Conference Travel

Hello everyone,

All requests for conference travel for TLA annual and ALA annual are due by Noon on Thursday, December 4, 2014.  Please send me this information ASAP so I can meet the deadline.  

I have to submit this information to Mary who in turn must submit it on up the ladder.

Please get this info to me ASAP so that we can meet all deadlines.  

Brandon

Floating Holiday

Please remember, as Michele points out in her email today, if you don't use your floating holiday, it does not carry over into next year.

Furthermore, you must request it 30 days in advance.

I know that most of you have already done so, but if you want to use your Floating Holiday and have not already done so, your chances are disappearing rapidly.

Thanks,
Brandon

HEALTH ASSESSMENT!!!!!

Hi guys. This is your FINAL reminder that tomorrow, November 14^th, is the deadline to complete your health assessment online.

Please note that in 2015, employees who complete the health assessment and earn at least 500 incentive points by March 31, 2015, will receive DOUBLE the discount. This means employees will save $600, compared to the $300 discount available in previous years.

To take your Health Assessment log on to MyCigna.com. If you have trouble resetting your user password through the online tool, please call 1-800-284-8346. For registration validation concerns please call CIGNA Customer Service at 1-800-853-2713.

Thanks,

Michele

Michele Gorman

Deputy Director of Customer Experience

Houston Public Library - We link people to the world.

500 McKinney | Houston, TX  77002

832-393-1329

Michele.Gorman@houstontx.gov

The Houston Public Library is a vital member of a dynamic and diverse local, national, and global community.

I have MY Link.  Do you have yours? http://www.houstonlibrary.org/mylink

Door Count!!!

Starting Monday morning, door count is in full swing!

Each hour, we must get the number off the gate (or gates) and record it on a piece of paper I will have right by the statistics clipboard.

At the end of each day, we will need to make a sweep of the library and count the materials out that are being used.  This will also be recorded.  This is called 'In-House Use'

This is everyone responsibility!  Please help each other remember what needs to be done!

Thanks,
Brandon

HISD Fall Break!

This Friday, HISD is having its Fall Break.

That means, no school.  Should be a quieter afternoon at OAK and a busier day at ACR.

Just a heads up,
Brandon

Checking in Floats and New Items

Please share these reminders with everyone it your unit who may not be on this email distribution list -

1) Every unit should be checking in all received Float items *daily* along with your other Delivery items so that the items' locations get updated in Sirsi.

This is important so that, in the event that those items have holds, they don't end up on the sending locations' paging lists getting marked missing when they do holds paging lists, causing the customers to wait longer to get their requests.

2) We’ve been noticing a spate of recently received new books still being 'shipped' status long after other system copies have been received and are circulating.  When we call units for shelfchecks to verify the items' arrival, they are being found on the shelf.  Please be careful to check in all new books as they arrive.  

 This is a particular issue as more and more items are being ordered as FLT copies - if they aren't checked in at the receiving units upon arrival there is NO WAY to tell what building they may be in.  They will also never show up on holds paging lists.

Thanks,

~Sara Karow on behalf of the whole Collection Development Team

Thanks for a great Card Drive!

I want to thank everyone for their hard work for the card drive!

The numbers haven't come in yet, but its looking good right now.

A few reminders:

First, we are no longer required to wear the red or white shirt.  If you jsut want to, thats not a problem.  However, please try and wear the button so that people know about the new card.

Second, please make sure you ask on every customer interaction if people want to upgrade their cards to the new one.  *Especially* if they have the old PowerCard!

Thanks,
Brandon

Reminder-Wear your My Link pin!

Hi everyone,

Just a friendly reminder, we all need to be wearing our My Link pins every day through Wednesday, September 17th in addition to either a red HPL shirt, a solid red shirt, or a solid white shirt. I put my pin on my lanyard, because if I put it on my shirt, I would be likely to forget it at home! If you are forgetful like me, you should either attach the pin to your lanyard, or leave it at your work station/in your locker at the end of the day.

Thanks for helping make the first week of the new library card campaign a success!

Sara

RED SHIRT WEEK STARTS WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!

Dr. Lawson has designated the week of Wednesday, September 10th through Wednesday, September 17th, as an “HPL Red Shirt Week” to help kick off the campaign!!!

During this time, *everyone* needs to wear a red or white shirt!!!!

Thanks!
Brandon

Staff Meeting Notes

Hello team,

I sent the notes from the staff meeting on Friday, August 29th via email to everyone on Saturday. Please read over the notes, and if you have any questions about anything, make sure to ask Brandon or Sara. There was important information shared at the meeting, and some points that we didn't get to (statistics) that are covered in the notes, so even if you were at the meeting, you should read the notes anyway. Remember, you are responsible for knowing the information that was covered in the meeting!

Thanks!

Sara

Incident reports

Hello,

As part of the training o nthe proper way to do Incident reports, please be aware that the report is not finished until it is submitted to HPLNLIncidents@HOUTX.LCL

This can be found in the 'lookup' feature of Outlook under HPL - NL Incidents.

Next week, Sara and I will be going over with each of you how to fill out an incident report.  I am also including a link in our Staff Links section to a .pdf blank form.

Thanks,
Brandon

New Copier!

As several of you know, the copier at OAK has been on its last legs for a while.

Today, Saturday the 23rd, Coin Copiers brought in a brand new copier.

Hopefully this will end the frequent complaints about the copying system at OAK.

Thanks,
Brandon Pope

New Programs!

Hi everyone,

Here are some new programs happening at Oak Forest and Acres Homes that everyone needs to be aware of, in case customers ask about them. They are all starting in September.

1. Family Storytime at Oak Forest: This will happen every Saturday starting in September. Sonia and Sara will alternate presenting them. They start at 11 am, and are for all ages, although we are focusing on books from the Texas 2x2 list (which are also on the Name That Book list for grades K-2), so we are pushing hard for older kids than come to the Wednesday storytimes (although all ages are welcome!) If you have questions, ask Sonia or Sara!

2. Bluebonnet Book Club at Oak Forest: First Friday of the month from 3:30-4:30 pm. September's book is The Neptune Project. Each month we'll discuss a different book from the Texas Bluebonnet list (which is also on the NTB list for grades 3-6) and do a book related activity. For the Neptune Project, we're going to make Wave Bottles (oil and water, when you move it, it looks like ocean waves). This is geared towards kids in grade 3-6, especially those that are participating in Name That Book. Signups are not required. If you have questions, ask Sara!

3. Para los Ninos at ACR and OAK: Storytime presented by the Children's Museum. 1st Friday of the month at ACR from 3:30-4:30 and 2nd Friday of the month at OAK from 3:30-4:30. This program is experimental for us, right now. We'll see how well attended they are, and change the dates/times if necessary.

Thanks for your support and help in promoting these new programs!

Sara

THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE BY FRIDAY !!!!!!

Attention City of Houston employees:

HITS recently launched a great new tool, Password Manager.   The Password Manager provides a simple, secure, self-service solution that enables end-users to reset forgotten passwords and unlock their accounts.  

40% of the calls into the HITS Customer Support Center are for password resets.  Providing employees the ability to reset their own passwords reduces the amount of time our Support Center employees spend on these calls and will greatly reduce wait times overall.

What does this mean for me?

Password Manager provides the ability to perform a self-service reset of your Windows network and Exchange passwords without having to contact the Help Desk.

HITS will add the ability to reset passwords for other applications at later dates (i.e. Kronos, HEAR, ESS, etc.).

Note: If you have “elevated privileges” (are able to change users’ passwords and modify users in Active Directory), you will not be able to complete the Enrollment at this time.

What do I need to do?

Please complete Enrollment into Password Manager by accessing the following link to create your Questions and Answers Profile.

Enrolling is easy and takes less than 5 minutes!

To access the new Password Manager website from your work area or from home:

Go to: http://passwordreset.houstontx.gov

1.      Enter your Username – six digit employee number with the “e” – use leading zeroes, if needed (i.e., e012345 or e123456).

2.      Enter your Location – the location should default to ‘HOUTX’.

3.      Enter the characters from the image, and ‘Click’ OK.

4.      ‘Click’ the My Questions and Answers Profile link.

5.      Enter your network password and choose ‘Next’.

6.      Select a Question, and enter an Answer for each drop-down box and choose ‘Next’.

7.      Questions and Answers Profile is successfully created.

Please contact the HITS Help Desk with any questions at 4-HITS or 832-394-HITS (Ext. 4487).

AED AT ACR

Hello,

The AED (Automated External Defibrillator) has been mounted in a case on the wall at ACR.  It is in the entry area next to the water fountains.  The case is unlocked; when the door is opened, a loud alarm will sound.  There is a key to the case labeled "Key to AED Case" which I placed in the lower reference desk drawer with the deposit keys, Smart Money key, etc.  The key doesn't lock the case - it just allows the alarm to be turned off.

Thanks,
Carol

Lift-off Houston dates at Shepard-Acres Homes

Lift-off Houston, a business competion sponsored by the City of Houston, will have several workshops here at Shepard-Acres Homes:

Business Plan Basics	Tuesday	8/12/2014	5:30p-7:30p
Understanding Financials Documents	Tuesday	8/26/2014	5:30p-7:30p
Raising Capital	Tuesday	9/8/2014	5:30p-7:30p
Managing Personal Credit	Tuesday	9/23/2014	5:30p-7:30p
Managing A Business On The Internet	Tuesday	10/7/2014	5:30p-7:30p

The meeting room has been reserved for these dates.

Staff Meeting Notes

On Tuesday the 29th, Sara sent out the minutes of the staff meeting on the 25th.

If you were not able to attend, please take a moment and read over them.  Please talk to Sara or I if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Brandon

Door Count is coming!

Next week starts Door Count!

As usual, please record the gate numbers every hour and the in house use statistics once a day.

If you have any questions, please ask Sara or myself!

Thanks,
Brandon

Language Access Plan (LAP)

Greetings - I am adding the highlights here for you to share with your staff members regarding the Language Access Plan. An Online training for staff is planned and will be happening sometime in August via the LMS platform, but it will be nice if our staff is informed earlier rather than latter. I was told by the Language Access Committee Chair that he is going around City Hall and putting Language Identification Guides on every desk. So, there is a potential that we will start to get questions.

Here is a link to the stats sheet. Again, this was my attempt to create something we could use, but please feel free to tweak it, make more user friendly, personalize it and above all share your creative ideas with your colleagues.  Moving forward, we will start collecting statistics. I would like to start collecting these effective July 1st, 2014, start of new fiscal year for the City of Houston.

(I've had to edit this to make it fit correctly.  Please check the comments for the rest of the post).

Best regards,

Shammi

Awarding Chipotle coupon and bag instructions

Please put a note in Evanced that says “Bag awarded LOCATION/INITIALS”.  Please check Evanced for this note before giving a child a bag. Remember, the customer needs to have the log with him/her, and there needs to be at least 5 books read, and all 5 STREAM program stickers in the log.

The reason we don’t have a way to actually award in Evanced is because it confuses the system to have more than 2 criteria to track, and it’s already tracking number of hours and number of books read. Please continue to use the Google Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1cuJSBaN7Sbjf-sygm3EhaTjdkk6QG-LUfi2_-ZkAo60/viewform to track the number of bags and coupons given away, in addition to writing the note in Evanced.

Thanks!

Sara

Last Minute Time Off Requests

Today I've had three different people come to me with either vacation time needs or needing time off for various appointments in the next two days

While I can sometimes accommodate these requests, please give me as much notice as you can for any non-emergency time off request as is humanly possible.  I

Please do not be surprised if I have to tell you that I cannot give you the time off due to operational needs.

The *best* times to schedule anything personal is the morning of your branches late night (Tuesday for ACR and Thursday for OAK) or Friday mornings.

When I am unavailable, let Sara know and send me an email.

Even if you have spoken with me about it, I have 13 different people to keep up with and unless you see the schedule marking you as being out, there is a good chance I have forgotten it.

Thanks,
Brandon

Unblocking Websites

If Websense (our Internet filter) blocks a customer from accessing a website, you can unblock that site on a temporary basis by following the procedures outlined on the Reference Page of the Intranet under CIPA FAQ: Disabling the Websense Filter:  https://hplnet.hpl.lib.tx.us/depts/neighborhood/CIPA-FAQ.pdf.  As noted in the FAQ, you will need to contact the IT Helpdesk for the override password.

If you or a customer feels that Websense is blocking a website incorrectly and that it should be readily available, please send that information to Lin Swalley (lin.swalley@houstontx.gov).  The Collection Development Department will review the site and determine if the website should be unblocked.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Thanks,

Syma

How to count holds for statistics

Here's a reminder on how the holds are defined for statistics:

·         Pulled:  Items on the paging lists-whether found or not found, because you spent time looking for everything on the list, didn't you?

·         Processed:  Items received in delivery, items that come across the desk as holds for customers (both in house and to send in delivery), and items cleared from the holdshelf. If an item cleared from the holdshelf activates a hold, you can count it twice, since you are spending twice the amount of time on it.

Please make sure you are counting statistics accurately! It shows how busy we are, and right now, we are very busy!

Thanks!

Sara