Author: Eric Melton

One member of our Maisy/Ramona team perished overnight.  Ann will be cremating her. 

J FIC has finally been shifted!!! With only 59 paperback titles to be re-labeled, I thought it was a good time to go ahead and shift. Shelf ranges have not been updated yet, but they will be shortly!!

Thank you for all being patient during this transition. And thank you Tech Services for getting this project done so quickly!!!

We are up and running with Self-Serve Holds.

For those of you that ever trap holds at your workstation: You will need to adjust a setting on your checkin screen>Tools>Options:

 to select Hold Pickup Slip. You only need to do this once.

When a hold is trapped, a pick up slip will print. A call slip will print afterwards. The call slip lets you know the patron’s notification preference. Please place both slips in the book. If you find a random call slip, it technically should be shredded since it contains confidential information.

Please place holds on the black holds cart behind the Circulation Desk so that Circulation staff can determine if we need to call the patron and we can file the books on the holds shelf.

It would be helpful if you could remind patrons that they need to checkout the materials from the holds shelf at the Circ Desk or at the Self-Check Kiosk.

Okay probably more info than you needed, but now you know…

Let us know if you have questions. 

For more information about Banned and Challenged Books please go to: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/about.

This Friday is an open rehearsal with the Des Moines Symphony at 7 PM at the Civic Center downtown.  If any of you would like to attend, please let me know the first and last names by tomorrow night (the 21st).  I need that info to sign them up, and we are playing pieces by Sergi Rachmaninoff, Max Bruch, and Carl Maria Von Weber. Text me at 402-730-7668, or e-mail me at cellistandrew@gmail.com. 

Some of you were confused about the Harry Potter performances.  They are taking place on February 2nd and 3rd, and there are two performances on the 3rd.  Let me know if you have questions.

Johnston Maker Day–a collaboration between JPL, Johnston Community Ed, and the Johnston Schools–takes place this Sunday 1-4pm in the library’s Large Meeting Room and the Simpson Barn. The event will feature demonstrations and interactive activities from businesses, schools groups, and individuals including:

Robotics
Concrete Planters

Lego® Displays
Spin Art
Slime
Paintings
Fabric Arts
Blanket Forts
Tuba Performance
Reactions
Solar Power
Cake Decorating Snap Circuits
Harmonicas
Coding and More!

Wednesday, October 18th, 9am-3:30pm, Library Journal is hosting an online conference called TechKnowledge: Creating Equity Through Technology. This will be “an online conference focused on what the nation’s libraries and library staff can and do support equity and inclusion within and among our libraries’ diverse communities.” 

The conference will cover several topics throughout the day. A full program is at http://lj.libraryjournal.com/techknowledge-2017/program

The conference will be setup in the Archive Room for those who would like to attend (on the clock).

There is now a page on the website describing our home delivery services. It is located under the “Services” menu. Questions related to home delivery can be directed to ROD (sorry Rod) or Molly.

https://www.johnstonlibrary.com/services/home-delivery/

A perk of being at the Ref Desk or Circ Desk is getting to see and hear adorable children asking questions. This little one had LOTS of questions for Eric.

For those of you who missed Valerie’s visit, here’s a shot of baby Kip totally oblivious to all the attention he received.

Oops! I forgot to set out the sign this week. Here’s a quick reminder to turn in your timesheets this week.

Thanks,

Peg

Update: The upgrade to Polaris 5.5 is complete. If you encounter any oddities in Polaris, please let me know.

Update: Our Polaris technician had Monday September 18 in his calendar, so we started the upgrade this morning. Please refrain from using Polaris except on Circ 1 and Circ 2 (check-out and new patron registration only).  I’ll let you know when the upgrade is complete.

On Tueday, we will be upgrading to version 5.5 of Polaris.  Our Polaris technician has accepted the challenge to be finished by 9:00 a.m.

The symphony season is about to be underway, and here is a link to the schedule:  http://dmsymphony.org/orchestra/concerts-and-events/.

One event I haven’t told you about is the family concert, which is not listed on the schedule, and it will take place on October 29th.  Ticket info can be found here:  https://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/events/wellmark-family-series/633-phantoms-of-the-orchestra/. That and the Harry Potter in February are through the Des Moines Performing Arts organization.  I will keep you informed about possible open rehearsals. 

A $5 bill was found in one a chair in the eastern center grouping.  It’s locked up with the cash drawers.

The east side of the building has been a little warm this week. This time of year–when temps are chilly at night and warm or mild during the day–seems to confuse our HVAC system. I’m waiting for a fix from our HVAC company. I’ll keep everyone posted.

 I’ve highlighted some of what was discussed at the August board meeting below.

*Summer Reading

Megan has put together a Youth Services “Summer Reading Report” with a lot of good information about summer reading sign-ups and completion and program attendance.

This summer, we have out about 445 Adult Summer Reading logs. To participate in Adult Summer Reading, patrons could complete a number of library-related activities. Each completed activity earned patrons the chance to win a prize. The chart below shows how many activities were completed.

Adult Summer Participation by Completed Activities
Read a Book	632
Listened to a Book	76
Attended an Adult Program	28
Completed a Quiz or Trivia Page	48
Wants Email	56
Unknown	4
Total Responses	844

*Annual Library report to city council

The city ordinance requires the board to present an annual report to the council following each fiscal year. Bob Marvin, the current board president, presented the report to the city council Tuesday night. Read the report. See the presentation.

A cell phone with a black Otterbox case was left at the self checkout tonight. It will be locked in the back if anyone comes looking for it. Thanks!