JPL Intranet

After a conversation on an unrelated topic, Nicholas, the newish director at Urbandale, sent these nice words. Keep up the good work!

We just completed our public survey as part of our strategic planning process. We received lots of comments from patrons telling us to “be more like the Johnston Library” and “take lessons from the Johnston Library.” You have set a high standard in Johnston!

Thanks!

Nicholas Janning, Library Director

City of Urbandale

When you receive a phone call about our free notary services at JPL, please make sure you tell patrons the 3 bullet points below so they know what to expect.

As of right now, the only time we do not have multiple notaries on staff is Thursday evening after 5:00pm.

In a couple weeks, once Rose, Christine, and Lolo are ready to go as notaries, we should have multiple notaries on staff at all times. Appointments are not required for notarial acts.

• Anyone who needs to sign, will need to bring photo ID with a signature.
• If your document requires witnesses—most documents don’t–we ask that you bring your own witnesses with you to the library.
• If you need to have copies of documents notarized, Iowa Notarial Code requires that the copies be made here in the presence of the notary.

Heads-up! I have started using the large cart with the TV on it for Monday and Thursday night EL programs. To expedite putting things away at the end of the evening, the cart has been moved and is being stored in the small mechanical closet in the SE corner of the library.

I removed all of the gaming components from the cart and placed them on a black plastic cart in the large storage closet in the East meeting room.

I also removed the DVD player from the cart and placed it on the shelf in the small coat closet in the East meeting room.

I removed the components so none would grow legs and walk away when the cart may be unattended in the SE corner.

Hello All,
With in-person programming happening again throughout the library and our new cleaners coming into the library many hours after staff leave, Molly and I decided to switch up closing responsibilities regarding lights in the building. Now, PS will be the department who will turn off lights at the end of the night. The lights labeled Security/Reference will be kept on all night, and the Workroom lights can be turned off from the back of the building once all staff have gathered by the staff door to leave for the evening.

Thanks! Ask your supervisor if you have any questions.
-Beth

Here are two common scenarios that come up with ILL and TV Series and the best way to explain it to patrons. You can always grab Molly or Denise if you have questions.

Can I order all the seasons of this TV show via Interlibrary Loan?  While we can place up to five ILL requests for patrons at a time, it is helpful to talk patrons through the ILL process:

Remind them that each season might be borrowed from another library. We can’t guarantee which season will arrive first or what the due dates will be. It is not uncommon for the last season to arrive a week or more before the first season and to be due back within days of the first season arriving.

I always strongly recommend that they request no more than two or three seasons at a time. Then when they finish a season, they can call or visit us to request the next season (up to five at a time).

Why are we giving some people longer than the standard two-week circ time for TV Series? I want to watch this season and isn’t due for almost a month? Patrons wanting the next season in a TV Series can be frustrated to see that the due date is more than two weeks out.  ILL accounts (libraries that borrow our materials for their patrons) are given a standard check-out period of 30 days for DVDs/Blu-rays/TV Series and 60 days for all other materials. This is to allow extra room for delivery and processing to and from the libraries.

Hey all,
As of September 30, 2021, users on older Apple devices (Mac computers running lower than macOS 10.12.1 and iPhones/iPads running iOS 9) may have trouble using the OverDrive desktop or mobile apps.

What’s the impact on users?
This internet-wide security change will result in a security warning for less than 1% of OverDrive users, which in many cases can be resolved by updating their operating system or browser version.

(We’ve already helped 2 people that have come into JPL with this issue.)

What should impacted users do?

• Users who encounter this warning should update their operating system or browser version (if an update is available).
  All iOS devices that were released after 2012 can update to iOS 10 or newer, which will work after this change. Here are steps to help iOS users update their operating system version
• If the device is so old that newer iOS operating systems are unable to be installed, patrons could still continue to use Bridges by accessing it through their Browser and going through our website. eBooks and audiobooks would not be able to be read offline, like they could through the app, however.
• Another option would be to access Bridges through a web browser and our website, and then to read the books through a kindle app downloaded onto their device.

  More info is available here: As of https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204204

  Please feel free to send patrons with Overdrive questions to the Reference Desk for assistance.
  Thanks!

Oops – week got away from me.If you can’t get your time sheet to the folder by Friday, please email me, rasmussen@johnstonlibrary.com. Thanks.

Emily Lawson will be dropping off art for display either Sunday or Monday (Oct3-4).  Please place her items in Eric’s office.  Thanks!

If you need a flu-shot, the coupon linked below is good for a free shot for yourself and anyone in your family at the Johnston Hy-Vee Pharmacy. One coupon needed per family.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a5tUqeYAxsGEkJ4QBj8ci8duL-cXfMS8/view?usp=sharing

Pharmacy Hours:

8 a.m.-8p.m. Mon.-Fri.
9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday
10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Sunday

We had our first big public meeting in the large meeting room yesterday. This is the first time in many months that such a large group has used the space. A couple reminders: Prior to these types of meetings, please make sure that the tables are clean, that the white boards are wiped and have markers and erasers, that the trash bins are not overflowing from a previous meeting that day, and that items from library programs are removed from the space.  Thanks.

Up to now, the collection of films available via Kanopy, the streaming video service we offer to cardholders who live in Johnston, has primarily included award-winning documentaries, rare and hard-to-find titles, film festival favorites, and indie and classic films. They’ve recently “partnered with more major film studios like Warner Brothers, MGM, and Lionsgate…to provide…access to hundreds of blockbusters, box office hits, and must-see award-winning films.” You can browse the Kanopy collection here. Login with the email and password included below.

info@johnstonlibrary.com

123Johnston

The first pops concert of the season is Saturday October 9th, at 7:30 PM at the Civic Center, and we are playing music of the Beatles.  https://desmoinesperformingarts.org/events/revolution-the-music-of-the-beatles/.  Please be sure to bring a Covid vaccination card as well as a mask if you are attending, and it should be amazing!

Eric,

Thank you for all the special summer programs that were enjoyed by everyone in our family.  The grab and go kits for various ages were especially popular with our Kdgn. grandson and 14 month old granddaughter.  We could tell others were hooked on those activities, too, because several times the kits were all gone quite early in the time block.  What a good idea to have the children’s activities broken down into various age brackets.  We also enjoyed the storywalk and hope to see more of those scheduled.

All winter/spring I looked forward to the monthly grab and go card kits.  And this fall, I appreciate receiving the reminder notices and the ability to have a kit available on the hold shelf if I can’t make the scheduled Sunday afternoon card crafting group.

The library has been a lifesaver during the pandemic and we’ve certainly taken advantage of the curbside pickups.  We were reading on skype each week with a grandson in Washington and always had lots of Johnston library books to share with him.

We appreciate the many opportunities you are providing to our community.

Louila and Alan Bjork and family

I will be playing a requiem with a Drake alumni choir on Sunday October 3rd at 3 PM at St. Ambrose Cathedral in downtown Des Moines.  It’s free and open to the public.

Starting today we will be pre-shelving the YA Fiction and Graphic Novels on the narrow shelving on the wall where the CD cases used to be (next to where the check-in desk used to be).  We will not be shelving YA directly to the cart.

In addition to the bike locks we loan from the circulation desk (stored below the video games), we now have six zip-tie style locks for locking scooters. As with the bike locks, these new locks can be loaned by collecting a photo ID, library card, keys, or some other form of collateral that can be stored in the red basket next to the locks.

JPL was voted “Favorite Northwest Polk County Library” by Iowa Living Magazine readers for the second year in a row! The award will be featured in the October issue of the Johnston Living magazine. Congrats everyone!

A staff member from Project Iowa reached out to me last week. We had a brief conversation today about their job training services. Project Iowa is a nonprofit organization that currently offers free, 8-week job training courses that include individual evaluation of class member’s goals as well as resume, interview, and job search help.  Classes are currently all virtual although they can loan laptops and hotspots to those without. (I mentioned that we, but maybe not all libraries, would be able to accommodate attendees with webcams, private rooms, and computer access.) We should be receiving some brochures soon.

I pointed out that many of the job seekers that we see are looking for employment sooner rather than later and may not have the luxury of attending an 8-week course before getting down to applying for a particular job. This did not come as a surprise to her. She brought up the idea of partnering on a workshop where attendees could get a sense of what the organization offers and could get hands-on help if needed. She is going to discuss it with other staff and get back to us.

In short, Project Iowa may be a good place to refer someone who doesn’t need a job right away, who has the time to attend a 90 minute course, 4-days/week, for 8 weeks and who could use help figuring out the type of job they want and how to get it.

You can learn more about Project Iowa via the link below.

https://www.projectiowa.org/programs

Review returned materials for damages

• Disregard normal wear and tear that does not prevent someone from reading, listening to, or viewing the item. If uncertain, check in the item, update the circulation status to “in repair” and place on the repair shelf.
• If an item appears damaged (i.e. dog chewed, major tears, stained), check it in, update the circulation status to “in repair” and place the item on the repair shelf.
• If an item is wet or moist or disgusting, check it in, update the circulation status to “in repair” place in a plastic bag on the repair shelf.
• The repair staff will take care of billing and repair.