I am labeling and finding new homes for the keys that were stored in the director’s office. You will now find the keys for the moveable wall, the grey money cabinet, the cash register, and the coin-op on the east side of the mailboxes.

The owl key chain is still in the director’s office. I will post an update once the keys on the owl chain have been identified, labeled, and relocated.

I am completely moved into my new apartment at Bricktowne Johnston, and wanted to thank all of you for providing me with moving boxes.  I know that there are stores which sell them, but you really helped me save some money.  It really helped me package most of my things for the move.

Thanks again to an amazing staff!

I recently had a DMACC student email and ask if it would be okay to take some pictures of the inside and outside of the library for a project. I explained to him that he was welcome to take pictures at the library as long as his photography did not interfere with others using the library. It is always nice when people ask us about taking pictures or videos in the library, so we are expecting it.

I just wanted to send this out as a general reminder, that people are allowed to film in the library as long as their behavior does violate the conduct policy such as interfering with others using the library. So someone could come in with a camera on their shoulder and a mic on a boom, and they can film as long as it is isn’t preventing others from using the library.

As public employees, we can be videotaped or photographed doing our government work in public spaces without our consent. So if someone is taking your photo or videotaping you while you work at a desk, please just continue your work. If they ask you questions while videotaping you, please do your best to treat them as you would treat any other patron and answer them to the best of your ability.

People are not allowed to videotape in private spaces which includes the work room, so they cannot follow you back to the work room. People cannot harass you or interfere with your work.

I just wanted to put out that general reminder. Please ask me if you have questions.

Patrons will now hear the following message before being connected to library staff:

“Thank you for calling the Johnston Public Library. If you know the extension of the person you are trying to reach, please enter it now. Otherwise, stay on the line and you will be connected with library library staff.”

Previously all incoming circulation calls would ring on all phones and Youth Services and Reference calls were routed to those specific desks.  Now, ALL incoming calls will ring on ALL phones.

Our goal is to provide a better patron experience and to continue to expand the All Desk model.

“All-Desks” is now displayed when there are incoming calls!

Please let Molly or Megan know if you have any questions.

We got the glasses! We will putting them at the desks for patrons starting April 3. I am holding back 100 glasses to be available the day of the eclipse. If we run out the weekend before, you can tell patrons that they can try again on Monday, April 8th.

The next Solar Eclipse is on Monday, April 8 at around 2pm. We are registered to get 500 solar eclipse glasses from StarNET, but their packages have been delayed. They should be arriving in the next week or so. (Cross your fingers.) We will be doing 2 Solar Eclipse themed Storytime sessions that Monday at 10am and 1pm. I will be keeping some of the glasses for participants who come to that storytime, but the rest will be made available to the public once we get them. They will be first come first served, and when they are gone, they’re gone. There is no registration for the storytime event.

With the interviews fast approaching, I will be working to finish the Director’s Office. It will no longer be available for storing or staging items as we have done in the past. Please plan to remove any items you currently have stored. Anything left after Wednesday, 3/20 will be disposed in an appropriate fashion. Please feel free to email or see me with any questions.

I wanted to share with you that I have applied for the Library Director position, and I am honored to be one of the three finalists presenting and interviewing on April 11. 

This may come as a surprise as I initially was not interested in pursuing the Director position. My initial hesitation came from the same place that spurred my application. I am passionate about this library and I know first-hand how critical our work is for the community. I did not want to put my candidacy forward if I was not 101% confident that I could do an excellent job leading the library and be certain that I would be able to balance my personal and professional commitments. 

The last ten months have been eye-opening, inspiring, invigorating and, occasionally, exhausting. I cannot believe what we have accomplished together. It has left me assured and persuaded to put my name forth as a candidate for the Library Board to consider in their search for the Library Director. You all have stepped up in so many ways, and I am excited for the future path as a library regardless of the outcome of the director search.

I am excited to share with some of you on April 11, and I move forward knowing that JPL is a top-notch place to call my work-home in any capacity. Thanks for all that you do to support the community of Johnston.

The library is hiring a part-time Assistant Librarian. The position will support Administration functions for Public Services, Circulation, and Administration.

Hours will be 8:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. with the occasional evening or weekend shift required and some flexibility in the schedule required.

This position will be regularly scheduled to work all service desks and serve as Librarian in Charge.

A bachelors degree is required along with a minimum of two years of customer service experience.

Starting pay is $21.00.

Please find the full job description here:

https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/cityofjohnston/jobs/4428273/part-time-assistant-librarian?pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs

This position is open to internal and external applicants. Internal applicants may apply or ask further question by emailing Molly before March 26.

Hello Everyone,

After a fun and buzzing morning with the Bluey Playdate, I am thinking about our summer schedules.

In just a few short months, check-in will be increasing by an average of 250 items a day and daily visits  by 100+. We will be buzzing with action and need to prepare so we are fully staffed.

If you have travel plans May 15 – September 3, please enter them into When to Work no later than May 1. We cannot guarantee that all time off requests will be approved, but we will do our very best.

Thank you to everyone for all your willingness to pick up shifts! It is so amazing to see everyone step in and help out so we can take some time for our personal commitments while keeping the library moving forward and providing the best service to the community.

Thank you for all you do!

Board Member Kelly McAlister asked me to share the following post with all staff:

Hello JPL Staff –

We are excited to announce that we have 3 finalists for the JPL Director position.  We had a robust pool of candidates and we conducted semi-final interviews with 7 of the 20 applicants.  Word is out that JPL is a great place to be as many of the candidates mentioned the stellar reputation our library has and the desire to lead at our particular library! 

We will be interviewing the 3 candidates on Thursday, April 11th.  If you are available, we welcome you to join us in the West Meeting Room that day as each candidate gives a presentation.  The presentations will be from 10:30 – 11:00, 11:15 – 11:45, and 12:00 – 12:30.  If you attend, there will be an opportunity to give your feedback to the board about each candidate by filling out a feedback form at the conclusion each presentation.  

As a board, we are looking for a director that will be a leader not only in our library but also in our community.  We want someone with strong communication skills that can be that public face for our library.  We are looking for a director that excels at relationship building in all aspects of this job (with our staff, patrons, board, Foundation Board, and city administration and City Council).  One of their first tasks will be to help create a Strategic Plan that shows the direction and future that the library is going as well as a plan to maintain and take care of our aging building.  

Lastly, we thank you for your patience throughout this process.  We recognize that without a permanent director in place many of you have stepped up to consistently provide quality services for our community.   We appreciate you.

Sincerely,

Kelly McAlister

A follow-up to this message from Molly:

We would like to offer all interested staff the opportunity to sit in on one presentation. This will be paid. We are working on the schedule that day to make that possible. If you do not normally work between 10:30 and 12:30 pm on Thursdays and you are interested in coming in to watch a 30 minute presentation, please reach out to Molly and Peg before 03/24.

Last week, Christine and I worked with a patron who wants to download and print sermons from this website: Message Audio of Brother William Marrion Branham

This patron’s name may be Clarck and his phone # is 660-341-1384.

He may show you an app on his phone, but one cannot print from the app and we have to go to the website. He also wants these sermons translated from English to French. We discovered today, not all sermons are available in French.

Assisting this patron definitely takes 10 min or more. Because of this, when this patron comes in to the library please seek out an Assistant Librarian, Megan or Molly to teach him how to do this himself. If none of us are available, please make an appointment for us to help him.

Peg

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

Handpicked lists (JPL Librarian Curated Lists) (thank you Christine, Lolo, and now Katrina) are back on the website! I will probably continue to refine the page, but it’s published. Check it out under the Browse Menu at www.johnstonlibrary.com. Direct link is here:  https://www.johnstonlibrary.com/1440/Handpicked-Lists

Our All Staff Meeting is scheduled on Sunday, March 24 from 10:45am-12:45pm.

10:45 -11:30am Social Time

11:30 -12:45 Staff Meeting

If the first session doesn’t sound like your thing – you are not required to attend, but we would love to have you there! Both sessions will be paid.

**We want to acknowledge and celebrate your achievements. If you have received awards, certifications, or have any personal news you would like to share, please let us know. Feel free to send information and or pictures to sockness@johnstonlibrary.com **

Typically, he does not accept any power packs or loose batteries for recycling. If there are items he chooses not to accept, leave them in the Director’s office and I will see if I can come up with a different solution.

Cyndee Rhames is the temporary point of contact for payroll and benefits questions as Sammy Dickson is no longer employed with the city.

Cyndee’s email is: crhames@cityofjohnston.com

JPL Staff Who are Notaries

1. Public Services Librarian: Elizabeth Stevens
2. Assistant Librarian Public Services: Peggy Rasmussen
3. Assistant Librarian Public Services: Erin McDonough
4. Associate Librarian Public Services: Laurie Balduchi
5. Associate Librarian Public Services: Christine Kane-Finn
6. Assistant Librarian Circulation: Mary Bush
7. Interim Director: Molly Guerra
8. Youth Services Librarian: Megan Sockness Teeple
9. Assistant Librarian Youth Services: Jessica Young
10. Assistant Librarian Youth Services: Sheila Olson

Andrew will be playing the cello in the Des Moines Symphony youth concerts next Tuesday and Thursday at the Civic Center downtown.  If you know anyone who will be attending, please let them know that a JPL colleague will be performing.  The Des Moines Youth Symphony Young Artist winner will be playing part of the first movement of the Cello Concerto by Edward Elgar with the orchestra.