Summer Schedule

Hello everyone,

I've spent the past day or so getting the schedule made for June and July.

At this point, it is as complete as Sara and I can make it.

Please take the time to look over what is on that schedule.

Make sure that any
a) programs
b) vacation
c) trainings

that you have scheduled are noted.

If you notice a discrepancy, please let Sara or me know about it *immediately*.

Also, if you need us to add/change things as time goes on, the sooner you can let the two of us know, the better.

Thanks!
Brandon

From the NL Leaders Blog

Revised Employee Guidebook

Hi – Every employee in Neighborhood Libraries is expected to provide exceptional customer service – the HPL way. Every one took the mandatory Customer Service training not too long ago. Do you have any staff members that need to take the Customer Service: HPL Way training?

There are some expectations from the City as well and I have taken an excerpt from page 6 of the Employee Guidebook to share with you. Please review the entire Guidebook for useful information.

Section III – Employee Relations: What’s Expected of You?

Employees truly communicate the spirit and pride of the City of Houston to its residents and the general public. Therefore, it is important as an employee of the city serving the public, that you always demonstrate patience, courtesy, respect, and understanding to all customers, both internal and external. We must treat everyone as a valued customer.

You can do this by delivering services quickly and by treating all people with courtesy and respect. Not only is it important that the public is treated this way, but it is also required that you treat all other employees with the same respect and courtesy.

The City of Houston Code of Ordinances, as well as the policies and procedures of the City and your department, contain many provisions regarding your employment, as well as various rules you are expected to follow. We expect you to be productive, to adhere to the rules and policies of each department and the city, and to demonstrate a considerate, cooperative, and constructive attitude to the public and your fellow employees. It is your duty to become familiar with these policies and procedures, and if you have any questions to ask your supervisor or manager.

Poor performance, inappropriate work behavior, and poor attendance are issues your supervisor could address with disciplinary action. We expect you to report when scheduled and be ready to work a full productive day. You are required to follow your management’s directions, be cooperative with them and your fellow employees, and work in a professional and polite manner. You are responsible for familiarizing yourself with the policies of the city and your department, as not everything is covered in this Manual and those policies are subject to change.

                 You can access the Guidebook any time fromwww.houstonhumanresources.org, or by clicking here.

Please share the information with all your staff in your next staff meeting and let your Team Leader know if you have any question.

Thank you,

Shammi

A note about roaming

When you are scheduled GR/R on the schedule, please make sure you are actually greeting and roaming, not just sitting behind the desk. If a line starts to form at the desk, you may assist there, but please don't be sitting behind the desk when it's not busy.

Roaming is especially important at Oak Forest during the after school hours. It helps deter bad behavior by the students not utilizing ASZ. Also, I found a lot of food wrappers in the soft seating areas in the children's area at Oak Forest this morning. When you roam, if you notice rule breaking, please gently enforce the rules. Let the customer know they can't eat in the library-suggest they go out to the deck to enjoy their snacks, or to ASZ if they are of the appropriate age. If you notice young children that are unattended, try to find their adult and let the adult know that they need to watch their children. You will also provide a lot of computer help when you're roaming, so please remember to mark down your questions!

Thanks for your help in providing extraordinary customer service!

Sara

SRP Read Down Your Fines Vouchers

First, please be certain you watch this 5 minute training video about how to use these vouchers.

https://sites.google.com/site/hplstafftraining/learningresources/libraryfunctions/read-down-your-fines

Second, we have now received the vouchers in Delivery.  Please be sure you know where they are being kept.  Treat these as though they were money.  Do not just leave them out on a desk or on top of a computer!!

Vouchers that are used by a customer need to be stamped with the appropriate branch stamp and placed in the cash register.  They are to be returned to Central with the deposit each day.

Please ask Sara or I if you have any questions.
Brandon

NO TAPE!!!!!

Hello everyone.

Mary and I were looking at some of the posters/decorations that were up at ACR today and we were distressed to discover that a lot of the material has been put up with tape.

Please stop using tape to post anything.  If you see *anything* that is already posted with tape, we need to remove it.

This includes things like "Out of Order" signs.  Everything should either use sticky putty, staples (if its a bulletin board), or a plastic stand.

Please help us keep the library from suffering from clutter!

Thanks,
Brandon

Read Down Your Fines!!!

Fred Shumacher and Thuy Vo have made a training video for the Read Down Your Fines program this summer. Please watch the video as it includes vital information on coupon handling. This will be necessary for a smooth summer. If you are a manager, please have your entire staff watch the video.

https://sites.google.com/site/hplstafftraining/learningresources/libraryfunctions/read-down-your-fines

I have also received word that coupons should begin to go out by the end of next week. Remember: the child qualifies for a coupon just by registering for SRP,  so please remember to add a note that the child did NOT receive the registration coupon in the notes field of the child’s Summer Reader record. Once coupons are available and they have been disbursed it is very important to go into the child’s record and DELETE this note.

This is a great opportunity for all the children of Houston to have the library freely available to them this summer. Every book read is an another opportunity for a child to succeed. Please encourage your customers to participate.  

Sandy Farmer

Awarding Registration Prize in Evanced

Good afternoon team!

Please make sure you and your staff are awarding the Registration Prize in Evanced! This is very important (as is awarding all prizes in Evanced) because it is how we keep track of the number of prizes awarded, which is important for our funding.

When a customer comes in to register for SRP, after you enter them into Evanced and click on Save, you need to go back and find them through a search, then click on the red gift icon.  The Registration Prize is the last lines on the screen, and you can either type a “1” into the Prize Eligibility box and click on the red gift with the green plus sign on it, or click on the Award All Prizes button at the bottom. Then let the customer select his/her Rosen book. If a customer has already signed up himself, you will simply search for them and award the prize in Evanced the same way.

Since we don’t yet have our $5 off fines coupon for Reading Down the Fines, please put a note in their account with the date that says something to the effect of “Has not received $5 coupon for registration” with your location and initials. You can save time on new registrations by entering this note upon customer sign up (the notes field is the last box) if you are awarding the Rosen book to them then. If you need to add the note on an already existing customer, or if you forget to enter it when you do the registration, edit the account by clicking on the little person icon, and add the note. After the note has been added, the person icon will now have a pencil on top of it, that means there’s a note there which should be looked at before you award them any more prizes! When the customer comes to collect their 5 book/hour prize, or if they come in for their coupon after we’ve received them, please give them the coupon and delete the note from their account.

If you have any questions about the process, feel free to give me a call, and I will be happy to walk you through it. Sandy Farmer is also a wealth of Evanced information, and remember, she will come to your location to train your staff in Evanced if you ask!

I’m very pleased to see that we already have a lot of kids signed up for SRP! Keep up the good work!

Sara