JPL Intranet

I will be out of the country with limited access to email and phone from August 28 – Sept 6.

While I am gone specific areas of my responsibilities have been delegated to specific people. Since we are already a little short-staffed, it will work best if we can try to follow these lines of communication as closely as possible. This will help evenly distribute the work.

Dreama is in charge while I am out. She will be the person to contact with escalated general library issues – escalated behavior, building maintenance, human resources issues, library bills, etc.). Her cell phone is 515-422-6791.

For all scheduling needs that impact a desk (YS, PS, CIRC or Teen Sp), please contact Peg. For immediate issues(within the next 72 hours) please text her at 515-991-0713. If it is a minor thing more than 72 hours out, you can email her.

Mary Bush will be the main point of contact for escalated circulation questions – library charges (fines/replacement costs), accounts, and anything circulation-related. She has been promoted to Assistant Circulation Librarian. Her work email is bush@johnstonlibrary.com. If you need immediate assistance and Mary is not working, please remember that there are the Patron/Item needs assistance forms at the Circ Desk. Mary will follow up if you fill out one of those forms.

Beth and Peg are both available to back up any public desk with things outside desk duties. They are also happy to answer questions about desk duties while I am out.

Librarian in Charge – Remember that Assistant Librarians act as Librarians in Charge and are an immediate resource. There is an Assistant Librarian on staff at most times.

The library will close at 12 pm on Friday, September 8, 2023 to allow staff working to attend this event without worrying about desk coverage. This event will be paid for staff that are regularly scheduled during the event. Everyone is encouraged to come have fun. Staff that are regularly scheduled on that Friday will be asked to return to the library to work until the end of their shift or they are welcome to speak with Molly and Peg about using PTO or taking unpaid time if they prefer to leave after the social event winds down.

Molly

The Employee Committee is excited that the library will be closing at noon in order to allow our staff to attend this year! They are looking forward to seeing everyone.

The Library Board would like to hear our opinions about the event. Please share your impressions with your supervisor or Lori F.

Thanks

Eric Gradeler has resigned from JPL effective immediately. While he is welcome as a patron at the library, he is no longer to enter staff-only areas.

Please let me know if you have any questions for concerns.

Molly

Over the next few weeks, YA CD Books – Fiction will be moving from the YA area at the east end of the library to the adult CD books area. YA CD Books –  Nonfiction and YA CD Books – Biography are already in the adult CD books area. The new call number format for YA CD Books – Fiction will be CD BOOK F AUTHOR YA. This format is consistent with other YA materials that are integrated into the adult collections.

This move will give us more room for YA graphic novels and manga. We will be separating out the manga and adding a genre label to the spine. More news on this change after the YA CD Books have settled into their new location.

If you have any questions about this change, please check with your supervisor or with someone in Technical Services.

It appears the addition of the WTW boxes at the bottom of time sheets is working very well to catch errors before I verify time sheets. Thanks for making the time to add this information!

At yesterday’s Library Board Meeting, the library board approved a quote to move www.johnstonlibrary.com to the same platform that the City of Johnston uses to host their website – CivicPlus.

Over the next eight to twelve weeks, the library will be working the complete the transition. We will continue to keep staff posted and provide an orientation to the new website and the new catalog, https://catalog.johnstonlibrary.com/polaris/ , as we progress with the project.

Thank you for all of your understanding as we make necessary, but not always easy, changes. You are an amazing group of library professionals. Your flexibility with When to Work, desk schedules, and technology changes are not going unnoticed. Thanks for all your hard work.

I just wanted to send out a message regarding desk duties and departments. We have been successful in moving toward our goal of integrating staff from different departments at all of the service desks. This will continue to happen as a part of our All Desk Service Model. The All Desk Trainings are intended to be the core duties at each desk regardless of the name of the desk or the department. The tasks you do off the desk or during slow periods at the desk will still be specific to your department.

We are working to create more uniform workstations at each desk to facilitate moving between the desks with ease. For instance, each desk has a blue folder with printed instructions on how to open and close each desk area, but please ask your coworkers when you have questions. I will work with you to facilitate shadowing at opening and closing so everyone gets a chance to see how other desks close.

Here are some examples of when it would be smart to try to use a new muscle at a desk and when it might be wise to just go ahead and ask for help:

A few weeks ago I was at the Youth Services Desk. I was chatting with a family that I have talked with before. They were browsing for books in a very leisurely manner. One of the girls was looking for a book series but she didn’t remember the title or much about the series. I knew that I probably wasn’t going to be the best person to find the series, but they seemed very willing to work with me as I looked. So I did some Google searching, I did some catalog searching, and I asked them the questions I knew to ask. We worked together for about 5 or 10 minutes, and then I said, “Let’s pull in the big wigs” and I grabbed Megan and Jessica. Of course, Megan and Jessica found the series in a few minutes. I didn’t feel bad at all because I learned a lot about children’s book series during the search and I got to practice a skill that I don’t use that often. The family didn’t seem upset at all. They even discovered a book series while we were searching. It was a win-win. If the family had been with a crying baby or seemed like they needed to leave ASAP, I probably would have only looked with them for a minute before grabbing help.

That same day, we had a woman come in to use the computers. She began her interactions at the PS Desk in a surly manner. The PS Desk was already fairly busy, and Cathy went ahead a grabbed me right away. In that situation, Cathy did the right thing. Cathy had other patrons that needed her attention and the woman made it clear that she was in a hurry and didn’t have the time or inclination to wait and I was available.

We can’t always give the rushed patron an extra hand, but if there is a backup and you get the sense that this will be escalated, don’t be afraid to ask for help.  That being said, don’t be afraid to try new things like readers advisory or helping with a library resource you rarely use. You can always ask for help after you give it a shot. If we never practice our All Desk Skills, they won’t stick. Most of the time patrons are very understanding if you are unsure and when you frame it correctly, it can be a learning experience for everyone.

Please note that Meeting Room Technology/Approval is not an All Desk Skill. So while you are going to approve study rooms and let people into study rooms as a desk task, letting groups into the Meeting Rooms and/or setting up Meeting Room Technology is a task that associates/guides and assistant librarians are trained to do. Clerks do not need to worry about learning that.

Also, know that All Desk Skills include only the basics of technology. You should be able to help a patron print a document, PDF, or email. You do not need to know how to reformat a resume, troubleshoot advanced technology issues, or assist patrons with in-depth Help Desk or Tech Lab tasks that are going to take more than 5 to 10 minutes. If they need a lot of assistance, you can schedule pending a help desk appointment.

Please continue to ask Molly and Peg if you have questions about the desk training, and we will do our best to schedule you with a staff member to review the skill you feel unsure about.

I have printed off a list of general All Desk Tasks and a list of things that are not All Desk Tasks.

Assistant Librarians and Library Associates/Guides will do some non-all desk tasks while on a desk – especially during the evenings and weekends.

This list is at each desk to look over. This is not going to cover every scenario, but I hope it helps clarify.

JPL will be hosting an University of Iowa Practicum Student this fall.

Alexandra Bomhoff is pursuing her Masters in Library and Information Sciences at Iowa while working part-time at Des Moines Public Library as a Library Clerk.

You will see her at JPL on Mondays from 9-1 & Thursdays from 3-7pm. Her focus will be Youth Services, but she will be shadowing at various desks and learning more about all the things public libraries do!

Thank you for assisting our patrons in placing ILL and purchase requests.  We receive positive feedback on how much this service is appreciated. 

After placing the request information, please consider verifying the patron’s preferred choice of notification.  Often when a hold is not picked up, it is due to an outdated phone number or email address.  This last step will ensure that they are  notified as soon as the item is available.  Thank you !

Update: Erik Rasmussen will be coming and going from the library to work on web projects. We have him set up in the director’s office, and he’s welcome to go behind the Circ Desk into staff areas any time the library is open.

Erik Rasmussen (Peg’s son) has agreed to help us with some web projects. He will be using the director’s office evenings and weekends.

Lori French has made space in the office for Erik. Please do not place items in the director’s office. If you need a place to store materials, let Molly or me know, and we’ll help you find an alternate storage space.

I have created a folder called  Building Maintenance in the PDrive.

It has a map of the library – we use this to mark areas that need to be cleaned or I might mark areas for workers to explore.

I also have a sub-folder called Open Work Orders. I will do my best to put in documents with information for contractors that have been contacted for quotes or work in the library – including pictures and a description of what we are needing.

I will still try to be here to work with contractors directly, but I find that they often just pop in unannounced – and don’t seem to know what work they have been sent to do. Sigh. You are always welcome to call or text me when that happens, but I hope these documents will be a resource also.

If you can still Slack, text, or email me that a worker has stopped by, I would appreciate it.

This won’t be perfect, but I hope it will be helpful. Currently, I have two documents in there – one for exterior maintenance quotes I am collecting and one for a broken window in the East Tower.

Tickets for Art In the Barn, a library foundation fundraiser, are now available for purchase from the black binder at the circ. desk or online at johnstonlibrary.com/art-in-the-barn. Tickets are $20 each and can be paid via cash, check, or credit card (use the book sale iPad). Art In the Barn is Friday, October 2oth, 5:30pm-8:30pm. More information about the event is available at https://www.johnstonlibrary.com/art-in-the-barn/.

Thanks!

I have printed a new Weekend Schedule chart and posted it outside the director’s office. Please look it over carefully and make sure your schedule is accurate; if not, let me know and I will correct it.

Thanks!

Andrew will be playing the cello in the Des Moines Symphony Water Works Pops concerts Labor Day weekend.  Saturday, September 2nd, at 7:30 PM, is music of ABBA.  Sunday, September 3rd, at 7:30 PM, is Heroes and Legends.  Both will take place at Water Works Park across from Grey’s Lake in Des Moines, and both are free.  Please feel free to bring lawn chairs and picnic baskets!

https://www.dmsymphony.org/concerts-events/direct-from-sweden-the-music-of-abba/

https://www.dmsymphony.org/concerts-events/heroes-legends/

Library Director Search Update:

The library board has signed an agreement with the recruiting firm, Bradbury Miller. We will begin working with them at the end of November. This pushes our timeline for a new library director to April/May 2024.

Library Services Reminder:

JPL has two remote book returns at Beaver Creek Elementary and Horizon Elementary that are generally emptied on Monday and Friday mornings. We always backdate until the last empty. Thanks to our awesome volunteer, Layne, for emptying the book returns for the library!

Holiday Gathering Committee:

We are looking for social librarians to help plan this year’s Holiday Gathering. If you are interested or have ideas for a gathering in November or December to celebrate with your co-workers, please shoot me an email. I would like to get a group meeting in October to begin our planning.

Library Numbers:

In July we circulated over 1,043 items each day.

FY 23 (July 22 – June 23) JPL spent $84,416.87 on print and e-books for our collection.

Library Director Search Update:

The library board has signed an agreement with the recruiting firm, Bradbury Miller. We will begin working with them at the end of November. This pushes our timeline for a new library director to April/May 2024.

Library Services Reminder:

JPL has two remote book returns at Beaver Creek Elementary and Horizon Elementary that are generally emptied on Monday and Friday mornings. We always backdate until the last empty. Thanks to our awesome volunteer, Layne, for emptying the book returns for the library!

Holiday Gathering Committee:

We are looking for social librarians to help plan this year’s Holiday Gathering. If you are interested or have ideas for a gathering in November or December to celebrate with your co-workers, please shoot me an email. I would like to get a group meeting in October to begin our planning.

Library Numbers:

In July we circulated over 1,043 items each day.

FY 23 (July 22 – June 23) JPL spent $84,416.87 on print and e-books for our collection.

Bittersweet news everyone: Stephanie Gibb-Clark’s last day will be Saturday, August 19. Stephanie has been at JPL just shy of 5 years and has worked in the Public Services, Youth Services and Circulation departments. We will miss her intelligence, empathy, and ease with patrons very much.

The sweet part of this bittersweet news is she is leaving us to devote more time to future plans, which include teaching and research. She has picked up an additional teaching class at DMACC and has research opportunities opening up with Kurdish people living in Nashville that will be instrumental in her research as she writes her dissertation.

During her time at JPL, Stephanie facilitated Tech Help with Teens, multiple JPL Drum circles, JPL Skill Share programs for adults, Lonely Readers Club, the Ultimate Reading Challenge, book displays, countless genre bookmarks, and many JPL social media posts, not to mention her work on the desks.

Please join me in wishing her the best of luck in her future endeavors!

After six years, Denise has decided to resign her position at JPL. We’re sad to see her go and we wish her well.

A few of you may notice a 15-minute tweak in some of your shifts. The primary reason for the tweak is to better align your start or end time with an On Desk shift without reducing or increasing your hours. If WTW shows that your end time is the exact time as closing, you are free to leave at that time. At the present time, other staff shifts will be ending 15 minutes past the hour and they should still leave as scheduled.