Category: All-Library News

Andrew will be moving in a few weeks, and if there are any medium or large boxes that can be flattened that come to the library, please let him know.  These would be very helpful.

While I am normally more of a guidelines kind of girl, I need to clarify two hard and fast rules:

1. It is never – ever- acceptable to leave dirty dishes in the sink. If the dishwasher is full, running or needs to be emptied, you must wash your dishes by hand. I am okay with things drying in the drying rack, but we will not leave dirty dishes in the sink.
2. If you leave crumbs on the counter or table, you must wipe them up.

I am sorry to be so blunt, but the signs in the breakroom have not worked. Please help us keep the library clean.

Please see Molly if you have questions or concerns.

I have emailed for electronic recycling collection. We have items in a few different of locations. Please get me when he arrives so I can show him what I need removed.

Thanks!

I will be out of town in Miami this weekend starting Friday evening  – Monday evening. If you need to call in for one of your shifts on Saturday or Sunday, please contact Peg directly at 515-991-0713.

For emergencies over the long weekend, Dreama has offered to the point of contact at 515-422-6791.

Remember we are closed on Monday for Washington’s Birthday. I will bring back some sunshine when I see everyone on Tuesday!

Andrew is a cellist in the Des Moines Symphony and will be playing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix next week.  There are some tickets available as of Valentine’s Day, although the only ones left for Friday the 23rd are in the back half of the auditorium.  The performances are at the Civic Center at the following times:

Friday, February 23rd at 7:30 PM

Saturday, February 24th at 1:30 PM

Quick update about JPL’s Kanopy Streaming Video Service available to JPL residents and our corner of rural Polk County:

We have chosen to evenly distribute our Kanopy budget through a monthly dollar amount. If/when the monthly Kanopy budget for JPL is hit, patrons trying to access this service will get a message that says:
“Kanopy Streaming is currently limited at my Library. You can find out more about that here: https://help.kanopy.com/en-us/4142.htm?Highlight=limit ”

Kanopy “tickets” (i.e. the ability to stream videos) will reset during the next calendar month.

Thanks!

The Annual Lions Club Book Sale will be held May 2-4 (same as Kites on the Green Festival) this year rather than the first weekend in March. It will be at the Lions Club building.

They have information on their website:

https://johnstonlionsclub.com/?page_id=90

As we have discussed previously, our old website and online catalog had been extensively customized. Most of the changes made to our library records were simply lost when we moved to our new system.

Unfortunately, the ability display the cover images of our items in the PowerPAC was impacted by the customization of the records. We are working to rectify the issue and get images back on the PowerPAC, but it may take time as we work with our vendors to do so.

If patrons ask, please pass this message along. We will keep you posted as we make progress.

We have new (functional) phone chargers for in-house use. Here are the items you need to know about the new chargers:

• Please continue to check chargers out to users using their library cards.
• The phone chargers now live in their charging dock underneath the Brother printer.
• When someone wants to check out a charger, unplug the cord the charging power bank–the cord stays plugged in to the charging station.
• Press the circle button on the charging bank to power it on. The button will light up when on.
• Grab a cord and connect it to the charging bank before giving it to the patron. The cords are black and white braided cords and have connectors for Apple and Android phones. The cords are in the drawer to the right of the Ref computer labeled “Charging Cords and Headphone Adaptors.”
• When the chargers are returned, check in the charging power bank on Polaris. Plug the cord on the charging station back into the power bank so it can recharge. Put the cord back in the drawer.

The printable flyer has been posted on the community board outside the book return room.

Lolo made a cute spicy romance display back in the nonfiction area. She rated the books by spice level.
Lolo is not expecting to get the paper chili peppers back. If patrons hand them back to you during checkout, we will take them back at ref, but it is totally fine for them to go home with patrons.

Check out the new photography exhibit by Ryan Morrison in the JPL Gallery. Tonight we will have an Artist’s reception for him in the Commons from 7pm to 7:30pm.

Also, big thank you to Melodee and her husband for providing train artifacts in the display cases.

Additionally, there is now a JPL Art Gallery page on our website that includes a fillable form for artists who are interested in displaying work in either our display cases or in the JPL Art Gallery. You can find it under the events tab on the website. Full url is here: https://www.johnstonlibrary.com/1428/JPL-Art-Gallery 

At peak of their usage, public PCs were being used over 2,000 times per month in 2018 & 2019. After the pandemic in 2020, usage never returned to peak levels and has actually been steadily declining since 2021.

Due to the lower usage and demand for public PCs, the five computer stations behind the Information Desk will be phased out over the coming weeks.

Let your supervisor know if you have questions.

We have a functioning VCR in the tech lab again! Let the VHS digitizing begin…again!
As always, if a first-time user would like staff assistance, please make a Tech Lab Help Desk appointment. Ask Beth if you have questions.

After researching options to display On-Order items in PowerPac, we have found a solution.

We have added an On-Order Dashboard or Menu to the main PowerPac Dashboard. This dashboard contains a list of the 50 most recently ordered titles and is updated every night. Patrons can click on the title of the item to view the bib record, where they can place the item on hold or add it to a list.

Some things to note:

We have closed the dashboards, but patrons can click on the arrow to expand the dashboard to see all of the options within that dashboard.

Since selectors are not purchasing everyday, the list may be the same over a few days. It is only updated when new items have been purchased and imported.

Some days the list will only be Kid, Teen, or Adult items due to the nature of how this list is created, so feel free to encourage patrons to check back often to catch a new list of on-order titles.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need clarification on the changes.

Yesterday, the second paystub you received should have the correct amount of PTO.

Please keep a close eye on your PTO though. With the new system, it is very much appreciated if you can glance at your paystubs and PTO to make sure that things look correct. For instance, my PTO was not calculated correctly, even on the second paystub, so I emailed Sammy at sdickson@cityofjohnston.com and she was able to get it corrected.

On a side note, the city did send out an email letting us know that there is not a way to show the hourly pay on the new paystubs. In the past, it showed how much you made per hour. Now you will have to take the total amount paid and divide it by your hours to see your hourly pay.

Let me know if you have questions, or email sdickson@cityofjohnston.com

Molly

Annually, libraries must submit stats to the State Library of Iowa. Some of those stats reflect interactions with patrons at service desks. Anyone who has worked the Ref Desk knows there is a stat sheet that staff make tic marks for a variety of interactions with patrons.

Starting today, each service desk (Circulation, Public Services and Youth Services) will have a new form taped to the desk. We’ll never be perfect and remember to record every interaction, but please do your best to remember to make a mark after a relevant interaction. These stats support the important and varied work we do everyday.

You may click on this link to review the form. Desk Stat Sheet effective 2024.02.01

I suspect there will be questions so PLEASE ask!

Peg

The Johnston Public Library Foundation provided funding for JPL to purchase an annual subscription to Comics Plus. Comics Plus offers readers unlimited access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, and manga including adult, teen, and children materials.  Comics Plus includes digital access for every patron on desktop, mobile, or tablet. Every title is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for offline reading, with unlimited, simultaneous checkout.

Comics Plus is available to all JPL cardholders, regardless of residency. Patrons can log in on a desktop using their Library Card Number and Pin. Or download the Library Pass App, Search for Johnston Public Library, and then enter their Library Card Number and Pin.

There are no checkout limits or holds.

Check it out for yourself here: https://www.johnstonlibrary.com/1429/Comics-Plus

We will be working on promoting it through social media over the next couple of weeks!