Open Discussion Meeting 9/3/14

H.E.B. My Link Updates:

• We will receive new H.E.B. My Link cards on or before September 9.
•  The new card campaign and the amnesty period will begin on Wednesday, September 10.
• During the two-week amnesty period (September 10-23), fines up to $24.99 will be forgiven (as long as they are not in collection). The customer must sign up for a new card to take advantage of the amnesty.
• We (staff) should wear red HPL shirts (or a plain white shirt or a plain red shirt with our MY LINK badges) from Wednesday, September 10 through Wednesday, September 17.

 Circulation:

• Please be careful about discharging Nintendo DS’s and Wii Remotes upon their return. It’s a good practice to just scan items (remotes, books, etc.) that are just lying around on the desks to make sure they are checked in and in the right place.
• When items fall into the wrong bin in the sorter, please run the item again or discharge it manually (to be sure it’s checked in).
• If there is a problem with a customer’s account that may appear to be due to a system error, please do a print screen and email it to Fred along with an explanation of the problem.
•  Please read Crystal’s emails (also posted on the blog) regarding library card applications. She reviews important information about what to do with accounts in collection and using the Lost Card Wizard.
• From Juli – If a customer returns a disc without a case (or a case without a disc), please ask the customer where they returned the item originally (if it was a different location).

General Info:

• When sorting, please pay attention to where you are placing items. The bins against the wall have new signs directing you where to place items.
• We are back to our regularly-scheduled programs for kids and teens. Please see Leona and/or Jasmine if you have any suggestions or feedback regarding programming.
•  Room reservations:
• Remember to remind customers who reserve rooms about our policies, particularly NO selling of goods and services.
• Leave 30 minutes in between reservations.

Staff Training Meeting notes 8/27/14

IIntro to Library Spanish, presented by Juli 

Overview:Simple English to Spanish translation for common library interactions.

How may I help you?	Como le puedo ayudar.
They can help you.	Ellos pueden Ayudarle.
Do you have your card?	Tiene su tarjeta?
I need your card or ID.	Necesito su tarjeta o ID
Do you wish to know your fines, how many books, which items, you have?	Quiere usted saber sus multas, cuantos, que libros tiene?
If you wish to check out books, your fines must be less than 10$.	Si quiere sacar libros, sus multas tienen que estar menos de diez dolores.
Do you wish to return, take, renew?	Quiere regresar, sacar, renovar?
Wait one moment, please.	Espere un momento, por favor.
Speak slower, please.	Habla mas despacio, por favor.
Come inside, please.	Venga adentro, por favor.
Leave it there, please.	Dejalo alli, por favor.
Bring it here, please.	Traigalo aqui, por favor.
The books are on hold.	Estos libros estan reservados.
Today, we close at 5, 6, 8	Hoy, cerramos a las cinco, seis, ocho.
We open at 10, 12, 1	Abrimos a las diez, doce, uno
We are open Monday to Saturday.	Estamos abiertos de Lunes a Sábado
No cell phones, running, food, etc. in the library.	No cell telephono celular, correr, comidas, etc. en la biblioteca.
I need a Spanish speaker.	Necesito alguien que hable espanol.
What do you need to know?	Que necisita saber?
What would you like to find?	Que quiere encontrar?
Your books are due today.	Sus libros se vencen hoy.
Read this, please.	Lea esto, por favor
Where are your parents?	Donde estan sus padres?
Where is your family?	Donde esta su familia?
What is your name?	Cual es su nombre?
Give it to me, please.	Damelo, por favor.
You have no more items.	No tiene mas cosas.
You have nothing on your card.	No tiene nada en su tarjeta.
Your books are for three more weeks.	Sus libros son por tres semanas mas.
R   Repeat, please.	Repite, por favor.
Go to the reference desk.	Vaya al escritorio de referencia.
Go straight.	Vaya derecho
Follow me, please.	Sigame, por favor.

Additional Resources:

1. Survival Spanish for Library Staff (https://infopeople.org/content/survival-spanish-library-staff) essential words and phrases in MP3 files so that you can practice at your own pace; also a free online course with sound files and workbook from Web Junction  http://www.webjunction.org/documents/webjunction/Infopeoples_Survival_Spanish_for_Library_Staff.html)
2. Mango Language's free Spanish for Librarians tutorial (set up an account at http://connect.mangolanguages.com/houston/login?u=84000).
3. Library Phrase Lists from The Learning Light http://www.thelearninglight.com/LibraryPhraseLists.pdf)
4. SOL (Spanish in Our Libraries) Public Libraries Using Spanish phrase list and vocabulary (http://www.sol-plus.net/plus/survspa/toc.htm).  Includes phrases for public service and circulation staff, basic words and vocabulary, key to pronunciation, advanced conservations, and Dewey Decimal Classification in English and Spanish.
5. Bing translator ( http://www.bing.com/translator/).  After reading the translation of entered words/phrase, you have the option of hearing it “spoken” aloud in correct pronunciation.

Open Discussion Meeting 8/6/14

Workroom, 11:15-11:45AM                       

Moderator: Nina

Recorder: Meg

Sort room

• Please pay attention to the signs in the sort room. These signs guide you on where to correctly place items (whether in bins or carts).
• When you’re assigned to sort, check for tags as you take items out of the bins. If it’s juv item or an adult item we’d like to keep, put in our bin to tag. If it’s not tagged and it’s an adult item, put it in a box to send to Mancuso.
• All DVDs (both JUV and ADU) are now in one gray bin in the sort room. This is so we can properly handle all DVDs for the AllCirc machines. Please see Temeka if you have any questions about the DVDs.
• If there are bins of board books stacked to the ceiling, please put them on a cart and deliver them to the 3rd floor. Those are easy to quickly shelve, and this way we make room for more materials in the sort room.
• When carts are brought back to the sort room partially empty, integrate them onto another cart. This frees up carts that we desperately need.
• As you run books through the sorter from the bookdrop, please check for receipts or other materials that may be stuck in the books (or cases, etc.).

Circulation

• Trapping holds: Remember that the computer thinks KENDRV is a separate building somewhere. When processing a DRIVE-UP hold, you must MAKE HOLD AVAILABLE. Do not put it back in transit.
• Juli offered to do one-on-one trainings with individuals to go over the TRAP HOLDS process or any of the WorkFlows functions.
• Holds: Use copy/paste to insert a customer’s name on the hold wrapper. Typing it in leads to misspellings and errors.
• Use a full sheet of paper to wrap around the item on a hold. This is for privacy purposes.

Collection

• When closing the floors at the end of the day, take the designated pick-up carts from the 2nd and 3rd floors downstairs and park them in front of the sorter. The person scheduled to do bookdrop the next morning should run those items through. This way, the books on the pick-up carts get back to the shelves faster.
• Staff should be responsible for shelving JUV paperbacks and graphic novels. The arrangement is confusing for volunteers (and some of us). We will re-evaluate that section and try to simplify it in the coming weeks.

Important Reminders and General Housekeeping

• Don’t forget to turn the Wiis off at closing. You can point the remote at the TV screen and simply hold down the power button (on the remote). If that doesn’t power it off, open the cabinet and use the power button on the Wii itself.
• Customers should not feel forced to use the sorter. We can check-in items for them if that’s what they’d prefer. Show them how to use the sorter. Be accommodating and try to think of how it would be for you to walk into the building for the first time with no knowledge of our procedures or equipment.  
• Incident Reports are important! If we have a customer who is a problem (i.e., hostile, abusive), we need to document it in an Incident Report. Keep documenting with each encounter. This way, we have the support needed in case a suspension or ban is necessary.