Consisting of an interactive network of suspended avian forms, which contrasts timeless cycles with irreversible change, it juxtaposes our technological advances with the historical cycles of Wichita's past – the land, wildlife, industry, and migrations of the Native American Peoples.

The colors and sizes represent the following avian/bird types which correspond with activity in distinct sections of the library:

• Meadowlark (Yellow & Brown) – East Entrance
• Purple Martins (Purple) – Technology / Teen
• Blue Birds (Blue) – Children's Pavilion
• Finches (Red/Yellow/Orange) – Streetscape Pavilion
• Cardinals (Red) – Upstairs Main Lobby
• Robins (Orange) – Learning Pavilion
• Hawks (Turquoise & Brown) – Research Pavilion

The migrations patterns give homage to the recorded migrations of the Native American tribes who traveled between what is now referred to as the Arkansas River and Wichita Falls. These include the Wichita People and their affiliated tribes the Waco, Keechi Tawakoni, Taovayas (Tawehash) and other tribes from the region such as the Pawnee, Osage and others.

Painted steel, 99 x 99 x 35 in. Originally commissioned for Willowbend Golf Course, Big Red was donated to the City of Wichita in the 1990s and kept in storage. In early 2020, it was proposed to restore the sculpture and place it outside the Advanced Learning Library. It was installed on June 23, 2023.

From the artist: "In the early to mid-'80s, when Big Red was made, I began looking for ways to incorporate representation into my abstractions. In the following years, Big Red would evolve into the many characters that form a carousel which I call the Circus of Life. It is finally nearing completion, as you can see on my website. I feel proud that the city of Wichita owns Big Red, a seminal work that has fueled my later career by leading to the creation of the more than 50 characters that make up Circus of Life."

In the late 1960s, the firm of Oblinger-Smith prepared a study under contract with the Urban Renewal Agency of the Wichita, Kansas Metropolitan Area. The purpose of this study was "to establish general design objectives for the development of all lands within the jurisdiction of the Urban Renewal Agency affected by the Arkansas and the Little Arkansas Rivers with specific attention to the Center City Area." The study corresponded to the start of Wichita's second century as a city in 1969-70.

A smaller, colorless version of this image appeared in the Oblinger-Smith publication "The River Corridor." That publication, prepared in November 1968, called for several changes including an amphitheatre to be built at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers, a new sports complex at the site of Lawrence Stadium, and some form of sky tram (not pictured) to transport people between the amphitheatre, the sports complex, and potentially Old Cowtown Museum.

48" x 48", acrylic, tar, acid etch, rust, pencil on steel

Created as a response to the art in the remodeled Chester I. Lewis Reflection Park, this work refers to multiple maps articulating the ongoing legacy of housing discrimination in Wichita and specific locations related to the actions Chester I. Lewis took against discriminatory laws and policies in the city in the 1950s-1970s. The artist describes the work in greater detail on his website.

An American flag with the Pledge of Allegiance printed over pages from The First Reader by Clara B. Baker, a book of illustrated fairytales and nursery rhymes originally printed in the U.S. in the 1920s that continued to be printed through at least 1936. The page in the upper left corner of the painting, featuring the flag and Pledge of Allegiance, apparently was the very first page in the book.

In 2018, William Counter had an exhibition at CityArts called "Red Stripe." The show featured "mass media objects like magazines, LP covers, and paperback books as inspiration for his paintings," as described by Curt Clonts for KMUW.

In 1884, John Edward Petrie married Adeline Bruce and moved to Wichita, where he founded the Petrie's clothing store. His sons, Charles Judson and Richard Bruce Petrie, owned the business by 1923. In a Wichita Eagle report about the store's closing, it was written that a young J. E. Petrie "survived Quantrill's raid" on Lawrence in 1863. R. B. Petrie's first wife, Marguerite Smith, died in 1957. According to his obituary in the Wichita Eagle-Beacon, at the time of his death he was married to Annabelle Valerius Petrie (d. 1990), whose name features prominently on the artwork's plaque.

This artwork was unveiled at a reception at the Central Library on September 11, 1978. The sculpture had been displayed in the foyer of that building until it was moved to the Advanced Learning Library in 2018.

Steel rod, sheet metal, solder, acrylic paint with hardening protective coat, 12 x 6 x 6 ft. The mobile sculpture is comprised of approximately 130 pieces of painted shapes suspended on steel rods.

"To Waltner, this explosion of color (and its fitting name), pays homage to a public library's unconditional acceptance of its patrons. No matter who we are, where we've been, or what we are aiming to achieve when entering a library, we are accepted and welcomed. We are invited to seek the knowledge offered freely from a library’s shelves, unburdened by society's expectant gaze. The inspiration for this mobile came to John as he watched one of the Bethel Choir's winter concerts. There, a line from one of the songs struck him: 'Your true colors are beautiful.'" (from the artist's website)

Print 894/1500. Original held at the Wichita Art Museum: gouache on illustration board, 40 3/4 x 62 inches.

Bosin's stepson, David Simmonds, wrote in Blackbear Bosin: Keeper of the Indian Spirit, "In February 1965 the Wichita Art Museum hosted its first Blackbear Bosin show, which included 24 paintings. Blackbear was commissioned by Henry A. Humphrey to do a painting showing the relationship of the Indian people and Wichita. Blackbear completed Wichita, My Son for Humphrey, who then donated the piece to the Wichita Art Museum."