Author: Eric Melton

Minutes for May-July staff meetings are now available via the first link included below (only accessible within the library).  

http://catalog.johnstonlibrary.com/staff/docs/staff-meeting-minutes/

Some electrical work this morning required shutting power down to some areas of the building. This affected our clocks, which are now an hour slow, and our phones, which cannot call internal extensions. We are awaiting service on the phones; the clocks should fix themselves overnight.

I installed two new PCs to replace YS1 and YS2.  The new PCs use Windows 7 (just like YS3-5). 

The new PCs are a smaller size than our traditional towers.  I have set them up horizontally (the way the DVD drive opens) and placed them under the monitors.

If you have any questions about the new PCs, please let me know.

Dreama

A copy of the new city-wide employee manual has been placed in your mailbox. Please fill out the top sheet and return it to the box on my desk.

thanks,

 Eric

I find it hard to believe, but it is timesheet week.  Please turn in your timesheet today, Wednesday, July 23rd.

Thank you,

Missy

Adult Summer Reading has come to a close and prizes have been drawn. There is a list with prize winners’ names  locked up with the money in the middle office. The Science Center Membership Certificate and smaller gift cards that will go to prize winners are also locked up with the money. The two other main prizes, the coffee lovers gift bag and the gardener’s gift bag, are in large white gift bags under the desk in the middle office. 

If a person comes in to pick up his or her prize, please cross off their name on the list after you have given them their prize. 

Thanks!

We are now using Polaris’s ILL component to manage those items that have been borrowed from other libraries for our customers.   Following are instructions for checking ILLs out and in:

Checking out the ILL Item to the Patron

1. When the patron arrives, check out the item just as you would any other hold.  Note: ILL hold requests display in a separate section of the screen below JPL library holds. If the library did not provide a barcode, use the temporary JPL ILL barcode.

2. Polaris will alert you that the item is an ILL.

3. Polaris will prompt you to collect $3.00 from the patron – you may either charge the patron’s account or pay at that time.

4.  Use the special due date feature to change the due date to match the loan period as noted on the ILL cover slip.

Checking in the ILL Item

 When the patron returns the item, check it in as you would any other item using the lending library’s existing barcode (If the library did not provide a barcode, use the temporary JPL ILL barcode ).  Polaris will alert you that the item is an ILL.  Put the ILL item in the returned ILLs area.

Please see Dreama or Maurine if you have questions about this process.

Maurine

We have a staff meeting this Thursday at 8am. We will be discussing the online catalog in detail, changes to the library’s website, changes in Holiday leave, and news from the departments. See you then.

Eric

I’m not sure if the author is serious or just being provocative but what he says is surely indicative of some peoples’ thinking regarding what we do.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2014/07/18/close-the-libraries-and-buy-everyone-an-amazon-kindle-unlimited-subscription/?utm_content=bufferbb898&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

The kids music CDs have been moved to hanging bins next to the audiobooks. The read-alongs (the bagged books with CDs) have been moved around the corner next to juvenile graphic novels.

Eric

The Meetings & Events links have been moved to the Helping Patrons box (to the left) on the intranet. Sorry about the confusion.

Eric

Just so you are aware of what is going on around you, on Tuesday, July 22nd, you will notice many people and tents beside the Memorial to the east of the library building. 

Camp Dodge will be holding a ceremony and reception.  I have been told by my contact that they may come into the library building afterwards – just to look around.  They have no expectations of tours, etc.  They simply love the library and are grateful to be able to have a reception close by. 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.  Cheryl

Links to current meeting room revervations and a listing of library events have been added to the intranet. Find them under Staff Resources (<– to the left). 

Our supply of plastic grocery bags at the Circ Desk has been depleted.  If you have bags at home that you can part with, we’d be happy to receive your donations.

Thanks.

Dreama

The Public Safety Building will be open to city staff for tours this Thursday at 7am, 10am, and 12:30pm.

The battery recycling and eyeglasses donation bins have been moved between the front entrance doors. I’m not sure that’s the best place for them but until we find it that’s where they’ll be.

Eric

The CD/POP and CD/PR CDs are now interfiled and shelved as a single category in the CD bins.  You will find them under ‘Pop’.

Maurine

I activated a number of data ports in the large meeting room so that you can connect both to the staff network and to the Internet.  The advantages of using these data ports are:

• You can connect to the staff network without running a data cable into the workroom
• The Internet connection will be more steady and reliable since it doesn’t have to pass through the Wi-Fi network

While these data ports are primarily for staff use, if a visitor connects a device to one of the data ports, he will have access to the Internet but not to the staff network.

The active data ports are as follows:

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Dreama

Eric resolved the problem with PC Reservation connecting to Polaris.  We’re once again authenticating patron barcodes/PINs.

Dreama

The interactive connection between Polaris and PC Reservation is not working this afternoon.  I have contacted Polaris for support, and I am waiting for a reply.

In the meantime, I have set PC Reservation not to authenticate users.  That is, a patron can type his barcode/PIN as usual, but no matter what he types, he’ll be able to use the PC.

As soon as I have the Polaris connection resolved, I’ll reinstate barcode/PIN authentication.

Thank you for your patience.

Dreama