Staff Meeting 12/31/2012

Happy New Year everyone.

We went over a few things this morning.

• Passports - It is OK if a baby's eyes are closed
• Passports - Do not make double-sided copies for identification
• Passports - Do not make any reservations until the time that we actually open the passport office
• Saturday - Rigoberto is at Vinson, and John Merullo comes to Stella Link
• Closing - January 12th is out last day open for business, we open back on February 4th
• Closing - Familiarize yourself with the business hours of your new branches while we are closed.
• Meeting Rooms - Still not taking meeting room reservations for January or February.
• Breaks and Lunches - Try to keep them to the 15 minutes, twice daily and one 1 hour lunch.
• Video - Dr Lawson sent out a video on 12/18.  watch it to learn what to do in case of emergency.
• Headphones - These are for work use, for training videos.
• Accounts - Do not  get into someone's account unless you have their card or ID.

Thanks and keep up the good work.

Patrick

Stella Link Closing and New Year's Eve

First, just as a reminder, we are closing at 6pm on New Year's Eve.
That means that anyone that would normally work that night will need to get in their hours by 6:15.
For most of us, that just means coming at 9:15 like we would on a normal day.
For the part-timers that work that night, talk to me about getting in your hours.

Second, the following message is from Theodora:

Good day Team,

This is to let you know that it has been confirmed that Stella Link will close on the 14^th of January to replace the sorter presently at that location. The plan is to re-open on the 4^th of February.

Please let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or need more information.

Thanks and have a wonderful day.

Sincerely,

Theodora

I will talk to Theodora about everyone's preferences on their location for when we are closed.  If you have not given me a preference yet, please do so at your earliest convenience.

Patrick

Freeze Warning

Team –

We have received a weather advisory from the Office of Emergency Management. The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for City of Houston and surrounding areas starting at 9:00 p.m. tonight to 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. A freeze warning means that sub-freezing temperatures are highly likely. Temperatures are expected to dip as low as 30-32 degrees in Houston and as low as 26 degrees in areas outside of Houston. There is little to no chance of precipitation.

Following are some websites to track the weather if you have internet access:

http://www.houstonoem.net/go/doc/4027/1121159/ City of Houston Office of Emergency Management

http://www.wunderground.com/ Weather

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/channel?section=news/local&id=7099174 Local ABC affiliate weather – doing live streaming report

We will monitor our facilities and if locations need to be closed, those decisions will be made and communicated through the regular chain of command.

If there are major and wide-spread system issues, we will be updating the HPL Emergency Hotline at 832-393-1550 with HPL news.

Please remember to protect your family and personal items (4 P’s - people, pets, pipes and plants) and wear protective clothing sufficient for extreme cold conditions.

Regards

Roosevelt Weeks

Deputy Director of Library Administration

Houston Public Library

832-393-1327

Staff Meeting 12/05/2012

Good Afternoon,

We had a staff meeting this morning, covering the following:

• Don't leave pickup carts without notes attached saying what they are
• Finish pickup completely if at all possible, meaning sort out the items into Bertha
• Appreciate Candace going to Meyer to help out
• Candace will be observing passports; let customers know she is in training
• Closing in Jan-Feb so no meeting room requests in that time
• E-mail me your preferences for where you would like to go while we are closed
• For Smart Money purposes, money orders are just like cash
• Jesse, Nhu, Renee and I will be weeding over the next month.
• Candace, Kristain, Christine and Carol are in charge of making sure those items get discarded 
• Nhu is in charge of the Christmas cards, so ask her if you would like to help
• Tim is in charge of the Christmas tree, so talk to him if you would like to help
• Jesse, Tim and Nhu need to watch part 2 of the Collection HQ training
• Nhu will do pajama storytime tonight for Venus
• I will be in training at Central this Friday
• Teresa Lopez from Stanaker will be here for training next week
• Anna Dewedney, author, will be here this Saturday

For passports, we learned the following:

• 16 & 17 year olds must sign for their own passports
• If we do an observation checklist, we have to send those to the regional office
• Passport inspection officers will be here next Wednesday from 3-4pm
• Hand Carry passports, must tell them not to break seal and deliver within 5 days
• Make sure when people call that you explain the waiting list and how they might not be seen depending on how long of a list we have and what time they get here
• Go over the checklist with them when you sign them into the Waiting List

Thanks and keep up the good work.

Patrick

Christmas at Stella Link

We will be decorating our Christmas tree this Friday after Tim assembles it. I am asking for ornament donations and small empty boxes wrapped in Christmas paper for under the tree. Thanks to anyone that can contribute.

I already have the cards for sending out to the branches. Nhu has volunteered to address them but she will need help.  Please see her if you are interested.

Our second annual Christmas luncheon will be on Wednesday, December 19 at 11:00. There is a sign-up sheet on the board in the workroom.  Bring your own drink. Along with a dish, I will also provide plates, silverware, tablecloth and napkins.  Other decorations are welcome so please let me know if you have anything. 

Merry Christmas!