Author: Eric Melton

Jo has a new printer, and it is shared across the network so any staff PC can print to it.  The printer has an energy-efficient feature that shuts the printer off when it’s not being used.  If you send a print job, and it doesn’t print, turn the printer on (button on the front left side), and your document will appear.

Dreama

Lynne and Beth S. are collecting empty egg cartons for a family gardening program that will happen at the end of May. Please bring in your old egg cartons to the Youth Services office. We are aiming for around 30. 

Thanks!

Beth and Lynne

Today I renumbered and renamed the public PCs as follows:

• The adult PCs are named Station1 through Station 12.  Station1 is in the northwest carrel, and the numbering wraps around the carrels in that area through Station 8.  Stations 9 and 10 are behind the reference desk.  Stations 11 and 12 are in the study rooms.
• The children’s PCs are named YS1 through YS 5.  YS1 is to the right of the brightboard.  There is a new YS2 next to it.  YS 3 through 5 are the old Stations 10-12.

Dreama

A “Vanilla “Gift card was turned in today.  I contacted customer service to report it as found and to  see if they could notify the recipient (the card has a balance of $74) —  they cannot. So, if the owner returns,  the card is in the locked money cabinet.

Thanks, Lori E

Here is information on two upcoming MSW programs

ROCK YOUR SAVINGS!
Sunday, April 6, 1:30 p.m.
Learn how to ROCK your savings!!  Benjamin Bruins, ChFC, Vice President of First Heartland Financial Group, Inc. and Rock, Brock and the Savings Shock will teach 2nd and 3rd graders how to save their money.  The first 15 children will be given a free autographed copy!
Register online or by calling 278-5233.

Program will last around a half an hour.

Right after this program, another similiar one will occur but for older children.  See below for more information.

A MILLIONAIRE’S MIND – LEARNING TO INVEST
Sunday, April 6, 2:00 p.m.
How do you become a millionaire?  This hands-on session will show students (4th & 5th graders) and parents/grandparents how to start down the investing path.  Learn how to find stocks, invest small amounts, and use the library’s resources to build a portfolio.  This special program will be presented by Joanne Kuster, author of Stock Market Pie: Grandma helps Emily make a million.  First 15 children will receive a free autographed copy!
Register online or by calling 278-5233.

This program will last around a half an hour.

Here is an upcoming event in case you get questions

DASH FOR THE STASH EVENT — APRIL 5 TO APRIL 12
Dash to the library, find posters spread throughout the library, answer questions on the poster by scanning the QR code or going online, and win $1,000. 

There will be 5 posters located within the library.
Review each poster, then scan the QR code or enter the given web address that is located on the poster. 
The QR code and/or the web address will direct you to 5 questions. 
Submitting the answer to these questions will be your entry into the contest.
Each correct answer is worth 2 entries…incorrect answers are worth 1 entry.
All answers can be easily found by reading the information on the poster. One lucky player in this statewide contest will win $1,000 for an IRA (Individual Retirement Account).

Must be 18 or older to win.

We have a staff meeting at 8am this Thursday. Sean McAndrew from the fire department will talk about using a fire extinguisher and show us how to shock people back to life with the library’s AED device -he will be looking for volunteers.  

I identified 34 patron records that do have have a phone number.  I added a block to the records, which will alert Circ staff to Ask Patron for Phone Number.

When you’ve updated the phone number, you’ll need to remove the block.

Dreama

The pac redesign includes a  change in the naming convention and sizing of pac covers. Items added to the collection since a few days ago will not show cover images in the current pac -these items will have covers once the new pac goes live. 

Several patron fees came over from Sirsi with no attached items. Many of these show in Polaris as overdue fees when they are, in fact, lost item fees. I’ve printed some pages from our raw migration data that contain some information regarding the items these fines are associated with. The pages are in a black sleeve at circulation. The information is incomplete and formatted poorly but it should help you tell patrons what some of these fees are for. Patron Tracie Burnett, for example, has a $25 charge on her account with no item information. The information in the pages corresponding to this fee is shown below.

BURNETT, TRACIE ANNE DMLONGOVERDUE= $25 UNPAID BILLS   recording]IURB000322411DDAMAGE$20.00 The phoenix [sound recording]IURB000322411DPROCESSFEE$5.00

Timesheets are due today, Wednesday March 19th.

Thank you!

Missy

During the conversion process to Polaris, many of the phone numbers associated with customer accounts were lost and we’ve recently had several instances where staff has been unable to contact customers about damage, missing, interlibrary loan or other issues with their account.   Please help us “clean up” the database.

As you ‘check out’ items for customers, take a quick moment and scan the patron detail displayed in the upper right corner of the screen.    If no phone number is displayed, ask for a current phone number and take a couple of minutes to add that number to their record.

As you are checking a printed hold slip to determine the kind of notification (email, text, phone or mailing), see if a phone number is present.  That  slip will always display a phone number regardless of the method of holds notification.   If no phone number is printed, take a minute to put a blocking note on the customer’s account to update a phone number.

If you are placing a hold for a customer, verify how he/she will be contacted about the hold.  If no phone number is present, ask if you can update that information.  It is very helpful for us to have a phone number in addition to an email address.

Thanks!

Maurine

The map linked below marks addresses that have checked items out since our migration to Polaris. Your level of zoom when viewing the map determines the level of “clustering” of addresses. As you zoom out, for example, you’ll see fewer markers as they get clustered together. Red cluster markers represent more densely clustered library use, yellow slightly less dense, and blue the least dense.  The orange markers represent individual households. We’ll continue to collect this data and do a more careful analysis of it after we have about a year’s worth -possibly as part of strategic planning. Zoom in and out using your mouse’s scroll wheel or the zoom tool on the left side of the map. Click and hold to move the map. The map is only accessible from staff PCs.

http://catalog.johnstonlibrary.com/staff/maps/

Weekend hone calls for holds notification should be made prior to opening on both Saturday and Sunday (only one call per day will be made on the weekends).

Be sure to observe confidentiality when making calls regarding holds or other issues with library items.   Titles should not be mentioned on an answering machine or in coversation with a family member.

This morning patrons with over $5 in fines will receive a message like the one shown below. You may receive calls from patrons with questions about their fines and about food-for-fines.

Pay your overdue fees with non-perishable food items during National Library Week (April 13-19).

One food item pays $1 in fees.

Fees for damaged or lost items cannot be paid with food.

Please reply to this message with questions. 

Johnston Public Library

515-278-5233

Adult Book Club is shaking things up! This April, Book Club members will not be reading a novel, but instead will be celebrating National Poetry Month by having a discussion about members’ favorite poems. Anyone interested in attending is invited to bring a copy of their favorite poem with them to the book club meeting on Thursday, April 10 at 6:30pm. 

If patrons come in looking for the Book Club book, poetry packets containing book club members poems are in the spot behind the circulation desk where the book club books are normally kept. Poetry packets do not need to be checked out; patrons may have a packet and do not need to worry about returning it. Packets are available while supplies last–when they’re gone, they’re gone. 

Let Beth know if you have questions. 

As we still occasionally have discs that go missing from AV items that are on the shelves, please remember to open all AV cases (Cd books, music Cds, movies, etc) when checking out these items to patrons at the circ desk to verify if the disc(s) are there or not.

Thank You.

Cushions from the thing on the west side of the YS area have been removed temporarily for reupholstering. 

Eric

This paper gives an overview of a study on different types of library users (and non-users). Please don’t print this at work (it’s over 100 pages!) but feel free to take a look online. I’ve put a copy of the summary in the break room.

http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2014/03/PIP-Library-Typology-Report.pdf

Eric

I added two wireless access points this morning.  The first one replaced the non-functioning one in Eric’s office.  The second one is located on the Cat1 PAC in the adult stacks.  This will provide better service to patrons in the east end of the building.

Patrons can continue to access Wi-Fi without having to click on the user agreement.

If you receive reports from patrons of problems connecting to Wi-Fi, please let me know.  Note where the patrons are physically in the building when they can’t connect so that I can determine if additional wireless access points are needed.

Dreama