Open Discussion Notes, 1-22-14

Breakroom, 11:15-11:45

General Reminders

·         Remember to un-forward the phone on 2^nd floor in the morning. (AEB)

·         Tax Help starts on February 1 – Saturdays 10-2; Wednesdays 12-4 (MH)

·         When assigned to the book drop, please help the sorter clear the bins before leaving the first floor. (NO)

·         Report to Bookdrop and Sort at the top of the hour. If you’re the sorter, let the Lobby/DU team know if you’re taking a break. (NO)

·         If possible, as a courtesy, call and let the person you are relieving know if you are caught on another desk. (TD)

·         When checking in delivery, use TRAP HOLDS. Many DRV-UP items are still not being made available properly. (AEB)

·         Check the schedule often because changes are sometimes made throughout the day. Meg will make an effort to communicate these changes as well. (AB/MH)

·         Via Juli and Jose, we have Spanish/English translation for instructions for logging onto the computers, as well for general information to use at our reference desks. See Juli if you would like something added to the list. (JK)

Circulation reminders

·         Remember to check for existing accounts. Pay attention to middle names and DOBs. Search by both Alt ID and Name! (NO)

·         Please use the Lost Card wizard to mark a card lost and issue a new card. See Nina if you need additional help with this. (NO)

·         ALWAYS put a note in the customer’s account, and remember to READ notes that are already in accounts. (NO)

·         When you are assigned to clear holds, clear the Hold Shelf completely. This means clear the D/U carts and the A/V cart, too. (AEB)

·         When noting a lost card, please put the date AND time the report was made (or new card was issued). (AD)

Children’s updates and reminders (LH):

·         Please make sure FLIP kit surveys are filled out completely before giving out the CMH pass.

·         There are additional FLIP kits inside the yellow dog house. Replenish as necessary.

·         SRP scheduling will be soon – if you have any performer suggestion or would like to assist with a particular event, let Leona know.

·         A copy of the Name That Book list for K-2 will be placed downstairs in the sort room so we can try to catch a few of those holds.

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)   

Staff Meeting Notes, 11-20-13

1.     Floating Updates (Alice)
o    Adult overflow has been cleared finally; Leona and Regina sending JUV and YA items too.
o    Mancuso staff is taking our overflow and distributing it to other branches
o    Overflow items—perfect condition; don’t change status to missing or repair shelf
o    Return overflow items sent by other locations and add a note that we don’t take overflow--we have enough already. 
o    If overflow items have been requested, ask that they be sent to your attention, or we will send them back.

 2.     SirsiDynix Updates (Nina)
o    Symhony continues to be super slow at different times of the day
o    When should we go offline?  How long should we wait before switching to offline mode?   Will the software automatically upload any offline work?  What’s our back-up plan if the system is down for an extended period of time?
o    New accounts: look up customer first by name (last, first only) and ID# in browse search; use child’s birthday instead of ID search.
o    Google docs (esp. schedule and room reservations) not accessible, esp. in Chrome, limited/sporadic access in IE.  Room reservations spreadsheet has been saved in Excel on 2R computer (left side); refer all reservation requests/questions to this desk.  Schedule is updated and paper copies distributed to each service desk and workroom as changes occur; check header for most current version.

3.     Program Deadlines Updates (Meg).  Copy of program deadlines for 2014 distributed to mailboxes.

4.     Incident Report Practice (Karen); Handout and practice report will be distributed to mailboxes.
 

Upcoming Staff Events

●      Nov 21:  NL Managers Meeting, 9:15-12 Noon (Karen, Meg)
●      Nov 28-29: Library Closed for Thanksgiving
●      Dec 5: Service Innovation Team Meeting, 9:15-11:15  (Karen)
●      Dec 19: NL Managers Meeting, 9:15-12 (Karen)
●      Dec 20: Youth Services Meeting, 8:15-10:15 (Leona, Regina)
●      Dec 20, HPL Staff Holiday Party, 11-1:30; RSVP to e-invite.
●      Dec 24-25: Library Closed for Christmas
●      Jan 1: Library Closed for New Year’s Day

Remaining November Programs

ADULT PROGRAMS
●      Intermediate MS Excel, Thursday, November 21, 10:30 AM – 12:30PM, 2^nd Floor Conference Room
●      Kendall Bee Quilters, Monday, November 26, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM, 1^st Floor Meeting Room.

TEEN PROGRAMS

●      Teen Video Game Time, Wednesday, November 20, 27, 4:00 PM-6:00 PM
●      Teen Movie Time, Tuesday, November 26, 3:30 PM-5:30 PM

KIDS PROGRAMS

●      Babytime, Thursday, November 21, 11 AM – 12 PM
●      Babytime: Baby Yoga, Friday, November 22, 2:30-3:00 PM