Category: Circulation News

Molly has let us borrow an old cellphone of hers that we’ll get activated and use for curbside instead of the iPod with Google Voice. This should alleviate the delays in receiving messages that everyone has been experiencing. It should be ready to go by early next week.

Individual books in the Book Club collection will now check out to JPL patrons for 6 weeks. This change eliminates the need to set a special due date when you’re preparing for curbside service.

TS staff will continue to set special due dates for sets checked out both to JPL patrons and to other libraries.

On this rainy day, I just thought I’d throw out one of the many thanks we have been receiving from the community for our service during the pandemic. Don’t let a few negative comments overshadow the depth of gratitude we are receiving from the community. And thanks from me for all your hard work on this rainy day and all the other days.

From a patron picking up at curbside, “Thanks so much for doing this. As a high-risk family, it means so much to have access to the library safely!”

This is a small thing, but I think it will save a lot of time with curbside prep. In addition to printing the next day’s curbside schedule earlier in the day, please reprint it later in the day –  like around 2 pm on Tuesday/Thursday/Friday and around 5 pm on Monday, Wednesday.

When you are working on curbside prep later in the day, please make sure you are working with a new list.

It’s good to see more use of slack for communication. I’ve installed Slack on the laptop that will be in the Commons as well as the iPod in the Commons. If you need help installing or logging into slack on your work PC or another device, let me know.

We set up the Book Bike Laptop in the Commons for the staff working curbside to have access to Polaris. It can be shut down each day at the end of curbside.

All the staff working the “bouncer desk” have been explicitly instructed by Megan and Beth to share with browsers to use Self-Check. I think we will continue to have people use the Circ Desk for a variety of reasons. We can certainly give affirmations to browsers for using the self-check kiosks and remind people that there is a new self-check kiosk in the youth services area. If you have specific safety concerns about patron interactions and the Circ Desk, please reach out to me directly.

I have printed instructions for accepting credit card payments over the phone and placed them near the cash register. They can be found here.

James put together a little bit of information about using Slack. Please read it carefully and reach out to me with any questions. If you aren’t using Slack, it will be hard to stay in communication. Please take a few minutes to check Slack and the Intranet at the beginning of each shift and throughout your shift. Please let me know if need help building that time into your schedule.

I’ve updated the opening and closing procedures. Please read these documents before the next time you open or close.

I was having trouble submitting a report for an AEA item via the intranet this morning (8/17), but Eric said he would fix it ASAP.

Johnston Public Library is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Circ Meeting 08/13/2020
Time: Aug 13, 2020 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88529218323

Meeting ID: 885 2921 8323
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Meeting ID: 885 2921 8323
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keFUBaCi3I

https://doodle.com/poll/848hrkd8itrb7vvc

Can you guys do the above doodle poll to let me know when you might like to meet for a quick Zoom meeting this week? It will be paid.

I’d love to have as many of you as possible so I can get as much input about how the reopening is going for Circ. If you can’t come, I’ll try to chat with you soon. I anticipate it will take 30 minutes to an hour.

Thanks!

When you have letters to mail that need postage, please place them in the brown basket in front of my cubicle (tagged “Mail). Only mail that has postage should go in the mail tub.

We’re having issues with the P.O. returning unstamped mail for postage due. Help us avoid the delivery delay by using the basket.

Thank you!

Laura R. got a special think you tucked into a book from a patron while checking in last weekend. I think it applies across the department. Thanks for everything you are doing. It doesn’t go unnoticed.

Since the browsing traffic has been light, the Hot Picks have once again been switched to “regular” book and DVD status — they are holdable, have a 3 week/1 week checkout, and are renewable.

A few details regarding accepting payment:

• As you may have read in an earlier post, we can accept credit card payment over the phone by manually entering their card information into the machine. We should not write down the number, but enter it directly into the terminal as they read it to us without onlookers.
• I have created an updated Circ Closing Procedure which includes the handling of the money drawer.

Book Quarantine Room: There is an order that we are following with the books. When we don’t follow that order it becomes very unorganized and almost impossible to figure out where we are with check-in. Please do not empty books into the quarantine room until you talk with me. Call or text me at 515-210-4441 if I am not at work and you are not sure where to put your items.

“But I brought that back”: I am telling everyone as they checkout, that there is a seven to ten-day return process. We have adjusted 1st overdue notices to go out at 7 days. I have told people to wait to call us until they receive the 2nd overdue notice at 10 days….we should almost always have it returned by then. If we all follow the process and put things in order in the quarantine room, it will not be hard to check each day and see where we are with processing. That way you can ask the caller which day they returned the items to get a better sense of if you should do a claims returned/escalate an issue to Molly or just ask them to wait a few more days. Their mood and tone can give you a sense of how to handle it as well 😉

Please remember to backdate: Always backdate one more day than the date on the blue tape to account for possible overnight materials. Beaver Creek Book Return items will have a note with the date you should use to backdate which will be about five days more than the date it was returned to the quarantine room.

Molds and Learning Tools: We are circulating learning tools and molds/cake pans. We are not circulating puppets. Please let people know that learning tools and molds/cake pans should be brought inside the building, can leave with the greeter at the door, rather than placed in the book returns.

Starting Monday we will be accepting Payments: We will be accepting payments starting Monday. You can accept cash, credit card, or check fines or fees. There will be hand sanitizer by the register to clean your hands after handling the money. We will not be blocked based on fees yet, so this is just for those that wish to pay. We are not using the Foundation cash register at this time, so we will not be selling books from the book sale room. 

Starting this week, a few seasoned volunteers will be returning to the Circ Department.  I won’t schedule more than one volunteer at a time, and drop-in volunteering will no longer be an option. Initially, they will just be shelving. Zoey, Tammy, Jill, and Hunter will be helping. They will be required to wear face masks while in the building. I will try to include them on the daily desk schedule.

Also, for the time being, Youth Services has agreed to help us out, as they have time, with some shelving of Juvenile materials including recently returned Children and Family DVDs.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Since the library will be open for browsing on Saturdays, we will be shifting curbside hours to 10 am – 1 pm starting August 1. This weekend is a little quirky and we will still start at 9 am – through the library won’t be open until 10 am for browsing or computers.

I am adding the jumble of procedures to this folder today. Look here if you have questions about a specific process. If you don’t find what you need, please let me know.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y-2qrkaBWNg4KD3AvMfqKKd3YxWZXrTXU4Sff2Z2ekE/edit?usp=sharing

I apologize in advance. I feel like this is an information dump. I think I’ve talked to most of you about these things, but I wanted to send it out also in case I missed someone or wasn’t clear:

• Walk-in browsers will be asked if they have a library card at the door. If they do not, they will be asked to make a library card at one of the public services desks. They will need a photo ID and proof of address. We will be making cards for residents of Iowa…not just Johnston and rural Polk County.
• We will not be selling books from the book sale room during browsing. We do not have the Foundation cash register ready.
• We are not advertising this, but we are accepting donations during curbside and browsing hours. The Lions Club is coming to get books next week. Any donations should be placed with the others in the quarantine room. Please wash your hands after accepting donations.
• We will not be accepting fines or fees during browsing because we do not have the cash register out. People are able to borrow regardless of fines and fees. If they absolutely insist on paying…you cannot make change…you can put the money/check with a note on my desk and clear the fine on Polaris. Please do not accept credit card payments 🙂
• Please remember to backdate when you check in an extra day. If the tape says July 4th, backdate to July 3rd since some of that might be from overnight. Also, look for notes indicating that items are from Beaver Creek. If it is from Beaver Creek we will have a special date to use since Beaver Creek is not emptied every day.
• Please remember that we are now adding Open Access materials shipped through AEA in the database on the Intranet and packaging the materials. We are placing them in the TS Bin for AEA. They are on the summer schedule so use the letter routes, please.
• Finally, I will be out of the library starting Friday July 10 – 17. I will be available via phone, email, Slack…whatever. Feel free to reach out.

You guys are pretty amazing with all the changes. Thanks so much!

With the return to in-person browsing this week, the Hot Picks circulation parameters are back to their standard settings.

Hi All,

During your shifts this week please take 30 minutes or more, to look at this document and to review the links, documents and procedures.

We are starting phase 3 tomorrow with PC appointments. Our workflow will not change dramatically, but I would like everyone to be somewhat familiar with the plan for services. This will be new to patrons and new to us. Even if you are not going to be directly involved with PC appointments or browsing appointments, we should be aware of the processes when we answer the phone or get questions during curbside.

Look at this document and please visit the links under Patron Assistance during your first shift this week.

Let me know if you have any questions.