JPL Intranet

Voting for the 2023 Summer Reading Bookmark Contest is now open! Please vote for your favorite bookmark in each category. Winners will be announced on Monday, May 8!

https://forms.gle/ULFmmEFFuYyvVFcw9

As we approach summer we may get questions about the Johnston Farmers Market which is held at the Johnston Town Center on Tuesdays, June – September 2023.

The City has a nice page about the Farmers Market which includes links to vendor forms and directs all questions to Nate Osmundson at (515) 727-8091.

So if the link below does not answer the question about the Farmer’s Market, we should refer them to Nate O. with the Parks Department.

https://www.cityofjohnston.com/865/Farmers-Market

At checkout:

• The Tonieboxes will be next to the Launchpads behind the Circ Desk.
• The Tonie Kits will be above the Tonieboxes on the ledge in containers.
• The Wi-Fi Hotspots have also been moved up to the top of the ledge in a container.
• Tags for Tonieboxes and Tonie Kits will be kept on the shelf near the Tonieboxes and Launchpads.

At Checkin:

• All the pieces are listed on the tag so make sure all the pieces are returned. The pieces are all marked with JPL and a partial barcode, so please verify that the correct pieces are in the correct kit or box.

Hey all,
Shred Day is this coming Saturday, April 29th from 9:00am to noon. Staff parking will not be affected. The actual shredding will take place closer to the barn.

At pre-Covid shred events, we would get close to 1,000 cars that would take advantage of shredding. In order to avoid traffic getting backed up on Merle Hay, traffic will route from Merle Hay around the library onto Morningside Drive and enter the west parking lot by the Simpson Barn. Electronic traffic signs from Public Works and AARP volunteers make sure cars are headed in the right direction so patrons (and staff) looking to enter the library through the normal parking lot entrance should also not be affected.

If your morning commute has you going East on 70th Street (from Grimes or Western Johnston) to Northglenn, I recommend continuing on 70th Street to Merle Hay Rd instead of taking Northglenn. Northglenn is used to access Shred Day and there can be a long line that forms early.

We really have Shred Day down to an art at this point. It’s very orderly and efficient, but we did want to give staff a heads up so you’re not caught off guard.

Thanks!

We will hold an all-staff meeting Friday, May 19th, 9am-12pm. More details forthcoming.

Eric has arranged a training opportunity for staff on May 19th from 9 am – 12 pm.  My understanding is it will be a general safety training by the Johnston Police Department – but more details to come.

Since this is outside our regular meeting times, please email me and let me know if you will be able to attend the paid training and I will add you to When to Work. If you are already scheduled to work during that time, you do not need to let me know you will be here 🙂

Thanks!

Tonieboxes and Tonie characters are now available for check out! The tags (similar to the learning tool tags) will live near the Launchpad tags on the slat wall in YS. We have 2 kits that include a Toniebox, 2 characters, and charging pad and 5 kits that include 3 Tonies (for those that already own a Toniebox).

Each Tonie character has approx. 60 minutes of content including stories & songs. Click here to learn more about Tonies: https://lib.de.us/tonies/

Happy National Library Workers Day!

Your hard work and dedication are seen and appreciated. Thank you for all that you do for the community, the library, and each other.

Enjoy some treats in the break room!

The public can pick up a kite kit from the library in preparation for Kites on the Green. I have some kite kits behind the Circ Desk, on the white cart, if anyone asks for one.

Molly

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/vKJEuiMsKMNzN0otDbDVlVs022CcwRA383tBbH2MnKyQMifPALqdd4n8UlT6hb0q.Yn68PwfBpNtjcxAo

Above is the link to the Circ Staff Meeting from yesterday. I have you all down for 1.25 hours. Please watch from home if you did not make it to the meeting yesterday.

Let me know if you have questions.

Molly

[UPDATE] LinkedIn Learning is reactivated.

In the last few months, we have had a few instances where people who look for used books that they can resell for a profit have asked to look at our donated book inventory that is not out in the Commons.

We have occasionally let them look at books on the donated cart, and I have had people press to be let into the book sale closet to go through books.

Going forward, we do not allow people to sort through the donations cart, boxed books for the Lions Club, or get into the book sale closet to search through our donated items that have not been put out for sale. If you are pressed, please share that we have a process for reviewing donated items, and only items put out in the book sale area are available to browse or purchase. We do not place holds on book sale items.

Let Molly or Laura know if you have questions.

This afternoon, patrons with over $5 in fines will receive a message like the one shown below. You may receive calls from patrons with questions about their fines and about food-for-fines.

Eric Melton,
Pay your overdue fees with non-perishable food items April 22-29.
One food item pays $1 in fees. Fees for damaged or lost items cannot be paid with food and are not included in the amount listed below.

Your current fees eligible for payment via food for fines:
$126.70

Staff
Johnston Public Library
515-278-5233

Tips for talking with patrons about fees during Food-for-Fines:

How do I quickly find and add up the eligible fees on a patron’s account? Here is a step-by-step guide for adding up fines and how to accept payment with food/personal care items. I’ve also printed it for the desks.

Remember to encourage patrons with lost items (You’ll see Replacement/Processing fees) to return items. Those fees can be reduced to a fine of $5, or less, per item, if they are returned. It is never too late to bring items back to the library.

We are collecting Food-for-Fines items at the Circulation Desk behind the Self-Check Kiosk.

It’s spring which means…it’s evaluation time. Part of the process is the self evaluation. This is your chance to tell your supervisor what you think you did well in the past year, how you’d like to grow going forward, and what could be done to help make your work or your experience at work better. The self evaluation form is linked below. Please have it to your supervisor by May, 5th.  If you’ve been at JPL fewer than 6 months, you are not required to complete a self evaluation. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ho3J_NpAiyCzyJdxDgdDychcHC9A4jmx/view?usp=share_link

Staff Internet and public access to our website will be down for a couple of hours Monday. Public Internet should be unaffected. Polaris should still be functional. Staff at the PS and YS desks may need to switch to our public wifi for web access.

From city hall:

Good Morning,

On Monday, April 17 we will be replacing our firewall.  This will cause internet outages between the hours of approximately noon and 2 p.m.  Please plan accordingly.

External email – in and outbound – will also be down during this time. Internal email will not be impacted. All email will be delivered once the firewall is reconnected.

Please ensure that your department is aware of the outage.

 Thanks,

Cyndee

A recent visitor to the library, Michael Hodges, has been banned from the library. If you see him, call the police and let them  handle escorting him from the building.

At the March meeting, the library board approved an update to the Circulation Policy.

In order to allow children whose parents are unable to visit the library to apply for a standard juvenile library card access to materials, provisional juvenile library cards will now be good for checking out four items at a time until the library card expires.

Provisional juvenile cards will expire after six months. If they are renewed by the child, another postcard will be mailed to the parent or guardian.

Quick reminders:

1. Children need to be able to provide their name, address, and date of birth to get a provisional juvenile card. Unlike computer cards where we will accept addresses like “next door” or “Des Moines,” we need to have a complete address so we can send the postcard to their parent or guardian.
2. Phone and email are not required for any type of library card. I would recommend that anyone provide those so we can help them by sending reminder notices, but no card requires a phone or email.

*Adult provisional cards are still limited to two items on the day they apply for a card.

Here is the updated procedure. I have also printed copies for all the service desks. We have updated postcards at all the service desks.

Please ask Molly or Denise if you have any questions.