PIN Numbers

When customers have forgotten their PIN numbers, we must ask them to present valid photo identification in order to provide them their PIN number or to reset them. We cannot give out PIN number information over the phone. Customers must appear in person to any HPL location in order to obtain that information.

Remember that customers can also reset their PIN number online if they have an email address on file. When they try to log in to "My Account" online, there is a "Forgot PIN" link they can click to then enter their library card number

It is important that we give customers who sign up for or renew a library card the “All About Your Library Card” sheet and ask them to create their own PIN number, as they are more likely to remember it.

Passport Transactions

In an effort to help with daily deposits, all passport transactions should be rung up in the passport offcie (till #7522). This also helps our passport agents with entering daily passport statistics. Now that our passport office Telecheck machine is working, we shouldn't encounter any issues. Please let Tim or Edgar know if there are any issues or concerns.

Please help out customers who are only getting photos by going into the passport office to ring up the photo in the passport office. We wouldn't want to have them wait simply to pay.


-Edgar

Houston Business Journal Book of Lists

The latest Houston Business Journal Book of Lists will be kept on the bottom drawer just below the front desk register. The item is for reference only, and does not circulate.

Stella Link Staff Meeting Notes December 30, 2015

Stella Link Staff Meeting Notes

December 30, 2015

Hosting/Presenting: Edgar Fuentes

Present:  Tim Siegel, Nhu Le, Ade Odussanwo, Ray Williams, Jonathan McFarland, Patricia Tucker, Jesse Farias, Mark Hall, Frances Saldana, Marjorie Hackley, Jacob Hornbeak, and Amethyst Taylor.

Not Present: Carol Wu (Vacation)

Thank you
- To Jesse for having helped organize the book sale items in the book drop room and to Tim for helping to clear out the staff exit area.
- To the Youth Services Team for their special holiday programs.
- We had a customer compliment for Jonathan last week: “I had a great experience with the passport assistance service at the Stella Link branch.  Jonathan was so helpful with filling out my forms for renewal and picture-taking.  This is the kind of service that makes local government accessible and valuable.  As the paper book disappears into oblivion, more such localized services would keep the facilities and their knowledgeable people in service to the community.”

Employee Self Service
Please remember to log in to your Employee Self Service to verify or update your mailing address. All employees will be receiving important tax-related documents by mail. Employees have until Thursday to update their information.

Loose Change
We cannot keep any loose change at the desk. Any money left behind should be rung up at the end of the day as either book sale or Miscellaneous.

Emails
If you receive any suspicious-looking email asking you to click on a link or to open an attachment that you are unsure about, please contact IT. In the last month there have been several emails (one with an attachment) and the other claiming to be from McAfee asking us to click on a link. If you accidentally click on a link or open attachments, be sure to let IT know immediately so that they may fix the computer if it becomes infected.

Employee Assistance Program
Those of you who are not aware of the Employee Assistance Program, it is a benefit provided by the City to employees and their family members.  It is free and confidential, and can assist employees to resolve personal and work problems, which may be impacting work performance. For example, if you may be going through emotional stress, drinking problems, anxiety, or relationship problems, the EAP offers counseling.  Appointments with the internal counselors are available by calling 713-964-9906. 

More information can be found at http://houstontx.gov/hr/eap/

TexShare
The TexShare program allows customers to borrow items from participating TexShare libraries, similar to Interlibrary Loan. TexShare Forms can be found on the Intranet under Forms & Documents > Forms > Library Materials (and they can also be found on the blog under the “STE Cheat Sheets” section!)
https://hplnet.houstonlibrary.org/forms/Texshare-Card-Agreement.pdf
Before issuing the application to a customer, please ensure they:
· are residents of the City of Houston
· have a current HPL borrower account that is at least six months old and in good standing
· owe no fines or fees to the Library
Completed forms can be sent to Central Circulation Administration, as is listed on the form.
Mark indicated that TexShare cards are good until the end of July.

YA Spanish
Sally Bates has asked us to be a part of a pilot program to interfile YA Spanish materials with adult items to see if it increases their circulation. Spanish YA items would still have a TEEN sticker, but they are now interfiled with adult items.

Paging/Expired/Roving
Please remember that we have an IPad, a Galaxy Note, and a Kindle Fire that staff can use for various work-related purposes. To help eliminate waste, we can use the IPad for paging – I will work with Mark and Patricia tomorrow morning on Paging to test it out. Workflows Mobile Circ is installed on both the IPad and the Galaxy Note.

We should think of innovative ways of using these devices to help eliminate paper waste. For example, Patricia can use them for Collection Development purposes, and the Youth Programming team can use them as part of their program. Any other ideas are welcome. These devices will be kept in the safe room, accessible to all.

CMH Passes
Anytime we run out of Children’s Museum of Houston (CMH) passes, please allow the customer to keep the survey. CMH has indicated that the customer can take the completed survey to the museum in exchange for a pass. We should also make sure to let Nhu know anytime we are running low. She will contact FLIP assistants, Barbara & Eunice, at flipassist@cmhouston.org or call at 713-535-7295.

FLIP KITS
When we receive new CMH Flip Kits, we should check them in, and remove the taped “replenished” label from the tag before putting the Flip Kit back on the FLIP Dog house.

Tax Forms
Tax forms have been ordered for this year, and they should begin arriving in a few weeks. The IRS Tax Forms program is encouraging users to use the online forms, and also to help eliminate wasted paper. As a result, we were only able to order the same amount of forms as last year.

Raises
City of Houston employees will all be receiving a slight raise in January 2016, thanks to the HOPE Agreement. There is a chart that shows how much the raise will be; it all depends on your current pay grade and how much you currently make compared to others in your pay grade. Information will be posted on the blog following the meeting.

Use the chart to determine the pay raise you can expect beginning in January 2016.

Tax Forms

Tax forms for our location have been ordered. To help reduce waste, the program is sending fewer publications, although I did request the same amount as last year. We will be receiving the following forms in the next few weeks.

·     Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

·     Form 1040 A, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

·     Form 1040 EZ, Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers with No Dependents

·     Instruction for Form 1040 A

·     Instruction for Form 1040

·     Instruction for Form 1040 EZ

·     Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax For Individuals (one reference copy per branch)

·     Publication 1132, Reproducible Copies of Federal Tax Forms and Instructions (one copy per branch)

·     TFOP Poster Package, contains four posters

·     Publication 4604 (EN/SP), Use the Web for IRS Tax Products and Information

If we need additional copies of Publication 4604 (EN/SP) to help customers move to web-based IRS assistance, please let me know and I will email WI.TFOP.Adminstrator@irs.gov. The IRS Tax Form program will accept reorders for all products except Publication 17 and Publication 1132.

CMH Passes

Team,

Whenever we run out of CMH passes, we should allow the customer to keep their survey. The Children's Museum has called to indicate that customers can take their completed surveys directly to CMH to exchange for their free pass.

-Edgar

Hold Pick Up Dates for Holiday

From Fred:

Available holds with Pick up by dates of 12/26-28 will be extended to 12/29 to offset the additional days closed for the holiday.

-Edgar

Telecheck + Key Pad

Team,

We have received the new Key Pads for our Telecheck Machines. For all credit card transactions, please use the new Key Pads; For check transactions, continue to use the Telecheck machines.

We can now swipe or insert customer credit cards (if they have Smart Chips) into the Key Pad. On the Telecheck machine screen, we will see "Enter Amount." After entering the correct amount, please continue to process the transaction as usual. You will need to verify the last four number of the customer's credit card and to see if it's VISA, MASTER or DISCOVER.
If you have any problems with it, please bring it up to my attention.

-Edgar

Tagging of Magazines

Please read the following update on magazines from Jacob:

In order  to bolster loss prevention in serials, all magazines are being tagged before shelving, including Non-Circulation issues, i.e. Newer Issues and Reference Subscriptions (National Geographic, NY Times Magazine).  The Non-Circulating issues are tagged with dummies, which will trigger the alarm at the entrance, but will not be read by the Express Checkout machines. They will trigger a “Item Not In Catalogue” Error.  If this happens, please do not check these out to customers; simply inform them that the item cannot be checked out.  Thank you.

Thanks for taking care of this Jacob.

Tim S. 

Book Drop/Others (B/O)

Book Drop/Others (B/O) is an important task for all of us to complete. Items fall into our B/O bin for a number of reasons, including:

- system went offline during customer return
- item has a hold at another location
- item has an in-house hold

- item belongs to Central
- item is an ILL
- item is not tagged
- item has a catalog issue

When items fall into B/O, we are to check the item in manually. If it has a hold, print out a hold label and put it in the appropriate delivery bin or cart if it is a hold for Stella Link. If you check the item in and it does not have a hold and it was not checked out, check the item's record. Put a processing flag if there are catalog record issues, and put in delivery. Also, check to see if the item is tagged - if it's not, place it in the tagging cart.

If everything looks good with the item, please run it though Bertha one more time to ensure everything has been resolved. If the item is all good, it will be sorted accordingly.

YA Spanish

Sally Bates has asked us to be a part of a pilot program to interfile YA Spanish materials with adult items to see if it increases their circulation. YA Spanish items would still have a TEEN sticker, but they are now interfiled with adult items.

Please let volunteers know about the changes.

-Edgar

Staff Meeting Notes December 16, 2015

Hosting/Presenting: Edgar Fuentes

Present:  Tim Siegel, Nhu Le, Ade Odussanwo, Ray Williams, Jonathan McFarland, Patricia Tucker, Jesse Farias, Mark Hall, Carol Wu, Frances Saldana, Marjorie Hackley, Lauren Holmes, Mo Ahmad, Jacob Hornbeak, and Amethyst Taylor.

Thank you
- To the Youth Services team – Nhu, Frances, and Amethyst, who helped give tours of the library this week to several groups from Kipp Academy a local school during our busiest time of day.
- Great work on not staking up books on top of Bertha.

Parking
Staff should park in the secondary parking lot, unless you have a medical reason such as an injury or if you are pregnant. Please speak to me for any accommodations.

December 23
The library will be closed Dec 26. Signs have been put at the desk and near the entrance. Normally, everyone would be expected to “work” the following Friday. However, that following Friday is January 1, which is also a holiday, so those of us originally scheduled off will get January 1 paid. I will adjust all full time employees’ schedules. Part timers should make up their hours for the holiday closures.

Kronos
Remember that when you email me regarding any missed punches or Kronos issues that you give the date, time that needs to be corrected and the reason. I keep this information for auditing purposes.

Lean Six Sigma
Everyone at our location completed Lean Six Sigma on time. Thank you, team!

Stats
To help keep better track of the directional and reference stats, and also to not overburden staff with more work to do, Nhu and I have come up with a solution: Nhu has created a sheet for us to enter our stats, and rather than try to keep up with it at the desk, we can each tally our reference and directional questions and our language stats at the end of the day as we leave the building. The sheet will be posted near the staff exit. Please get into the habit of tallying just as you leave the building.

Book Drop
Please be sure to run all items through Bertha for checkin. Last week I had a claims returned for an item that a customer said he returned in the book drop and it was found on our shelf, still checked out to him. Running everything through Bertha will help reduce human errors such as this one. If you find a book in the workroom not in a bin, run it through again to be safe.

Smart Money
This week we have had several errors with Smart Money transactions, so I want to make sure these do not repeat. If you run a credit card transaction and it doesn’t go through, the machine will let you know that the payment has failed. However, if a receipt prints out, the transaction has gone through.

If you are doing a transaction and you accidentally hit that the customer gave you more money, give the customer the correct amount change and don’t worry about reentering the transaction a second time. For example, someone buys $3 worth of book sale and the customer gives you $5 but you entered $10, you give the customer back $2. You can explain to the customer that you mistyped the number, but there is no need to repeat the transaction because then our til will be short at the end of the day.

Passports
When answering questions about passports, please ask the customer to hold and transfer to a passport agent. If the customer only wants to know what hours we process passports, everyone can answer that, but if they ask questions about what forms to bring or what other information they need, please refer to a passport agent. Jacob is now a passport agent and can answer questions, and in January Amethyst will be going to the passport training to help us out.

Passport Renewals
Passport Agents: For eligible customers, please be sure to let them know that they can renew passports themselves. If they decide to go through us, we need to include an explanation and consent from the customer indicating they have been given that option. If we do not have a template already, I can provide one.

Disc Repair
We are scheduled to submit up to 100 items for disc repair on March 14, 2016 and June 6, 2016

Magazines
Current issues of magazines have a red dot placed over the barcode. Please let customers know if trying to check out these magazines and are unable to do so. They do not have tags in them, so customers cannot check them out.

Staff Comments:

Frances-Empty TP rolls are needed as craft supplies.

Jonathan-When accepting a credit card in Smart Money, please enter card information (VISA, MasterCard, etc.) instead of leaving it defaulted as Debit.

Mark-The classes taught by Mark have been cancelled over the next week due to vacation.

Nhu-Storytimes are cancelled over the next week. Seasons Readings is still in effect.

Ray-TeleCheck in Passport Office is still not functioning. Adult Computer 16 is still not functioning due to a hardware issue.

Amethyst-Review the Youth Services blog from the staff blog for updates on Youth events and news. 

Holiday Due Dates

From IT:

Due dates were extended for all checked out items to January 11, 2016 to adjust for holiday closures.  Customers who have placed holds on these checked out items may have questions about the extension. You may use this explanation to answer customer inquiries.

-Edgar

Computer Lab Computers

IT has asked us to keep the computer lab computers on overnight so that they may be able to update them. Please remember to leave all the computers on tonight before we leave.

Emails

Lately, many of us have been receiving emails that appear to be legitimate but really they are not. If you have any doubt about an email (such as those from unknown senders that have attachments or ask you to click on a link), please forward them to the IT Helpdesk so that they may let you know if it's real or not.

I recently received one that looked legitimate, but I forwarded it to IT to confirm, and they asked me to delete it. The email is below:


To help secure your mail communication, the McAfee virusscanner engine has been updated. Please confirm receipt of this message.

Confirm

Holiday Due Dates

From Fred Schumacher:

In order to assist customers with managing the return of material while we are closed over the holiday, due dates for items originally due on 12/26 have been reset to 12/29, and due dates for items originally due on 12/27 have been reset to 12/30.

-Edgar

Loose Change

Hi Team,

We are to follow correct procedures for handing loose change left behind at the desk:

1. Any change customers ask us to keep are to be rung up as either "book sale" or "miscellaneous."
2. Change that we forget to hand to customers or that customers inadvertently leave behind, we are to contact the customer and let them know that we will hold it until the end of the day.
3. Any change found in drawers, at the desk, or anywhere on our property is to be rung up at the end of the day or the following morning as either "book sale" or "miscellaneous."

Following this procedure is important for everyone's safety so that we do not become a target of theft or accused of pocketing any loose change. If you have any questions regarding this procedure, please do not hesitate to ask me.

-Edgar

Employee Self Service - Update Mailing Address

Please make sure to log in to https://portal.houstontx.gov/irj/portal to verify that your personal information, including your mailing address is correct. You will be receiving important forms which you will need to file your income tax return. After logging in to the above website, you will need to click on Employee Self Service. There are pencil icons that you can click on to edit your mailing information if needed.

Deadline is January 1, 2016, but please do this before we leave for the Christmas break.

See the full email below:

2015 Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statements will be provided to all employees in paper hard-copy. Online access to the 2015 Form W-2 will also be provided to all current employees via the ESS website at https://portal.houstontx.gov/irj/portal.

We anticipate that for calendar year 2016, employees opting-in to electronic-only copies of Form W-2 will not receive a paper hard-copy.

Beginning this year, employees will also receive a Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage. This report reflects your City of Houston-provided health benefits coverage for calendar year 2015 for yourself and any dependents and is required in order to complete your 2015 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. A paper hard-copy of this report will be provided to each employee via US Mail. No electronic access to this report will be available for calendar year 2015. The Human Resources Department will provide details regarding interpreting the Health Benefits participation information included in the report. It is imperative that all City employees verify their current mailing address in ESS and update it, if needed, before January 1, 2016 in order to avoid any delays in receiving your Form 1095-C.

The statutory deadline for distributing or postmarking Form W-2 and Form 1095-C to employees is February 1, 2016. As customary, Payroll Services will strive to beat this deadline by at least a week. Additional communications will be sent as more definitive distribution and online access dates are determined.

-Edgar

Collection Management Dec Mtg

Lauren will assume the Catalog Adjustment duties.

Patricia will assume the Discard tasks while Carol is gone.

Jacob has assumed the Serials duties and will do the Claims Returned List for January.

Mark will assume the A/V duties while Patricia is gone.

Weeding: use your judgement if there are or are not too many duplicates of title when weeding. When the shelves are jam packed with books, feel free to float duplicate items. Currently Carol is floating DVDs that are older than 2010, due to space constraints.

Once you have looked for the items on the Missing Items List, throw the list away. It is not necessary to discard each item not found.

While Discarding does Workflows automatically waive fines for non-discharged items? Edgar will investigate.

Disc Repair Schedule

Hi Team,

We are scheduled for Disc Repair on the following dates:

March 14, 2016
June 6, 2016

Anytime you come across discs that have scratches or that customers tell us are scratched, please be sure to put them in the A/V issues box in the workroom for Patricia to examine. Please label the item so that she is aware of the issue. "Disc 3 is scratched," for example.

Here's what happens after Patricia reviews them:

WHAT CAN BE SENT FOR REPAIR

Ø   Only send items that need the disc(s) repaired.  Please choose wisely.

·        When TO send:

o   If a customer comments on playing condition

o   If the item has multiple visible scratches

·        When NOT to send:

o   If the item is cracked

o   If a scratch or other damage goes all the way through

o   If the item has one or more faint scratches but still functions properly

o   If item is a candidate for withdrawal (e.g. multiple seriously scratched/damaged parts or outdated content)

WHEN A CANDIDATE FOR REPAIR IS IDENTIFIED

Ø  Ensure item is not still on a customer’s account. (**Keep in mind this does not apply to Damaged/Billed items returned.)

Ø  Set each item to “Repair Shelf” account when setting it aside to be sent for repairs. This ensures that the item doesn’t get paged for holds or declared missing if not found on the public area shelves.

·        Check item out to unit’s Repair Shelf

o   Sirsi User ID = “STE-REPAIR”

Ø  Use a Processing Flag to clearly label each individual item at the time it is set aside - describe problem (e.g. which disc needs repair), plus unit, date, and initials. This helps eliminate guesswork later. (**Affix labels with rubber bands rather than tape.)

Ø  Keep items that are to be sent in for repair in a clearly labeled separate staff area until time to send them.

HOW AND WHERE TO SEND ITEMS

Ø  Units may submit up to 100 discs to be repaired per schedule cycle:

Ø  Please send entire items, not orphan parts (e.g. not just disc #4 of 9).

·        DVDs and Music CDs with missing discs should be withdrawn.

Ø  ** PLEASE ENSURE THAT ALL ITEMS BEING SENT FOR REPAIR OR PARTS REPLACEMENT ARE CHECKED OUT TO “REPAIR SHELF” ** (see above)

Ø  Items being sent for disc repair should be boxed, with boxes clearly labeled to:

LMS Float Team

Attn: Robert Harrison

Disc Repairs from (unit name) / date

REPLACEMENT AV CASES

Ø  Replacement DVD, CD, and audiobook cases can be sent out to your location:

·        Email requests to Christopher Patrick / LMS

·        Specify types, sizes needed (e.g. 6-disc, 12-disc for audiobook cases; single or double-disc for DVD cases), and quantity needed

AUDIOBOOK REPLACEMENT DISCS

Ø  Sometimes replacement audiobook discs can be ordered, depends on publisher/distributor.

·        Generally, a disc or two in a set may be replaceable, but common sense should prevail. (Don’t request replacements for 9 discs out of a 10-disc set!)

·        Before requesting replacement discs, consider whether the title may be a good candidate for withdrawal instead.

Ø  Send Audiobooks with missing discs to:

LMS - Collection Development

Attn: Marianne Lorio

Incomplete Audiobooks

RECEIVING REPAIRED ITEMS

Just as when you receive any other items in Delivery, when you receive repaired discs it is essential that the items are properly checked in to float them in to your location and set them to Check Shelf status, making them available to customers once again. The LMS Centralized Float Team may elect to float repaired items to NLs other than those that sent them in.  

December 26

Hi Team,

Those of you who were at the holiday party this Saturday probably already heard the great news: HPL will be closed on Satruday, Decmber 26. It will not be a paid holiday, however. More details will follow regarding schedules

-Edgar

"Gift Wrap" Books

Stella Link Youth Services Team have wrapped picturebooks for children to check out and unwrap at home. Please assist customers with checking out items should they have concerns with whether or not our 3M machines will take them. All wrapped gifts should have tags inside to allow the machines to check out.

Great idea, team!

Magazines

Current issues of magazines have a red dot placed over the barcode. Please let customers know if trying to check out these magazines and are unable to do so. They do not have tags in them, so customers cannot check them out.

-Edgar

Stella Link Staff Meeting Notes December 9, 2015

Presenting: Edgar Fuentes

Attending: Amethyst Taylor, Carol Wu, Frances Saldana, Jesse Farias, Jonathan McFarland, Marjorie Hackley, Mark Hall, Mo Ahmad,  Patricia Tucker, Nhu Le, Tim Siegel, and Rayshard Williams.

Absent: Lauren Holmes (Training), Jacob Hornbeak (Training), and Ade Odusanwo (Vacation).

Thank you to Tim for holding down the fort while I was in Guadalajara, Mexico ordering books for HPL.
Thank you to Jacob for stepping up last Saturday. He ended up working 3 hours back-to-back on desk to help cover it while I did passports.
Thank you to Amethyst and Frances for helping with Discards.

Cyber Security: HITS (City IT) is currently working on a new version of Cyber Security Level I Training. As a result, they are no longer troubleshooting the old version, so we no longer have access to it.  We should all receive a communication from HITS soon re: access to the new version.

Teamwork: Teamwork is an important part of the job we do. Just about everyone has Teamwork on their HEAR. Consequently, it’s important for all of us to pitch in when we finish our assigned duties. Everyone is expected to help out with shelving, including myself. Passport agents are expected to help out with shelving, and not sit idly at the passport desk during slow hours.

Internet Usage: Please do not use the internet while you are at the desk for anything other than assisting customers find information. Likewise, personal internet usage should be limited to your lunch break or for one of your two 15 minute breaks. Please use a laptop or go into the computer lab instead of using one of the staff computers in the workroom.

Desk: Please make sure you arrive at the desk at your scheduled time. When you show up late to the desk, it puts your coworkers behind on whatever tasks they have the following hour. If you are late due to lunches or any other reason, try to get someone to cover your desk whenever possible.

Overflow: Overflow items have been reduced quite a bit. We still have a little more to go. I have removed some shelves and put them in the Large print section, which should allow us more room to shelve. The books that were once in the workroom inaccessible to customers are now on the floor for customers to browse through.

Telecheck: Our Telecheck machine should be upgraded on Dec 23. They will be installing a pin pad for us to use for all credit card transactions from that point on. A tech will come out and may need access to our server room (in the computer lab).

Automatically Yours: Automatically Yours items (with yellow call number labels) that are damaged or that we need to float when we have 4-5 copies on our shelf will need to go to the Float Team (Sara Karow - LMS). If you see an Automatically Yours item on the Discard shelf, please remove it and put it on the FLOAT shelf. If customers damage an Automatically Yours book, treat it as if it were a regular book. Charge them for the item + processing fee, and the customer can keep the book once they’ve paid for it.

Promotional Opportunities: Please see the email Liz Sargent sent out (and the STE blog post) about the promotional opportunities that have come up. Those of you who are interested in applying should do so soon. If you apply, please be sure to let me and Laurie know so that your application can get pulled.

ILLs: Interlibrary loan items that are received with clear plastic bags should be checked out WITH the clear plastic bags. Those bags belong to the lending library, and not HPL, and therefore should be checked out along with the material.

PINs: Remember that we cannot give out customer PIN numbers over the phone. For privacy reasons, customers must present a photo identification before we can reset or issue them their PIN number or their child’s PIN number (if they are an authorized parent – parent 1 or partent 2).

Parent 1: Did you know you can search for a child’s account using the parent’s driver’s license number? That number is entered as PARENTID, but when you are searching for a user by name/birthdate/alt ID/ you can also search by LINE1. Line1 is the parent’s ID. Give it a try and let me or Tim know if you have any questions.

Staff Incentives: Customer Experience Administration has allotted money for Stella Link staff to be able to use for ourselves. More information will be forthcoming. December 23, we will have a Holiday celebration at our library for our staff. We will be using some of that money we were allotted for that purpose. Throughout the year, we will have similar opportunities for us to get together and celebrate your hard work at this library.

Promotional Opportunities

Four additional job opportunities opened up recently in Customer Experience that might be of interest to you.

All Persons Interested:

·         Customer Service Clerk Full-Time (General or Youth) We currently have CSC Full-Time (General) positions available at the Acres Homes/Oak Forest Library grouping, Fifth Ward/Flores Library grouping, Jungman Neighborhood Library (temporarily deployed to Stella Link), Melcher Neighborhood Library, Southwest Express/Walter Library grouping, and the Central Library (2 positions). Additional opportunities at other locations may become available. All interested parties should apply. https://www.governmentjobs.com/jobs/1209602  Position closes this Friday 12/11/15 at 11:59PM.

·         Librarian II (Assistant Manager) This position is to specifically work at the Acres Homes/Oak Forest Library grouping. The person in this position will serve as Assistant Manager and coordinate youth services for this grouping. Additional opportunities at other locations may become available. All interested parties should apply. https://www.governmentjobs.com/jobs/1304095  Position closes Monday 12/14/15 at 11:59PM.

·         Customer Service Clerk Part-Time (Genealogy) This position is to specifically work at the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research. There are two positions available. Candidates for this position will need to have genealogical research experience that they can discuss during the interview. https://www.governmentjobs.com/jobs/1306046  Position closes Thursday 12/17/15 at 11:59PM.

·         Senior Imaging Technician This position is to specifically work at the African-American Library at the Gregory School. https://www.governmentjobs.com/jobs/1279740  Position closes this Friday, 12/11/15 at 11:59 PM.

CollectionHQ Items in Delivery

Patricia, who runs our CollectionHQ reports to request items that our library is short on from other locations, has asked that when these items arrive through delivery (they are usually wrapped in a sheet of paper) that you place these items on her desk so that she may review them before checking them in.

Please do not unwrap the items. Simply put the bundle, along with the paper, on her desk. If you have any questions, please ask me or Patricia.

Thank you,
Edgar

Automatically Yours (Yellow Label) Items

Automatically Yours Items (the kind I demonstrated at a previous staff meeting) should never be Discarded. The Library is able to return Automatically Yours (Yellow Label) copies in bad condition to Baker and Taylor, so please send any copies in bad condition to the Float Team (Sara Karow - LMS). Make sure include a note indicating the problem with the book (Torn Pages, Stained, Water Damage, Excessive Writing, etc).

Telecheck Pin Pad Installation

HITS (Houston Information Technology Services) is rolling out new equipment to add to the existing TeleCheck machines to allow for the new chip technology in credit cards.

The schedule below gives the projected dates for them to install the equipment. 

-     The installation will be conducted by a contractor, not a City of Houston employee. 

      -       They will need access to the TeleCheck machine and access to the Network/IT closet.

      -       They will be adding a pin pad to the TeleCheck machine and a device to communicate to the pin pad.

o    Once the new pin pad is installed staff should use the new pin pad to either insert or swipe all credit cards and follow the on screen instructions.

      -       Locations with Self Check and credit card capabilities: the Self Check functionality and hardware will not change. The contractor though will work closely with HPL IT staff to connect Self Checks to a new network. Please report all Self Check issues to the HPL IT Helpdesk.

      -       Any issues during installation - contact the HPL IT Helpdesk either via email (HPL.HelpDesk@houstontx.gov) or phone (832-393-1570).

DATE:  Wednesday 12/23/15
ADDRESS
Meyer NL: 5005 West Belfort, Houston TX 77035
Frank Express:  10103 Fondren, Houston TX 77096
Southwest Express:  6400 High Star Dr., Houston TX 77074
Stella Link NL: 7405 Stella Link, Houston TX 77025

Stella Link Staff Meeting Notes December 2, 2015

Presenting: Tim Siegel

Attending: Amethyst Taylor, Carol Wu, Frances Saldana, Jacob Hornbeak, Jesse Farias, Jonathan McFarland, Lauren Holmes, Marjorie Hackley, Mark Hall, Mo Ahmad,  Patricia Tucker, and Rayshard Williams.

Absent: Edgar Fuentes (Spanish Book Fair), Nhu Le (Vacation), and Ade Odusanwo (Vacation).

Holidays and Vacations: Thanks to all for putting in the effort as the branch is short-handed due to vacations. In the coming weeks multiple staff members will be out on vacation over the holidays. It’ll be tight but we’ll manage. Thank you in advance.\

Wellness/Jury Duty/Death in the Family: Please provide documentation if you are claiming one of these events for Kronos purposes. Bring in a letter from the doctor for wellness. Jury Summons and Release from the Court for Jury Duty. A Funeral announcement or similar document for a death in the family.

TeleCheck: These devices are in the process of being replaced to allow use of the new credit cards with the smart chip. Until then ask for alternate means of payment such as cash , check, or another card with the chip. For fines, the express checks are capable of reading the smart chip cards.

 When accepting a check or credit card at a TeleCheck machine, make sure that transaction is entered in the Smart Money register that coincides with the TeleCheck.

Bookends: Every shelf requires a bookend. Do not remove bookends from the shelves. Instruct volunteers as they are seen.

Email: Create a signature in both web-based email and your profile. Tim sent an email on December 1 with an example and instructions on creating the signature. Please email Tim when you have completed this task.

Do not use the Send All or Reply to All feature when sending or replying to a system-wide email. If a system-wide email requires a response, only reply to the sender.

Badges: Must be worn at all times. If a badge is lost or stolen, it must be reported and replaced immediately. Random checks will be conducted for compliance.

Patrick Atkins: If you need to talk with the Senior Manager Patrick Atkins, do not hesitate to call. His work cell is 281-901-4805 and his email is patrick.atkins@houstontx.gov. If you have an emergency and cannot contact Edgar, Tim, or Nhu send him a text or call too.

24-Hour Return Rule: There is no rule that an item must be on the shelf for 24 hours before an item can be checked out by the same customer. If a customer has an item that has been checked out for 6 weeks, but they want to check it in and check it out again, then that is perfectly acceptable if there on no holds on the item.

Floating Items: Make sure all items that are in consideration to be floated are in good to excellent condition. Open the book to inspect for spine or water damage. The Overflow shelf will be discontinued. Items can only be in one of three places: On the shelf ready for check out, on the discard shelf, or on the float shelf.

Passport Money Envelopes: At the end of the day when the registers are closed, place the Passport Deposit and Till Money envelopes on top of the blank change tray in the tan cash box. This will ensure they are seen the next day when the deposit is prepared to be picked up.

Monthly Reports: Please have these completed on the blog by next Tuesday December 8, 2015 to allow time Edgar time to transfer your accomplished on the branch narrative.

Carts and Shelving: We have six small carts, which is one for every bin ready to shelve. These are the primary carts to be used. Please do not build and stage the large carts unless you are going to shelve it. The large carts are for programs such as storytime and projects like shifting. It is better to shelve for 5, 10, or 15 minutes than it is to build a cart for that long. If you are short on time, take out 10 or 15 books and shelve those.

Collection Misc:  Patricia suggested placing items in Discard if not found from the Missing List as this list is normally well over 100 pages long. This suggestion was forwarded to Circulation Administration and waiting for a response. These items are automatically deleted after about 8 weeks, so for the time being leave them in missing status.

Long In-Transit: This is a list of items that were sent “in transit” from the owning location but did not arrive at the destination location. It will appear as Long Overdue in Collection HQ. We will search for items listed only as “in-transit.”

Comments:

Mo was promoted to Senior CSC as a Passport Agent for ALI. He will remain at Stella Link until ALI opens.

Amethyst placed some sign up sheets at the front desk for a Gingerbread House Craft program and Snow Flake Ornament program.

Francis requests old ornaments to help with Snow Flake Ornament program and old toilet paper rolls for crafts. 

Upcoming Program Registration

In the coming weeks, parents/kids/teens will approach the desk to register for a few programs. The registration sheets are at the front desk.

We are allowing an additional 5 kids to sign up once space is filled; just write their info directly underneath the 15th spot.

Printer Issues

Whenever a customer sends a file to the public printer and the document does not print, please check to see if the "communication" diamond-shaped icon on the left of the printer is blinking. If you see this icon blinking and no pages come out after several minutes, you can try turning the printer off and turning it back on. According to IT, this should trigger the printer to print out the documents.

A customer by the name of Oscar attempted to print out tonight and was unable to. Eventually, the print job was released. Jacob is keeping the pages at his desk if the customer returns. Last night, an African-American woman also tried printing 3 pages and I promised to comp her for the pages next time she comes. If any of these customers come in and state that the printer has taken their money and not printed their files, please print out their items.

Any other future customer issues with Coin Copiers unrelated to the printer not releasing their files, (for example, if the card dispenser machine took their dollar or if the copy machine took their coins) we can assist the customer as best we can or direct them to contact Coin Copiers at 281-565-0805 for a refund. Try to use your best judgment when determining what to do.

STE Staff Meeting 11/25

Host: Edgar Fuentes

Attending: Patricia Tucker, Jesse Farias, Carol Wu,  Marjorie Hackley, Lauren Holmes,  Ade Odusanwo, Mo Ahmad, Amethyst Taylor, Nhu Le, Ray Williams, Jacob Hornbeck, Mark Hall

Thank you to Carol – new labels on computers to inform customers to log off their session and for sending out 20 boxes of discards.

Thank you to Jesse – He paused his lunch time to assist a Spanish speaking family with passport.

Needlework Club
The December 26 Needlework Club session has been canceled. The volunteer is currently recovering from a surgery procedure and hopes to do the November 28 and December 12 sessions. She will call the library to inform us in case she is unable to attend.

ESL
The ESL classes for the month of December is canceled. Chengcheng Yang, the ESL instructor, will be on vacation. She will return on Monday, January 4. Please inform any customers who inquire about the class, particularly if they call about the class.

Calendar

If there are changes (addition/subtraction) of programs/events to the monthly calendar, please e-mail Mark so that he can make the proper changes to the calendar and Evanced.

Checkouts
Make sure that customers are getting green check marks when they are checking out using our express check machines. When they do not, please walk over to assist them. To get the green check mark, all you have to do is click “OK” on the screen if it says “Take the item to the desk,” and place the item on the pad again for the red x to turn green. If it shows an error message such as “Item not discharged,” use the computer to the left of the check out machines to discharge the item (and waive any fines if it shows any) and then allow the customer to check the item out on the express check machine. If the item has an available hold, please apologize to the customer and let them know it’s currently being held for another customer. If the item has a hold (not currently being held but someone has requested it at another location), the machines should automatically allow the customer to check out.

PIE
Remember that PIE is a time to get high priority projects and planning done. Those of you who do not have programming or special projects should prioritize shelving and assisting customers.
Prioritize – Look at what needs the most work right now. Assisting customers and shelving are top priorities.
Initiate – Don’t wait to be told what to do. If you see a bin is full, get on it right away. If you see discards are full, start discarding. If you see newspapers needing to be checked in, process them. If you see DVDs needing to be shelved, shelve them.
Execute – Get the work done correctly, the HPL way.

Overflow
Over the next few weeks, we will try to eliminate the Overflow items. Either we need to FLOAT the items out to other locations or we need to get them on to our shelves so that customers can have access to the item. It makes it difficult for us to see an item that says “check shelf” and the item is not on the shelf and we have to come back to search the bins, the carts, and sort through overflow AND FLOAT to see if the item is here.

Items from Other Systems
Make sure you continue to use the spreadsheet on the blog for items that belong to Bellaire Public Library, Harris County Public Library, Mark Twain ES, or any other library. The link to the spreadsheet is on the right hand side of our blog labeled as “Items From Other Library Systems”.  Remember that for Harris County items, you put a sticky note with the date the item was returned and HCPL .

Open Carry
- Beginning January 1, 2016, customers can open carry their guns in a belt or shoulder holster.
- Citizens can open carry in libraries, City Hall, community centers (or any government building and/or institution). Libraries are government buildings.
- We cannot ask the customer for their Concealed Handgun License (CHL).
- Customers cannot remove their guns from their belt or shoulder holsters. If they do, please call 911 immediately.
- Suspicious behavior reported by customers or observed by staff should be reported to 911 immediately.
-School-sponsored activities in the library (such as field trips) is an exception. We can inform the customer that they cannot open carry their gun in the building at the moment, because we have a school- sponsored activity in the library.
-Staff are to keep their guns locked in their cars even if they have a Concealed Handgun License.

Meeting Rooms
The library’s website gives full information on what is permissible and what is not permissible.
http://houstonlibrary.org/find-it/meeting-and-rental-spaces/neighborhood-library-spaces/neighborhood-library-meeting-room
Everyone has been given a copy of these guidelines.

Please look over the guidelines and familiarize yourself with the policies.

When stating to the customers that drinks or allowed, please state non-alcoholic drinks are allowed.

Workers Comp
The City has hired a new Workers Comp company. The number to the City of Houston’s Workers Compensation/Safety Hotline is 832-393-SAFE, and select Option 1.

No Smoking Signs
The No Smoking Signs they will be installing on our sidewalks should be coming after the holidays.

Smoking is not allowed on City premises. At Stella Link, smoking is not allowed on our parking lot or the front or side of our building. The sidewalk next to the street is okay for smoking.

Non-Discrimination
While HERO (The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance) has been repealed; City buildings are still protected areas for both customers and staff. We cannot impede access “to a city restroom facility that is consistent with and appropriate to that person’s expression of gender identity” (Executive Order 1-50).

Julia Ideson Fund

Established for employees in need.  The process is discreet and the application is reviewed by a panel.
https://hplnet.houstonlibrary.org/forms.html# (Found in Inside HPL > Forms > Human Resources)

Systemwide Programs

Besides promoting in-house programs, please also promote system wide programs when interacting with customers. If a customer is looking for poetry books, you can mention/give the customer a flyer about our Poetic Voices program.

Weather Emergencies
If we get an email saying “Turn Around Don’t Drown” or “Severe Weather expected” that doesn’t mean we get to stay home. Make an effort to come to work if you can come safely. If the City delays operations or closes for the day, you will be notified.

My Link Campaign

We are still trying to reach our goal of 1 million library cards. Please continue to encourage customers to get a library card. If they only have a computer use card, you can offer them the opportunity to apply for a library card.

TLA & PLA

If you want to attend TLA or PLA, please note that applications are due December 1^st.

Sprocket

Sprocket is a system we use to report facility issues that need to be fixed such a broken door. If you are not familiar with this system and need to report a facility issue, please ask from help from your supervisors or co-workers.

SMM (Smart Money Manager)

If you have a SMM error and need to void the transaction, please void the entire transaction and start the transaction over again. Do not do a partial void of the transaction.

We should be getting new telecheck machines. Once the new machines arrive, please let Dimitri know or let Edgar or Tim know so they can let Dimitri know. Our current telecheck machines cannot read the smart chips on credit cards. There is a blog post on 11/24 about the different ways to assist the customer if they are using a credit card with a smart chip. 

Credit Cards With Chips

We have had several customers coming in to the Stella Link Library to try to make payments using Telecheck machine with their new credit cards with the smart chip inside. Our existing Telecheck Machine does not seem to recognize these cards because when we swipe the card, the screen asks us to “tap” or “swipe” card again. When we try to swipe again (as we cannot tap since our machine is not yet equipped with the technology), it asks us to tap or swipe again. This keeps going on again and again.

Financial Services has been notified.

If you encounter this issue, you have several work-arounds:
FINES OVER $1
Direct customers to the Self-check machines if they are making a payment on their library account.(Remember that customers can also pay online from their computer, but there will be a .50 cent fee, so be sure to let them know about this other option)
FINES UNDER $1 OR BOOK SALE
Kindly ask customers for another form of payment (cash, check, or another credit card)
PASSPORTS
We can only ask for another form of payment (cash, check, or another credit card). 

Christmas/Winter Holiday JUV Books

The Christmas/Winter Holiday JUV books are now out on the floor where the holiday books are usually shelved (Shelf 4B).

There are still plenty of Christmas/Winter Holiday JUV books left in storage. These books will go on the floor once there is more room on Shelf 4B. Please do check storage for holiday books if a patron ask for a holiday title that you do not see on the floor.

Please continue to keep Thanksgiving books on the Shelf 4B along with the Winter Holiday books until after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving books can start going back to storage in the gaming closet Nov. 30th.

Thanks,

Nhu

3M Express Checkout Receipt Printer

The Express Checkout on the far right is currently not able to print out a receipt. A note has been attached to the device. A customer is still able to email a receipt if an email is listed on the account. The 3M Tech will be back on site Wednesday 11/25/15 to replace the printer with a new one. He said he would arrive before we open.

Tim S.

LMS Contact Guide

I have added a link under the "Helpful Links" section of the Stella Blog for LMS Contact Guide to better assist you with who to contact regarding a number of issues (such as ordering new call number labels or questions regarding World Language materials, for example). Please take a look at the link when you get a chance to familiarize yourself with some good points of contact.

-Edgar

Phone Issue

If you answer the phone at the customer service desk and you place a customer on hold and are unable to retrieve the call or the customer is unable to hear you even when you resume the call, there's a good chance the call has "jumped" to another phone. Try retrieving the call from another phone (may even be in the work room), and apologize to the customer for our phone issues.

Tim has reported the issue. This is a minor inconvenience until the issue is resolved. Please bear with it. Thanks.

-Edgar

New Cards and Overdrive

When new library cards are issued the user’s Overdrive account does not automatically convert over to the new library card number.  The merge has to be done manually, and the Digital Strategies Help Desk has the tool and permission to do it.  In order to merge the accounts, we need the following information:

  n  Old library card number

  n  New library card number

  n  Contact e-mail address

  n  Name of customer                         

The account merge should be active within 24hours.  The Overdrive user should use the new library card number to access the service.

Passports for Minors

Thanks to Jonathan for reminding Passport Agents about the newsletter information sent back in February 2015:

"If the applicant is a minor, encourage the applicant to notate the guardian's name on the In Care Of field."

-Edgar

2016 Bluebonnets

We will continue to display 2015 Bluebonnets until voting is over for 2016 Bluebonnets. As new 2016 Bluebonnets arrive, please make sure to display those in the Bluebonnet display wall.
Just a few reminders about the date labels: The date labels should be blue, they should say 2016, and they should be affixed to the top of the spine of the book, 1/4" from the edge. Let's make sure our labeling looks consistent, since we have a floating collection and items travel from location to location.

-Edgar

Pulled & Processed

Please remember to count items cleared from the holdshelf in our Daily Stats.

·         Pulled:  Items on the paging lists

·         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.

-Edgar