Meeting Notes 03/28/2012

11:15-11:45 AM, Break Room

AGENDA 

1. New Staff: Glenn Hollis, BTOP trainer, begins March 24

 
 2. Updates:

a.       Library Card Renewal Requrements (from Fred Schumacher): "Everyone renewing his/her library card registration must submit a new completed application form and present the required documentation.  If fines are owed on the account being renewed, the fines owed must be paid in full at the time the registration is renewed."

b.      How to Handle Customer Comments (from Laurie Covington): “When a customer complains (or compliments) our locations, we should offer them a Patron Comment Form. According to the Patron Comment Policy (1.1 B.1), “whether or not the patron decides to pursue a matter by filling out Patron Comment Form, a staff member and the unit manager always send in the form upon each incident of a complaint.”

Therefore, if a customer complains verbally, but does not want to fill out the Patron Comment Form, the staff member accepting the complaint should fill out the Patron Comment Form themselves with as much information as is available. This applies to complaints both in person and on the telephone. If the customer does not give you their name, leave that section blank. It is preferred that staff direct customer concerns to the manager first so he or she is aware of the issue and can address it immediately.

Route Patron Comment Forms to Yolanda Anguiano in NL Administration and indicate if follow up is needed. Communications tracks complaints and reports them monthly to ELT so it is as important to report these verbal complaints as the ones we receive in paper form. It can also be helpful to have a record of customer concerns as early as possible so they can be resolved quickly.”  Comment forms can also be filled online.

c.       Handy After-Hours Phone Numbers (from Laurie Covington): “Have you ever been working an evening or weekend and had a pipe break or the AC go out?

There is now an after-hours GSD Call Center for Weekdays after 4:30pm and on Weekends. Simply call 713-213-8776 and they can help you with your emergency plumbing, carpentry, and mechanical issues.

Emergency AC and HVAC issues can be assisted with the Johnson Controls After Hours number: 1-866-635-1395.

For Security issues after hours (including after hours alarms) call the On-Call Investigator at 832-316-1944.

For Neighborhood Library issues you can call 832-393-2707 during the weekday and on weekends and someone should answer your calls.”

3. Updates from March Managers’ Meeting (Pedro):

· The open discussion times for Mike VanCampen at neighborhood libraries has changed from 10-12 to 9-11a.m.

· Hired 13 new substitutes recently.

· Please encourage any substitute that you believe is doing a great job to apply for new positions that are being posted.

· Please let your manager or team leader know of anyone that is planning on retiring or leaving to try and get the position posted ASAP.

· Team leaders rotate on Saturdays for any questions that might arise. Their number is 832-393-2707.

· Passports are currently still being processed at Alief and Central. Alief’s hours are different from what the HPL website states: Mon.&Wed. 3-7p.m. / Tues.&Thurs. 1-5p.m. / Sat. 10-2p.m.

· All staff should have printed out and signed the Cigna email by March 30^th. Even staff that is not a Cigna member.

· After hours call procedures are stated above. If HiTech calls tell them not to send HPD. You call GSD to send investigator. GSD will call you back with an update.

· Staff should view the Neighborhood Library Leaders blog on a regular basis for updates and are encouraged to comment on posts.

· Staffs interested in literacy are encouraged to let their team leaders know. Carnegie is being discussed as being a designated literacy hub.

· Keep on the look-out for counterfeit money, including $1 & $5 dollar bills.

· Let your manager or team leader know when service personnel are showing up without a badge for identification.

· Keep doing incident report on everything needed to be reported to show the necessity for security.

Meetin Notes 3/14/2012

11:15 – 11:50 AM, Break Room

Agenda

1.    Thuy has a new assignment as Technology Trainer, working with Suzy Benton and her system-wide training team which includes Suzanne Rickles. Check out her presentation on ebooks and ereaders to the Executive Leadership team on the Intranet Public Services page.

• The presentation gives a general overview of using eBooks with a the wide range of devices that are available.

2.    April programs due in Program Registration today. 

• Make sure all of your programs are in the G-drive for Karen and in Program Registration for them to be advertised in the DVD that Jason Stephens puts together for our TV screens.

3.    Opening and Closing Procedures (Karen)

• Please make sure to go by the schedule when opening and closing but also fill in for one another when it is needed. -When closing please make sure to pick up, turn off monitors, put the chairs in their proper place, make sure everything is put up, etc.
• Karen did not get to speak much on this subject but will do so on the next meeting.

4.    Reminder to check CD’s and DVD’s when checking out and checking in.

• Please make it a habit to check all DVD’s and CD’s when they are being handled.

5.    Please double check items being shelved on hold shelves are in correct order.

• Remember to check if it is a Drive-up hold or Circulation Desk hold and mark “Drive-up” or put a slip to distinguish the difference.

6.    Karts or items left unattended without a note.

• Please try not to leave items or karts with items in the general area (be it in the workroom or reference desks) without leaving a note as to what is needed to be done with them for the next person to take over or simply putting your name on them so that others know that they are being worked on.

7.    Filling Out Incident Reports and Using Trespass Affidavits (Pedro)

• The following link (Neighborhood Libraries Blog: Incident Reports Reminders) was the hand-out that was passed out and it contains a few reminders about incident reports.
• The person that witnesses the incident should be the one to write and submit the incident report. If help is needed feel free to ask Karen, Pedro or any other staff member that is comfortable doing them.
• Please be as specific as possible when typing up what happened. Exact phrases that were used during the incident are highly encouraged.
• The form also contains how to save and where to send the report.
• There is also a section that speaks about trespass warnings and suspension notices. Trespass Warnings and Suspension Notices are also found on the Intranet under Forms and Facilities. If patron refuses to sign the form there is a section that lets you put that in.

• 8.    Discussion:
• Lin Swalley will come out to do a training on weeding & floating on an date TBD. This will count as training hours.
• Please make sure applications are filled out completely and correctly, including putting the expiration date with the last day of the month and 3 years ahead. If it is for a minor that will be turning 18 before the 3 year period is up then set the date to the minors 18^th birthday.

Meeting Notes 2/29/2012

11:15 – 11:50 AM, Break Room

Agenda

1. Celebrating Leap Day and the new building’s 2nd anniversary (with cake and ice cream)
2. New Staff:  Pedro Fonseca, LA Supervisor, begins March 3; Bradford Dobos, FT CSC, begins March 5
3. Please park in last section along fence until drain in back parking lot is fixed.
4. Turn in leave requests for Spring Break (March 10-18) asap so substitutes can be requested.
5. Handout: COH Electronic Timekeeping Policy eff 3/21/11; copy of info received last fall; review city’s standard policy for using Kronos, esp.
1. 7.2 Work Time and “riding the clock”: once an employee has punched in, he/sje is responsible for starting work.
2. 7.3 Compensatory time and Time Collection Problems: send email with specific time and problem that prevented punching in
3. 7.6 Overtime: any overtime work must be approved by an employee’s supervisor in advance.
6. Shelving: We are professional shelvers, having logging numerous hours shelving over the year(s), expected to provide consistent, accurate shelving.  Mis-shelved items create lots of extra work and hurt staff credibility in the following ways:
1. Customer Service: customers disappointed when item can’t be found, staff uses time helping customers locate items that are mis-placed; missing items go to On Search list, more staff time spent looking for them
2. On Search List: list increased by mis-shelved items, less time to search for other missing items
3. Paging: customers waiting for items which can’t be found; staff spending time looking for items in the wrong place; branch’s holds filled count reduced.
4. Shelving: staff shelving have to spend time re-shelving mis-shelved items, less time to shelve newly-returned materials
5. Claims Returned: when claims returned items mis-shelved, customers billed for items they had returned , leading to customer frustration, lack of trust and possible credit report.
7. Discussion:
1. Problems w customer’s checking out items FOS with holds for other customers: check it anyway and replace item-level hold with copy-first returned hold for original customer.  Thuy--follow-up with Tech Logic?
2. Lost cards: block card in customer’s account, add note with date, “lost card fnd at KEN and destroyed; fill out appl and verify address for replacement” (regular library card) or “lost card fnd at KEN and destroyed; $1 for replacement card” (computer use cards);  cards are not stored at the desk or in the blue file box in the lobby; please immediately block all lost cards so they cannot picked up and used by anothe customer.  See Kendall blog post, 7/8/11: About notes: lost card notes, that is.