Plaza Branch and Central Library will open late at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17 due to the Kansas City Marathon.
This article first appeared in the May/June 2026 issue of KC Studio Magazine.
The Kansas City metro area is gearing up for an estimated 650,000 visitors this summer, with six FIFA World Cup matches scheduled at Arrowhead Stadium in June and July.
"World Cup’s my favorite time, so it’s very, very exciting,” says Joe Cowley, senior branch manager at the Plaza Branch near a KC Streetcar stop.
“We don’t know what to expect,” he says. “But we’re doing all we can to prepare.”
An avid soccer fan, Cowley started playing the game when he was 6 or 7. He’s also coached for the Special Olympics, a younger sibling, and his own four kids. So, when there was an opportunity to lead the Library’s World Cup planning committee, he grabbed it.
“I love the pace. I love the skill,” Cowley says. “I love how it brings people from all over the world to play.”
This year, metro-area libraries in Kansas and Missouri collaborate on a Summer Reading Program theme: Read, Score, Roar! It’s a nod to soccer and dinosaurs.
The Library's program runs June 1 through August 15, encouraging children, teens, and adults to enjoy reading for fun and explore new perspectives through books and library activities.
The World Cup will be the main attraction at summer reading kickoff parties and watch parties at library branches across the system. There will also be events and an exhibition with ties to public media.
On May 12 at the Plaza Branch, a program hosted by Kansas City PBS’s Nick Haines discusses what metro area residents can expect and the event’s potential impact on housing, parking, and the economy.
A new exhibition called A People’s History of Kansas City Soccer! opens on June 4 at the Central Library.
Exhibitions Coordinator Craig Auge curated the show in partnership with KCUR 89.3, examining how Kansas City grew from an underdog to a soccer hub and World Cup host. It's based on a mini-series from the award-winning podcast “A People’s History of Kansas City,” which explores the city’s soccer history.
“My role is research support, providing images, helping with some of the text to get into the very early history of soccer,” says Special Collections Senior Librarian Michael Wells. “I’ve been helping with early 20th-century, kind of nascent Kansas City soccer history, and tracking it down with our research tools.”
On June 4, during a special event, “A People’s History of Kansas City” hosts Suzanne Hogan and Mackenzie Martin share audio clips and behind-the-scenes stories about the series.
The Library is also continuing its partnership with Urban Hikes KC for a series of free guided tours for patrons. These hikes will depart throughout the summer from the Central Library (English and Spanish), North-East Branch, Plaza Branch (English and Spanish), Ruiz Branch (English and Spanish), Southeast Branch, and Westport Branch.
And, if you want to brush up on language skills ahead of the World Cup, stop by many of the Library's branches to check out books, audiobooks, and videos, as well as magazines, CDs, and streaming music in multiple languages.
International visitors can also sign up for a temporary library card, check out a limited number of items, access digital resources — or just hang out.
“We are a place where people can exist in comfort,” says the Plaza Branch's Joe Cowley, “and not the humidity of Kansas City.”
He’s looking forward to greeting fans from around the world as they bond over their love of soccer.
“It’s my favorite sport to play. It’s my favorite sport to watch,” Cowley says. “I love to share that knowledge with others and that passion.”
Find out more about World Cup programming here.