Open Discussion Notes 3-25-15

11:15-11:50 AM in Breakroom 

Moderator- Lauren Battenfield

Recorder- Jasmine Zelaya

•  Nina- Daily Deposits – Do not save changes made to the Daily Deposit Forms (the Excel form on the desktop); the form should be clear each day.
• Katherine- Make dates more visible on Holds Wrappers when wrapping holds so it's easier to pull expired holds.
• Temeka- Clearing Holds- Print out clear holds list and pull items from the list. 
• Nina -Be sure to clear all holds from all areas, including the Hold shelf, AV Cart and ILL Holds cart. 
• Alissa- Sorting Room- Be vigilant of where books go when sorting  ie:) Adult vs JUV Items, paperback classics & uncatalogued paperbacks.
• Karen- Make Carts- If it is slow, utilize time & make carts while in the sorting room.  These items can be put away by staff members at the service desks as long as it does not take them away from the desk for prolonged amount of time. Carts should not sit for days waiting to be shelved if they are in shelve ready order.
• Alice- DVD’s- Do not load Adult Non. Fiction DVD’s in the AllCirc Machine.  They are to remain in their cases on shelf.  Only Feature DVD’s are to be loaded.  3^rd Floor DVD’s-  All DVD’s are to be loaded into the All Circ. Machine.
• Shanti- Theft- A parent reported witnessing a parent taking CDs from KIT’s and putting them into her bag without checking them out. Should we load CDs from kits in AllCirc too?
• Karen-  Write an incident report to document the issue.  We could try loading the CDs to the Kits in the AllCirc Machine and see if that helps.
• Theodora- Flip Kits- Will check and see if LMS can provide zip ties to secure the Flip Kit materials for check out use only so customers check them out before using them in the building.
• Karen-  3^rd Floor Meeting Room- Only reservations for Teachers  and Youth groups should be made for the 3^rd floor Meeting Room.  Adult Meeting Room reservations should be limited to the 1^st and 2^nd Floor Meeting Rooms. 
• Evin-  Be respectful when interacting with other staff members.  Remain courteous and professional.
• Nina- not to take out personal mood on fellow coworkers.
• Theodora-  Conflict-  First try to resolve conflict by addressing the issue with the other person.  If it persists after repeated attempts at resolution, only then bring it to managerial attention.
• Trish- Unaccompanied Adults on 3^rd Floor- Observed three different men on laptops in the 3^rd floor Teen Area.
• Karen- Greet every adult unaccompanied by children, and ask if they need help.  Let them know “Help us provide a safe environment for our children and teens, please use the Adult collection and resources on the 2^nd floor if you are not accompanying a child or teenager.”  If they are already seated state this and suggest that in the future they use the 2^nd floor for seating.
• Albert-  Offered that staff members who may be uncomfortable informing patrons of this, could call him to relay the message.

Staff Meeting Notes, 2-11-15

1. Updates:
1. January Monthly Report, October & November Stats (Karen)
2. Manager Boot Camp/ FY 16 Customer Experience Goals (Karen)
3. IRS tax forms--what to say to customers (Alice)
2. Project:  Opening/Closing Guidelines--Review handout and bring comments/suggestions to March staff meeting.
3. Circulation Training: New Lost Cards Procedure; Use Workflows Password; Placing Holds in Enterprise (Alisa) (handouts)

Quick Notes

• Incidents in the Parking Lot:  If you see people engaging in criminal or sexual activity in the parking lot, don’t approach them directly but report it in an Incident Report (with as much detail as you can) within 24 hours.  Call 911 right away if a crime is being committed.

• Don’t recycle paper with confidential customer information:  Recently I was helping a customer who was confused about fines on his account.  It turns out his hold wrapper was printed on the back of a detailed printout from another customer’s account.  
• Don’t recycle to the printer any paper with customer information of any kind, including paging lists, holds transfer sheets, and clear holds lists.
• Check all sheets before reusing them.
• Verify deposits carefully and note any problems on the Cash Drawer Count Report.  The Business Office called me last month about a deposit that was $1.80 short.  The deposit envelope contained $45.40 instead of $47.20 on the Merchandise Category Report; there were no notes.  
• A note explaining the shortage would save the Business Office and your colleagues time spent trying to figure out what happened.
• If you’re not sure what happened or what to say, ask a colleague for help.
• Protect yourself from unnecessary scrutiny by documenting your actions.
• Open window blinds: The blinds in the children’s area have been repaired (mostly).  You may close or adjust them during the day to block sunlight.  At the end of the day, make sure the blinds are open (those that are working) so interior of the building can be seen from the street.  To open the blinds, turn them at an angle to the window first before pulling them closed.
• Kronos comments and punch rounding: Email timecard issues (missing or duplicate punches, reason for tardiness, unscheduled leave) to me not later than the last day of the pay period.  I approve timecards after you leave that day and won’t add any missing in or out punches unless I have the time of the missing punch from you in writing.  See the handout for Kronos comments and punch rounding times.

Upcoming Staff Events

• Thursday, February 12: Defensive Driving Training (Doug, Katherine, Lauren)
• Friday, February 13: Last day of Pay Period
• Wednesday, February 18: Staff Training Meeting (Alice & Shanti)
• Wednesday, February 18: 2nd TLA A to Z webinar series: “Dealing with Difficult Situations”
• Thursday, February 19: Defensive Driving Training (Jasmine, Leona, Temeka)
• Friday, February 20: Pay Day
• Wednesday, February 25: Open Discussion Meeting
• Friday, February 27: CE Managers Meeting (Karen, Lauren)
• Friday, February 27: Last day of Pay Period
• Wednesday, March 4: Tech Training Meeting/ Management Team Meeting
• Friday, March 6: Pay Day
• Wednesday, March 11: Staff Meeting

Staff Meeting Notes 1-8-14

Kendall Staff Meeting, 1-8-14, 1:15 – 11:45 AM, Breakroom

1. Event Updates (Karen)
1. Friends of Houston Public Library Winter Book Sale, 1/23-1/25 at Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church in the Heights; see www.friendsofhpl.org for more information.
2. Hoopla streaming media service now available to HPL customers; see handout in mail box for more information.
2. Meeting Room Reservations (Karen)
1. Because our meeting rooms and study rooms are in high demand, we try to make them available to as many interested individuals/groups as possible:
1. One reservation per group at a time; groups can make next reservation when coming in for the current event.
2. Meetings must be open to the public (no birthday parties or private meetings) and no goods or services can be sold.
3. One study  room reservation at a time; individuals can make the next reservation when finished with the current one.
2. Advance reservations may be taken by phone.  
1. For the meeting rooms, the reservation is TENTATIVE until the group contact fills out the meeting room reservation form.  The form can be faxed or emailed to speed the process.
2. Please allow 30 minutes between reservations for group  turnover.
3. For study rooms, the reservation will be held until 15 minutes past the scheduled start time, then released for anyone else who wants to use it.
3. The rooms are equipped with tables and chairs.  The 3rd floor conference room has a dry-erase board. We do not provide audio/visual equipment or services or meeting supplies (like dry-erase markers).  
4. Only light refreshments are allowed.  See HPL Policy 1.2 Library Sponsored Programs and Library Meeting Rooms (April 2005), 18. Serving Refreshments: Food and Drink:  a. Groups using meetings rooms may provide their own light refreshment such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, cookies, mints and nuts. The group using the meeting room must provide their own cups, napkins and plates. The group must remove all evidence of food service at the close of the meeting. b. Food service beyond the light refreshment level and food service requiring any onsite preparation must have approval of the Library Director or designee. c. Alcoholic beverages may not be served or consumed in any Library facility.
5. See the complete Meeting Room Policy on the Intranet> Forms+Documents> Policies and Procedures> Admin.
3. Incident Report Training (Meg)
1. See handout for information and assignment details.
2. Email the completed assignment to Meg or Karen by Friday, Jan. 17.

Upcoming Staff Events

• Jan 8: February Programs due in Evanced
• Jan 17:  Pay Period Close
• Jan 20: Library Closed for MLK Holiday
• Jan 22: Open Discussion Meeting
• Jan 23: NL Managers Meeting
• Jan 31: Pay Period Close    
• Feb 1: AARP Tax Help starts (Wed 12-4, Sat 10-2, through Sat., Apr. 12)