Category: All-Library News

Let’s celebrate!

We’re just a few weeks away from our annual Employee Appreciation Tailgate and everyone is invited to join the fun! Mark your calendars for Friday, September 6, at noon on the City Hall patio.

The Employee Engagement Committee has been working hard to make this year’s event one to remember. We will have Flame Taqueria catering again, serving up a taco and burger bar. We’ll have a bags tournament (sign up during lunch, solo or with a partner), BINGO with prizes, volleyball and other yard games. Come show off your team spirit and celebrate your fellow City of Johnston teammates.

What this means for JPL Staff: The library will close at noon to allow all staff to attend without worrying about desk coverage. This is a work event and any staff who choose to attend will be paid for the time they spend at the event. If you are scheduled to work that day and you do not wish to attend the party, you may work your regular shift at the library (your manager can provide tasks if you need something to do), take PTO, or, if you do not earn PTO, you may take unpaid time off. Please see your manager with any questions.

With the seven new Wi-Fi hotspots joining our last remaining existing hotspot, I want to remind everyone that we have changed the check-in procedure. All hotspots are to be routed to Repair on check-in, even if they have a hold.

Repair staff will make sure the hotspot is functioning correctly before checking it in again and trapping the hold for the next patron.

Thank you.

Hello!

The winners of the Teen Readers Grand Prize Prize Packs have been drawn and notified by phone. They can pick up their prizes at the Youth Services Desk.

Prize packs are located on the back counter AND the center work table — each is labeled with which prize pack it is and the winner’s name.

Please note that some of the prize packs contain multiple items — I have used blue tape to stick them together so you know that they all belong to one prize pack. You can remove the tape before giving it to the winner.

Also! If the winner seems into it, and you feel into it, you can ask to take a picture of the winner with their prize. There is an iPad to the right of my phone on my desk you can use. This part is totally optional!  (But would be really cool!)

Thanks! Let me know if you have any questions!

Jessica

8/5/2024

Hi All,

Please find your weekly updates below. I have included the best contact for each issue, but feel free to see your direct supervisor if you need additional clarification. Thanks!

Staff Meeting Recap – Thank you everyone that was able to attend the Sunday July 28th’s staff meeting. I was really happy with how well it went and felt like there was a great vibe in the room. For those that were not able to attend, I wanted to include a brief update (please feel free to reach out if you have questions). Contact: Holly or a Department Manager

To help keep the PS desk PCs operating properly, it is important to keep the PCs situated toward the front of the shelf. When the PCs are pushed back, the items plugged into the back can be damaged and require replacement.

Thank you for helping to keep these PCs running smoothly!

If you need a replacement keyboard or mouse, you will find some on the IT counter. I keep a couple of each for the quick “grab and go” swap out. Please let me know if I need to restock. Any equipment that has been replaced or needs attention can be left with me. Thanks!

Guest Passes and Computer Extensions
Patrons 18 years and older can receive guest passes and time extensions, so long as the computers are not full.

Patrons under 18 can log in using a library card, provisional card, or a computer-only card.

Exception: If a child is with a grown-up and they do not want to get their child a library card; I will sign them in with a guest pass and then recycle the guest pass at the desk.

If you have any questions or would like further clarification, please let me know.

Megan

Please send Riddhi an email at sheth@johnstonlibarary.com if you are not able to turn in your time sheet by this day and time.

Notary service will not be available this Saturday, August 3 from 9am to 10am. Please pass this info on to patrons if you receive notary inquiries.
Thanks!

Emily Osweiler is the 2024 Adult Summer Reading Grand Prize winner! She has been notified via voicemail. Her prize is on my desk labeled with her name. Thank you!

Hello!
This is a friendly reminder to please make sure you are logged out of the LibraryMarket event calendar when placing Study Room and Meeting Room requests for patrons.

JPL meeting room policy states that patrons have access to book 3 months out. When you are logged out of the calendar system while placing a meeting room or study room request, safeguards are in place that will not allow reservations for dates beyond the 90 day mark. The system will also check for more than 1 study room reservation made in the same calendar week by the same individual. In other words, when you’re making meeting and study room requests while logged out, the system will do some of the work of following our meeting room policy for us.

Please ask Beth or Peg if you have questions. We’re more than happy to show you in person.

Thanks!

Beth

Hey all,
We’re going to give patrons who participated in the 2024 ADULT Summer Reading Program a grace period until closing time this Thursday, August 1 to turn in their logs and collect prizes. Please follow all the same protocol:
1. Patron will turn in the filled out section of the bottom of their orange summer reading log.

2. Write the patrons name in the ASR binder behind the Circ Desk

3. Give them a mug!
Thanks. Ask beth if you have any questions.

Hi All,

Below are the weekly updates for library information. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

1. Staff Meeting – Reminder that we have our all staff meeting to coming Sunday July 28th.  Social time and meeting are 11AM – 12:45 PM.  This first staff meeting will be loosely structured as follows: Contact: Holly
   1. Social Time (30 minutes)
   2. Welcome/Staff recognitions (10 minutes)
   3. Department Updates (15 minutes)
   4. Roundtable Q&A; Staff Sharing (30 minutes)
   5. Training/Activity (20 minutes) – this may vary depending on how long the roundtable goes
2. Emergency Cooling Shelter – Due to the expected high temperatures again this weekend, the National Weather Service has implemented the extreme weather plan for July 29th.  The only thing this means is that we are a cooling shelter, may see increased traffic.  But my expectation is that we will serve customers as we always do, and there really isn’t any actual changes. Contact: Librarians-in-charge; Holly
3. When 2 Work – Remember to check W2W on a regular basis for any schedule adjustments, messages, etc.  There is an app that can be put on your phone but is not required. I prefer to use W2W to send work-related messages, rather than sending information to personal emails. Contact: For assistance setting up W2W please check Confluence or contact your supervisor.
4. Credit Card Error – I am aware that the credit card machine is printing a “call help desk” error daily.  I have reached out to the company and to the City for a potential device update/upgrade.  The error is harmless and can be ignored. Contact: Holly
5. Cash Register closing for Sundays – Reminder to run the Z2 report on Sundays at close and put that into the cash register drawer with the other Z1 reports. Contact: Holly

As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out. Thanks!

In case you didn’t see the invitation in the breakroom, the all-staff end of summer party is August 24th from 6-10 PM at the Bricktowne Johnston Community Room, which is located at 6450 Merle Hay Rd. in Johnston.  Drinks will be provided, and you are welcome to bring snacks and/or desserts, and you will have to bring pot holders, utensils, and anything else required for serving.  You are also welcome to bring puzzles to put together, or games to play.  I hope you all can take advantage of this exciting evening.

Everyday English will NOT be held on Thursday, July 25.

Instead, Monday and Thursday night students, teachers, volunteers will be on a field trip to the Des Moines Art Center.

A DMPS bus will arrive at JPL at 5:15 pm Thursday to transport students and their guests to the Art Center.

If new students should happen to arrive for class at 6:30 pm, please apologize and invite them to return on Monday or Thursday next week.

If you have questions, please ask.

Peg

When patrons are returning their inter-library loans they are asked to hand the item to a staff person.  Please accept the item and check it in at that time ( instead of putting the item in the book drop or on a cart to check in later). Checking it in immediately gives our patrons some peace of mind, knowing that it is off of their accounts.  The item can then be placed on the Technical Services shelf near the repair shelf in the work room. Thank you so much for your help in the ILL process.

Loriel

Hi All,

I received a message this afternoon that Service Master’s will be here tonight (Tuesday July 23rd), after close, for their bi-monthly carpet cleaning. This should not affect any of our library service/hours.

Thanks for all you do, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

-HS

If any JPL staff participated in the Adult Summer Reading program, completed logs can be submitted to Beth or placed in the green folder located in the drawer labeled Adult Reading Programs behind the Reference Desk. Thank you!

Summer Discovery Update
We will discontinue handing out reading logs to kids.

We are running low on prizes. I have ordered more materials but may run out before they arrive. If we run out of a prize, please mark their reading log with an “IOU” and they can return later this week to pick up their prize.

Please send Riddhi an email at sheth@johnstonlibrary.com if you are not able to turn in your time sheet by this day and time.