Meeting Notes 7-11-12

 11:15 – 11:45 AM, Break Room

Agenda

1. Updates:
1. FY13 Materials budget/spending plan due 7/13:  overall--flat budget, cutting standing orders 12-15%; ordering fewer copies of more titles; more ebooks, DVDs, databases.
2. June Circulation: 64,192--top circulating branch! (see attached stats).
3. NEW: Director’s Chat (see message from Dr. Lawson below).
2. New Equipment demos
1. 3rd floor: new jumbo toilet paper and workroom paper towel dispensers
2. 2nd floor: new AllCirc machine.

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Director’s Office                               MEMORANDUM          

To:         All Staff
From:   Rhea Brown Lawson, Ph. D. Director
Date:   July 10, 2012
Subject:  Director’s Chats

We are in the beginning of a new fiscal year and I am happy to report that the state of the Houston Public Library is stable. Fiscal Year 2013 promises to be a better year than FY2012 in that, with a relatively flat general fund budget, we are able to maintain our current levels of staffing, services and programs, and hours of operation.

One of my primary goals (or new fiscal year resolutions) - is to create a new way to share with you and receive from you fresh new ideas, information, opinions, and suggestions to enhance both our work experiences and our customer’s experiences. To that end I have decided to host once a month “Director Chats.”   Here is how I see the chats working as I launch them - but I am always open for suggestions as the chats progress:

1. The Director Chats will be held for one hour in a variety of locations including my office, spaces in Central Library and/or the JIB, neighborhood libraries, and special collections.
2. Director’s Chats involve all levels of staff – full and part time
3. Staff members will be randomly selected - I actually have a jar containing folded slips with every full time and part time staff members name in my office. Each month, I will invite someone to reach in the jar to select the next group of chatters.
4. The times, locations of the chats, and size of the groups will vary – some small enough for my office but never more than 20 people.
5. If your name is selected (pulled from the jar) you will be notified well in advance to provide you with time to handle scheduling adjustments and to allow you time to think about questions or suggestions you would like to chat about.
Because the invitees to the Director Chats will be selected randomly, it allows for us to have a great mix of individuals with varied experiences, lengths of time with HPL, and job responsibilities which should make for very interesting, fun, informative and thought provoking conversations. I am also hopeful that you will find these chats a way of learning more about me and your colleagues. As the conversations flow I am hopeful that together we will identify ways to address any staff concerns and, perhaps, identify creative ideas for enhanced services and programs to improve the total customer experience with HPL. These will be power chats so come ready to jump right in.

The first in the series of Director Chats for this year will be held on July 24th.  Look out for your invite!

Follow-up to Safety Walk Through 6-13-12

As a follow-up to our building safety walk-through during yesterday’s staff meeting, I wanted everyone to have a copy of the Security and Emergency Phone Numbers.  A copy is in your mail box.  Copies are also posted by the phones in the Workroom, Delivery desk, and 2^nd and 3^rd floor desks.  The numbers include the GSD Call Center and after-hours call center numbers, as well as the Neighborhood Libraries administration number, Worker’s Compensation (to report any staff-related accident) and Child Protective Services (if a child should be left alone more than 15 minutes after closing).

These numbers are important if you are here in the evening or on Saturdays and a building emergency or security problem occurs.  We’ll review branch emergency procedures during a future staff meeting.

Staff members on the after-hours emergency call list (me, Alice, and Pedro) have additional information about handling after-hours calls from the alarm-monitoring company. 

Knowing what to do in case of an emergency falls under two Performance Evaluation factors:

·         Location Maintenance and Support (“Responds to all emergency and security situations in a timely fashion, during business and after-hours.  Reacts to emergency situations appropriately and reports back to the manager or the person in charge in a timely manner.  Promptly reports incidents.  Monitors and reports problems with the condition of building, grounds, furniture, and equipment at location(s).  Responsible for safety compliance and emergency preparedness.”)   

·         Safety Awareness/Performance Record (“reports hazardous conditions or procedures”)

Please let me know if you have any questions about this.

Karen

Meeting Notes 6-13-12

11:15-11:45 AM, Break Room


AGENDA

1. Phone Facts:
1. Please make all outside calls (customers, volunteers, presenters) from the 1880 (public) line.  Don’t use the internal extensions for outside calls, as those numbers are not consistently answered.  Friends and family may call the private line (1884) or the extension near your desk (as long as they’re aware that number may not be answered during public hours).
2. Be considerate and announce calls being transferred internally, whether it’s a customer or personal call.     

2. Summer Volunteers:
1. 22 summer volunteers working 2-hour shifts (plus a few 1-hour shifts Friday afternoon); 3 regular volunteers throughout the year; and 2 Chinese Community Center volunteers each working 30 hours/week (9:30-3, Monday-Saturday)
2. Volunteer Duties:
1. shelving carts and bins (1st priority)
2. sorting, book drop
3. shelving holds
4. program and traffic assisting
5. SRP sign-up
6. assistance in boxing items

3. Safety Walk Through.
1. Fire Alarm response: location of emergency exits.  Also:
1. Immediately clear your area of customers.  Direct them to the nearest emergency exit on your floor.  Check all areas, including restrooms, to confirm that all customers have evacuated.
2. Elevators are programmed to drop immediately to the first floor and open their doors.  If not, staff on the first floor should notify the Fire Department when they arrive so they can check them.
3. Staff meeting point is in front of the gate to the pumping station in the southeast corner of the parking lot.
2. Emergency Door Alarms: how to turn off and reset
3. Fire Alarm panel and override key: location of panels and keys

4. Questions/ Discussion
1. SRP Sign-up: if you need help with the sign-up process, see Pedro or Leona
2. SRP Incentives: Circus tickets (30-level) have arrived.
3. SRP Daily Drawings: Local prize-winners (from daily system-wide SRP drawing) will be posted on blog so we know where to find prize when the winner comes to pick it up.
4. Gaming equipment: All gaming equipment must be locked up at night and cabinet key returned to workroom by the staff member closing that floor.  In the morning, the person opening should retrieve the key to unlock the cabinet (as part of “ready 2 open”).
5. Closing Building Check: When closing, check all spaces on the floor, including restrooms and conference rooms.  A customer was locked in the building Friday night for over 2 hours and called 911 to find someone to let him out.