JPL Intranet

Now that the new Grimes Library has been open for a few weeks, we are going to start converting all of the Jefferson Township statistical class accounts to Polk County (Not Webster). This means we may see an increase in patrons asking why their Libby accounts with Johnston suddenly don’t work. Please be prepared to speak with patrons in person or on the phone about why this has occurred and what they can do about it. If you have any questions, please ask.

Thank you!

It’s award season and I’ve updated our children’s book display (by Molly’s window) with…award winning books! The books/movies on display include:

• Winners of the Newbery and Caldecott awards from this year and previous years
• Nominees for the Goldfinch and Iowa Children’s Choice awards from this year
• Oscar Nominated Movies from the Family section

The Bridge to Reading books will be announced this week, so I’ll probably add those as well. If you want to add to the display, the lists that show these books are in the blue folder marked “Award Book Display” at the YS desk. Here are the links for the past Newbery winners and past Caldecott winners.

I have tweaked the verification forms for online library card registrations to clarify a couple of steps. Overall, nothing has changed in the procedure and it has been going well. I have printed the new forms in blue to help distinguish them from the adult library card registration forms. If you have any questions, please ask.

Thank you!

Due to a personal emergency, Part 3 of the Mindfulness Meditation series scheduled for tomorrow February 27th has been cancelled. Participants have been emailed and called and calendars have been updated. If you receive any questions about it, please tell patrons we hope to reschedule the series at a future date.
Thanks!

Shred Day is still a couple months away but we’re already receiving calls. Here’s what you need to know about this event:

What: Free Shred Day
When: Saturday, April 27th from 9:00am to noon
Where: JPL Parking Lot. To expedite shredding, traffic will routed from Merle Hay around the library onto Morningside Drive and cars will enter the west parking lot by the Simpson Barn. We ask patrons to please stay in their vehicles and a volunteer will collect boxes for on-site document shredding.
How Much: Patrons are asked to limit material to be shredded to 3 disposable boxes or containers per household.

There is no registration for this free event. The direct link to our calendar event for Shred Day is here:
https://johnston.librarycalendar.com/event/free-shred-day-6723

Hi All,
Attendee winners from the 2024 Read Local Author Fair have been drawn and notified. The following patrons have JPL Books Bags waiting for them behind the Circulation Desk:

Alyssa Tivold
Blaine Riesberg
Carol Miller
Lucinda Wonderlich-Fuller

The bags are labeled with the winner’s name. When patrons turn up to collect their prize, all you need to do is hand their bag over to them. Nothing to record!

Thanks!

Beth

Andrew is a cellist in the Des Moines Symphony, and will be performing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this weekend.  This will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and tickets have been selling fast, so be sure to check the Des Moines Performing Arts website to purchase your tickets.  Shows are Friday, Feburary 23rd at 7:30 PM, and Saturday, February 24th, at 1:30 PM at the Civic Center downtown.

https://desmoinesperformingarts.org/events/harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA_tuuBhAUEiwAvxkgTpXF9vuqcdTJ4tkVN48UsYxkHpr2o27d8vOBxFSIS3IuL0aUifEz5xoC2pcQAvD_BwE

Andrew will be moving in a few weeks, and if there are any medium or large boxes that can be flattened that come to the library, please let him know.  These would be very helpful.

While I am normally more of a guidelines kind of girl, I need to clarify two hard and fast rules:

1. It is never – ever- acceptable to leave dirty dishes in the sink. If the dishwasher is full, running or needs to be emptied, you must wash your dishes by hand. I am okay with things drying in the drying rack, but we will not leave dirty dishes in the sink.
2. If you leave crumbs on the counter or table, you must wipe them up.

I am sorry to be so blunt, but the signs in the breakroom have not worked. Please help us keep the library clean.

Please see Molly if you have questions or concerns.

I have emailed for electronic recycling collection. We have items in a few different of locations. Please get me when he arrives so I can show him what I need removed.

Thanks!

I will be out of town in Miami this weekend starting Friday evening  – Monday evening. If you need to call in for one of your shifts on Saturday or Sunday, please contact Peg directly at 515-991-0713.

For emergencies over the long weekend, Dreama has offered to the point of contact at 515-422-6791.

Remember we are closed on Monday for Washington’s Birthday. I will bring back some sunshine when I see everyone on Tuesday!

Andrew is a cellist in the Des Moines Symphony and will be playing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix next week.  There are some tickets available as of Valentine’s Day, although the only ones left for Friday the 23rd are in the back half of the auditorium.  The performances are at the Civic Center at the following times:

Friday, February 23rd at 7:30 PM

Saturday, February 24th at 1:30 PM

Quick update about JPL’s Kanopy Streaming Video Service available to JPL residents and our corner of rural Polk County:

We have chosen to evenly distribute our Kanopy budget through a monthly dollar amount. If/when the monthly Kanopy budget for JPL is hit, patrons trying to access this service will get a message that says:
“Kanopy Streaming is currently limited at my Library. You can find out more about that here: https://help.kanopy.com/en-us/4142.htm?Highlight=limit ”

Kanopy “tickets” (i.e. the ability to stream videos) will reset during the next calendar month.

Thanks!

The Annual Lions Club Book Sale will be held May 2-4 (same as Kites on the Green Festival) this year rather than the first weekend in March. It will be at the Lions Club building.

They have information on their website:

https://johnstonlionsclub.com/?page_id=90

As we have discussed previously, our old website and online catalog had been extensively customized. Most of the changes made to our library records were simply lost when we moved to our new system.

Unfortunately, the ability display the cover images of our items in the PowerPAC was impacted by the customization of the records. We are working to rectify the issue and get images back on the PowerPAC, but it may take time as we work with our vendors to do so.

If patrons ask, please pass this message along. We will keep you posted as we make progress.

We have new (functional) phone chargers for in-house use. Here are the items you need to know about the new chargers:

• Please continue to check chargers out to users using their library cards.
• The phone chargers now live in their charging dock underneath the Brother printer.
• When someone wants to check out a charger, unplug the cord the charging power bank–the cord stays plugged in to the charging station.
• Press the circle button on the charging bank to power it on. The button will light up when on.
• Grab a cord and connect it to the charging bank before giving it to the patron. The cords are black and white braided cords and have connectors for Apple and Android phones. The cords are in the drawer to the right of the Ref computer labeled “Charging Cords and Headphone Adaptors.”
• When the chargers are returned, check in the charging power bank on Polaris. Plug the cord on the charging station back into the power bank so it can recharge. Put the cord back in the drawer.

The printable flyer has been posted on the community board outside the book return room.

Lolo made a cute spicy romance display back in the nonfiction area. She rated the books by spice level.
Lolo is not expecting to get the paper chili peppers back. If patrons hand them back to you during checkout, we will take them back at ref, but it is totally fine for them to go home with patrons.

Check out the new photography exhibit by Ryan Morrison in the JPL Gallery. Tonight we will have an Artist’s reception for him in the Commons from 7pm to 7:30pm.

Also, big thank you to Melodee and her husband for providing train artifacts in the display cases.

Additionally, there is now a JPL Art Gallery page on our website that includes a fillable form for artists who are interested in displaying work in either our display cases or in the JPL Art Gallery. You can find it under the events tab on the website. Full url is here: https://www.johnstonlibrary.com/1428/JPL-Art-Gallery