Open Discussion Notes 5-4-16

11:15-11:45AM, Break Room
Attended by:  Jasmine, Iffat, Alice, Alisa, Janalyn, Kathrine, Chris, Leona, Rita, Nagma, Lauren, Doug, Shanti, Trish, Pam, Karen, and Temeka; absent: Albert, Nina.

Karen reviewed HPL meeting room policy regarding multiple reservations:

1. Limit of 6 advance reservations in 3-month period (which starts with first reservation)--2 per month or approx. every two weeks, OR 6 weekly reservations then none for approx. 6 weeks (or when 3-month period ends).  
2. Do not move designated open study times in 2nd floor conference room to accomodate an afternoon reservation.  This room is blocked out on Fridays and Saturdays to provide seating on the 2nd floor.  
3. Give the customer a copy of the guidelines for every room reservation.  We want to make sure they know what the guidelines are.
4. Mark reservations TENT (tentative) if we don't have a meeting room reservation form.  They're not confirmed until we have the reservation form.  Customers may fax the form to us at 832-393-1881 or drop it off or mail it.

Other discussion:

Open Discussion Notes, 12/16/15

Staff Break Room, 11:15-11:45AM

Karen - Saturday, Dec. 26, will be a staff holiday.  The Library will be closed Dec. 24-Dec. 27 for Christmas and reopen Monday, Dec. 28.  Everyone will work a Mon-Friday schedule for the pay week Dec. 26-Jan 1.

Albert -- cleaning out the supply closet and cabinets at the lobby desk.  At the lobby desk, the right cabinet is for supplies (tags, tape, staples, etc.) and the left cabinet for cleaning materials (paper towels, etc.); please keep them in order.  Wipes are not a supply item--we must buy with our own money.  If you need a supply item, leave him a note.

Albert - all applications have been wonderful--everyone is doing a great job!  Info is correct and no duplicates.

Shanti - wet books in the book drop stick to the sorter belt.  We need towels to wipe them dry. Suggested keeping a role of paper towels or rags (from the janitor's  closet) in the sorter room.

Doug - one of the magazine display racks is missing a nut and the plex cover is coming off.  Karen suggested we can "borrow" another nut or cover from another magazine shelf (if you can't find the nut on the floor).

Leona - there is a plastic bag with dry erase markers and cleaner at the 3rd floor desk which groups using the 3rd floor conference room can check out to use during their meetings.  By providing the markers, we avoid having a problem with groups using permanent markers instead.  But we don't provide rugs or AV equipment for our meeting rooms: the rugs are dirty when we need them for a program: and the AV equipment needs a staff member present to set-up and monitor.  See the new Meeting Room Guidelines for details about what is provided/not provided.  The Guidelines are stapled in packets with the new meeting room reservation form and fee schedule.

Alisa - What are the holiday hours going to be?  In addition to above, HPL also closes at 6 PM on 12/31 for New Year's Eve.

Shanti - we need to use the empty paper boxes to store crafts supplies in the crafts storage room.

Doug - Is Santa going to be here tomorrow?  What are going to be the activities?  Photo ops?  Leona - Yes, Santa Lance here at 4 PM, not sure exact activities but Communications is bringing a newspaper reporter to take pictures, will have photo ops, need staff to help.  Alisa and Doug volunteered to help Leona and Temeka with the program.

Leona - program schedule during holiday period: next week -- 1 Holiday storytime at 10:30 on Tuesday for all ages; week after Christmas -- no storytimes, a movie on Tuesday at 2 and the New Year's celebration on Thursday at 11.

Staff Meeting Notes 12-2-15

11:15 – 11:45 AM, Breakroom

1. Updates from 11/20 CE Managers Meeting (Lauren)
2. Training: Rules Revisited--Library Rules, Meeting Room Guidelines, ADA Guidelines, Open Carry FAQs (Karen)
1. Library Rules: Website, http://hpl.lib.tx.us/library-rules-policies; 1-page handout, https://hplnet.houstonlibrary.org/forms/15_Library_Rules_FINAL.pdf [updated link, also updated on Kendall blog.]
2. Meeting Room Guidelines: http://hpl.lib.tx.us/sites/default/files/neighborhood_libraries.pdf
3. Open Carry FAQs (from the Texas State Library & Archives Commission) & Notes from COH OPen Carry Forum 11/4/15: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ld/pubs/ocpublic.html

Quick Notes (from SW Managers Team Meeting 12/1/15)

• Keep bookend on each shelf.  If no room, shift or float items to make space.
• Use standard HPL email signature format.  It should include the HPL logo, disclaimer and Citizensnet info (in your desktop email and Outlook Web Access).  See Karen or Lauren if you need help setting this up (or go to http://houstonlibrary.org/hpl-brand/internal-documents/email-signature):
• Email: also use plain pages, no “stationary” or decorated backgrounds.
• Emails sent to all staff emails must be approved first by Michele Gorman (for Customer Experience).
• If you are planning to retire or resign in the near future, please let Karen or Lauren know as soon as possible so we can notify CE Administration about filling your position.
• Badges must be worn and visible in public areas and workrooms when you’re on the clock.
• Building lights should be turned off at night.
• The private line number should always be answered using the standard greeting (and should always be answered).  
• Customers who want to check out a book they just returned are welcome to do so (if there are no holds for it).  There is no “24-hour rule”  that requires a book must be returned to the shelf first before it can be checked out again.
• If there’s no Clear Holds report in the morning, notify the IT Help Desk, then pull books that are dated 14 days or more.
• Axis360 training is required for all front-line staff by December 18.  Notify Karen or Lauren when you have completed the training.

Upcoming Staff Events

• Friday, December 4: Last Day of Pay Period, Timecards approved at 5:30PM
• Friday, December 4 & 11: Staff Training--Basic Word  (Pam)
• Friday, December 11: Pay Day
• Wednesday, December 16:: Open Discussion Meeting
• Friday, December 18: Last Day of Pay Period, Timecards approved at 5:30PM
• Thursday, December 24: Christmas Eve - Library closed
• Friday, December 25: Christmas Day - Library closed
• Friday, January 1: New Year’s Day - Library closed

Open Discussion Meeting Notes 10/21/2015

In Attendance: Lauren, Albert, Jose, Iffat, Alice, Janalyn, Doug, Alisa, Nina, Temeka, Kathrine, Shanti, Pam, Leona, Trish, Karen

Note Taker: Trish
Moderator: Lauren

- The sorter will be fixed.  The barcode scanner will be removed as well as the receipt printer.  The sorter will now read RFID tags and any items that are not tagged will go into the exceptions bin.  There will be no voice!

- Blinds must be open at night.  If the blinds are not functional, just leave them open as much as possible.

- Holds are still being put on our shelf that belong to other branches.  Please pay close attention when shelving holds.  Keep items going to other branches separate from KEN items both when you are paging and when you are doing delivery/exceptions.  Expired holds must be cleared first thing in the morning and we should be checking the holds shelf for old holds just to be sure they are being sent out as necessary.  There have been issues with the clear holds list, LMS is aware.

- A-Z webinar is asking for a $25 payment and we can't pay for it, so do not take the most recent A-Z webinar.

- Please make sure customers in the meeting rooms and study rooms are leaving 15 minutes prior to closing.  Make announcements at 30 minutes, 15 minutes, and at closing and make sure the people in rooms are aware of the closing time well in advance.

- Make sure to give customers the new room reservation guidelines when they reserve a room.  Customers may make up to 6 reservations in a 90-day period, but they must fill out a separate reservation form for each reservation.

- Make sure to make tallies on the stats sheets!  This week is door count week, so it is very important but we should always be diligent about making tallies and keeping track of our activity on every floor.

- Jose went above and beyond in customer service with a customer on Monday.  Go Jose!

- Iffat did 3-tier work on Monday night, taking care of delivery, exceptions, and the sorting room.  Go Iffat!

- Name That Book contest is very intense right now.  Leona has a list that will be on 3rd floor and in the sorting room to make locating these items easier.  You can also print out a list for customers by going to the HPL kids page.

- CMC team still needs help with the festival at Central on Friday, October 30th.  Let us know if you'd like to participate.

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 1/7/15

Kendall Staff Meeting, 11:15 – 11:45 AM, Breakroom

1. Updates & Reminders:
1. New Year’s Resolutions (Karen). Discussed shared resolutions for staff: keep sorter room and public service desks neat; have a another dance party; help all customers use self check. Handout: 15 things to make time for in 2015 (from The Container Store).
2. Work Flow/ Daily Tasks (Karen): Michele Gorman has asked managers to compile a list of daily tasks. Karen will post on blog so everyone can review and contribute. Due Jan. 23. The List. The Blog post.
2. Circulation Updates (Alisa): Train-the-Trainer meetings with Circ Admin coming up soon.

Quick Notes

• Deputy Director of Customer Experience Staff Chats: Michele Gorman wants to meet monthly with public service staff and will be hosting lunch chats (with pizza!) throughout the system.  Kendall is in the region with Alief, Robinson-Westchase, Walter and Southwest Express.  Our meetings will be Wednesday, March 11, 11:30-12:30, at Alief, and Thursday, September 17, 11:30-12:30, at Walter.  You are welcome to attend either meeting--let Karen know in advance so she can add it to the schedule.
• Building lights on 24/7:  Following the string of library break-ins, Michele and John Middleton asked each location to leave all lights on overnight.  GSD came Monday and turned of the timing, so the interior lights will stay on unless you manually switch them off. Please pay special attention to the lobby, sorter, delivery, and meeting room lights on the first floor, since this area is the most visible (and accessible).  
• Meeting Room Reservations: Every customer using a public meeting room must fill out a room reservation form, even if he or she is just studying.  There are two reasons why this is necessary: 1) the rooms are public meeting rooms and events (even personal study) must be open to the public; 2) if something happens (the projector was stolen out of the 1st floor meeting room), we have contact information for the person reserving the room.  The meeting rooms on the first and third floors should be locked when not being used for security reasons; because the 2nd floor room is glassed in, it’s easy to see what’s going on in there.  The study rooms on the 2nd floor can only hold 2 people, so they’re not considered public meeting rooms and don’t require a room reservation form.
• Window Blinds: You can close or adjust the window blinds during the day to block sunlight, but they must be fully opened (at least, those that are operational) at the end of the day so interior of the building can be seen from those passing by.  We want them to notice what an attractive and appealing space the library is.
• Credit Card Sales: When ringing up a credit card sale, please make sure the amount on the charge slip is the same as the amount entered in SMM.  We had a customer recently who was  charged $1.80 for $18.60 in fines credited to library account--a bargain for them but a disaster for us.

Upcoming Staff Events

• Friday, January 9: Pay day
• Friday, January 16: Last day of Pay Period
• Wednesday, January 21: Staff Training Meeting: I. Readers’Advisory for Kids (Leona); II.  Readers’ Advisory for Adults (Alice)
• Wednesday, January 28: Open Discussion 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)   

Open Discussion Notes, 10-2-13

3rd floor conference room, 11:15-11:55AM Recorder: Albert Moderator: José

1. Shelf Read
1. Take turns
2. pull misshelved items, esp. WLC, 700s, fiction
3. takes longer to shelve when time must be spent reshelving items in wrong place.
4. suggested schedule: Tues & Thurs shelf read, Mon, Wed, Fri shelve
5. volunteers: review how to shelve fiction
6. staff: shelve where items go instead of at end of shelf (like they’re tired of shelving)
7. if not finished, bring items back downstairs
8. we can all learn how to shelve again.
9. it’s happening a lot!
2. Bins for tagging
1. don’t put holds in tagging bins!  Found item for customer there
2. not good customer service
3. also discard bins--don’t put problem books or holds there
4. Checkout discards to KEN discard account to change shelf status, so items doesn’t appear to be on the shelf
3. AllCirc
1. check and make sure the DVD barcode matches the one on the case
2. also check boxes and replace broken ones with supply in workroom
3. discard damaged disks (scratched, cracked) and worn cases with old covers (call number sitckers on case)
4. Relieving the Desk
1. Get to the desk on time, especially when returning from lunch.
2. hour lunch doesn’t mean you can come back to the desk late--public service takes priority.
5. Workroom
1. clean your own dishes from sink; Angie is not our maid.
2. leave strainer in left sink to keep solid food bits out of the drain pipes, causing plumbing problems.
3. clean up your own mess.
4. refrigerator full of stuff, no room for lunches; big water bottles taking up too much room!
5. need to clean frig--Temeka will do 10/3.
6. Statistics
1. mark questions answered and holds on stats sheets at desks
2. if customers call with reference questions and too busy, refer/transfer them to Telephone Reference (ask if okay first).
7. Meeting Rooms
1. give customer contact info for outside meetings if requested.
2. meetings in library buildings (city facilities) must be free and open to the public.
3. Library does not publicize outside meetings but can direct customers to contact for the meeting (the person who filled out the form).
8. Symphony
1. User look up--if you can’t find new cardholder, change to HISTORY in profile from NO HISTORY.
9. Holds Shelf
1. shelve in alpha order by last name, first name.
2. not good customer service to mis-shelve items that can’t be found by customer or staff
10. Paging
1. bring items checked in downstairs asap--they’re HOT and ready to be picked up.
2. some customers come very quickly to pick up holds and staff can’t find them if they’re not on first floor.

Meeting Notes 3-6-13

Kendall Staff Meeting Agenda

March 6, 2013, 11:15 – 11:45 AM

Breakroom

Kendall Blog Easter Information Hunt
Each staff will take turns pulling a question which has an answer that can be found on the blog. The staff person that pulls the question will try to show everyone where to find the answer on the blog. If the staff person does not know where to find the answer all staff will be able to assist in helping their co-worker find the answer.


Feel free to ask any questions about the information being sought and suggest any input you may have to improve the blog.

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Reminders/Updates:
-Programs for April must be in by March 13th.
-1040 Instruction Booklets are available.
-Extra IRS forms are stored in the 1st floor meeting room.
-Children DVD’s will begin to be stored in ALL-Circ Machines on second floor soon.

Questions:
Where can I find a list of the dates and books of upcoming adult book clubs?

Where can I find the phone number to coin copiers?

Where can I go to suggest a topic for the open discussion meeting?

Where is the link for the different logins/passwords for different equipment?

Where can I find information on how to send a laptop to IT?

Where can I find past daily schedules?

Where can I find information on the new ILL procedures?

Where can I find the meeting room reservation form the public needs to fill out?

Where can I find information on a patron refund request?

Where can I find the new TexShare application that needs to be sent downtown?

Where can I find instructions on sending in a sprocket?

Where can I find maps of the different floors?

Where can I find a performer evaluation form?

Answer Key