Author: Elizabeth Stevens

Hello All,
Tax season is upon us so I wanted to submit a friendly reminder about info and services we offer during this time, as well as info and services we do not offer.

Eric has made our tax link live on our website. It is under our Services tab and a little quick link above slider images on the homepage. This is the most expedient way to link people to printable forms for Iowa and Federal tax forms. The link also has info about what government offices people need to go to if they want to pick up their tax forms in person.

JPL has received federal 1040 and 1040SR forms plus federal 1040 instruction booklets. The 1040SR stands for senior. It is intended for people 65 or older. Form is basically the same but has larger print and calls out tax benefits for people over age 65.

If individuals are seeking tax forms above and beyond the forms listed above, we will print them for individuals for free. We will not print instruction manuals for free.

The tax link on our website also has information about free tax preparation people can take advantage of if they are interested. AARP offers free tax prep, as well as United Way. Links to those sites with location and date and time info is posted there.

During this time, it’s important to remember that we do not provide tax advice or information to people, in the same way we do not provide medical or legal information to people. Just a friendly reminder that we can connect people to services and organizations that do provide this information, but we are not the information ourselves.

When patrons makes a study room reservation for themselves through the new calendar, the system titles these reservations with just the name of the study room (e.g. Study Room 2) rather than what our old calendar did which was to include the first name of the patron (e.g. Study Room Reservation for Beth S.). We don’t have a way to change this in the new calendar.

If you create a study room reservation for a patron through the new calendar, go ahead and let the title of the study room reservation default to the name of the room.

Additionally, when we open the library and write reservations on study room windows and on the white board, reservations will now no longer show the person’s name, but the date and time of the reservation. If there is a question about who has actually reserved the room, PS staff can login and look at the contact info details.

Thanks!
Ask Beth, Peg or Megan if you have questions.

Hello All,
JPL will be hosting a Read Local Author Fair  on Saturday February 25th. Right now through January 21, JPL is accepting applications from local published authors who would like to be a part of the event.

Just wanted to bring this to everyone’s attention should you get asked about it. Information about the rules for author’s wishing to participate and the participation form is currently available on our website by clicking on the image on the homepage of our website.

More information about the event itself as well as the rules and participation form can be found by clicking through the buttons on this link: https://www.johnstonlibrary.com/local-author-fair/

Thanks! Please direct any questions to Beth or Megan.

Ultimate Reading Challenge Booklets and the Bonus Bookmarks for those who want it are now available behind the Circ Desk. There is no sign-up for the year-long Ultimate Reading Challenge. If someone wants to participate, they simply need to take the booklet (and Bonus Bookmark if they want it). All instructions are inside the Booklet. Reminder that the Ultimate Reading Challenge is for adults 18 and older.
Ask Beth or Stephanie if you have questions.

Please let Beth or PS staff know if it looks like the supply is getting low.
Thank you!

We have JUST started to advertise one-on-one computer and job help available to patrons at JPL. This new service is called JPL Help Desk and will be available via appointment on Tuesdays from 4-6 and Wednesdays from 10-12. JPL Help Desk will be staffed by some ref staff and is meant to provide a better way of assisting patrons with more lengthy requests than the typical reference desk interaction can accommodate.

Information about the JPL Help Desk is available under the Services menu on our website at: https://www.johnstonlibrary.com/services/help-desk/.

If you have patrons inquire about this service, please send them to the Reference Desk. Ref staff have a series of questions that they will ask to figure out if a Help Desk appointment is the best option or if there is another option that would be a better fit (like a recommendation to an outside service).

Below is info about the Help Desk that details some of the parameters for this service.

Thanks!

Johnston Public Library’s Help Desk program provides training and support for teens and adults as they face new learning, employment, or technology-related challenges. JPL Help Desk staff can provide guidance with tech-related tasks, job search and resume help, and can connect individuals to resources, but cannot provide legal, financial or medical information or fill out forms for individuals. Help Desk appointments are educational in nature and individuals should have a clear goal in mind of what they would like to learn during their session.  Librarians are instructors and cannot troubleshoot or fix malfunctioning software or hardware. Typical uses for a Help Desk appointment include:

• Resume and Cover Letter writing assistance
• Job search assistance
• Troubleshooting basic computer applications
• Assistance searching the internet
• Help downloading library e-Books and other digital resources
• Setting up email or other online accounts
• Google Drive
• Social Media Basics
• Tech Lab Training

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call the Public Services Staff at Johnston Public Library at 515.278.5233 x 3.

As of today, Reference Staff can now make 2023 meeting and study room reservations for patrons. (3 months in advance, as usual).

If you receive a phone call or an in-person request for a meeting or study room reservation for 2023, please direct the inquiry to the reference desk staff. If that person is busy, the call could be directed to Beth, Megan or Peg at their desks.

If none of those options are available, please take the person’s name and phone number and Ref Staff will follow up.

The new calendar will be live Jan 1, 2023.

Thanks!
Beth

Phone chargers behind Ref Desk now have barcodes that work in Polaris. Please check out phone chargers to anyone wanting to use one for in-house and check them back in when chargers are returned. Chargers can be checked out to computer only card holders as well. Phone chargers are still just for in-house use.

Hey all,
JPL is in the process of transitioning to a new event calendar for meeting and study room requests. During this process there are a couple things to be aware of:

• Meeting and study room reservations for 2023 are not able to be made from now until December 12.
• Beginning, Dec 12, the public will be able to call Reference staff to make 2023 reservations.
• Beginning January 1, the new calendar will be live on our site and reservation processes will be back to normal, just with our new calendar.
• Meeting and study room reservations for the remainder of November and December can continue to be made through our website and old meeting room calendar as usual.

Hy-Vee left a big black coffee urn in the meeting room during the State Library meeting today 10/20. State Library has emailed them. I moved the coffee urn into the staff break room and labeled it Hy-Vee. Please grab it for the Hy-Vee person when someone comes to pick it up.

Thanks!

Free food in the break room from the State Library of Iowa including a couple boxed lunches in the refrigerator. Please help yourself.

Hey all,

New language has been added to confirmation emails that are sent after a person reserves meeting rooms and study rooms. The new sentence is about late arrivals and how long we will hold a room before making it available for others that may want to use the room.
New sentence reads:

Your reservation may be cancelled if you arrive more than 30 minutes after your start time.

Ask Beth if you have any questions. Thanks!

Satellite Early Voting will be available at Johnston Public Library on

Thursday, November 3 from 10am to 4pm

Friday, November 4. 2022 from 10am to 4pm, and

Saturday, November 5 from 10am to 3pm.

Polk County General Election Info can be found here:
https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/county-auditor/election/2022-general-election/?fbclid=IwAR3Sq_WAF8xlb7PM6AGeNR9v7BXRhT283HjfxvexcJ4B7hpkL8MUlGiW3xo

If you field phone calls from patrons with more detailed questions, please direct individuals to call the Polk County Election Office at (515) 286-3247.

Hey everyone,
Tonight, 10/5, Polk County Health Department will be in the Archive Room for flu shots from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. People wishing to get a flu shot will need to register through Polk County. The reservations can be made in advance, but they can also be made tonight, while Polk County is here. The general web address is immunizepolk.com and then people can navigate to our specific JPL clinic. I have also shortened the URL to our specific clinic link: bit.ly/3BSOAGd

Tonight I will have tables out in front of the Archive room with some of our laptops and tablets for patrons to use to sign up. Patrons can also use their phones to register. I will put some of the handouts with a QR code to the JPL clinic link and the shortened URL at each public service desk.

Here’s the full event description that details insurance info:

Flu season is coming–are you ready? Come to JPL Wednesday, October 5 from 5:00pm to 7:30pm to get flu shots for the whole family. Most major insurance cards are accepted and flu shots for uninsured individuals are available for a suggested donation of $25.00, but no one will be turned away because of inability to pay. Pre-register with Polk County at bit.ly/3BSOAGd to skip the registration paperwork and be in and out of JPL quickly. The Quadravalent flu vaccine will be available in injection form only. A higher dosage flu shot for individuals 65 and older will also be available. Due to a cost increase in this high dose vaccine for individuals 65+, the Polk County Health Dept asks for a donation of $65 for the higher dose vaccine, but also will never turn anyone away.

Ask Beth if you have any questions. Thanks!

We have new cell phone chargers at the reference desk. They are in the same spot that the old ones were. These new chargers have USB-A and USB-C ports. Eric has also ordered Micro USB adaptors that can go on the USB-C ports for older android phones. The Micro USB adapters are in a little cup that is to the right of the ref computer in a drawer labeled Adaptors.

The process for letting patrons borrow chargers has not changed. Please have patrons sign-out the chargers by writing their name in the white binder and then writing the last 4 numbers of the barcode on the charger.

We still have a couple chargers from the old charger set. I suggest staff use those chargers if they need to charge their phones. The old phone chargers are behind the reference desk but closer to the print release station.

I’m happy to give anyone who wants it a little walk-though tour of the changes. Just ask if you’re interested.
Thanks,

Beth

Time sheets are due this week. Please turn them in by closing time on Friday, August 26. Thanks!

Fuad found a black LG cellphone in the back of the library and turned it in. It has a cracked face. We’ll keep it at the ref desk for the remainder of the day and then put it in the gray cabinet if it hasn’t been picked up by the end of the night tonight (8/18).

Hello All,
Below is a little refresher script for responding to phone inquiries about day-of Study Room Usage. Also a friendly reminder that it is always ok to hand-off study room inquiries to staff working at the ref desk.

• We do not make day-of study room reservations but you’re welcome to come in and use any open study rooms on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition to our 4 study rooms, we also have seating in the Commons as well as multiple study areas tucked-away throughout the library. While I can’t guarantee a study room will be open and available when you arrive,  most of the time people are able to find an area in the library that is workable for quiet study or small group work.
• If the patron wants more specific information, feel free to look on the calendar at events.johnstonlibrary.com and tell them which rooms are reserved for the day, but then also provide a reminder that open rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so some rooms may be occupied by people who are utilizing the study rooms on a walk-in basis.

  Thanks!

The adult Media Literacy Training program scheduled for this Saturday, June 25 is cancelled because of a health thing that came up with the presenter.  I have cancelled the event on our calendar and on Facebook. This program did not have registration attached to it, but should you receive calls please pass on this information. Peg will attempt to work with the presenter to reschedule the event, possibly in August or in the fall. Thanks!

Hey all,
Adult physcial book displays have been relocated to pre-Covid locations. The 2 large displays are still in the same spots, but now there is a small display in front of Circ 1 and Circ 2. The third small display is still in the nonfiction aisle in front of the cake pans. Record set locations on Polaris have been changed to reflect new physical locations.
Thanks!

Good morning! Patrons who requested to pick up their card-crafting kit from the Sunday Card Crafting Program on Sunday, April 3 will find their packaged card kit on the hold shelf, labeled alphabetically by their last name.
The card kits are in small manila envelopes.