Just a reminder about the symphony open rehearsal on Friday September 20th at 7 PM at the Civic Center downtown Des Moines.  If any of you and others outside the library would like to come, please let me know the first and last names of all who wish to attend by the evening of the 19th.  I will have to sign them up.  We are playing an all Tchaikovsky program including some selections from Eugene Ongin, his Violin Concerto with Gil Shaham as soloist, Romeo and Juliet Overture, and the Serenade for Strings.  My phone number is 402-730-7668, and my e-mail is cellistandrew@gmail.com. 

Please register here > https://www.johnstonlibrary.com/events/?event_page=registration&did=33734

Does the thought of helping horror readers terrify you? Whether your readers are fans of ghost stories or horror classics, let NoveList and LibraryReads break down the best horror has to offer your readers — from found footage to final girls.

Join us as they cover: Why horror is so popular and how libraries can ramp up the thrills and chills in their collections; How horror developed, including classics, newcomers, and awards to know; Subgenres and crossovers; NoveList insider information on genre headings, themes, appeal terms, and more.

The new welcome brochures have arrived from the printer. It saved a ton to have them folded in half instead of quarters so they need some work. Circ. staff, please fold a few while you have time at the checkout desk and remember that this brochure is replacing both our current welcome brochure AND the online resources brochure.

Lynne is retiring…but not for a while. Her last day will be February 21st so we have plenty of time to tell her how great she is and how much we’ll miss her.

Our summer of jeans is coming to an end. Starting Tuesday of next week, Monday through Friday will be “Normal Business Days”. Jeans are acceptable Friday through Sunday. 

Normal Business Day

Appropriate Attire 

Acceptable business attire for men and women may include, but is not limited to, the following: dresses, skirts, blouses, dress pants, dress capris, slacks, suits, sweaters, polo shirts, golf shirts, library/reading related t-shirts or sweatshirts, dress shirts, neckties, jackets and blazers.  Appropriate footwear must be worn at all times.  

Inappropriate Attire

Unacceptable business attire for men and women may include, but is not limited to, the following:  jeans, sweat pants, shorts, spandex clothing, t-shirts (unless library/reading related), clothing with offensive logos/language, ill-fitting clothing, undergarments worn as outer garments, and worn out or soiled clothing.  

We will not be renewing our subscription to the Des Moines Register online. It will lapse sometime in September. We will continue to get the paper version each day.

All staff are invited to attend an overview of Overdive / Bridges–where we offer e-books, a-audiobooks, and e-magazines–and RBdigital–where we offer e-magazines and e-comics–in the Archive Room on Monday, September 9th at 11am. Please register via the link below. If you’re interested but can’t make at this time, please let me know.

https://www.johnstonlibrary.com/events/?event_page=event&did=33375

As you probably know, the symphony season will begin soon.  I would like to invite all of you to an open rehearsal on Friday September 20th at 7:00 PM at the Civic Center downtown.  If you are interested in coming, please let me know the first and last names of all who are interested by the evening of September 19th.  I will likely have to have them all signed up by 4 PM on the 20th.  The first concert set is September 21 at 7:30, and 22 at 2:30 at the Civic Center.  Gill Shaham is coming to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, and we are doing Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, Romeo and Juliet Overture, and Polonaise and Waltz from Eugene Onegin. 

The power outage a few days ago seems to have broken our security camera server. We were already shopping for a new security camera system which will be installed in the next couple of months. Unless our current system has a miraculous recovery, we’ll be without cameras until our new system is installed. 

Due to the complexity of it (and patrons being unable to figure it out), I’ve decided to pull the large telescope from circulation. A smaller, easier-to-use telescope is on order. Patrons on hold for the large telescope have been notified.

Some of my favorite snacks from Kosovo are in the break room for you to enjoy! Each afternoon we would have “snack time” at camp and had the chance to try their favorite snacks. The pretzels are out of this world and the cookies are a less sweet version of an Oreo. While staying with my host family, we had tea every evening and enjoyed Turkish Black Tea and a variety of snacks as well. There’s also a few American snacks if that’s more your style!

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/technology/amazon-orwell-1984.html?action=click&module=Editors%20Picks&pgtype=Homepage

Following this morning’s power outage, it will take up to 24 hours for the system clocks to reflect the current time.

The power outage messed up something in our HVAC controls. The building is hot. A service guy is on his way. 

Circ will make the closing announcements beginning at 15 minutes before close instead of 10 minutes before close.

Thanks!

Soon we will distributing a new, redesigned welcome brochure to new patrons. It will take the place of the current welcome brochure as well as the online resources brochure.  I’ve placed physical copies at the checkout desk. An electronic copy is linked below. 

http://catalog.johnstonlibrary.com/share/New_Patron_Brochure_Final.pdf