JPL Intranet

In anticipation of Monday’s change to curbside service, the language of hold notices has been updated to the following:

The following items are being held for you at the Johnston Public Library. Please pick the items up before close on the “Held-Till” date indicated below. For curbside service, call ‪515-779-3315‬ when you arrive. Curbside service is available any time we’re open—no appointment needed.

It hurts me to write this post, but Brittany will be leaving us later this month. She has accepted a Children’s Librarian position at the Ankeny Library. However, she assured me she will still be using JPL as her home library!

We will be posting the open position on the city’s website later this afternoon. The position is a full-time Assistant Youth Services Librarian position.

We decided to remove the bouncer station a couple of days early to allow staff to focus on work elsewhere in the building. The table that took its place is now setup as a checkout station. Circulation staff can use this next week to checkout holds for curbside customers without the need to make another trip behind the circulation desk after retrieving patrons’ holds from the hold shelves.

We have a new wall-mounted webcam in the archive room for staff and public use. The device on the table is a speaker/microphone and also includes controls for the webcam. To use the webcam, the USB cable coming out of the table needs plugged into a laptop. Once it’s plugged in, the webcam will show up as a video/audio option on Zoom and other video conferencing apps. The speaker/microphone can also be used for non-video conference calls by connecting to a phone via bluetooth. See the instructions in the Archive Room for more details.

I’m going to place a name tag order this week. To those of you who have had yours for a while, if it’s looking rough and you’d like a replacement let me know by the end of the day Friday.

Department heads met yesterday to discuss reopening. We all know that the public’s perception of the threat of Covid-19 has changed rapidly since vaccines have become widely available. The CDC’s recent announcement that “Fully vaccinated people can…Resume activities without wearing masks or physically distancing”, has created additional pressure on institutions to relax Covid-related restrictions. The impetus for our discussion yesterday was the difficulty in continuing to justify many of the restrictions that we planned to lift in July or August including keeping play areas closed, limiting capacity, and restricting entry to those 14 and above. Beginning Monday we will take the following steps to make our services more in-line with where the community seems to be with Covid-precautions (measures that are new or that have been moved from July or August are highlighted):

• The Archive Room will reopen for public meetings
• Curbside holds will move to an on-demand, rather than an appointment-based, service available all open hours
• Book sale will reopen
• The capacity limit will end
• The bouncer station will be removed
• The Youth Computer Lounge will reopen
• Children under 14 will be admitted without an adult (per the Unattended Child Policy)

The complete reopening plan for 2021 can be found here and is always accessible via the link in the Covid-19 menu on the intranet. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hey all,
The first weekly prize winner for Adult Summer Reading is Katie Schlawin. She has been notified by phone (left a voicemail). She can come into the library between now and next Tuesday, June 15 and pick up a prize of her choice off of the red Cart O’Weekly Adult Summer Reading Prizes located behind the Reference Desk. All entries from last week’s weekly drawing have been sorted into buckets for the grand prize drawing of the participant’s choice.
Thanks!
beth

A couple of weeks ago, other city buildings instituted a policy that allows staff to work without masks if they prove they’ve been fully vaccinated. JPL will now follow suit.

WHO IS FULLY VACCINATED

People are considered fully vaccinated:

• 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
• 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnston’s Janssen vaccine.

If you do not meet these requirements, you are NOT fully vaccinated.  Keep taking all precautions (wearing masks and social distancing) until you are fully vaccinated, or the mask requirement is lifted by the CDC.

IF YOU’RE FULLY VACCINATED

If you’re fully vaccinated and would like to work without a mask, please provide me a copy of your vaccination card or some other proof of vaccination (a photo taken with your phone is fine–you can text it to me if that’s easiest at 515-250-5381). Once I receive proof of your vaccination, you may immediately start working without a mask.

If you have not been vaccinated or do not want to show proof of vaccination, you will continue to be required to wear a mask.

COMMUNICATING WITH THE PUBLIC 

You may get questions or comments from the public related to your wearing or not wearing a mask. If you get a question about not wearing a mask, it’s fine to say that the city’s current policy is that masks are not required for vaccinated employees. If you get a question or comment about wearing a mask, it’s fine to tell them that you’ve chosen to continue to wear one.

Let me know if you have any questions.

The 2021 Yankee Doodle Pops will only be available via Iowa PBS and Iowa Public Radio, and here are the broadcast dates and times:

July 2nd: 8:30 PM on Iowa PBS

July 4th: Noon on Iowa Public Radio

July 4th: 6:00 PM on Iowa PBS

July 5th: 11:00 AM on Iowa Public Radio

https://www.dmsymphony.org/concerts-events/yankee-doodle-pops/

Hope you all can tune in!

Daily Grab-n-Go breakfast and lunch meals will be provided at each location June 10 – August 6 (No meal service July 5^th) for anyone ages 0-18.

Meals will be provided to ALL CHILDREN without charge at the sites and times as follows:

Today is the first official day of the Summer Reading Program. PS/YS staff have worked hard to plan a fun program for the community.

Important Dates:

1^st day to pick up logs is June 1^st

1^st day to redeem prizes is June 12^th

Last day to redeem prizes in July 31^st

While PS/YS staff are going to be the main staff to give out logs and prizes, I have printed instructions for getting prizes for the youth programs in case you are the only staff available to help. Those instructions are at the Circ Desk.

In the meantime, please look at the Summer Reading Program links on the website.

With the holiday on Monday, I thought I’d get this reminder out early.

Participants in the Terra Park Art Walk will be dropping off their paintings over the next couple of weeks. Please make sure the artists write their name on the back of their paintings. There’s a permanent marker at the bouncer station. The paintings can be placed in my office.

Beth and I are so excited to be welcoming the newest members of the JPL Staff.

Laurie (goes by Lolo) Balduchi & Christine Kane-Finn

They both are starting this afternoon and will be working in YS & PS as Library Guides. If you see them, please introduce yourself and welcome them to JPL!

We are discontinuing the digital cards that we began offering in response to the pandemic. Links to the digital card application have been removed from the website.

Upcoming changes to our services are included below. I’ll post additional information as each date approaches.  You can view the full reopening plan here.

• June 14th
  • Archive Room reopens for public meetings
  • Curbside holds pickup no longer requires appointments; available all open hours (more details forthcoming)
• July 5^th
  • Youth Services play areas reopen
• August 23^rd
  • Large meeting room reopens for public meetings
  • Normal hours resume (M-Th: 9am-8pm; F & Sat: 9am-5:30pm; Sun: 1pm-5pm)
  • Children under 14 admitted without an adult (per unattended policy)
  • Small in-person programs like book clubs resume indoors

Let myself or your supervisor know if you have any questions.

We haven’t received USA Today since May 12th. We’ve notified the publisher, and service will resume on May 24th.

We’re now receiving The New York Times daily. It’s arriving by mail, so there may be a one-week lag. I’m not sure yet whether the Sunday edition will arrive by carrier with the Des Moines Register or by mail.

Place any incoming issues of newspapers on the TS shelf in the Circ workroom.

West Bank will offer a Free Shred Day to the community at the 1601 22nd Street, West Des Moines parking lot on Saturday, May 22, 2021, 8 a.m. – Noon.

https://www.westbankstrong.com/about_us/news/article/free-shred-day-may-22#:~:text=West%20Bank%20will%20offer%20a,COVID%2D19%20regulations%20and%20guidelines.

Phones are back.