JPL Intranet

Visit the Staff Breakroom after 12:00 pm for more Gratitude, Gobbles & Giggles Week fun.

We have a new box of welcome brochures that need folded as you have time when working the checkout desk. The two ends fold inward toward the middle.

Greetings!

Get your gobble on everyone because today begins Day 1 of the Great JPL Turkey Scavenger Hunt!

Our turkey friend will be hiding in a new spot every day. (You’ll know him when you see him. He is on an orange piece of paper with the message “Gobble! Gobble! You found me!” written above his head.) When you find him, write down your name and his location on the prize slips provided in the break room for a chance to win a FABULOUS  GRATITUDE, GOBBLES, & GIGGLES WEEK PRIZE PACKAGE!

We will limit his location to staff-only areas, the Commons, and the book drop room. No need to run all over the library looking for him. 🙂

The turkey will be in a new location every day, so there are many chance to WIN! Feel free to give friends hints and clues to his location! (Hot and cold game, anyone?)

GOOD GOBBLE GOBBLE LUCK!

Your Gratitude, Gobbles, & Giggles Committee (aka the GG&G Ladies)

Welcome to a week of GRATITUDE, GOBBLES AND GIGGLES at JPL.  We want to show our GRATITUDE for our amazing co-workers; GOBBLE up some fun treats, and enjoy a few GIGGLES with some games and contests!  And TURKEYS, RIGHT? Because, who doesn’t love a TURKEY? Stay tuned to the intranet for important TURKEY BULLETINS.  Because, you KNOW you DON’T WANT TO MISS IT!

We hope everyone has a great week!

Your Gratitude, Gobbles, & Giggles Committee Members

Hello – so I recorded the meeting on Sunday, but I closed the meeting as the recording was saving/buffering/something and it didn’t save 🙁

So I picked myself up off the ground, after an appropriate amount of time feeling sorry for myself, and made a slideshow. Fingers crossed this link works. I’m not sure my ego can handle any more technology mishaps:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WnkSbeo8TIlchUog8fFghcCIXkgc3ILPMcXPP4u_F7s/edit?usp=sharinghttps://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WnkSbeo8TIlchUog8fFghcCIXkgc3ILPMcXPP4u_F7s/edit?usp=sharing

Please let me know if you have any questions after viewing the presentation.

As I mentioned at the most recent staff meeting, we are restarting the “all-desk services” trainings that were paused throughout the pandemic. These trainings–for PS, YS, and Circulation staff–are intended to give everyone a better sense of the services and resources we offer to help staff provide better service. There will be multiple opportunities to complete each training and we will work with staff to schedule trainings at times that work best for you. Some of the trainings will be one-on-one while others will be done with a small group. Feel free to reach out to the staff member responsible for a given training to figure out a training time that works. If you’d like to attend a training during your regular shift, please consult your supervisor first to ensure coverage.

To view the trainings and to see which ones you’ve completed, click on the “All-Desk Services Trainings” link next to your name in the staff list (linked below).

Staff List

I reset the system clock, but it may take up to 24 hours for the building clocks to reflect the correct time.

I’m just posting this reminder about the staff meeting tomorrow. There is no face-to-face option – just Zoom – but I will record if you can’t make it for the “live” Zoom meeting. Thanks all. 

There is a Circ Staff Meeting on Sunday, November 7th from 11 am – 12 pm. It will be held via Zoom. I am putting you all on When to Work for that hour, but I understand that you may not be able to make it to the meeting on the 7th at 11 a.m. There are three options to attend the meeting.

• If you can attend via Zoom at the meeting time -This is the option I strongly encourage because meetings are more meeting-like if we have people 🙂
• You can watch the recording, which I will post after the meeting, at home, or before/after one of your shifts at the library.
• If you are unable to watch the recording or attend the meeting via Zoom, please let me know. I will make time for you to watch the recording during your regular library hours, and I will delete your meeting shift from When to Work.

The Zoom information is listed below, but I will resend it closer to the meeting date:

Molly Guerra is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Circ Staff Meeting
Time: Nov 7, 2021 11:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85860221309?pwd=cGJNTS9TWkJJYjJFbkd1R210cUVaUT09

Meeting ID: 858 6022 1309
Passcode: 510348

The Library Foundation met Wednesday to discuss their 2022 budget which begins in January. In addition to continuing to fund LinkedIn Learning and our BookPage subscription, they have agreed to fund a collection of decodable books for the library’s Beginning Reader collection as well as a shade structure for the west patio (design shown below).  The shade structure will be installed sometime in the spring following replacement of the patio concrete.

The Johnston Public Library Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is “to enhance and improve the Johnston Public Library.” Foundation Board members work to generate community support for collection development, programs, and technology initiatives that are beyond the means of the Library’s operating budget.

The Parks Department has been levelling a spot east of the parking lot for installation of the temporary ice rink that’s been near the library the past couple of winters. The rink will not have a cooling mechanism so the condition of the ice will be dependent on the temperature. In addition to this rink, there will a rink at the Town Center with artificial ice opening November 27th. Skate rental will be available at the Town Center rink for $5. (I’m working with Venuworks, the company that manages activities at the Town Center, to add three skate passes to our Adventure Pass program.) More information on the Town Center rink is available on the City’s website.

Veterans Day is next Thursday. The library will be closed. I’ve included a summary of holiday pay for full- and part-time staff below.

• Part time staff not regularly scheduled more than twenty hours weekly will not receive holiday pay (even if you come to work on Christmas 🙂 )
• Part time staff who are regularly scheduled 20-30 hours per week and who are also scheduled to work on a paid holiday can take as paid the hours that they’re regularly scheduled to work. If Jim is scheduled to work 6 hours on Christmas, for example, he can take 6 hours of holiday pay.
• Full time staff may need to adjust their schedules (take days off some other day(s) that pay period- 11/7-11/20) to ensure that their paid holiday hours don’t push them into overtime.

Find more Holidays and Closings on the website.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

It looks like a crew has started work on the sidewalk that will connect the west parking lot with the playground that will be constructed behind the library sometime in the next several month. I’ve included a drawing of the plan below.

We have changed the settings so that the Check-in screen defaults to backdate one day.

Reminder:

When unloading overnight book returns, please backdate the slip you put in the book pocket of the red cart. 

At check-in, read the slip to determine how many days you should backdate, if any, and adjust if necessary.

A few days ago I received a request for reconsideration for the book “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe. I’m currently reading it and will meet this week or next with the patron who submitted it. Since the request, two articles about local challenges to this particular title have appeared online–one of them about the challenge here at JPL and the other about a challenge at the Waukee School District. As you know, withdrawing materials based on these kinds of objections flies in the face of the fundamental principles of public librarianship outlined eloquently in ALA’s Freedom to Read Statement. Our Request for Reconsideration Policy states that “the library recognizes that any given item may offend some patrons but will not remove specific titles solely because individuals or groups find them objectionable.” Given the publicity about the challenge, patrons may ask about it. Listen to what they have to say but please don’t give an opinion on the challenge or the book. How librarians respond to these kinds of challenges should not be directed by personal taste. As “The Freedom to Read Statement” states, “Publishers, librarians, and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea…they make available. It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral, or aesthetic views as a standard for determining what should be… circulated.” If a patron wants to discuss this particular title or our reconsideration policy, refer them to Molly or myself. I’ve included a link to the challenge below as well as one to an interesting article from the author on recent challenges to their book.

Request for Reconsideration – Gender Queer

Opinion: Schools are banning my book. But queer kids need queer stories.

When creating an event that requires registration you’ll now see an option that allows patrons to indicate if they want to attend in-person or pickup the program’s supplies to go.

Now that most patron accounts that had their expiration dates extended due to the pandemic have been renewed, we’ve decided to do away with the online renewal option. Patrons with expiring accounts will receive the updated notice included below.

The library updates user accounts every two years. Your Johnston Public Library account will expire in 30 days. Either reply to this message, call us at 515-278-5233, or visit the library to verify or update the contact information listed above and renew your account.

What if a patron needs a book club set NOW and no one is available in Technical Services?

1. The Book Club Sets are located in Technical Services.  All book club sets are shelved by call numbers and or author’s last name. The adult non-fiction and Biography titles are shelved behind Lori E’s desk.  The adult fiction titles begin on the west all of Lori’s cubicle and continue around the corner. The sets are continued on the back wall of the TS area. The YA sets are shelved next to the YS workroom.
2. When a book club set is reserved, the Circulation Status is Unavailable. Books with a status of Unavailable cannot be checked out.
3. To determine which book club sets are available, go to the PAC.
   1. Hover over Browse and then choose book club sets.
   2. On the left side of the screen, click on Checked- In Titles Only.
   3. The patron may now select from the titles listed.
4. Patrons are also welcome to check out single copies of Book Club Sets as long as the Circulation Status is “In.”
   1. If you check out a single copy, you do not need to do anything further.
   2. If you check out two or more copies of a single title, leave a note for (or send an e-mail to) Lori E. letting her know which set or items you loaned.
5. If a patron wants a copy of the discussion questions, go to P:Book ClubMultiple Copies Discussion Questions.  Each book has its own document which you can print for the patron. Or print directly from the PAC Link found in the “Notes” section of the book club set description.
6. Book club sets check out for 6 weeks automatically.  There is no need to reset the due date.  There are no renewals on book club sets.
7. Bags for book club sets are available on the bottom shelf located at the end of the TS work counter.

When Book Club Sets are returned, check them in using the normal procedure, and place them on the TS shelf in circulation or on the Book Club cart in TS. If you check in a book with a blocking note, please follow those check- in instructions