Category: Uncategorized

Valerie ponted out that Jan. 16th is MLK Jr. day and the library is closed. I’ve changed that session to Monday, February 6th at 5:30. Those that have already registered, let me know if you can’t make it and I’ll arrange a time to meet with you individually.

I’ve scheduled two sessions of optional training on our new website. Please register via the links if interested. If neither date/time works for you and you would like training, please let me know.

Thursday, January 12th at 10:00am

http://www.johnstonlibrary.com/index.php/events/?event_page=registration&did=24792

Monday, February 6th at 5:30pm

http://www.johnstonlibrary.com/index.php/events/?event_page=registration&did=24791 

The YS Staff is excited to annouce that Deepa will be joining our team beginning January 1. Deepa will continue to have circulation responsibilities, but will also be part of the YS team and will be helping with planning and implementing programs as well as covering the YS Desk!  

A locksmith was in today to swap the door handles and locks on the book drop and YS staff area doors. This means:

– the book drop room will remain unlocked (it can be locked if needed)
– the YS staff door will lock automatically when closed and will require a key to enter from the staff area

This will make emptying the book drop a little less of a hassle and will make securing the staff area quicker and easier.

Once the security doors are installed behind the circ desk sometime in the next couple of months, we’ll be able to isolate the staff area from the public area if necessary.

The current payperiod, Sunday, December 11 through Saturday, December 24 includes one library closing (Saturday the 24th). 

Please have your timesheets turned in by Thursday, December 22 at 8:45 am.  Thursday will be the only day I will have to work on them before they need to go to City Hall.

If you have questions about your hours or holiday pay, etc., please speak with your supervisor.  As always, please compare the hours you record on your timesheet to the hours reflected in your When to Work account and make sure they match.

Thanks,

Peg

All, 

Beginning in January, JPL will have two new Adult Book Clubs: Silent Book Club and Lunchtime Lit Book Club. 

Erin will be facilitaitng Silent Book Club on the first Tuesday of every month beginning in Jan. Here’s the gist of it: 
Shhhhh…it’s the JPL Silent Book Club. 
A Silent Book Club is an event where people meet for an hour dedicated to reading quietly in community. Here’s how it works: 
*6:30pm to 6:45pm: Grab coffee or tea and a treat and share what you’re reading
*6:45pm to 7:45pm: Enjoy an hour of quiet reading with the book of your choice
Come be alone together with other readers!

Lunchtime Lit will be facilitated by me on the third Thursday of every month beginning in January from noon to 1:00pm. This book club will meet here at JPL and will read the same books that Thursday Night Book Club does, but they will be two months behind in books.  People are welcome to bring their own lunch to this club if they like. They library will provide coffee, tea and treats. Books for the January discussion for Lunchtime LIt will be available for checkout this coming Thursday, December 15th. A printed schedule, like the one for well red and Thursday night book clubs will be ready next week as well. 

Thanks! Ask beth if you have questions. 

Molly and I will be working on rewriting our privacy/confidentiality policy and developing related procedures soon. This is a good recent article about libraries and the importance of patron privacy. 

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/12/librarians-act-now-protect-your-users-its-too-late

With several holidays approaching, this is a good time to review holiday pay eligibility and related issues. 

• Part time staff not regularly scheduled more than twenty hours weekly will not receive holiday pay (even if you come to work on Christmas 🙂 )
• Part time staff who are regularly scheduled 20-30 hours per week and who are also scheduled to work on a paid holiday can take as paid the hours that they’re regularly scheduled to work. If Jim is scheduled to work 6 hours on Christmas, for example, he can take 6 hours of holiday pay. 
• Full time staff may need to adjust their schedules (take days off some other day of the week) to ensure that their paid holiday hours don’t push them into overtime. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Please see details below and let me know if you plan to attend and what you will take.

Eric

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Good afternoon,

Join us for the holiday potluck on Friday, December 16^th. The potluck will be at City Hall from 11:30-1.

Department Supervisors: Please have your department put together a sign-up sheet of what they would like to bring to the potluck. If you can get an estimated head count to me by Monday, December 5^th, that would be appreciated so we can start planning what we will need to get.

Please pass this email along to anyone who may have been missed, everyone is welcome!  I know we have new people and I don’t have everyone in the different departments on the email. I don’t want anyone to feel left out.

Thank you!

Kaitlyn Royer

Administrative Assistant

City of Johnston

Prizes for the gingerbread contest winners are located by the TV behind the check out desk. Winner will be in this week to pick them up.

There is a new, wall mounted first aid cabinet located by Missy’s desk. This replaces the first aid kit that was in the drawer. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the first aid items available. 

Please note that Bloodborne Pathogen Kits are located on top of the First Aid Kit and at the Public Services and Youth Services Desks for dealing with bodily fluids. 

The AED remains in the cabinet beside the workroom sink.

Please let Molly or Eric know if you have questions. 

Hey all, 

The first JPL e-newsletter went out this Thursday! Woot woot!

Here’s what you need to know.

Please help people learn about the e-newsletter by sharing info about it. They can sign up at our website: johnstonlibrary.com at the bottom of the page. When they sign up they will then receive an email asking them to confirm that they want to receive the email. 

If you have people asking about JPL events that might be a good time to say something like, and did you know, if you want to stay up-to-date with JPL events and register for events with our weekly e-newsletter…blah blah blah. 

Newsletters will go out every Thursday at 10:00am and will feature 3 to 4 events, resources or cool things happening or available at JPL in the next week. The emails are very visual. Just tasty little tidbits with the best of what JPL has to offer in the next couple days. 

Please ask me if you have any questions. 

Pictures from the party can be found at p:/ImagesJPL/2016PumpkinPatch. Really cute Halloween costumes, enjoy.

We are out of the star cards , Lisa from the Johnston school department will try to get more printed as they are out of cards as well. Will update when we get any further information.

Just an FYI in case someone asks you about this at the desk. There is a huge sign in the entry and the food goes in the white bin.

MAYOR’S “RUN FOR FOOD” DRIVE STARTS TODAY

Mayor Paula Dierenfeld is at it again!  She has issued another challenge to Johnston residents this holiday season.  The Mayor will run one mile (beginning on New Year’s Eve) for every bag of food, personal items, or $10 donated to the Johnston Partnership December 1 through 30.  The community delivered in a tremendous fashion last year, and the Mayor ended up running 191 miles.  Thank you so much for your generosity. Let’s see if we can top 191 bags this year!

Suggested Donation Items:

Personal Items – Toilet paper, laundry detergent, Kleenex, deodorant, shampoo and diapers.

Food Items – Fresh, nutritious produce, and healthy, non-perishable, unexpired food items.

Monetary donations are always welcome, as the food pantry is able to purchase needed items in bulk and cheaper than the rest of the public can buy the same items. Your dollar is stretched further when given to the Johnston Partnership.

Drop-Off Locations
December 1-December 30:

Johnston City Hall
6221 Merle Hay Road
Johnston, Iowa  50131

Johnston Public Library
6700 Merle Hay Road
Johnston, Iowa  50131

Johnston Partnership for a Healthy Community
5870 Merle Hay Road
Suite D
Johnston, Iowa  50131

Hi everyone!

There is new art in the gallery. I am loving the contrast between the artists. Check it out!

Tomorrow at 8 a.m. we will be hosting 10 students from Harding Middle School for a roundtable discussion about building positive experiences and interactions with teens. It should take about an hour. This training is mandatory for Circulation Staff. All are welcome. 

So hard to believe that it’s almost December, especially with the weather we’ve been so lucky to have!

If you are in Des Moines and enjoy listening to Frank Sinatra and/or jazz bands, the Des Moines Symphony is presenting music of Frank Sinatra on December 31st at the Civic Center at 8 PM.  Here is a link with some information:  https://dmsymphony.org/events/new-years-eve-pops-sinatra-at-100-and-beyond/.

Tickets for this event do sell out regularly, so be sure to order your tickets soon!

Holidays in Johnston is this Saturday at 2:30. Here’s what to expect:

• Santa will arrive via firetruck (what!?) at 2:30pm. He will go to the glass tower area east of the public services desk to sit on a chair and let kids sit on him and ask for stuff. (Is this a weird holiday or what?)
• Youth Services staff and several volunteers will be running crafts, cookie decorating, and stories in the large meeting room.
• We hope to have some live music in front of the book tree but we may end up with some holiday Muzak™
• Expect large crowds, average circulation, and possibly greater than average new card applicants.

For those of you who did not sign up for this kind of craziness but are scheduled to work anyway, thank you! 

The Library Board met last Thursday. I’ve highlighted some of what was discussed below.

• As most of you have seen, the tile in the library is not non-porous—i.e. it absorbs dirt and other materials— and has become more and more stained over time, particularly in the men’s restroom and the Commons. The board indicated support for a project, the cost of which would be shared with the Foundation, that would replace all of the ceramic tile in the library. Stay tuned.
• The board has begun work on a new, 5 year strategic plan. Part of the process is developing a new mission statement. At Thursday’s meeting, the board developed the mission statement shown below. We’ll talk more about the statement and the strategic plan after the turn of the year.

“Promoting discovery. Inspiring creativity. Engaging community.”

• At their latest meeting, the Foundation approved a budget for 2017. Details are included in the document linked below. 

http://catalog.johnstonlibrary.com/board/2016-11/7A%20Foundation%20and%20Friends%20Budget%20Narrative%202017.pdf