JPL Intranet

As you know, we offer a collection of digital magazines via RBDigital, the name of the app and website where Recorded Books offers digital content. I received notice today that the company that owns Recorded Books has purchased Overdrive. The notice I received says:

…over the coming months, all RBdigital library customers and RBdigital app users will be migrated to the OverDrive platform and Libby. We expect that the OverDrive platform will be enhanced with content that was unique to the RBdigital platform, including new Recorded Books audiobook releases, and we will be exploring additional content relationships such as digital magazines from ZINIO. After the customer and patron migration is complete, the RBdigital platform will be discontinued.

I’ll keep everyone posted as I hear more about these changes.

Hey all!
Looking for something to do while you’re at home? Genesis Youth Foundation, an organization that works with immigrant and refugee kids to level the playing field through athletics, the arts and academics is hosting an online African Cooking Class this Friday. Would be a fun date night or a fun acitivity to do with kids. The event is from 5:30pm to 7:30pm and proceeds go to support programming for the organization. There are two ticket options: Option 1 gets you zoom password and link, the recipe, and prepped ingredients that you pick up ahead of time. Option 2 allows you to go grocery shopping ahead of time for ingredients yourself and then cook along with everyone on Friday.

Link is here: http://www.genesisyouthfoundation.org/cooking-with-gyf
Let beth know if you have any questions! It’s a tasty way to learn about another culture and support an organization that supports a lot of the kids that come in to our library.

Currently, Book Club facilitators, (beth, dreama and stephanie) are in contact with their book club members to get them book club books. When attendees let facilitators know they would like a book, beth, dreama or stephanie will check out books to patrons with the extended check out date for each club and arrange a time for patrons to ring the staff door bell to grab the book. Book Club facilitators are putting checked-out books that are awaiting patron pick-up by the “In” sign outside dreama’s office. Books are marked with patron’s name. Book club facilitators most of the time will be the person who is around to give the book to the member when they come to the staff door to pick it up, but, should you have a surprise visit–book club books that are already checked out to patron’s should be in this spot outside Dreama’s office.

This morning, all staff should’ve received an email with their FY21 wages. If you didn’t receive yours or you think there’s an error, let me know.

Hi all!

Deepa and Missy’s going away party is this Wednesday, June 24 at 4:30 on Zoom. Let’s make it the most happening Zoom party ever so that they change their minds and decide to STAY! 🙂

Here is all of the necessary Zoom information:

Hi All,

During your shifts this week please take 30 minutes or more, to look at this document and to review the links, documents and procedures.

We are starting phase 3 tomorrow with PC appointments. Our workflow will not change dramatically, but I would like everyone to be somewhat familiar with the plan for services. This will be new to patrons and new to us. Even if you are not going to be directly involved with PC appointments or browsing appointments, we should be aware of the processes when we answer the phone or get questions during curbside.

Look at this document and please visit the links under Patron Assistance during your first shift this week.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Hi All,

I won’t be in until a little later today. Here is the daily desk schedule. Please call, text or email me if you have any questions.

If you are interested in going to the Pleasant Hill Library anytime soon, they are open to the public again with their normal hours.  They will be closed this coming Sunday however.  https://www.pleasanthilliowa.org/114/Library.  Only 30 patrons will be allowed at a time until further notice, and disposable masks are provided.

Some of you may be curious how other libraries are reopening. Metro library directors have kept in touch over the past several months. I’ve included plans from some of them below.

• West Des Moines: We’re open, masks required, no more than 70 people at a time. Mid-day closing for deep cleaning. This is day two, so far no issues.
• Waukee: Curbside only
• Clive: Opening June 29th Limited hours 30 minute visits/30 minute by appointment computer times. MASKS are required No more than 10 patrons at a time in the library Curbside will continue for those not comfortable in the library
• Ankeny: Ankeny Kirkendall Public Library will reopen to the public on Monday, June 22. Capacity will be limited to 75 people and all visitors will be required to wear a face covering while in the library. Services will be limited to quick browsing and checkouts. Computer usage is limited to one hour. Play areas, seating areas, conference rooms, study rooms, teen room and Hatch Makerspace will remain closed.
• Des Moines: Curbside holds pickup. Beginning Monday, June 22, a limited number of public computers, plus printing services, will be available for public use BY APPOINTMENT ONLY at Central Library between 10 AM and 4 PM Monday through Friday.
• Grimes: Curbside Service and Limited Library Access
• Urbandale: We started Monday with a soft opening—no more than 20 people, just lobby service for holds pickup and limited browsing, 6 computers available for booking.  We’re hoping to move to the next phase (50 people in the full building) starting on 7/6.
• Altoona: Planning on next Monday, timers for 1 hour visits, half capacity, no drive up, shortened hours.

The video from this morning’s all-staff meeting is linked below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yvuT0swt2tf0r4N4BxdMSfMS0EMgbCpl/view?usp=sharing

A few quick notes:

As curbside began, we started applying the actual due dates to items loaned which means we have items that have come due since June 9th. Please remember to backdate at check-in. 

There is a digital card application for residents of Johnston and rural Polk County only. The digital card can be used to borrow physical and digital materials during our phased re-opening. More information can be found at https://www.johnstonlibrary.com/services/digital-card/

Items borrowed before we closed in March have due dates staggered throughout the month of July to avoid a glut of returns on July 1.

I’ve completed drafts of everyone’s timesheets. Please follow the link below to verify and, if necessary, make changes to your sheet. Let me know if you have trouble.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1u09wOWlbxxSNwZKzUFlM9A-8nI07v8YH?usp=sharing

The all-staff meeting will be held tomorrow (Thursday) at 11am via Zoom.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82404316874

You may receive a call from someone wanting to make an appointment to use a PC. Use the “Create PC Appointment” in the Patron Assistance menu to create an appointment for them.

Sierra Stuckenholtz has been working at JPL since 2013. She began as a shelver and finished as a clerk in TS and Circ.

She is kind of one of the neatest people you will ever meet. While working at JPL she graduated from Johnston High School, graduated from ISU with a double major in animal science and environmental science, and got a full-time job at the Blank Park Zoo as an animal caregiver.

She hasn’t been working many shifts since 2018, but she will be missed. I’ll have a card in my office for the next week if you want to sign it.

I’d like to have a brief all-staff meeting to provide on overview of the reopening plan and answer any questions you have. Please let me know when you’re available via the Doodle poll linked below.

https://doodle.com/poll/xsp3dnqmwhrz2uc4

What’s hot and what’s not in library materials purchasing.

https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=Materially-Different-A-New-Kind-of-Materials-Survey

First of all – You guys –  thank you so much for being so amazing in the last few weeks. You have displayed so much flexibility and willingness to do what is needed to make the changes to our service model successful. I am beyond grateful for all your hard work and amazing attitudes. This has far exceeded my expectations. I can’t thank you enough.

Okay…onto the business stuff:

I’ll be putting out a Daily Desk Schedule to assign tasks and work stations. Look for a print copy at the workstations each day and let me know if you have any questions.

We are getting caught up with check-in. Please remember we are quarantining items for 72 hours. If you have trouble doing the math to figure how far back that is, here is a website https://online-calculator.org/what-time-was-it-72-hours-ago

I’ll be touching base with you each as the week progresses to see how things are going.

The fire sprinkler inspector is here. You will hear beeps and/or alarms which you can ignore.

As I’ve said, on June 22nd we’ll start allowing patrons in the building by appointment to use the computers. Unless cases spike in the next couple of weeks, the next step of letting a limited number of patrons browse by appointment will probably be a week or two after that. I have some plastic chain on order that we’ll use like theater ropes to guide patrons to the places on public desks protected by sneeze guards and to block off seating, play areas, and other spots that won’t be open yet. Once patrons are allowed back in, those at public desks (PS will be first) will be required to wear masks. Some of you may not mind the masks but for me wearing the masks I have for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time is a hot and nasty thing. If you don’t like the mask you have, there are several boxes of disposable masks on the ledge behind the circ. desk that you can try. If you like them, use as many as you like during your shift. If you don’t like the one you have and you don’t like the disposable ones, let me know and I’ll see if I can find something else.