Lynda Library

Hello everyone,

In the next two weeks, *everyone* must watch the online webinar for Lynda Library.

It can be accessed here.

https://www.clearslide.com/view/mail?iID=LksqRZJF8zrM2k2dkMht

Once you view this, please let Drew or I know.

There is a sign in sheet that much be filled out and turned into the training group.

One copy will be in the office at PLE and the other at TUT.

We will be putting time on the schedule for each of us to watch this important webinar.

Thanks,
Brandon

Meeting Minutes, February 6, 2016

The meeting was held at the Tuttle neighborhood library Friday February 05, 2016 at 8:15 AM.

I.                    Brandon began by covering staffing changes old business at HPL

a.       Brandon reminded us that Cyber Security training would be due next week and asked if anyone had yet to complete it. Only one staff member had yet to complete it and so they were scheduled to finish it next Saturday.

b.      Brandon informed everyone about the new phone kept for the security guard at Pleasantville. Drew shared that the decision had been made to keep the phone locked in the safe and that it would be brought out Tuesday mornings and charged.

c.        Brandon reminded everyone that there is now a staff suggestion box available on the blog and that anonymous commenting had been implemented to keep all suggestion anonymous if they so desired.

d.      Lastly, Brandon asked for feedback on the new stats sheets. Staff responded that they liked having sheets available at each computer so Brandon decided to continue using them.

II.                  Brandon moved on to new branch business

a.       Brandon discussed the new schedule.

                                 i.            Schedules will mostly stay the same with the exception of Wednesdays when Tuttle regulars will work at Pleasantville and vice versa.

                               ii.            The exception to this will be Early Release Days when we will beef up the Pleasantville staff with one of the Pleasantville regulars.

                              iii.            This led to a brief discussion about the success of the After School Zones most recent Early Release day and the general improvement of the kids’ behavior in response to the hard work of the Pleasantville staff in finding more activities to engage the kids.

b.      Brandon handed out the new shelving assignments.

c.       We discussed the new Lynda Library webinar.

                                 i.            Staff will be notified when the webinar recording is posted to the training portal.

III.                Brandon moved on to sharing announcements from the manager’s meeting

a.       Brandon began by addressing “the elephant in the room”, the budget

                                 i.            Mayor Turner has called for all departments to participate in a “shared sacrifice”. Brandon put this in perspective by pointing out that this is not the first time the city has been under budget or even our greatest shortfall and that this sacrifice would be spread out among other city departments as well so there was no reason to believe the library would absorb an undue amount of cuts.

                               ii.            There would be a slowdown in hiring, but it is not a hiring freeze. This means that all city positions that become unfilled will remain so for longer than previous, if they are filled. All positions must be examined and justified before they fill them. Brandon reiterated that this did not mean we would NOT be filling Nadine’s position, just that we do not know one way or the other at the immediate moment.

                              iii.            The goal of the Mayor’s office, Michelle Gorman, and all the way down the line to Brandon is to be as transparent as possible during this process. That means sharing what they know, when they know it, and waiting for accurate information while decisions are still being made.

                             iv.            The library is not currently talking about layoffs and the hope is that by saving money with slowing down hiring and in other areas that the library will not even have to begin these discussions. HPL is dedicated to avoiding any layoffs if it is at all possible.

b.      Brandon shared the exciting news about ConectED.

                                 i.            The current March Madness race to the final four program with select third grade classes worked as a pilot program for this.

                               ii.            Dr. Lawson went to Washington DC to participate in the national discussion.

                              iii.            Details are still being worked out, but ultimately when the program is finalized cards will be issued to every HISD student at every grade level.

                             iv.            That means Esquire can finally get a library card!!!

c.       Brandon shared the new developments in Digital Strategies

                                 i.            We will be getting a new reservation system with more details as they are worked out.

                               ii.            This is one of many new projects Digital Strategies is working on and we will continue to share their progress.

d.      Brandon announced the new craft room at Central Library

                                 i.            We know have a central location for die cuts, cri cuts, rolls of colored paper and more at room 455 of the Central Library.

                               ii.            Requests for simple things can still be requested via email but the hope is to get as much hands on use of the room to continue and expand its use.

                              iii.            Time can be made when going to youth or manager’s meeting, but if this runs into traffic jams Brandon will schedule time during the week for people to head over.

                             iv.            Eventually there will be a photo directory to help prepare for visits!

e.      Brandon announced the introduction of “Outcome based programing to HPL.

                                 i.            Brandon covered the difference between output: “we had 18 parents attend story time” versus outcome: “of 18 parents surveyed, 90% say they feel more comfortable reading to their child at home after this story time”

                               ii.            Brandon announced that Very Ready Reading will be the first program to benefits from outcome based programing.

                              iii.            We reviewed the basics of the Very Ready Reading program and how adaptable it is to suit individual story telling styles while still maintaining the vitally important consistency of songs, rhymes, stories which include a participation element, and including the three literacy tips per story time.

IV. The meeting closed with Nadine wishing all the staff the best and thanking us for all we do here as she departs for her new career and the staff expressing their gratitude and best wishes in return.

GSD updated property management information

Happy New Year everyone! Karrington Burnett has shared the Custodian Supervisor Assignments for each location.  This information is also posted on the intranet under Sprocket Work Order Instructions.

Supervisor Building Assignments

Kenneth Hicks - Jungman,  Westchase,  Alief, Frank, Blue Ridge

Juana Perera, Arthur Chatman & Ronnie Allen

Ray Harris – Montrose, Meyer, Stella Link, Clayton

Maria Morales, Staffon Elmore, Kim Jackson & Jarrell Jackson

David Killebrew - Flores, Smith, Young, Melcher, Park Place, Mancuso, Johnson, Bracewell

Mary Anaya, Ana Lopez, Diane Vasquez & Byron Simmons

Jacquelyn Dixon – Oak Forest, Moody, Scenic Woods, Lakewood, Dixon, Kashmere, Tuttle, Pleasantville, Stanaker, & Heights

Elvia Garza, Jim Johnson, Sandra Miles, Eva Perla, Luther Taylor & Rita Jefferson

Norma Garcia – Kendall, Hillendahl, Ring, Collier, Acres Homes & Looscan

Johnny Taylor, Patrick Broussard, Tracy Cheatman & Keisha Ardoin

Both Carnegie and Gregory have custodian contractors.

Karrington has sent some updated information to the Sprocket Work Order Instructions that have included the emergency contact number for TDI. In the event of an after-hours HVAC emergency issues, please have staff contact David Nicholson of TD Industries (TDI) @ 832.309.0564. Also, please have staff to email Karrington when, and if, there is an HVAC after hours issue.

Best regards,

Mary Wagoner

x32711

Cyber Security Training

Please check your email for the Cyber Security Training email.

I will try to schedule everyone to take this online training this week.

The training takes about an hour and 5 minutes or so.

If you have any trouble taking this training, let Drew or I know ASAP.

Thanks,
Brandon

Plastic Sign Holder

The sign has been found!

Sign Holder

Has anyone seen the plastic sign holder for Pleasantville?

The suction cups that hold it to the door were left on the door, but the plastic part has disappeared.

Jennifer remembers seing it at the desk, but now we cannot find it.

If you happened to put it away somewhere, please let Brandon or Drew know.

thanks,
Brandon

January 2016 Staff Meeting Minutes

The meeting began on January 8, 2016 at 8:30 AM.

          I.            Brandon was scheduled to begin the meeting by welcoming our new hire full-time CSC, Jennifer Snoddy, but due to a miscommunication, she was over at the Pleasantville branch so Brandon turned the meeting over to Drew to discuss the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

a.       Drew acknowledged that some might have negative associations the EAP because it is used as a tool when an employee’s performance or behavior takes a sudden turn for the worse, but assured everyone that the EAP was there for the Employee’s benefit, not managements and that it offered a wide range of services.

b.      Drew laid out basic services the EAP can offer such as getting out of debt, tax questions, legal support, work-life solutions, and counseling on a wide array of issues and all of it is completely confidential.

c.       Several staff members volunteered their positive experiences with the EAP as well as those of people they have known at HPL and Drew concluded by emphasizing the benefits of the program, its accessibility, ease of use and confidentiality.

        II.            Brandon moved on to cover the new shelving and shelf reading assignments.

a.       Brandon explained that most of the assignments were staying the same but a few changes were made to reflect the shifts made in employee’s schedules as well as the new hires.

b.      Brandon reminded the staff that shelving assignments are made primarily to give a focus to our shelf reading schedules and that we are all expected to pitch in with shelving books so that customers have the best available selection. Brandon shared that he felt staff is already doing a great job of sharing this task and that he wanted to encourage us to continue to keep the shelves stocked and organized for our customers.

      III.            At this time Jennifer joined us and Brandon took the opportunity to welcome her to the Pleasantville/Tuttle team and to thank her for the great job she has done so far as well as her team spirit.

a.       Brandon announced we would be adding a new member to our team with the hire of Part time CSC, Yadira Trejo, due to start on January 19th. With this new addition the staff is completely filled again.

     IV.            Brandon shared the announcements from the Manager’s meeting.

a.       It was shared that all of Customer Experience, except for 1 member, successfully completed the Lean Six Sigma training by the required deadline.

b.      Brandon shared that due to TLA being held in Houston next year, we are able to send 48 staff members to the conference.  We will be sending 7 to PLA, too.

c.       Brandon reminded everyone of  the excellent news of the raises that took effect in January and reminded everyone how to see exactly how much of an increase they will get based on whether they are currently at midpoint of salary for their position. He also pointed out that our current pay check did not reflect the raise yet as we are being paid for December’s pay period.

d.      The City of Houston signed a new contract with another security company named Norred Associates.  They will begin on 12/20/15.  Many of our current security guards were absorbed by Norred, so you will be seeing familiar faces.  Their uniform will be black pants, white shirts but wear different badges. Brandon informed staff that it would not have any changes on reporting security issues and that if staff had an issue with a security guard they should bring it Drew or Brandon who would address it to the proper source.

e.      The process for mileage reimbursements has changed.  Beginning in 2016, if staff’s reimbursement amount is less than $100, they will need to complete a petty cash form.  Mileage reimbursement forms are due to Celeste Diaz by the 5^th of each month.  They will be able to pick up that petty cash at Central or you can send an email to Financial Services giving permission for another staff member, preferably a manager to pick it up.  We are waiting for final instructions from Financial Services.  Once received, we will communicate it.

       V.            Brandon announced that Tuttle would be taking part in an exciting lunch program during summer.

a.       Brandon shared that Houston’s school lunch program is very progressive in that it actually includes breakfast and dinner and some locations and that Houston is committed to providing for the basic needs of its children in order for them to be able to learn to their fullest potential.

b.      In order to fulfill this commitment during the summer, the parks program has stepped up and offered a lunch program that will be offered at community centers and libraries and Tuttle is proud to join with them on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM from May 31^st to July 31^st.

c.       Staff will be trained to assist with the program.

     VI.            Brandon closed the meeting and staff adjourned to begin shelf reading.