened on October 1st, 2009, now encompassing 19,012 square feet. A grand reopening and ribbon-cutting ceremony officially celebrated the enhanced facility on October 17th.
The Leawood Pioneer Library continues to be a vibrant and heavily used branch within the Johnson County Library system. From 2014 to 2018, it consistently circulated around 450,000 items annually and welcomed an average of 240,000 visitors each year. This is a remarkable level of engagement for a branch serving a population of approximately 37,000 residents as of 2015.
Key Statistics from 2018:
- Visitors: 232,562
- Items Circulated: 453,472
- Square Footage: 19,012
This article was initially researched and written by Jerry C. Roy in 2010 and subsequently edited and updated by Mike Keller in 2019.
