Author: Eric Melton

library email is down. I’ll discuss with molly how to handle notifications for holds.

From city hall:

As an FYI- I have disconnected the mail server from the internet here at city hall. So, don’t be alarmed if you are getting an error when trying to send or receive email.
We are currently on hold with our anti-virus vendor awaiting support.

Thanks. I’ll update you if/when I have new information.

The city (including the library) is experiencing intermittent blocking of outgoing email messages. If you have a library email address and you receive a message that an email you sent has been rejected please let me know.

Staff across city departments are receiving emails that appear to be from other city staff but that are actually from a spammer. If you receive an unexpected email from a city address let me know and do not open any attachments/files included with the email. 

If AJ returns to the library don’t approach him, call the police. I’ve contacted PD. They are planning to visit his house and talk to him at school.

I’ve been asked to pass on the Coronavirus information linked below.

2019 Novel Coronavirus Fact Sheet

I’m excited to announce that Brittany Burk has accepted the Youth Services Assistant Librarian position and will start work on February 18th. Brittany is currently the Youth Services Librarian at the Polk City Public Library where she does programming and collection development for patrons aged 0 to 18. She is a resident of Johnston and a patron of JPL so she may look familiar to some of you.

A family has been visiting recently with their dog. Although the owner claimed it was a service animal, the dog was clearly untrained and occasionally disruptive. This prompted us to do some research into the rights of owners who claim their pet is a “service animal” and the rights of those that oversee the public places they visit. What we found is not as clear-cut as you might think.

How do we know when an animal is a service animal?

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, “in situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only two specific questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform? Staff are not allowed to request any documentation for the dog, require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person’s disability.”*

In other words, if the owner claims the animal is a service animal we have to take their word for it.

When can we ask an animal to leave the library?

We can ask that an owner remove their animal from the library if it is not under control or is not house broken:

The service animal must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered while in public places unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the person’s disability prevents use of these devices.

If a particular service animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it, or if it is not housebroken, that animal may be [asked to leave]…Under control…means that a service animal should not be allowed to bark repeatedly in a lecture hall, theater, library, or other quiet place. However, if a dog barks just once, or barks because someone has provoked it, this would not mean that the dog is out of control.*

How to respond when an animal visits the library.

Many of us have seen the woman who rolls her chihuahua around the library in a cooler. In cases like this, where the animal is being contained and is not being disruptive to other patrons, there’s no need to question the owner on the service-status of their pet. If the animal is being disruptive–running off leash, for example, barking, or jumping:

1. Ask the patron if their animal is a service animal (get a supervisor to do this if you feel uncomfortable approaching the patron).
2. If the patron says no, explain that our policy is that only animals assisting those with disabilities are allowed in the library
3. If the patron says yes, explain that while service animals are allowed in the library, they need to be on-leash and that their behavior shouldn’t be disruptive to other patrons.
4. If the animal’s behavior continues, you or a supervisor may need to ask that the patron remove the animal from the library.

These are tricky situations to handle. Again, it’s okay if you’d rather a supervisor respond. If your supervisor is not working at the time and you need guidance, call Molly or myself.

*https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html

Deb B. will be picking up her artwork Thursday morning. It’s on the ledge behind the circ. desk.

The phones seem to be working again.

We had active shooter training at last week’s all-staff meeting. The training was presentation-based–we’ll be scheduling a scenario-based training sometime soon.

I wanted to remind all staff of some of the building’s emergency features:

• Inside each of the two doors between the circulation desk and the staff area is a red button. Pressing the button will close and lock both doors.
• The door between the Youth Services area and the Youth Services offices locks when closed.
• The door between the East Meeting Room and the staff area is sometimes locked, sometimes not. A metal switch on the door edge near the latch can be used to lock and unlock the door.
• Each public desk has an emergency button under the desk. Pressing the button for 5 seconds will notify 911 that emergency assistance is needed. An alarm will not sound.

I just heard from CenturyLink with today’s update. The cable they are working on is what they call a pulp cable which is basically paper wrapped around the copper wires. They are continuing to try to dry the cable and are unsure at this time if they will need to run more cable. They do not anticipate service to be restored today

Communication innovators is still working through getting the City Hall and Public Works phones forwarded through the west fire station. They are headed out there to see why the system isn’t allowing the forward to go through.

Once we have a clearer picture on the forwarding issue I will let you know. In the meantime if you’re getting phone calls and there doesn’t appear to be anyone there, just know that it’s related to us working on forwarding the phones.

Updates to follow as warranted.

Cyndee

I posted the info@johnstonlibrary email address on Facebook as a way for patrons to contact us while our phones are down. Please forward any non-Public Services related inquiries to notices@johnstonlibrary.com or just to me.

Good Afternoon,

Not sure how up to date everyone is- so I’ll apologize if this is repeating information.

CenturyLink has discovered that their manhole is covered by a steel plate and concrete, so them gaining access is going to take some time. We’re waiting on an updated estimated time to repair.
Because I don’t see this being resolved today, nor probably tomorrow, we are working on a temporary forwarding solution.
The west fire station is not impacted by this outage, so we’re going to have CenturyLink forward the city hall number and public works through the west fire station. (We can only forward 2 numbers). Communication innovators will then build a ‘group’ to send those calls to. I spoke with Chief McDaniel and he is comfortable continuing to use the Polk County non-emergency number.
On the off chance that outage is going to last past Wednesday, I’ve got Communication Innovators working on a longer term solution.

Additional updates as the situation warrants.

Cyndee

The lift will kept in the west meeting room for the next couple of weeks to facilitate security camera installation and AV updates. If you need it moved from some reason, let me know.

From city hall:

The City of Johnston’s phone lines are down. This includes City Hall, Public Works, Parks & Recreation, Library, and the non-emergency Police and Fire numbers. We are working with our provider to get the issue resolved as quickly as possible.

In the event of Police or Fire related non-emergency, please call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office directly at 515-286-3333. 911 service is not affected.

In the event of a low pressure sewer system alarm (solid red light located on the control panel and audible alarm), please call 515-208-5373.

From city hall:

Phone lines continue to be down. The latest update is that the tech couldn’t access the utility hole. I’m not sure what that means. They claim that they’ll be out tomorrow. Of course I asked how tomorrow would be different. They didn’t have an answer. I have escalated the ticket with the district manager, but I don’t expect much movement. I have also reached out to a local contact but haven’t heard back.
Updates as warranted.

Cyndee

The library’s phone system is currently down. We cannot receive or make phone calls. The problem is with the CenturyLink network–they’re looking into it.

Two charging cables are now available for patron use. Each has three ends to accommodate different types of phones. One is located at the Information Desk below the “Tech Help” sign and one is near the bench below the farm painting.

The library is not responsible for charging phones. If a patron asks you to watch their phone while it is charging, please do not accept. Patrons should stay with their phone while it is plugged in to the charging station to ensure that it is still there when charging is done.

Installation of our new security cameras will begin today.