Padma Subramanian Celebrates 15 Years With JPL

Deputy Director Jennifer Giltrop presented Padma Subramanian, JB Library Assistant, with her 15 year City service pin and a letter of congratulations from Mayor Brown, July 17, 2015.  Region Manager Bob Silkett was on hand for the recognition.

CONGRATS AND THANK YOU FROM ALL OF US AT JPL, PADMA.

Raymond Neal and Michelle Petrin Receive Service Pins

Region Manager Marshelle Berry sent this pic of Deputy Director Jennifer Giltrop, who presented MH Manager Raymond Neal with a 15 year anniversary pin and CW's YS Librarian III Michelle Petrin received her 10 year pin; both are holding their congrats letter from the mayor. The presentation was done at the CW Region leadership team meeting, July 15, 2015, at Panera Bread on Roosevelt Boulevard.

THANK YOU, RAYMOND AND MICHELLE, FOR ALL THOSE YEARS AT JPL.

Robert Moseley Receives 15 Year Pin

Library Assistant Robert Moseley was presented with his 15 year City service pin and a congratulatory letter from *Mayor Brown, July 14, 2015, in a gathering of staff before the library opened.  Deputy Director Jennifer Giltrop made the presentation and Assistant Director for Public Services Julie McNeil was on hand to congratulate Robert.

Robert has won four Innovator Awards (IA) since the awards were first made in 2012!  He is well known and appreciated for his savvy money handling methods.  Robert's first IA in 2013 was for creating a tip sheet for balancing the audit with the cash report, simplifying the cash handling process (CHP).

In 2014 he won two IA's, first for creating instructions on how to format the audit report, so others could make the report when he was out. The second IA was for reprogramming Mandarin Branch's cash register so the receipts for customers listed the items they paid for--fines, fees, lost books, Pharos printing, guest passes, and JPL bags. Robert also created a manual to instruct other branch staffs in reprogramming their cash registers and now all branches use this method.  Talk about good customer service! In 2015 (at least through June), he has won an IA for creating an online shortcut to make it much easier for staff to locate all the different folders and forms needed to complete the CHP--a real frustration and time saver.  

The second Innovator Award in 2014 won Robert the "Challenge the Process" award and the Employee of the Quarter for the third quarter.
CONGRATULATIONS ON 15 YEARS OF EXCELLENT SERVICE, ROBERT, AND MANY THANKS FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE TO HELP JPL"GET TO YES!"
_____________________________________
*Note: Mr. Moseley completed 15 years of service before Mayor Curry took office, July 1, 2015.

Science And The Art Of Blowing Bubbles

Graham Branch Manager Jackie Spiritas reports, "Science Superheroes at GB, July 8, had fun learning what happens when you mix different types of soap and water and air together – Bubbles! 

Children learned they can make bubbles of different “strengths”  - some you can even hold in your hand! The chemistry behind the process was so fascinating that some of the kids even figured out how to use their fingers to blow bubbles. Surface tension is exciting and messy stuff!

SST's Yuri Jewitt Wins Owly Award

Assistant Director for Support Services Gretchen Mitchell shares some good news, "Congratulations to Yuri Jewitt as our latest recipient of the SST Owly award.  Yuri was given the award by Justin Keiser. Yuri recently did special keyboarding outreach classes at Chaffee Trail Elementary near WST. She went out of her comfort zone teaching school-aged kids for the first time and realizing only when she got there that the school only uses Mac computers with the keyboard layout slightly different from what she was accustomed. But she handled it really well and had a good learning interaction with the students.

EB Beats Boredom W/Variety For SLP

      Sharon Whitt, Library Associate Lead at Brown Eastside Branch, reports SLP is a hit with the kids. Spider Man spins webs throughout the library so children can get their "spider sense" by being an Eastside Reader.  

The kids asked Sefari Soundlab (1st left) to do the Ne Ne dance after the program, so he did and all the kids joined him in the dance after his last reggae song. 

Mrs. Kate (2nd left) brought her stories to life through songs and puppets, as the children watched and played along in amazement.  

Huggable Melodies (3rd left) encouraged kids to be a Hero when faced with bullying, using stories and music sing-a-longs, and a coloring activity followed the program.

Kate Zakharov from Main Children's fascinated the children with her Cook-A-Book program. Their favorite part of the program?  Interacting with food as it relates to the stories; who wouldda thought!

Richard Mott Promotes JPL's Project Outcome At ALA

Richard Mott, Manager of Strategic Initiatives, gives us a snippit of one of his contributions on behalf of JPL at ALA, "On Saturday, June 27, I participated in a panel that gave an update on the progress of the PLA task force I am a member of, now called 'Project Outcome.' I shared JPL's experience piloting a survey we conducted last September of attendees of CareerSource programs, computer and technology programs, and early literacy storytimes (for the storytimes we surveyed the parents). Over 95% of attendees of all of these JPL programs indicated that they were more confident about the subject matter, more knowledgeable, and planned to use what they had learned. This kind of data helps us move a step beyond simply head counts to begin to demonstrate with quantitative data the impact of these programs on people who attend. Finding ways to demonstrate that impact is what this task force is all about."

More Library History

Julie McNeil, Assistant Director for Public Services, had the joy and honor of seeing her daughter,Kyra McNeil, graduate from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in June. Kyra will be attending UCF in the fall.  Julie says, "She's a true library baby--she was almost born at the Mandarin Library during my 'Chickens and Eggs' story time back in 1997!" 

Tour Of Jessie Ball du Pont Center (Formerly Haydon Burns Library/old Main Library)

About 40 JPL employees and retirees were ushered into the 2nd floor conference center (formerly the old Main Library's puppet theatre) for a talk given by the President of the Jessie Ball du Pont

Foundation, Sherry Magill (our gracious host who invited us for a tour is pictured here).  She detailed how the Haydon Burns Library was transformed into the Jessie Ball du Pont Center.  Mrs. Magill first noticed the vacant library building when she stopped at a red light at the corner of Ocean and Adams streets a few years back, asked the owner for a tour, which was granted, and fell in love with the building.  The rest is history and the new Jessie Ball du Pont Center opened for a media tour, April 16, 2015.

Mrs. Magill shared her memories of how much Taylor Hardwick (Hardwick and Lee were the original architects) cherished the architecture. (Mr. Hardwick fought to keep the building when it was being considered for demolition.)  Mrs. Magill is big on "green" and stated  that element has been considered in every aspect of the building's renovation and build out which is almost complete. "Green" figures into much of the $23 million spent in the refurbishing; amazing when you consider they paid $2 million for the old Main Library. A good bit was spent for Internet and wi-fi wiring.

The building is leased to non-profits and the vision is for the building to be a nonprofit center for northeast Florida.  Little available rental space is left.  United Way of Northeast Florida will move in soon.  Mrs. Magill believes leadership organizations and businesses should be downtown. Board rooms, conference center, 3 kitchens, eight refrigerators and several dishwashers are all shared. Board rooms, learning centers, and even the putting green/garden on the third floor can be rented for private affairs and they have a catering kitchen for such.  Mrs. Magill believes the new Main Library and their Center can partner well where rental space is concerned.

Recycled rain water feeds vegetation around/in the building and solar panels heat water for showers. All LED lighting is used in common areas and offices.  The old boilers and chillers are replaced with the most modern HVAC.  The company that originally sold the old machinery to the city asked Mrs. Magill for the equipment and it is now in their museum.  (Some will remember when you could get a smell of fuel oil through the vents when the heat was on in the winter.)  The elevators are new but use the same shaft installed in 1965.

The third floor where the Director's, Deputy Director's, Administration, board room, staff lounge/kitchen, Tech Services and Cataloging, mail room, call center and the huge office supply room are now the admin offices of the Jessie Ball du Pont Foundation.  Just before their offices is a large glass walled, handsome board room that looks out to the garden/putting green (called the courtyard at old Main). The wide porch that spanned the Director's office down most of the Forsyth Street side still stands and lines the Foundation's executive offices.

The second floor has learning (training) centers, open kitchen, and expansive seating area  (lined down the area called "the bridge" at old Main), the conference center, an open wi-fi center and kitchen, as well as offices. In the old Main Library, the children's department was on the right of the elevator and FAR (Fine Arts and Media) to the left.  (The "bridge"--a large open space--beyond where Children's and FAR were--once hosted a reception held by the JPL Foundation for the then new director, Ken Sivulich. Someone played the seldom used piano and everyone enjoyed the spacious area overlooking the first floor.)

The ground floor boasts a huge reception/seating area, reception desk, and offices.  The two big ceramic tile library front "murals" that faced the elevators on the third floor now adorn the wall leading to offices to the left of the Center.  In "olden days", the circulation desk stood on the right as you entered the turnstile on Ocean Street, the Genealogy and Florida Collection was on the left, and the history collection faced you.  The JPL Foundation once hosted cocktail parties for Night of Literary Feasts attendees there (with proper permission from the city, of course) before groups separated to be wined and dined at different prominent hosts' homes where various famous authors were the main draw.

The basement contains the building's powerhouse, another open kitchen with condiments in open display--paid for by swiping your debit or credit card--the building engineer's office, mail room, and soon to be United Way's 211 center, and a planned A/V production center.  Mrs. Magill explained that if, say, the FTU wants to interview someone, they could skype the interview at this center.  This will be another shared space that any of their nonprofits can use.  Previously, Main Library's Periodicals and Government collections were housed, as well as other books to be sorted.

Well, that's not a complete picture or comparison of old versus new but a good overview.  For more details, please follow this link:  Jessie Ball du Pont Center

Other pictures taken during the tour are on the gadget (right) side of this blog. Many thanks for the pictures shared to Deputy Director Jennifer Giltrop and Resource Development Coordinator Pam McClellan and two thoughtful retirees: Belinda Campbell and Peggy Glasnap.  As everyone did who toured, they oohed and ahhed at the Center's transformation into the 21st century while capturing the nostalgia of old Main.

Director Gubbin Receives ULC Innovation Award For JPL

Library Director Barbara Gubbin (far right facing audience) received one of the Urban Libraries Council Innovation Awards given to JPL at ULC's conference in San Jose just before she and others attended ALA in San Francisco this past week.  JPL won the award in the category of Customer Experience.  Ms. Gubbin said, "Our application was for recognition of a different approach to marketing our online products such as Transparent Language...as part of a 'learn a language' free series at JPL ..."  Ms. Gubbin congratulated everyone on the team for this success, including SST/E-Services, SST/Collections, the Marketing team and everyone in a JPL library where we are holding or promoting classes to learn a language.

In the application to ULC, Ms. Gubbin noted, "The 'learn a language' series sign-ups far exceed our expectations...In September 2014, prior to the new promotional approach, 251 people used the database.  In December, usage more than doubled, with 600 people using it."

Karen Walker, Manager of e-Services and Digital Access, gives these 2015 monthly figures:
January – 513

February – 501

March – 559

April – 396

May – 481

Karen added, "This is an average 80% increase in usage.  We had language learning programs all of these months except February."   

Now You See It; Now You Don't

The Barry Hinnant Magic Program at the South Mandarin Library, June 25, had 85 spellbound customers waiting to see "what's next". Library Associate Christie Rogers said, "The large crowd had a great time and after the program, kids and adults were asking to check out books about magic."

Hot Buys @ Cool Prices: Friends July Book Sale

Like the old rock 'n roll song says, "Tell your ma; tell your pa..." --and, of course, your customers: 

Get your favorite books, DVD's, and CD's at the Friends of  the JPL Booksale (located at the south end of University Park Branch Library, 3435 University Boulevard North; a few blocks north of JU):

Friday, July 17 - 4 - 8 pm:  FJPL members only but you can join at the door & BUY ONE/GET ONE FREE!

Saturday, July 18 - 9 am - 5 pm: Unadvertised in-store SPECIALS!

Sunday, July 19: Noon - 5 pm:  buy 2 bags and get a 3rd bag FREE!

NS Hosts Clown With Valuable Stories

Cotton Candy the Clown put on a fun filled program for the lucky 45 children that attended her program at Brentwood Branch, June 23.  Her interpretation of the theme “Every Hero Has a Story” was “Every Story Has a Hero”.  The children (and adults ) laughed and enjoyed her antics while learning valuable lessons about everyday heroes.  We also discovered some of our children were “hams”.  Cotton Candy closed the program by pulling out a live bunny from her hat and everyone had a chance to pet him.

Thanks to Betty Williams, NS Library Associate, for the news.

Year Of The River Is Big Splash At NS

Pat Morrison, Urban Library Core Supervisor (NS, ES, WBK, and GB) is pleased with youth expanding their knowledge about the St. Johns River, "It began as a small project to get the teens to think about the St. Johns River and its importance to our community.  Tweens and teens gathered for an open discussion about how the river supports our way of life.  Answers ranged from a source of power and food, to a place to have fun fishing and boating.  Many of the teens were not aware of just how far south the river extends beyond our city.  The 'mural' reflects some of the inhabitants of the river that the students identified.

"The students, mostly teen males, spent one afternoon a week for several weeks creating the creatures.  The challenge was getting some of their giant creatures to stick to the backdrop.  NS staff also contributed to the project.  A manatee, alligators, giant shrimp, dolphins, a catfish, croakers, blue crabs and oysters are all a part of the scene.  I drew the line at eels and mullet."

BEAUTIFUL JOB!

Staff Profile - July 2015

JPL’s new Deputy Director of Public Services, Jennifer Giltrop, is thrilled to join the JPL Team. This is the 6th library system in Giltrop's career which spans libraries of various sizes coast-to-coast.  The experience that she brings will help JPL continue to transform into an excellent 21st century library system.

Most of you have now seen her at your library because she has visited all 21 at least once, including attending several meetings with the Friends of the Library groups to whom she is the Library liaison. Here we want to give the Deputy Director an opportunity to elaborate on her executive roles and how her expertise will benefit JPL.

Q: Tell us about your experiences with the D. C. Public Library and other libraries that you believe will be a good fit for JPL.

I have had so many great and rich experiences in my career up to this point—all of which allow me to come to JPL confident in the work we will do together to ensure the people of Jacksonville receive the best library service possible.  Every system I have worked in has had strengths and challenges.  The experiences and strengths I bring to JPL include navigating large institutions, organizational and staff development, ensuring resources are allocated and used well, making decisions with the customer at the center, community engagement, building and renovation experience, and political and financial acumen.  

As a library moving from transactional to transformational services, it is such an exciting time to be here and in public libraries generally.

This was taken in June 2012 at the opening of the Bellevue Neighborhood Library in D.C. with David Adjaye, British architect.  He designed two award winning libraries for DCPL.  On April 15, 2009, he was selected in a competition to design the $500 million  National Museum of African American History and Culture, part of the   Smithsonian in Washington, D.C,^[3] planned to open in 2015.

I have worked with some really great people in my career who have pushed me and supported me in so many ways and for that I am both humbled and grateful. I believe it’s now my turn to give back, by putting into action mentoring and coaching strategies for staff and colleagues in order to support them in reaching their potential. It’s important to me and something I spend a lot of time thinking about.

Q:  You also have seasoned experience in Finance and Human Resources.  Please tell us about that and how it will affect your decisions concerning JPL.

A:  That is a great question.  It's hard to know how I would approach my work or make decisions if I didn't have the background that I do.  What I can tell you is that as a library administrator for the last 18 years, it is my business and human resources skills and knowledge that I use each and every day in my work, from understanding budget management to people management and more.  I will be consistently focused on process improvement, efficient use of resources, staff training and development, and connecting our vision and values to what we focus on and support.

Q:  How do you think JPL can boost public interest and library visits?  

A:  We must create excitement about the library.  We must offer services and programs that meet the needs of our community.  We must support the goals of our elected officials so that JPL’s goals are aligned with them and the impact of our work gets noticed, highlighted, and funded. We must consistently provide the highest, most responsive levels of customer service.  We must be agile and flexible in meeting the changing needs of our community.  We must be good community partners, connectors, and facilitators.  We must build strong networks of library advocates.  We must continue to bring the joy of reading and learning to our youngest; support students, parents and caregivers; provide literacy and life skills training for adults; and provide quality services for all. We must remove barriers for access and use. We must continue to build a network of private and corporate donors and seek grants to enhance our services.  Each and every one of us is connected to our success, and together we will continue to provide amazing services for our community.

Q: We know you like golf, live near the beach, and have a large family. Please share whatever will help us know you better.  

A:  It has been a lifelong dream to live at a beach!  I find great serenity and do great contemplating by the waves and soaking up the sun.  I was born and raised in Michigan, and spent most summers in my youth camping in Michigan's state parks usually on one of the Great Lakes.  

I have five sisters and three brothers—and I am the oldest.  Together we are a motley crew: librarian, kidney research grant coordinator and triathlete, Air Force social worker, stock trader, elementary teacher, two entrepreneurs, and two in the mortgage industry.  I already have eight nieces and nephews and expect there will be more!  

I played many sports growing up, and then coached youth basketball and softball in my 20s and 30s. I also umpired and refereed youth sports. In fact my first "real" job was working for Saginaw Township & Recreation at 14. When I lived in Seattle I had season tickets for the Seahawks—of course their Super Bowl win came after I moved to DC!  I am a lifelong Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers fan.  I took up golf in my late 20s and have loved it ever since; mostly I love being outside and every once in a while I get a shot that makes me go back for more.

I have traveled domestically and internationally a fair amount and enjoy doing so. The world is an amazing place!  I have also enjoyed living in different parts of the U.S. and feel fortunate that my career has provided me such opportunities.

I enjoy life and all it has to offer.  Like anyone, I have experienced trials and losses in life, but I believe that there are always ways to embrace these times and grow from them.  I love to laugh and believe humor is a great gift. 

I hope that gives you some insight, but hopefully over time we can learn more about each other, because I am just as interested to know each of you!

Above Cat in the Hat  shares fun with Jennifer Giltrop at D. C. Library where she served as Director of Public Services.

Strumming For SLP

Lynne Baldwin, KR Manager, reports, "We had 58 attendees for “Al Poindexter: Who Is Your Hero?” Summer Enrichment program. Kids had a blast learning about local heroes, folk tale heroes, and singing along to new songs."

Art Club At KR

Mandarin Library's Art Club, June 23, featured printmaking and radial symmetry. 

KR Branch Manager Lynne Baldwin said, "We had 21 attendees and they had a lot of fun."

Big Customer Draws for SLP at SE

Debra Wainwright, Clerical Support Supervisor, creates displays promoting Southeast Branch programs and the SLP displays are a BIG hit with customers. Displays are geared for kids to seniors, who enjoy a feast of books, AV materials, and graphics as they cruise down the "buffet line".  The yellow roller coaster seen in the background of the first two pics is run by staff to the delight of kids who especially like to see the cart whirl around the loop. 

  

NW Has New Slant For Superheroes

The children’s theme for SLP is: Every Hero Has a Story! Bradham Brooks Northwest Branch revised it a bit for their June 16 bedtime stories to read: Even superheroes go to bed.  Fifty kids listened as Sheenae Nelson read to them and they made these colorful masks. 

Richard Mott was there to shadow Sheenae and got in on the fun.

Dallas Graham Branch Celebrates 50 Years

The Dallas Graham Branch Library celebrated a 50^th Anniversary milestone on Monday, June 22 with a nostalgic and educational program honoring the history of the branch.  GB hosted an open house with a social hour followed by a program culminating with a videodocumentary and refreshments. 

The courtyard blossomed with newly planted flowers donated and planted by The College Park Garden Circle.

Lots of details helped make the event a historical walk down memory lane. On display were books published in 1965 (50 years ago!), and Youth Services Librarian Peggy Crawford and Library Assistant Tyhedra Wilson used some children’s books published in 1965 to entertain the children. Some titles are still enjoyed today: “Mr. Pine’s Purple House” by Leonard Kessler and “I Wish that I had Duck Feet” by Dr. Seuss kept the children mesmerized while waiting for the main event to begin. 

A commemorative keepsake Children’s Activity book was created for the event which included puzzles, a word scramble, and “find a word” using clues about the Graham Branch Library and the surrounding community. The program, emceed by Library Board of Trustees member Jackie Perry, began with remarks by Barbara Gubbin followed by Councilwoman E. Denise Lee presenting the branch with a City Council Resolution. The program continued with musical entertainment provided

by an accomplished violinist Korah Leandra Cuff, the teenage daughter of Richard Cuff, owner of All About Kids Music Academy.  After the performance, two students read their winning Youth Writing Contest essays on the prompt “Why the Dallas Graham Branch is Important to Me”. The contest was sponsored by The Friends of the Dallas Graham Branch Library and the Good Neighbor M.A.N.I.A., Inc., under the leadership of Ms. Celia Miller with the Dallas Graham Branch Friends. Ms. Miller presented each student with a $50 check as their prize for the winning essays.

The event culminated with the viewing of a videodocumentary produced by Lisa Buggs and Justin Keiser which retold the history of the Dallas Graham Branch Library in pictures and interviews. The interviews were recorded with the help of many community members, local historians, educators, board members, and Friends of the Graham Branch Library. The video was enhanced with pictures provided by Special Collections, personal photos provided by customers, and photos gleaned from articles and other library events dating back to 1965. 

The refreshments were a sight to behold with a gold and cream “mountain” of cupcakes, sandwiches, cookies and lemonade. Countless people, both customers and staff, worked tirelessly to accomplish the event. Among those staff instrumental in decorating and refreshments were Library Supervisor Pat Morrison, Library Clerk Delores Walker and part-time library clerk Carolyn Armstrong. Library Associate Linda Griffin Foresto and part-time library clerk (and Videodocumentary star Leroy Harrison IV) handled the raffle and door prizes. Branch Manager Jackie Spiritas said, "Everyone was eager to help. Without the big hearts and busy hands of the 50^th Anniversary Committee, loyal customers, and the library staff, the event would not have been as meaningful or successful. It was a very interactive event for all and that’s what made it great!” 

Florida State Senator Audrey Gibson and a representative from Marco Rubio’s office, Angela Swift, were in attendance as well as Library Board of Trustees Chair Erin Vance Skinner and many other respected members of the community and retired staff. Among those retired staff in attendance were former Deputy Director Carolyn Williams, and former Library Administrator Margaret Smith and Daniel Kibler, who was a previous manager of the Graham Branch Library. Thank you to staff that helped work the Customer Service desk: Annie Norris from Graham and Kathleen Brunner and Donna Crowther from Main). 

The day marked an occasion to momentarily look back and a golden opportunity to talk about the importance of the library going forward. The Florida Times Union, sensing greatness, took the story and ran with it on the front page of their Tuesday paper. The videodocumentary is now posted on YouTube for all to enjoy.