Staff Meeting Notes, 11-30-16

11:15 – 11:45 AM, Break Room

1. Welcome New Staff: Kitty (Acting Manager); Norma (PT-CSC); Antoinette (PT-CSC for Collier); Victor (Assistant Manager, starting 12/12).
2. Updates (Karen):
1. Cell Phone Use at Public Service Desks
1. When you’re working at a public service desk, you’re paying attention to our customers and you’re ready to respond to their needs.
2. OK--library activities, such as demonstrating Overdrive, checking wireless connection
3. NOT OK--personal activities, such as checking social media, texting, shopping.
4. Phone should be set to silent mode in public areas.  
5. No personal phone calls at the desk. If it’s an emergency, find someone to cover the desk and take the call in a non-public area.
2. Closing Issues
1. Last week the following were observed after staff had finished closing the floor: lobby lights on; conference room blinds not opened; extra chairs in study rooms; drive-up window not locked; self check and TV screens still on; phone not forwarded; front door not locked.
2. Review opening and closing checklist so you know what you’re responsible for doing.  Work with your colleagues on the floor to complete these tasks.  Don’t leave the floor until everyone is finished.   
3. Leave the building together--there’s safety in numbers!  If you leave before everyone else, we won’t be able to respond if you should need help.
3. Safety Issues: Kick Stools
1. Two kick stools are stored under the desk on the 2nd and 3rd floor; 1 is stored under the Lobby desk.  Extra stools must be kept in the workroom--if you bring one out to use, put it back in the workroom when you’re finished.
2. We don’t want any customers (especially young children!) or volunteers hurting themselves by tripping over or falling off a kick stool.,

Quick Notes

1. Tag Arriving Holds:  All incoming holds must be tagged if they aren’t already, especially Central items.  This speeds checkout and supports your team members at the public service desks!  
2. Float Items: Check out items to be floated to the KEN-FLOAT account before you put them in a floating bin under the sorter. This account will hide the item from view in the catalog until it’s checked in at its receiving location.  
3. Sorter Tasks at the End of the Day:  Clear Outgoing Holds and Bin 9 Exceptions every day. They haven’t been checked in yet and need to be cleared the same day they were returned so the customer doesn’t get a fine.  
1. Outgoing holds get labeled and go into a Delivery bin ASAP--someone is waiting!  
2. Bin 9 Exceptions need to be checked in, then tagged, floated, or returned to Central.  
3. Turn around items waiting to be tagged the same day.  The catalog shows them as “Check Shelf”--ready to be checked out--and we need to get them on the shelves as soon as possible.

Upcoming Events

• Friday, December 2: Last Day of Pay Period; Staff Training--Alice on Business Reference
• Monday, December 5: Last Day to complete Cigna Health Assessment (and save $$!)
• Tuesday, December 6: SW Managers Meeting (Karen, Kitty)
• Friday, December 9: Payday!; Youth Services Meeting (Jasmine, Leona, Shanti); Staff Training--Alice on Business Reference
• Saturday, December 10: Staff Holiday Gala
• Friday, December 16: Customer Experience Managers Meeting (Karen, Kitty, Melinda)
• Friday, December 23-Monday, December 26: Library Closed for Christmas
• Sunday, January 1-Monday, January 2: Library Closed for New Year’s Day

Open Discussion Notes 10-19-16

Break Room, 11:15-11:50AM
Moderator: Trish
Recorder: Leona
Present: Alice, Alisa, Chris, Iffat, Jasmine, Karen, Kathrine, Leona, Melinda, Nina, Pam, Trish, Valentin.

1. Pumpkin Carving Contest at CMC Fall Festival at CEN on Friday, Oct. 28.  $5 entry fee, ideas welcomed.  We have two pumpkins--one ugly one, one beautiful one--plus assorted smaller pumpkins to attach/decorate and other supplies.  The carving should be ready by Thursday evening so Karen can deliver it when she goes to the CE Managers Meeting Friday morning.
2. Staff Development Day was a win according to the KEN staff.  Esp. popular--gift cards and other prizes, presentation from HEB, info about lending hotspots, location at JIB, seeing colleagues from other locations.
3. Work at giving great customer service, as talked about in the HEB session at SDD, esp. the element of surprise and random acts of surprise.
4. Remember all books with yellow labels are not to be discarded.  Please p ut them in the float bins.  These are leased items and need to be returned when we don't need them or they're in poor condition.
5. Classics that are cataloged can be put on the the shelves with other cataloged items.  Non-cataloged classics still go on the designated shelves by the restrooms.
6. Please log all "orphan" items (those belonging to non-HPL libraries).  Do not put them in the Lost & Found bin.
7. When pulling items to float, please discharge them first to make sure there are no holds and they're off the customers' accounts.  Check the condition too--items in poor condition should be discarded, not floated.
8. When the picture book bin on the sorter fills up, the overflow will go into Bin 9.  If you can scan the book on the RFID pad, it doesn't need a new label. Karen is going to see if we can get Bin 9 changed to an overflow bin for picture books.
9. Pam asks us to save all small empty water bottles for her New  Year's Eve kids party--she's using them to make noisemakers.  She'll put a bag in the break room for collection.

Open Discussion Notes 7-27-16

11:15-11:45, Break Room
Moderator: Albert
Recorder: Karen

1. Sort Machine:  At end of day do not turn off--just pause, close screen.  Reconnect bins after unplugging.
2. Credit Card Machine:  Use little machine to start credit transactions, then enter rest of info in large machine. Process credit card payment before finishing in Smart Money (to make such charge is accepted before crediting customer).
3. DO NOT turn off printers at workstations.  This creates problems (workroom printers are still not working correctly).
4. We're currently waiting for toner for the workroom printers.
5. Customer Service: the security guard changed a flat tire for a customer on Tuesday, July 26.

Staff Meeting Notes, 5-11-16

Kendall Staff Meeting, May 11, 2016

11:15 – 11:45 AM, 3rd floor conference room

1. News from April CE Managers Meeting and SW Managers Team Meeting (Karen)
2. Training: 2016 SRP--Aim for the Stars! (Leona)
1. New for 2016
2. 2016 Incentives
3. 2-16 SRP Dates and deadlines

Quick Notes

• Exceptions Bins:  With the new sorter setup, if the item does not have a tag or the sorter cannot read the tag, then the item will go into the #9 bin
• Bin #1 has holds and CEN items. Bin #9 has items not read plus holds and CEN items.
• FIRST, discharge the items from either bin.  
• Second, after dealing with holds and CEN items, sort the remaining items into the following groups:
• No Tags: Add and program new tag.
• Rectangular Tags: Remove old tag and add/program new tag.
• Other Tags: Run through the sorter again with the cover open (or AV--tag on top).  If the item sorts correctly, yeah!  If not, remove the old tag and add/program a new tag.
• If items have metallic ink on the cover OR do not sort after 3 tries, float to a new location.
• Clear the exceptions from both bins throughout the day.  
• If you’re on SORT, empty the excpetions bins frequently onto the Exceptions cart so the items can be easily identified.  If you have time, groupg  together the not-tag and rectangular tag items.  If there is no one at the Delivery desk,, discharge and sort the items.
• If you’re on DELIVERY, discharge the items on the exceptions cart every hour.
• If you’re on the LOBBY or DRIVE-UP desks covering Sort, work together as a team to empty and discharge the exceptions throughout the day.  Customers will be asking you to check their accounts and to find and clear items they returned which were not discharged by the sorter.  Work together to tag items as time allows.
• Tag all incoming items from CEN and other locations (except ILL).  It will save us a lot of time later when they’re returned.
• Items will not be discharged if they don’t have a tag.  And customers will be checking their accounts  since they don’t get a receipt.

Events

• Friday, May 13: Pay Day!
• Friday, May 13: Youth Services Meeting at CEN (Shanti, Leona, Jasmine, Nagma)
• Friday, May 13: Tech Specialists Meeting (Pam)
• Wednesday, May 18: Farewell Party for Lauren
• Thursday, May 19: Lauren’s last day
• Friday, May 20: Pay Period Close
• Wednesday, May 25: Program Meeting
• Friday, May 27: Pay Day!
• Friday, May 27: Staff Training (Blue Group), rescheduled from May 13
• Monday,  May 30: Memorial Day, Library closed
• Wednesday, June 1: First day of SRP
• Friday, June 3: Pay Period Close

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 9-23-15

Workroom, 11:15-11:50AM

Moderator: Lauren; Recorder: Karen

Attending: Lauren, Albert, Karen, Janalyn, Alice, Jose, Alisa, Doug, Trish, Jasmine, Pam, Temeka, Leona. Absent: Evin, Iffat, Nina, Shanti (notes in mailbox).

1. At Closing--Teamwork and Customer Service.  Don’t forget to:
1. Forward the phone, 2nd floor (this morning answered call from customer with fine problem because phone not forwarded).
2. Record the gate count, 1st floor (power went out overnight and we lost yesterday’s visitor count).
3. Don’t leave bins unplugged overnight, 1st floor (it creates more exceptions the next morning when items mis-sort).
4. Label outgoing holds so they can go out in Delivery in the morning, 1st floor (this morning labelled three bins of outgoing holds which missed Delivery and will sit until tomorrow to go out).
2. Sorter Problems:
1. Books sorting to wrong bins but looks okay to TechLogic when they check logs.
2. Copy Fred, Jeff, and Patrick on emails to Helpdesk or TechLogic about sorter problems to keep them in the loop.
3. Wait a few seconds after green light before sending next item through because books are stopping on the belt--given them enough time to clear.
3. Deposit:
1. When bagging money at the end of the day, don’t just throw it loose in the bag. Loose bills get stuck in the bag and make it more difficult for the person doing the deposit the next day.  
2. The coins should be in the correct bag and the bills wrapped around the coin bags with a rubber band.  
4. Sorting Room:  
1. Please don’t dump books on carts, especially when they’re mixed up.  Items are going on the wrong carts, which creates extra work for a colleague.  
2. If you don’t have time to put books on a cart in order, dump them in the correct bin for someone else to sort.
3. When full bins are stacking up (especially when there are 4 or more), take the initiative to unload them and put the material on a metal cart in order, so it is ready to be reshelved.  
4. Don’t leave ½ full carts in the sorting room--it wastes carts and takes up space.  Add the books to another cart already underway.
5. Send languages not at Kendall (we have Spanish, French, Japanese and Russian) in the float bins to LMS; they will send to locations with those languages.  
5. Blank (Unscheduled) Hours:
1. There’s plenty of shelving to do--use your unscheduled time to help us clear shelving every day.  
2. If shelving is done, then shelf read. Most staff have Shelf Reading as a SMART Goal; for a 3, you should be averaging 1 hour/week.  
3. When you’re on the clock, you should be using unscheduled time for work duties.  Limit personal activities to your lunch hour and 2 15-minute breaks.
6. Delivery/ Holds:
1. Don’t put tems on the holds shelve which are supposed to be at other locations  (this week removed 60+ items on hold shelves for customers at other locations).  This is careless when items are clearly marked and unfair to customers waiting for their holds.
2. When handling paging or Delivery, always separate items for KEN (staying) from items going to other locations (going).
3. When checking in holds/delivery, use the following Sirsi functions:
1. Labeled: use Receive Transit (doesn’t print label
2. Not Labeled: use Discharge (prints label)
3. Bookdrop: use Discharge or Bookdrop Backdate (prints label)
4. This will keep the Spool WIzard from filling up with unprinted labels.  Also, make sure to clear the Virtual to Print Wizard before you leave the computer.
4. The MaxStick Label paper is in demand.  Albert is ordering it regularly so we have enough on hand but don’t waste it (for example, don’t print labels for non-hold items going back CEN--just put them in the CEN bin).
7. Book Drop:
1. Empty both bins each time.  Don’t let material pile up in the second bin.  It’s not fair to customers who have returned items to not check them in promptly.
2. The door to the second book drop is not opening/closing easily.  This should be reported so it can be fixed.
8. Desk Supplies:
1. Leave tools such as staplers and tape dispensers at each public service desk (and the workroom).  If you borrow them to use somewhere else, return them when you’re finished.  (Apparently the 2nd floor stapler is missing because it was taken by a customer.)
2. If customer want to borrow scissors or a stapler, let them use it at the desk.
9. Laptops:
1. Don’t leave laptops at the public service desk overnight.  They need to be locked in the charging cabinet so they can recharge and vulnerable to theft.
2. The public laptops are charged in the right-side compartment of the charging cabinet--that’s were the chargers are.  (The left side is empty.)
10. Coin Copier
1. The Coin Copier technician says to flip the copier paper over if it is wrinkling during printing.  (Or fan it when reloading the paper tray.)
2. Use the bypass login to help customers with printing problems--charged but not printing, wrinkled paper.  Use the abandoned print cards for customers with change or money problems.  Refer customers with frequent printing problems to call Coin Copier for refunds.  Use your discretion to help customers with printing issues.
11. Above and Beyond:
1. When you provide extraordinary service to a customer, ask them to fill out a comment form.  We appreciate the acknowledgement
2. Thank you to Alice for preparing the schedule Monday morning.  We all pitched in to get things done!

Open Discussion Notes 5-20-15

Workroom, 11:15-11:55AM Recorder: Trish    Moderator: Alice

1. Cleaning the Breakroom (Karen):
1. GSD janitors not here to clean up after us.
2. Dirty dishes in sink:  Please wash your dishes or put them in the dishwasher.  Dishes in the dishwasher will be washed; dishes in the sink will just sit there.
3. Clean refrigerator:  We should take turns cleaning out the refrigerator.  She will set up a quarterly cleaning schedule to empty and clean the refrigerator.
2. Applications (Albert):
1. Use only blue or black ink and no other colors (forms are microfilmed and must be legible).  TDL or TID should always be on the application and in the customer’s record.
2. Please put new address in the account when customers renew.
3. Double-check to make sure no duplicate accounts in the system by checking both name and Alt ID.  When you find a duplicate account with fines on the old account, block the new one (and add a note) and let the customer know he/she has a balance; make sure the customer pays the old balance before unblocking the new card.
3. Books between the cracks (Doug):
1. Thanks to everyone for helping him learn things around the HPL system.
2. He found 5 juvenile fiction books stuck in the gap between the shelving units, incluing one missing item and one dropped from the catalog.  Please check behind the lower shelf when shelf reading for any items stuck in this gap.
4. Sorting Room (Temeka):
1. Items being sorted onto wrong carts:
1. Juvenile items going to Adult floor
2. Adult classic paperbacks going to the juvenile floor
3. Cataloged paperbacks shelved with uncataloged paperbacks.
2. Please read the labels on the wall above the carts and bins if you’re not sure which one to use.
5. Tagging (Karen):
1. Please check all DVDs, CDs, audiobooks, and kits when returned and when checking out to make sure all disks are there.  If we consistently check, then customers will not need to say the disk was missing when they checked out the item.
2. TechLogic is going to lend us a RFID wand to use to scan items on the shelves but it only will read tagged items.  We need to make sure all items being shelved are tagged.  Set untagged returns in the bin under the Lobby desk (to be tagged during slow periods), float to LMS, or discard (if the item is worn).  
6. Orphan/County Items (Karen):
1. Please log returns that don’t belong to us using the Orphan/County Items Received from on the Customer Service page of the blog.  Fill out a form for each item..  
2. Send each item and send to ILL at CEN to be returned to the owning library.  
3. The log makes it easier to help customers who are looking for books from other libraries they may have returned to us.
7. Self-Check and Key Tag cards (Alice):
1. The key tag cards don’t scan very well at the self-check stations.
2. Alisa suggested holding the card flat before running it under the scanner.
8. Customer coming behind the desk (Karen):
1. How should we handle customers who come behind the service desks to get something, especially on the 2nd and 3rd floor?
1. Offer to help customers find what they’re looking for.
2. Ask them not to come behind the desk for their safety (carts, cords, and other trip hazards).
3. Use tact and be helpful.
9. Study Rooms on 2nd Floor:
1. Reserve rooms only for 2 hours at a time, to give everyone a chance.
2. Advance reservations are convenience for customers planning ahead and will be held for 15 minutes before we release them for other customers who are waiting.
10. Adults on the 3rd Floor:
1. Greet everyone when they come on the 3rd floor because:
1. it makes everyone feel welcome.
2. we ask let adults without children to cooperate with us in providing a safe environment for children by accompanying a child or looking for children’s materials on this floor.
3. it lets everyone know we are paying attention and keeping an eye on what’s happening.
2. Once an adult without a child is comfortably settled on the 3rd floor, it’s very difficult to make them leave.  Just let them know that we ask customers’ cooperation etc., so the next time they come they’ll be aware of our goal.