JPL Intranet

Fuad found a black LG cellphone in the back of the library and turned it in. It has a cracked face. We’ll keep it at the ref desk for the remainder of the day and then put it in the gray cabinet if it hasn’t been picked up by the end of the night tonight (8/18).

Due to my son’s new school schedule, we will not be holding the all-staff meeting normally scheduled for next week. We’ll resume bi-monthly, all-staff meetings next month. More information forthcoming.

https://www.dmsymphony.org/concerts-events/bernadette-peters-in-concert/

Be sure to purchase your tickets for the Bernadette Peters concert on Thursday, September 8th at 7:30 PM at the Civic Center downtown Des Moines.

Please make plans to come to Lauridsen Amphitheater at Waterworks Park in Des Moines Labor Day weekend to hear music of Whitney Houston (Saturday the 3rd at 7:30 PM) and of Hollywood (Sunday the 4th at 7:30 PM).  Both concerts are FREE!

https://www.dmsymphony.org/concerts-events/the-music-of-whitney-houston/

https://www.dmsymphony.org/concerts-events/hooray-for-hollywood/

Please check the symphony website for more information about the upcoming season:  https://www.dmsymphony.org/  We have The Planets, Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, Saint-Seans Cello Concerto No. 1, and American in Paris, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the music of Queen, and more!

Topic: Circ Staff Meeting
Time: Aug 21, 2022 11:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81776797106

Meeting ID: 817 7679 7106

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I have added everyone to When to Work. 

I hope you can attend via Zoom this Sunday. If you cannot attend “live” via Zoom, please make sure to watch the recording at a time that works for you outside of your regular shifts.

If you cannot make the time outside of your regular shifts, please contact me. I will remove the extra hours from When to Work and arrange a time for you to watch during one of your shifts. 

Good Afternoon,

As expected, the CDC updated its COVID guidance this afternoon.

Effective today, vaccination status is irrelevant as it relates to quarantining.

Quarantining/Isolating is no longer required UNLESS you have tested positive for COVID, or you are sick and suspect you have COVID but haven’t received test results yet.

If you have been exposed to COVID, you should wear a high-quality mask for 10 days, and get tested on day 5.

If you test positive for COVID, you must stay home for 5 days and isolate from others in your home and in public.  If after 5 days you have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medications, and your symptoms are improving, or you never had symptoms, you may end isolation after day 5, and wear a mask through day 10.

If you had moderate illness (shortness of breath of difficulty breathing) or if you had severe illness (hospitalized) you need to isolate through day 10.

If you end isolation and your COVID symptoms worsen, you start over at day 0.

They also updated the language to emphasize “that physical distance is just one component of how to protect yourself and others.  It is important to consider the risk in a particular setting, including local COVID-19 Community Levels and the important role of ventilation, when assessing the need to maintain physical distance”.

Thanks,

Cyndee

Mississippi Mud brownies

6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 cup unsalted butter

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup dutch process coca powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups sugar

5 eggs

3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Topping:

3/4 cup marshmallow creme

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 13×9 inch baking pan with aluminum foil sling and grease the foil.  Melt the unsweetened chocolate and butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, then cool slightly.  Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in another bowl; stir eggs and sugar together in another bowl.  Stir the melted chocolate mixture into the sugar and eggs, then stir in the flour mixture.  Fold in the pecans if using, and pour batter evenly into prepared pan.  Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean with wet crumbs attached, about 35 minutes.  Place on wire rack.

Spoon marshmallow creme over hot brownies, and let sit for about a minute.  Melt chocolate chips and oil, and spread cream over the brownies.  Then drizzle the melted chocolate over the cream.  Let cool for about two hours before serving.  Freezes well.

If you or others you know are allergic to gluten, feel free to use any chocolate brownie recipe in a 13×9 in pan, and follow the directions for the topping.

Brownies for my birthday (which is actually August 13th) are in the breakroom.  Please help yourself when you have a chance.

Sunday Card Crafting Club kits will now be available at the Reference Desk.

Lori French

We have been receiving calls about Shred Day. Patrons do NOT have to register for the event.

Shred Day is scheduled for Saturday, September 10 from 9am-12pm

Patrons are asked to limit material to be shredded to 3 disposable boxes or containers per household.

Below are the Adult Summer Reading Grand Prize Winners

Sound Geek: Zach Ward

Park Explorer: Nikki Giddings

Ice Cream Lover: Mary Edwards

Winners have been notified and have until Sunday, August 7th to pick up their prize. Prizes are at the PS Desk with their names on it.

Thank you everyone for your hard work over the summer!

Zach Ward is the winner of our week #9 prize – a gift card to Hyvee. Please direct Zach to YS/PS staff to pick up her prize.

Note: Whomever gives Zach their prize, please write the date picked up and your initials on the envelope; keep the empty envelope and return it to the ASR drawer at the Ref Desk. Thanks!

Hello All,
Below is a little refresher script for responding to phone inquiries about day-of Study Room Usage. Also a friendly reminder that it is always ok to hand-off study room inquiries to staff working at the ref desk.

• We do not make day-of study room reservations but you’re welcome to come in and use any open study rooms on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition to our 4 study rooms, we also have seating in the Commons as well as multiple study areas tucked-away throughout the library. While I can’t guarantee a study room will be open and available when you arrive,  most of the time people are able to find an area in the library that is workable for quiet study or small group work.
• If the patron wants more specific information, feel free to look on the calendar at events.johnstonlibrary.com and tell them which rooms are reserved for the day, but then also provide a reminder that open rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so some rooms may be occupied by people who are utilizing the study rooms on a walk-in basis.

  Thanks!

Over the next 8 weeks, we will be transitioning to a new event calendar system for handling public and library room reservations and program registration. The new product is from a company called Library Market who provides websites and event calendars to a number of Iowa libraries. The link to Altoona Public Library’s calendar below will give you a sense of what ours will look like and how it will work. We are at the first stages of the switch and will provide more information as the process moves forward.

https://altoonapl.librarycalendar.com/events/month

In an attempt to make the status of study rooms accessible to all staff no matter what desk you’re at, I’ve created a simple spreadsheet labeled Study Rooms that can be found under the Schedules tab in the top ribbon of the Intranet.

The caveat is that this document may not be 100% accurate at all times, often patrons neglect to tell us when they’ve exited a study room, but we can try to keep it as accurate as possible. I use the security cameras to view the rooms when in doubt.

Instructions on how to use the document are in the document. Feedback is welcome.

I won’t be in the office beginning Friday so I need to get time sheets done before vacation, hence the need to have them early on Thursday. Thanks!