Category: Uncategorized

A note from city hall regarding tomorrow’s paychecks. Consider it a bonus .

The July 1st pay adjustments affect the pay period in which July 1st falls in.  Therefore, the pay period of June 26th – July 9th and paid on July 15th will be the payroll in which pay adjustments will be noticed.  The pay rate change will be for the entire 14 day pay period.

Library PCs were used more times in FY16 than in all prior years. We recorded 18,196 PC sessions/log-ins. This is pretty remarkable considering the common perception that “everyone” has a computer and Internet at home. 

The yellow (or white) notepads at the reference, youth services, and circulation desks are intended for any kind of patron comments you feel are worth noting. These could be compliments, complaints, or suggestions. 

Hello all, 

Just a quick update that at this time the public printer does not print double-sided. If a patron would like to print something double-sided, please direct them to the Reference Desk and PS staff will assist them in putting their document on a flash drive so it may be printed on the staff printer. Also, FYI, the price for double-sided printing is the same as two single-sided prints, i.e. 15 cents per side for black and white and 50 cents per side for color. 

Double-sided printing is not requested often, so I don’t forsee that this will be a huge issue. 

Thanks! Ask if you have questions. 

Beth

The lens on the Cannon camera is missing the lens cover. The lens is more expensive to replace than the camera body. The cover was on the lens last Wednesday, so perhaps we can find it.

I put a payroll change form in your box. Please sign it and return it to the envelope in Molly’s inbox. This needs to be done by the end of this week.

At the last staff meeting, Maryann mentioned “the Internet of things”. The article linked below provides examples and discusses the current state of “things”.

http://www.economist.com/news/business/21700380-connected-homes-will-take-longer-materialise-expected-where-smart

Fiscal Year 2016 has come to an end. We should all be proud of our contribution to JPL circulating more materials this past year than ever before. We have a number of exciting things to look forward to this coming year including the roll out of the book bike (if you don’t know what I’m talking about click here), new additions to the Tech Lab including an 8mm and Super 8 film reel scanner, more training opportunities, exciting programs, and more!

The 2016 Des Moines Symphony Yankee Doodle Pops is coming up soon.  It will take place on July 1st at 8:30 PM on the Iowa State Capitol grounds.  It’s free. The Des Moines Symphony website has more information. 

Andrew Holms, Circulation Clerk, plays cello in the Des Moines Symphony.

A few patrons have returned Blu-ray discs noting that the disc is causing a pink screen on their TVs.  We’ve checked the discs, and they’re playing fine on our equipment. 

A pink screen is caused by a problem with the HDMI cable and/or the Blu-ray player’s connection settings.  Suggest that the patron shut down and restart all of their AV components.  The patron can also do a browser search for “blu-ray pink screen” to read more about possible solutions.

I’ve added a section called ALA Documents under Staff Resources with a link or PDF to some fundamental documents relating to our profession.  

Kinney has asked me to announce her retirement effective October 2016. We will begin planning a rager soon. More information forthcoming. 

The library board met last Thursday. I’ve highlighted some of the agenda items below.

Evaluations & Wages

 Staff evaluations are complete. All staff received at least a “Successful” rating which makes them eligible for raises. The library board approved on the proposed wage increases. 

Election of Vice-President, President, and Secretary

• Each June, the board elects officers for the fiscal year that begins in July. Kelly McAlister will move from Vide President to president. Robert Marvin will be vice president. Mike Israel will be secretary.  

Special Census

• Johnston’s special census is complete.The city’s population has grown 18.4% since the 2010 census. Find more information here and here

Programs

• We had over 300 attend the summer kick off magic show.
• About 325 attended the Belin Quartet on June 5th. Upcoming programs include Composting Made Easy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens outside, and Indian Desserts.

Privacy

• I’ve been reviewing the information we keep (or that’s ben automatically collected for us) that contains information that could be used to identify and/or track the checkouts or computer use of patrons. We made the following changes to further protect patron privacy:
• Set our PC reservation system to discard all log files nightly rather than weekly.
• Turned off server logging of Polaris API transactions. (The library catalog makes use of thePolaris API to exchange information with Polaris.)
• Asked Polaris to write a script to remove SIP (Standard Interchange Protocol) logs nightly. (The self-check and Overdrive make use of SIP to verify patron information and checkout materials.)

Connect to our work/find your specialty based on your Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator. I am an INFP and may or may not have cried a little reading mine. Although the job title doesn’t really match, it perfectly described why I love what I do.

An updated employee handbook is in your mailbox. Please sign and date the top sheet, tear it off, and place it in the basket on my desk.

Read about the revisions

JPL could use a team of staff responsible for planning staff-related events including retirement and going-away parties, holiday get-togethers, and sending flowers, cards, or other gifts or acknowledgements. The team will also need to decide how best to fund their activities. Ideally, the team will be made up of at least one staff member from each department. Please let me know if you’re interested in helping. 

I should’ve pointed out in my recent post on privacy that the library’s stance on confidentiality of patron records/personal privacy is not simply motivated by principles but by state and federal law. 

Applicable State Law

Code of Iowa 22.7 “Examination of Public Records (Open Records)”

22.7 Confidential records.

The following public records shall be kept confidential, unless otherwise ordered by a court, by the lawful custodian of the records, or by another person duly authorized to release such information…:

13. The records of a library which, by themselves or when examined with other public records, would reveal the identity of the library patron checking out or requesting an item or information from the library. The records shall be released to a criminal or juvenile justice agency only pursuant to an investigation of a particular person or organization suspected of committing a known crime. The records shall be released only upon a judicial determination that a rational connection exists between the requested release of information and a legitimate end and that the need for the information is cogent and compelling.

Applicable Federal Law

First Amendment: Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech…

Fourth Amendment: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Those of you have a Gmail, YouTube, or some other Google account can view what’s being stored about you by logging in then following the link below. 

https://myaccount.google.com/privacy?pli=1#activitycontrols 

You’ll likely see that Google is tracking:

• Places you’ve been
• Audio recordings of searches and other voice commands
• What you’ve searched for
• Videos you’ve watched and searched for
• Your contacts, calendars, and other information

The tracking information you’ll see is distinct from information stored in your browser; clearing history, cookies, and other information in your browser simply clears that information from your PC, not from Google or other companies’ servers.

I’ve known that tech companies like Facebook and Google track their users extensively but, for me, seeing the extent of this sometimes-revealing information about myself being kept outside my control is jarring and has made me more cautious about how I use the web. 

Those that dismiss privacy advocates as paranoids need only look at a handful of recent news articles and reports to see how web tracking and lack of privacy lead to real repercussions for societies and individuals including arrests and censorship:

http://www.voanews.com/content/china-blocks-time-economist-websites/3277926.html

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2015/iran

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2015

Unlike, China, Iran, Russia and other countries, the US has certain legal and constitutional safeguards that ensure personal privacy. However, it would be naïve to assume, particularly given that our own National Security Agency likely collects more information related to personal communication than any institution in the world, that there is not and never will be unchecked and/or undetected abuse of this power in the US.

In public libraries, patron privacy is one way we can ensure that citizens are free to read, watch, or listen to what they choose without fear of repercussions from law enforcement or other government agencies or social censure from neighbors or others. We do not keep a trail of who checks out what beyond the previous borrower. We do not keep logs of who has used our library PCs or what they’ve looked at. We do not track what patrons have searched for in the PAC.  We should all be proud that as other institutions collect more and more information about what you read, watch, and buy (that is what retail “discount” or “member” cards are for, of course), that JPL and most other public libraries continue to ensure that our patrons can read and watch in peace.

If you have the March 1 2016 and April 1 2016 issues of Library Journal, please place them in my basket.  Put a note on it if you want me to return them to you.  TS neglected to get these two issues checked in (or maybe we never received them from the publisher).  Help us solve the mystery!

These informal Q&A/training sessions will take place in the Archive room. Circulation staff are encouraged to attend at least one. All staff are welcome. You will be paid. Please register using the links.

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Bridges / Downloadable Books and Audiobooks

Tuesday, July 19th, 1-2:30

http://events.johnstonlibrary.com/index.php?page=registration&did=23393

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Bridges / Downloadable Books and Audiobooks

Thursday, July 21st, 10-11:30

http://events.johnstonlibrary.com/index.php?page=registration&did=23394

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PAC

Monday, July 25th, 10-11:30

http://events.johnstonlibrary.com/index.php?page=registration&did=23395

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PAC

Friday, July 29th, 1-2:30

http://events.johnstonlibrary.com/index.php?page=registration&did=23397

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