JPL Intranet

Summer Discovery Update
We will discontinue handing out reading logs to kids.

We are running low on prizes. I have ordered more materials but may run out before they arrive. If we run out of a prize, please mark their reading log with an “IOU” and they can return later this week to pick up their prize.

Please send Riddhi an email at sheth@johnstonlibrary.com if you are not able to turn in your time sheet by this day and time.

I am a few days late on this post. Olivia Hickcox has joined the library as a library clerk. Please take a moment to welcome her to the library.

Please make sure to stop by this Wednesday July 17th to say goodbye to Molly as she moves onto her next great adventure.

Molly will be in the Staff Kitchen from 11:45am-12:15pm. For staff not scheduled on Wednesday, this is a perfect time to stop at the library and join the celebration. Molly will be out of the library between 12:30-1:30pm.

Hey everyone! I (Lolo) am moving on July 27th and am in need of boxes. Please save any boxes you come across and if you have some at home, I can come and pick them up.

Thank you!

Lolo

Updated 7/16/24

Please speak to Holly or Riddhi if you have questions about the following information.

If you are a part-time employee that is consistently scheduled for 20+ hours a week, you are eligible for PTO or Paid Time Off.

When you submit a Time Off request through When to Work, please do the following:

• In the Comment field, identify your paid time off as PTO=x# of hours and if that time off was scheduled or unscheduled. Scheduled means you asked for it in advance. Unscheduled means you called in sick, had an emergency, etc.

• If you request multiple consecutive days, please enter each day separately.
• On days you are regularly scheduled and are taking PTO, in the Comment field write the amount of PTO used for that day PTO=6hrs. See example below.

• In this range of consecutive days write No PTO Not Available in the Comment field for any days you are not regularly scheduled to work . This will alert the schedulers not to contact you about subbing.
• One more thing, don’t forget to attach a completed Paid Absence Request (PAR) form to your time sheet anytime you use PTO. Make sure you identify if your time off was Scheduled or Unscheduled.

These small steps make verifying time sheets more efficient and accurate.

Thanks,

Riddhi

Hi All,

I hope everyone is having a great week! As part of my routine in Ankeny, I would post weekly updates on non-time sensitive information (generally on Fridays, but not always) rather than posting multiple smaller messages all week long. I would like to bring that routine for JPL to help keep everyone informed of what is going on. Please read through the information below and let me know know if you have questions. I have tried to indicate a good contact for each item to direct questions to. Thanks for your time!

1. Cooling Center: As the weather heats up this weekend, reminder that the library is a cooling center and we may see increased usage as  patrons seek refuge from these high temperatures. This is just a heads up and shouldn’t change anything we are doing — just that there might be a bit more traffic than normal. Contact: Librarians-in-charge; supervisors, Holly
2. Book Donations: We put out a call on social media (in case you didn’t see it) for some gently used children’s books for the book bike.  I do not fully know the process of donations (yet), but if you start to get some in the next couple of days — please process/store as normal.  Contact: Beth, Megan or Holly
3. Transition:  I will be assuming all of Molly’s responsibilities in the interim of her leaving and us hiring a new team member. It is going to take a little time to breathe and re-group, and I want to reassure everyone that you are doing great.  We are not changing anything at this time, so if you would have taken a situation, including scheduling questions, to Molly please bring it to me. Contact: Holly
4. Staff Meeting:  Reminder that there is a staff meeting on Sunday July 28 from 11 AM- 12:45 PM.  We will plan to have social time the first 30 minutes, and then our business meeting will be from 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM.  To ensure we are planning appropriately, please respond to this form to let us know if you will be attending the social time and staff meeting. You may also use the form to submit specific questions for the meeting or you may email Holly directly. The agenda will be posted with next week’s update.   Contact: Holly
5. Celebration: Please make sure to stop by next Wednesday July 17th to say goodbye to Molly as she moves onto her next great adventure.  Contact: Lori Elrick and Dreama
6. 1:1 Meetings: One of the goals I set for myself in coming to this job was to meet with all library staff members in my first 6 months in a get-to-know everyone setting. I have slowly been setting up times to meet with people via email, but if you have a specific time — please feel free to reach out. I am fairly flexible in my schedule if you are only available certain days or times.  Thank you for everyone’s patience as I learn JPL. Contact: Holly

Again, I hope you all have a wonderful week/weekend and please do not hesitate to reach out with questions.

~Holly

Hi All,
There are a few unassigned shifts (i.e. sub shifts) on the schedule especially for this upcoming Friday July 12th. If you are able to work, please let me know (via W2W or email is best) and I will update the schedule. I will take a “first come first serve” approach to these shift hours.

This may be different approach to scheduling than you are used to, and I appreciate your flexibility as I feel my way around JPL and what will work best for all of us. I have posted this message to both W2W and to the intranet.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions. In case you need, my email is sealine@johnstonlibrary.com.

Thanks!
–Holly

I have had many good questions about what is expected of staff during desk back up time when check-in assistance is not needed.

We will be presenting a couple of topics related to library services and library resources to challenge you to dig into our collection, rethink our services and explore our resources.

This month is Disability Pride month. Over the next couple of weeks, as time allows at the desks and/or during desk backup, complete the following tasks:

Read this book review from the Washington Post. I loved How Lucky. Recommended for your reading list 🙂

• Do we have this title in our collection?
• Find another fiction title that we own that has a character with a disability?
• What are the subject headings of this book?
• Would those be helpful in your search for another fiction book with a character with a disability?
• Just for fun – what do we think of an able bodied author writing from the perspective of someone with SMA Type 2?  I really enjoyed the book, but I read it thinking that it was written by an author with a disability similar to SMA.

A library user wants some general information about spinal muscular atrophy type 2. We can provide information, but we cannot apply the information. Patrons should review medical information with their providers. We cannot provide medical advice. We can connect people with medical information.

• Look for information on Academic Search Premier. Did you find a full text article?
• Look up the condition on Medline.
• Are there print resources available at the library?
• Read about finding reliable health information here.

And finally, please read Services to People with Disabilities: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights by ALA.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you!

Ashley Brackemyer will be volunteering Thursday evenings between 4 and 8 p.m., starting July 11th. Ashley will be doing the pick list, and she will be working with Amy T.

Please say hello and introduce yourself when you see her.

7/5/2024

Hi All,

I know there are some questions and concerns about what is going on and happening with Molly’s role as she moves onto new professional opportunities. I want to reassure everyone that you are doing great and things will continue as they are. No immediate changes are going to take place, and for now Holly will assume Molly’s duties. Dreama will continue to purchase items for the within the adult collection (physical and e-materials). Please feel free to let your supervisor or myself know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.   

Thank you for your time and for all you do to help the community! 

~ Holly

I won’t be working Friday 7/12 and need to work on time sheets Wednesday afternoon. Please turn in completed time sheets and PARS by NOON on Wednesday July 10.

Riddhi

The highly anticipated magazine withdrawal is about to begin!  I am hoping to begin the process during the second week of July.   I do have a number of patrons who have already expressed interested in obtaining the withdrawn copies.  However, if you have other inquiries, please send contact information and magazine preference to me at: elrick@johnstonlibrary.com. You may also send me a slack or place a note in the basket outside of my cubicle.  Please let those asking for magazines know that we may not be able to accommodate all requests, but we will do our best to spread the magazine joy!

6/29/2024

Hi All,

I hope everyone’s weekend/day is going well. This morning I placed the wage notifications letters for all part-time team members in your brown mailboxes/inboxes. If I somehow missed someone or you have questions, please let me know as soon as possible.

Thanks!

-Holly

In 2015 as I walked into the parking lot of JPL after my job interview for Assistant Director, I found a tick in my hair. I remember thinking there had to be some symbolism to that. 

I never did look into what that might mean. As I am writing to share with you that my last day at JPL will be July 17, I decided to look up what finding a tick means in different cultures and contexts. Endurance, patience, resilience, adaptability, boundary setting and self-care are symbolized by ticks. I feel like all of those words could describe my personal and professional journey over the last nine years, but joy is the best way to describe it.

I am excited for new adventures in life as a mom as my kids are becoming young adults, and I am looking forward to new professional challenges. 

It has been a pleasure to be a part of this library community in Johnston. You guys are amazing, and I have learned so much from you and our library users. Thank you for letting me be a part of this. 

Holly will release more information about when and how my position will be posted and filled at a later date. 

In the meantime, Holly will be assuming my duties after my departure. Starting immediately, any question, concern or communication that you send to me, please include Holly. Those I supervise, will be supervised by Holly after my departure. 

Holly’s contact information is:

sealine@johnstonlibrary.com 

Cell: 515-681-6466

If you have questions, let us know!

Molly & Holly

First Prize for Kids Update
Instead of giving kids a scratch-off, please let the child pick one item from the tray. Items still include a pencil, bookmark, or sticker.

Please let me know if you have questions.

We have a new library clerk starting today. Christopher Baughman will be working at desks several mornings a week and every other weekend. Please take a moment to welcome him to JPL!

Under our research tab we had a link to Tech Boomer (a digital literacy website). That website is now called Tech Unity Life. I have updated the link on the website.

To my knowledge, the link was seldom used for Tech Boomers. Over the next two months we will evaluate usage of Tech Unity Life and may remove it from the website if we determine it is not being used. So if you have been using it often to assist patrons with digital literacy, please to reach out to Molly or Beth.

Hi All,

I noticed that our website and TixKeeper for Adventure Pass was indicating that we had 4 Blank Park Zoo passes, however we have only paid for 2 passes. I also contacted TixKeeper to update things on their end. Passes that were reserved prior to discovering this issue will be honored but moving forward only 2 people will be able to reserve passes at a time. Science Center of Iowa has also been updated, as it only showed 1 pass on TixKeeper but we pay for 2.

Finally, I updated the Adventure Pass information on the Intranet to link to Confluence help rather than giving a error message from a dead link. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Thanks! -Holly

I’ve sorted through library card applications that are more than a year old and updated the labels for stored provisional cards (located on the second shelf of the tray below new library card applications). There are now three separate groupings for provisional applications: adult provisional awaiting verification, juvenile provisional awaiting verification, and provisional applications that have been verified and moved to permanent  accounts. Each group is clearly labeled and clipped together.

When a patron comes in and verifies his or her provisional account, please pull the application from the adult or juvenile pile and move it to the verified pile. That way, I or whoever looks at applications knows that the account has been updated. This will keep the stack of provisional applications a little less “stacked” and easier to keep track of.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Thank you!