Category: All-Library News

Please wish her a happy birthday if you see her today!

Good afternoon,

The Dolde’s brought a gift of homemade goodies for the staff. As we say with craft kits…”First Come First Serve.”  Enjoy!

Each year around this time, the library services as a pickup/drop-off point for the Johnston Partnership’s gift/”Star Card” program. This year, the Partnership is asking for monetary donations to help purchase gifts for families in need. Information and a link to the Partnership’s website are included below.

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Information for Donors: Johnston Gives 2020 will look a little different than past years, but we still need your help. Our program continues to be open to JCSD students only. Typically we match children’s wants/needs with donors who purchase and return those items, which are distributed to the families before the holiday season. This year, we are creating a gift card program, where our participating families can choose a card to either Fareway or Wal-Mart, to purchase holiday needs or food for their families. When a JCSD family registers for our program, they will receive a gift card to either store in an amount proportionate to the children in their household.

The library will remain closed through January 4th. We’ll re-evaluate re-opening prior to then.

I about fell over tonight when the cleaning supervisor told me that the new cleaning crew will clean the kitchen sink IF it is empty. If there are dishes in the sink, they will not clean it.

AND! They will clean out the microwave.

I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.

Hold and other Polaris notices will be re-enabled around 5pm today.

Hey All,

I just wanted to clarify a few things about working until “close” or the last shift of the day for YS/PS/Circ. Those shifts are:

Monday and Thursday – 8:15 pm

Tuesday and Wednesday – 6:15 pm

Friday and Saturday – 5:45 pm

Sunday – 2:15 pm

We will always have at least two YS/PS/Circ people total scheduled to “close.” Here are a few points to remember:

• There is still a checklist by the back door. PS/YS/Circ “closing” staff will work as a team to complete those tasks. They will plan the last 15 minutes of the shift to finish those tasks.
• Those scheduled until “close” always leave together. 
• *Slightly off-topic*: It is helpful if everyone touches base with a co-worker before they leave the building for the day if they aren’t part of the YS/PS/Circ “closing” crew. For example, I usually work with Dreama on Sundays. Before I leave, I’m going to say goodbye so she knows she is the only staff member in the building.

Please contact your supervisor if you have any questions. Thanks!

Several thousand patrons got an account expiration notice yesterday which maxed-out our email quota with Gmail. I’ve turned off all Polaris notices, including holds notices, until tomorrow when our 24-hour quota period resets. If you receive calls from patrons who say they have not received notification for a hold that’s become available, let them know that we’re aware of the issue and that notices will be back to normal tomorrow. Emails that get sent via our website, including appointment confirmations, have temporarily been switched to send via the city’s mail server and are currently working as normal. In order to avoid this issue when patron accounts expire again, patrons with expiration dates between now and the end of August 2021 have had their expiration dates spread across September and October 2021.

I received a call from someone wanting to request items, and he mentioned that we are so friendly.  Keep up the great work!

Remember this pay period includes holiday closures. Wednesday the 25th we closed early. Thursday and Friday, the 26th & 27th, we were closed. Make sure your time sheets reflect these closures. Thanks!

I know we’ve been receiving calls asking how long we’ll be closed. The true, but unsatisfying, answer is that I don’t know. My guess is that case-counts will continue to be high through the end of the year and we’ll likely keep the building closed to the public through December. For now, you can tell callers that we’ll be closed, as city hall is, at least through December 14th.

Curbside Printing is continuing as it has been operating for the last couple months. Here’s a little insight into how the process works:
1. A patron emails a document to info@johnstonlibrary.com.

2. Public Services Staff respond by sending a default email that allows the patron to make a curbside print pick-up appointment. Print Pick-up times mirror Curbside Hold Pick-Ups.

3. The labeled printed document is put in an accordion folder by the bouncer desk.

Patrons occasionally call and ask to have a document printed that they can pick up immediately. Often, Public Services staff can accommodate, but it is absolutely dependent on staff availability and Public Services Staff are not currently scheduled on Sundays.

If patrons call with print requests, please direct the calls to a public services person. If you receive these requests on a Sunday, please encourage patrons to follow the directions for print requests on https://www.johnstonlibrary.com/print-pickup/ and staff will respond to the request as soon as they are able on Monday.

Thanks! Ask Beth if you have questions.

For the time being, we are not accepting donated materials due to our limited staff and volunteers. Please ask Molly if you have questions.

Thanks!

We’ve had a lot of demand for notary services recently so we’re going to try offering it by appointment. For now appointments are available Monday-Thursday 11am-3pm. A link for creating a notary appointment has been added to our homepage. To create, cancel, or edit an appointment or to view the schedule, use the links on the left menu of the intranet. Patrons will be instructed to call the library when they arrive for their appointment and will be let in via the Commons doors.

The Library Foundation met last week to discuss their 2021 budget which runs January-December. They approved two major projects: a new teen area and face-out browser bins for picture books.

Teen Area

The Youth Computer Lounge, funded by the Foundation in 2015, is a great spot for older elementary-aged kids and younger teens. Older teens prefer to hang out in the east/adult side of the library in spots that are out of view of staff. The foundation agreed to fund a glass wall that will enclose the glass alcove adjacent to the Archive Room to turn it into a space for older teens. During the school day, the space will be open to all. After school, only teens will be admitted. Details on furnishing, amenities, and staffing are being discussed. Installation will occur in February or March. Music CDs will be moved to the style of bins that house the kids music CDs to open-up the area in front of the space.

Picture Book Browsing

The foundation’s other major project for 2021 is converting two sections of shelving in the YS area into face-out bins for picture books. The bins will be organized by categories–like “Animals”, “Holidays”, and “Characters”–to make browsing of one our most popular collections easier for patrons. Megan and Dreama are discussing categories, call numbers, and other details on how these books will be organized. The bins will likely arrive in February.

J & YA Overdue Fees

For several months, the library board has been discussing the idea of eliminating fines on juvenile and YS books and audiobooks. At last night’s board meeting, they agreed to include elimination of past fines on these materials as well when it is put to a vote at their December meeting. The measure would go into effect January 2021.  Going completely or partially fine-free has been a trend in public libraries in recent years as libraries seek ways to remove barriers to access particularly for lower income patrons. Research and anecdotal reports suggest that such a move does not correlate with significant increases in overdue items; does correlate with an increased rate of return of long-overdue items; and, not surprisingly, seems to prompt the return of patrons who avoided the library for fear of accruing fees. (See this page for a nice collection of articles on libraries’ experiences going fine-free.)

Beth and her staff have completed a guide to social services in Polk County for handing out to patrons when we reopen. I placed a copy at the circ. desk. You can also view it via the link below.

https://board.johnstonlibrary.com/2020-11/11c%20Polk%20County%20Resources%20Pocket%20Guide_Final%20For%20Printer.pdf

For those wondering, Brittany is the staff member who received a positive test result yesterday. Because we’ve all been masked around her and are generally keeping plenty of distance between each other, no staff members will be required to get tested or to quarantine.  For now, all part-time staff should plan to continue to come to work as scheduled. I’ll be talking with department heads about staffing and other issues related to the closure today and will keep everyone posted.

The bouncer station will be staffed periodically for the next couple of days. If the bouncer station is not staffed and you notice someone standing outside the front doors looking confused and trying to get someone’s attention,  peak your head out the Commons doors, explain that we’re closed and, if it’s relevant, that we’re still doing curbside.

Another staff member has tested positive for Covid-19. Starting tomorrow, the library building will be closed to the public. Patrons with browsing an PC appointments have been notified via email. We will continue curbside pickup of holds and printing. The following has been posted on Facebook.

I’m pleased to announce that this upcoming Tuesday, Shelly Hamlin-Rodrick will be starting as a Circulation Library Associate. Her email is hamlinrodrick@johnstonlibrary.com. We are very happy to have her joining the team.