Author: Eric Melton

We’ve all heard about the increase in objections to books in schools and libraries over the past few months (including one at JPL). The following paragraphs describe how to respond to patrons who object to materials here at JPL.

It’s possible that the patron stumbled upon the item in question organically, through browsing or a recommendation. It’s also possible that the patron heard about the item online or in the news and came to the library to find it and object to it. Either way, listen to the patron without agreeing with them. If it seems appropriate–if the item in question is a sex-ed book, for example, and they were looking for a book written for a younger audience–offer to help them find something else. If they seem to want a more in-depth conversation about the item or library policy, find the Director or Assistant Director. If neither are available, get the patron’s contact information and tell them that the Director will contact them to discuss their objections.

Unless the patron asks for a Request for Reconsideration form (available via the Patron Assistance menu on the Intranet), do not provide them one. Most times, patrons just want their objections heard and aren’t interested in pursuing a formal challenge. If needed, a form will be provided to the patron following a conversation with the Assistant Director or the Director.

Residential households in the U.S. can now order one set of 4 free at-home tests from USPS.com.

https://special.usps.com/testkits

Updated mask policy from city hall:

Effective immediately – employees are required to wear masks when social distancing guidelines cannot be followed and/or when riding in a vehicle with others for work purposes.  (This does not mean that you must wear a mask when in common areas, just in those instances where you can’t avoid being close to others.)

As a reminder – social distancing is maintaining 6’ of distance between you and others.

Because of a change Overdrive (the company behind Bridges/Libby) made to their technology, patrons will no longer be able to place holds or checkout e-book or e-audiobook titles directly from our website. Instead they’ll be presented with a link to navigate to Bridges for holds and checkouts.

• January 10 – Policy is in effect; Employees may begin uploading their documentation.
• February 4 – Deadline for mask or testing exemption form submittal.
• February 9, 3 p.m. – Deadline to submit documents and deadline to be considered vaccinated. If we do not have proof of vaccination, or an approved exemption for testing by this deadline, employees will be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test for the week of February 14.
• February 14 – Weekly testing of unvaccinated (non-exempt) employees begins.  Employees are responsible for taking a test and submitting their results every week within a 7-day period (calendar days).  If an employee is out of the workplace for more than 7 calendar days, they will need to get tested within 7 days of returning to work, and submit their results. Masking requirements go into effect on this day.  Anyone unvaccinated, and without an APPROVED masking exemption, must wear a mask when inside.  See the policy for exceptions and conditions.

Iowa OSHA announced on Friday evening that they will not be enforcing the federal COVID Vaccination/Testing mandate. The city has therefore decided to pause implementation of this policy.  

You may remember talk a while back of a federal vaccine/testing requirement for US workers. This was tied up in the courts but is now set to go into effect next week, January 10th.  I’ve tried to highlight the important points in the bullets below but it is VERY IMPORTANT that you read the full policy (here).

• All employees are required to submit a declaration of current vaccination status and provide proof of vaccination (if applicable) by February 9, 2022 directly to the City’s Human Resources department though one of the following methods:
  • By uploading an electronic copy to our secure, encrypted portal. Instructions for accessing the portal will be emailed to you at the email address you provide to your supervisor, director, or HR.
  • By delivering a hard copy to the Human Resources department [Cyndee Rhames] at City Hall
• Employees that have not provided proof they are fully vaccinated or who do not have an approved exemption from testing will be required to test for COVID-19 in accordance with the procedures herein beginning the week of February 14, 2022. Testing will be at the employee’s own expense. Employees shall not obtain testing during their work hours and are not compensated for time to be tested.
• Unvaccinated employees who do not have an approved exemption from face coverings must wear proper face coverings over the nose and mouth when indoors and when occupying a vehicle with another person for work purposes.

I understand that this is a lot of information. If you have questions after reading the full policy, let me know. You can expect a follow up email from city hall within the next couple of days with a link to the reporting portal.

Good Morning,

As I am sure you have all heard, the CDC has changed quarantine/isolation guidance this week.  Also, the US Supreme Court will hear the case for the OSHA vaccine mandate on January 7.   Once that decision has been reached, we may have further information on policies and processes going forward.

The CDC guidance is attached [linked below]

It is important that the masking portion of the guidance is followed.  As a reminder, the current City policy still requires employees to wear masks whenever more than one employee is traveling in a vehicle on City business.

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns.

Thanks!

Cyndee

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1POcOFcO_z1UtAVlbwTL5A1L6ldM9I6Ia/view?usp=sharing

The windows PC in the Tech Lab has been replaced and the 8mm film scanner is back up and running.

Due to the proximity to the holiday, we will not be holding our regular, bi-monthly all-staff meeting this month. I apologize for the late notice.

We now have four Town Center ice skate rental passes available via our Adventure Pass site. The skate rental facility is open Friday-Sunday. Patrons can checkout up to two passes at a time.

We are closing at 4pm today due to the weather forecast.

Iowa Workforce Development to Launch Reemployment Case Management in January

DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa Workforce Development will launch its new Reemployment Case Management (RCM) program next month, formally beginning a new chapter in how the agency will approach unemployment moving forward.

Beginning the week of January 9, the new program will offer extensive job search assistance to newly unemployed Iowans with the goal of getting them back to work more quickly. The RCM program has been specifically tailored to Iowa’s unemployment process based on proven national models. Its intention is to provide enhanced services so claimants can more quickly discover the best possible pathway toward a new job and minimize the amount of time spent receiving unemployment benefits.

“Like other states across the country, Iowa is experiencing a significant workforce shortage,” said Governor Kim Reynolds. “We are taking a holistic approach in revitalizing our reemployment process to ensure that Iowans have the access they need to match them with the successful career paths and opportunities that await them across our state.”

Governor Reynolds and IWD Director Beth Townsend announced the Reemployment Case Management (RCM) program in October as part of a series of steps to address Iowa’s urgent need for more workers in the economy. When fully implemented, the RCM program will include 18 new Career Planners who are assigned to meet individually with Iowans seeking reemployment beginning with the first week of their unemployment claims.

The Career Planners will work to directly connect unemployment claimants with training and educational opportunities in high-demand careers. They will be assisted by new technology that’s being added to Iowa’s existing IowaWORKS system, thereby making it easier to match an unemployment claimant’s work history with the skills in demand by Iowa companies with open jobs.

Union members will be excluded from participation in the program, per Iowa law. Most other unemployment claimants will be required to meet with Career Planners weekly (beginning with their first claimed week of unemployment) and attend any necessary training sessions as a condition for receiving their unemployment benefits. Intake into RCM originally will be focused on the newly unemployed. However, people who have been receiving unemployment benefits for 13 weeks or more will be earmarked for immediate participation in the program.

As part of the new program, the requirement that most jobless Iowans engage in two work search or reemployment activities per week to receive unemployment benefits will double to four activities per week. At the same time, IWD is narrowing the list of what qualifies as a “reemployment activity” from 27 items to 12. The change reflects a desire to focus unemployed Iowans’ efforts on those activities that are most likely to help them find new careers.

IWD encourages any unemployed Iowan to respond quickly if Career Planners reach out to gather information as part of the Reemployment Case Management program. Failure to respond to phone calls from Career Planners could delay the process of helping claimants find new work – and ultimately, could lead to unemployment claims being frozen until the proper information is provided.

Beth Townsend, Director of Iowa Workforce Development, emphasizes that this new approach will focus on getting unemployed Iowans back to work.

“Our goal with RCM is to give unemployed workers both extra help and extra incentive to find a new career path as quickly as possible,” Townsend said. “Iowa needs its people working, and we’ll do whatever we can to help get you there.”

For more details, including the new list of allowable reemployment activities, see the accompanying FAQ document.

Holiday Potluck. Thursday, December 16^th at City Hall from 11:30 – 1:00. Bring a dish to share.

The Tech Lab, Teen Space, and Circulation doors are now keyed to the master and AA3 keys. Those with copies of the Teen Space key can toss them.

A reminder that you can now add staff picks via the website. If you’re logged in, you’ll see an “add to staff picks” link below each book (books only). Click the link to add your favorites to the staff picks page. Your first name will be shown on the staff picks page and patrons can limit the staff picks to a particular staff member.

We now have a Zip drive for in-library use in the adapters drawer at the PS desk. Zip discs were a short-lived storage format similar to the 3.5″ floppy discs more of us are familiar with.

Our building clocks are not synchronizing and are therefore showing incorrect times. I have a service call in to have them fixed.

From City Manager Jim Sanders:

Hello All,

I want to thank you all for your cooperation in following the mask guidelines we have had in place in city buildings and city vehicles. I truly believe that, through our efforts, we have done what we needed to do to keep ourselves, our families, friends and co-workers safe as we navigate through this pandemic.

We have been dealing with Covid for a long time and we all know the risks and what we can do to keep ourselves safe (get vaccinated, wash hands, wear masks and social distance). The big unknown is how the spread of Covid will be impacted when citizens in the colder climates begin to spend a majority of their time indoors during the winter months.

I have decided to rescind the face mask requirement for employees in common spaces in city buildings.

As you are aware, the CDC continues to recommend the use of masks when indoors. Even though we will no longer be required to wear masks in the common spaces in city buildings, I would encourage you to consider wearing a mask if you are in situations or in meetings when you are not able to maintain social distance.

I am continuing to require a mask when more than one employee are riding in a vehicle on city business.

We will continue to monitor issues related to Covid and provide updates and further guidance as they become available.

Thank you,

Jim