New Groupings--clarification from MVC

Greetings all,

I would like to send everyone a little bit of a clarification on the way that groupings should function. In essence, staff is now assigned to a grouping and not solely to a single location. The location you are scheduled at will vary based on coverage needs at each location. Several staff members have shared with me that they are concerned that they will have to shuttle back and forth between locations throughout the course of the day. That is not the way this should work. Staff will be scheduled to report to one of the locations in the grouping every day. They will then remain at that location and work there for the duration of the day. The location you are scheduled at will vary based on coverage needs at each location. The management team at your location groupings will work closely with you and the rest of their team when building schedules and assigning staff to work at a location in the grouping.

Having said that, I will share that there is of course the possibility that emergencies might occur that require someone to go to another location in the grouping in the middle of a day. I have asked managers to try—as much as possible—to ensure that when this does happen that either the manager or assistant manager covers these situations. However, this may not always be possible. As with scheduling in general, managers and assistant managers will work with staff when these needs arise. We have been following this idea at two groupings for quite a while. Movement between locations during the day is a very rare occurrence that can usually be accommodated by managers or staff willing and able to travel. This is the model that we will be following at all grouping.

Starting next week, schedules will be compiled and shared with all staff. These schedules will more clearly show how this system should work.

Thanks,

Mike Van Campen
Chief of Neighborhood Libraries
Houston Public Library
Phone: 832.393.1371
Mobile: 713.303.1974

YA Shelving "Cheat Sheet"

Hello everyone,

I've been working with Laurie to try to simplify shelving of the manga and graphic novels in YA. Please refer to the info below when shelving; if you have any questions, please ask either Laurie or me. Thanks!

Super Heroes – usually published by Marvel or DC.
• These are shelved alpha order under the hero’s name (Example: Ultimate Fantastic Four is shelved under “F.” X-Men, X-Men Legacy, Uncanny X-Men, Dark X-Men, etc. are all shelved under “X.”)
• NOTE: Some super heroes (Batman, X-Men) have manga versions. Please shelve these with the other manga.
• Exceptions that go with Super Heroes: Conan & Savage Sword of Conan (shelved under “C,”) all G.I. Joe, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Wonder Woman.

Manga – usually small paperbacks that have multiple volumes in a series. These are shelved alpha order by title.
One Piece has many different “sagas” – it’s like a bunch of series within the main series. The sagas we have now are Baroque Works, East Blue, Impel Down, Sabody, Skypiea, Thriller Bark, and Water Seven.
• The saga name is on the spine.
• Sagas are in alpha order within One Piece by saga title, then number.


Misc. – anything that is not a Super Hero or Manga.
• Shelved alpha order by title. Example Agnes Quill is shelved under “A.”
Exceptions:
o Calvin & Hobbes are shelved under “C” since many titles don’t have “Calvin & Hobbes” in them. Marked on top with “C.”
o Alex Rider Series by Horowitz-Stormbreaker Pointblank, Skeleton, etc. Marked on top with “A.”
o Shakespeare’s plays-shelved under “S” and marked on top with “S.” Plays should go alpha order by title.
o Jane Austen – Sense and Sensibility shelved under “A” for author’s last name and marked with “A.” We will most likely get other titles by this author.
o Star Wars and Star Trek are in misc. section.