JPL Intranet

Due to some of the recent behavior incidents at the library, I’ve asked the police chief to provide extra police presence in and around the building. If you haven’t already, you’ll likely notice more police walk-throughs and drive-throughs over the next few weeks. Kenny Egan, the sergeant in charge of the officers patrolling the library, has given his cell number for library staff to use whenever there’s an incident. (He says a direct call will make their response time quicker.) Feel free to call Kenny, the PD’s non-emergency number, or 911 when you need to report an incident.

Kenny Egan                     515-720-8874

PD Non-Emergency            515-278-2345

Dell is sending a technician this morning/early afternoon to replace a faulty tape drive.  This will probably require shutting down the Polaris server for fifteen minutes or so.  Lori F. and I will work with Circ staff to use offline mode at the Circ Desk.  The library’s web site and the Polaris client will be unavailable during the maintenance window.

We’ll let you know when the technician arrives.

Update: The tape drive has been replaced. Thanks to everyone for your cooperation and patience during the downtime.

I attended a meeting this morning to hear about changes to the summer lunch program that has been offered at the library the past few summers. 

The Johnston Schools have signed up for a USDA program that provides funding for summer lunches. The USDA requires that the lunches be served in a location near the homes of kids that receive free and reduced lunch. The library does not meet this requirement. This summer, the lunch will be located across the street at Chapel Ridge (exact location to be determined). 

More details forthcoming. 

Texas Roadhouse just delivered fresh rolls as a gift.  They are on the table in the Staff Kitchen.

Peg

Hey all, 

I am looking for a couple library employees who are interested in working the Shred Day event on Saturday, April 29th from 8:30am to 12:30pm. You will be working outside and either helping to direct traffic to the Shred Day car que so library patrons are still able to easily access the library or helping to take boxes of shredding material from vehicles and giving them to the Shredder employees to be shredded. I will be here on this day and will be assigning everyone tasks so things run smoothly. 

You will be payed for your time on April 29th. If interested, please email me at stevens@johnstonlibrary.com. 

If you know any library lovers looking for a part time gig, point them to our current opening for Library Clerk Substitutes. This position will be used to help cover vacations, illnesses, busy summers, etc. at the Circulation, Public Services, and Youth Services desks.

https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/cityofjohnston/jobs/1712972/library-part-time-library-clerk-substitute?pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs

As most of you know, fines for DVDs & Blu-Rays will increase to 30 cents per day beginning July 1. I’ve begun making patrons aware of the change by adding signs to the DVD shelves and the following sentence to the footer of email notices:

NOTICE: Overdue fees for DVDs and Blu-Rays will increase from 15 cents/day to 30 cents/day effective July 1, 2017

In the next several weeks, we’ll expand the awareness campaign to Facebook and, possibly, an email blast.

Please let me know by Monday if you’d like me to try to get samples of a particular shirt from the catalog in the breakroom.

I have sample requests from:

Beth

Erika

Lori F.

Molly, Ann, Houria, and I attended the Johnston Lions Club meeting Monday night. The Lions presented a check for $4,000 from Lions Book Sale proceeds to the Johnston Public Library Foundation. Thank you to everyone involved in sorting, packing, and otherwise managing book donations throughout the year–your work plays a big part in making the Lions Book Sale a success.

The funds will go to support Foundation projects for 2017 including the new furniture and play spot coming soon to the Youth Services area.

I’ve placed a thank you card to the Lions Club in the break room. Please sign it when you get a chance.

Little Vibha weighs 6.75 pounds and is 20 inches long!

Willona sent me the following message this morning.  Her e-mail address is wgoers74@gmailcom if you want to respond.

Dear Friends,

My mother passed away peacefully at Bishop Drumm Care Center yesterday about 6:30 p.m. I had received a call a little before noon on Monday that she had taken a turn for the worse with a fever and other congestive symptoms. I spent the day and night with her Monday and the day on Tuesday. About 4:30 Steve and I met with her hospice nurse, who said Mom could be gone in 10 minutes or 2 weeks…. no way of knowing. We left briefly for supper – and ironically – had stopped by to express our sympathy to the brother of a dear friend (Kay Elliott, whom some of you may know) who had passed away on Tuesday morning after a long illness. It was then that I received the call the Mom had passed. I guess she waited for us to leave so she could complete her final journey.

Thank you for all your support and concern you showed these past years as Steve and I have been caregivers for Mom. She was a special lady and she will be in our hearts forever. We are working on arrangements for her memorial service, which will be held up in northeast Iowa where she lived for so many years.

Thanks,

Willona

The city’s Economic Development Coordinator, Adam Plagge, dropped off a display today that shows three draft designs for development of city property on the northeast and southwest corners of Merle Hay and 62nd Street. The display is located next to the entryway bar by the display case. Adam is looking for feedback from citizens via the paper forms hung on the display. More information about the project and the open house/forum being held April 18th can be found via the link below.

http://www.cityofjohnston.com/806/Johnston-Town-Center-Open-House

Many of you have met Emily Price as she’s attended meetings and events at the library. A message from city hall regarding her resignation:

Good morning;   Please share with your employees the news that our Communication Specialist Emily Price has informed us of her resignation, effective following the Kites on the Green on May 6^th.  Emily has an opportunity to be the Executive Director of the 501©(3) nonprofit  Healthy birth Day,  www.healthybirthday.org – an organization dedicated to the prevention of stillbirth and infant death through education, advocacy, and support.  This is a passion of Emily’s and we wish her only the best in her new role as the nonprofit’s first Executive Director.

The City will begin an immediate recruitment for Emily’s replacement. 

Teresa Rotschafer

Finance/Human Resource Director 

This Tueday, we will be upgrading to version 5.2 of Polaris.  We’ll start the upgrade around 7 a.m., and we hope to be finished by 11:00 a.m.

Hey all,

Stack signage in the library has been updated and some of the shelves have shifted. Please be on the lookout for any alphabetization changes when looking for or shelving items. 🙂

Thanks!

Maryann Mori, librarian and consultant for the State Library, will be our summer Book Bike rider for 2017. Some of you know Maryann from State Library events here at JPL as well as from her facilitation of a recent staff strategic planning session. Maryann is an avid cyclist and is excited about reaching out to the community on JPL’s three wheeler. She will start late May.

FYI – You may get calls or questions on both of these events happening today.  Here is more information.

The City of Johnston Parks Department will be conducting a prescribed burn near Terra Park today in the Beaver Creek Natural Resources Area. If you see smoke near 6300 Pioneer Parkway, do not be alarmed. The burn should last between 9 am and 3:30 pm. The Parks and Recreation Department uses prescribed fire as a land management technique to control invasive species, stimulate grasses and forbs and to remove duff layers. In nature, fire is essential to maintain the integrity of the native prairie and woodland plant species. Fire is a natural occurrence that helps the plant and animal communities in a native area.

The City of Johnston, in coordination with Polk County Emergency Management and RACOM, will test severe weather sirens throughout our community on Friday at 10 am. During recent testing, we found that emergency signals are unable to activate four of the city’s eight sirens, but we are hopeful a permanent resolution will take place Friday. The sirens you will hear Friday morning are only a test and no severe weather is expected. Please do not call 911 if you hear the sirens. We will update you as we know more about the results of Friday’s testing. Thank you for your cooperation.

All of this information is on our website + social media as well.

Thanks,

Emily Price

City of Johnston Communications

The Library Board met Thursday, March 23rd. I’ve highlighted some of what was discussed below.

• The board approved a new Alcohol Policy which, with prior board approval, will allow us to host beer and wine tasting events as well have beer and wine available at Art After Hours.
• The board approved purchase of Novelist Select (NS). Novelist Select provides Novelist content for embedding into library websites. We will use NS to provide read-alikes recommendations next to titles on the website (we will discontinue using Amazon for read-alike suggestions).
• The board approved edits to the meeting room policy including removal of the ban on groups taking names or providing handouts.

our own Youth Librarian, Megan, made the paper. Oh, and check out that very handsome guy standing next to her.

Next Tuesday is Library Worker Day. To celebrate, the Library Foundation has agreed to buy lunch and cupcakes for the break room. The lunch will begin at 11.

I’ve included a list of the Panera food that I’ve ordered below. All are welcome to attend.

Vegetarian Summer Corn Chowder

Black Bean Soup

Vegetarian Creamy Tomato Soup

(2)  Turkey Sandwich

(2)  Ham & Swiss Sandwich

(4)  The Italian Sandwich

(2)  Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich