Databases and Open Athens

From Judith Hiott:

Houston Public Library went live on Open Athens, a new database authentication service, earlier today. The Virtual Library Services team replaced HPL’s EZProxy database links with Open Athens links.

Please report to the helpdesk any database that does not work-- as well as any other database issues you encounter.

The authentication page looks different and asks for a user barcode and PIN. Customers may ask you to help them find their PINs.

Some of your customers will have databases bookmarked. They will have to go back to the database page and get a new link.

Customers will no longer be having to wait to access databases after getting a new card.

Do not hesitate to contact the helpdesk or me if you have any questions about this transition.

Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.

Laptop Check-out

Please aware of the following guidelines when checking out a laptop:

1. Customer must present a valid HPL card that has no fines, no blocks for any reason, and is at least 30 days old. The physical card must be presented. We cannot look up an account for laptop check out. 
2. A valid photo ID that matches the name on the account. A parent's ID may be substituted for a child, given the parent is listed on the account. The ID will be held and locked in the cabinet while the laptop is checked out. 
3. Only the cardholder may check out a laptop. 
4. Only one laptop per person.
5. Customers under 18 must have specific permission from a parent.
6. Computers are checked out only for 2 hours. 

Please review the policy for laptop guidelines. Also, please get into the habit of checking the ID with the person returning a laptop. This is important to guarantee that the correct ID is returned to the proper person. Thank you.

Tim Siegel

UPDATED: Printer Card Money Adding Machine

This problem has been resolved.

The machine that adds money to and buys a printer card is not functioning properly. The device will take a dollar bill but not produce a card. This has been reported to the vendor. Please assist customers as necessary. Thanks.

Tim

Juvenile and Teen Public Computers

The public computers in the teen and juvenile areas are not able to connect to the server. The problem has been reported to the IT department.

Tim

Wifi Connectivity

Team,

Library IT are working with City IT (HITS) to resolve the wireless connectivity issues reported today at our neighborhood library locations. Central Library’s wireless network is working. 

Outlook Web Access

Users of Outlook Web Access may receive a pop up prompt. You may have to enter your username and password several times before your e-mail account will load. For this prompt you will be using your e-mail username and e-mail password.

We have reported this issue to HITS and hopefully this new login method will only be temporary.  If you continue to have problems accessing your e-mail after trying these instructions please contact the Help Desk.

Returned ILL Items

Two ILL items have been found on the non-HPL items shelf in the past week. The ILL found today was still on a customers account. As a reminder, ILL items are to be checked in and immediately put in the CEN delivery bin by the back exit. Only items that do not belong to HPL and do not have a purple tag should be placed on this shelf.

Tim S.

Beginning Readers

Team,

Beginning Readers have been relocated; they have switched places with the juvenile uncataloged paperbacks / kits / children's magazines. Please spread the word, and help customers find these in their new locations.

Thank you,
Edgar

SRP Family Pack Winners

Hi team!

I finally received the Family Prize packs for the SRP winners. There are a total of 11 white envelopes for 11 winners. Each envelope has the winner's name written on it. The envelope will be placed in the drawer directly under the Smart Money register at the front desk for easy access when the winner comes in to claim their prize. All winners have been notified to come in to collect their prize.

A spreadsheet with the winners' names is attached to the envelopes. Please have the winner initial and date next to their name to show that they pick up the prize.

Thanks for all your help during SRP and after SRP!

-Nhu

Stella Link Team Meeting Notes August 24, 2016

Present: Ade Odusanwo, Carol Wu, Frances Saldana, Jesse Farias, Jose Zamora, Alex Gabitto, Nhu Le, Patricia Tucker, Michael Kozman, Jacob Hornbeak, Ray Williams, Mark Hall, Amethyst Taylor, and Tim Siegel.

Leading: Edgar Fuentes.

Thank you: Alex put a significant amount of time and effort into the Pokémon Go photo contest. The winners were notified and the prizes were awarded.

Tonight’s Programs:
Arabic Class - 12PM
Tune Time - 12:30PM
50+ Computer – 1:30PM
After School Zone – 4PM
Pajama Storytime – 7PM

Upcoming Programs:
Meet the Author – Sat October 22 at 2PM: Book talk and a book signing by Dr. Menon, who worked with John P. McGovern. He will be discussing his book My Mother Called Me Unni.
Retro Video Game – Mon September 12 at 6PM. Jacob will be hosting a program with retro video game consoles (Nintendo, Sega Genesis, etc.). The program is for adults only. Teenagers accompanied by an adult are welcome.
Talent Show – Mon, October 17 5PM-7PM
Sadie Hawkins Dance – Wed November 16 6PM-7:30PM
Painting Workshops – Mondays in December 4PM-6PM

After School Zone: From this point forward, students will no longer be able to eat in any of the after school zone areas in the building. They are still permitted to drink from a container with a lid (cans are not allowed). There were too many problems with food wrappers and debris left behind and students no cleaning up after themselves. Also, this puts all customers on the same rules regardless of age.

CyberSecurity Training: The City of Houston IT team is sending out an email for called “Optional CyberSecurity Ransomware Training Module.”  It should take about 30 minutes. Please check your email and as you have time this week and next week, take a moment to complete the training. Once you pass with an 80% or more, email me that you have completed the training so that I can add it to your record. Print out any certificate if there is one. There is also a sign in sheet for completion on the bulletin board outside the manager’s office.

Passports: We now have a new order form for ordering passport applications and supplemental forms.

Library Card Info: If you have a customer with an ID that is not a TDL or TID, and you are entering the information, please remember to enter it as X and then the number. 

If the identification has a letter or dashes in it, please be sure to enter the information exactly as it appears on the identification. For example, if a customer has “H123-45-6789,” enter it into the Alt ID field in Workflows as “XH123-45-6789.”

When searching for customers, please remember to search both ways (with and without the dashes) in case someone at another library may have entered the information incorrectly.

Politics/Religion: Please remember that staff should refrain from discussing politics or religion with customers. With this being an election year, it is especially critical that we all understand that we cannot have these discussions with customers. We have lots of customers asking which candidate we are voting for, politely say, “I’m sorry, we are not allowed to discuss politics while at work.”

Meeting Room: A “Meeting Room Rules” tab to the meeting room reservation form for easy access, and highlighted some of the rules that come up when customers reserve a room.

Please refer to the meeting room guidelines when taking a reservation. It may be easier to break it down into to questions:
What is the nature of the meeting?
- Open to any group as long as there is no sale of any goods or services, and no admission or registration fee for the event (including required donations)
- Cannot be personal events such as birthday parties, baby showers, etc.
- No political campaigning or political fund-raising activities.
Have you had meetings with us in the past?
- Note that meeting Rooms may be reserved up to 90 days in advance with no more than six (6) applications from the same group within a 90-day period.
- If so, remind the customer that light refreshments and prepackaged snacks (chips, crackers, etc) are okay. Anything requiring preparation (either onsite or offsite - including sandwiches, pizza, etc) or delivery there is a $25 service fee. We do not provide cups, napkins, etc.
- Remind the customer that each meeting requires a separate Meeting Room Request form.
- Explain that rooms are equipped with tables and chairs, but groups are responsible for their own set-up or any additional equipment needs.

Other considerations that staff should be aware of:
- Room capacity must be adhered to.
- Library rules must be followed.
- Publicity has to be approved ahead of time.
- Library staff retains the right to enter the meeting rooms to ensure compliance of the room usage.

Please refer to the guidelines: http://houstonlibrary.org/find-it/meeting-and-rental-spaces/neighborhood-library-spaces/neighborhood-library-meeting-room

Posted: Tim Siegel

iSpeak Houston

From Helen Chou:

This message is to provide a solution to an issue that staff may encounter when using the iSpeak Houston Employee Language Line.

Issue: The issue occurs after a staff calls the Language Line, and enters in the Client ID and Library code, and a recorded message asks, “Please speak the name of the desired language”.

After the staff speaks the name of the desired language, the recorded message says that it is not able to identify the language that was stated.

For example, when you speak “Chinese”, the recording answers that it does not recognize that language.

Solution: When the recorded message does not recognize the language, staff may press zero (0) to reach a live operator.

On a specific note, when serving a Chinese customer, the recording unfortunately will not recognize “Chinese”, but will only recognize “Mandarin” or “Cantonese”.

3M Express Checkout (Right)

FYI: Reggie from 3M will be by Wednesday morning to replace the right-hand side station with the monitor that has the blue-green tint to it.

UPDATE: IT has been made aware that the touch screen is not working properly.

-Edgar

After School Zone and Food

Food consumption is no longer allowed in the Teen Lounge during the After School Zone. In may take a few days for kids to get used to it, but they will need to eat their food before arriving at the library. We did allow food last year, but the children were unable to clean up after themselves and this privilege has been revoked. Thank you.

Tim Siegel

Saturday Closing Procedure

Team,

We need to ensure all belongings and/or items are removed from the floor at closing tomorrow, Saturday. Our floor is going to be waxed and therefore we need to ensure the floor is clear before leaving for the day. Thank you!

-Edgar

Teen & Kids Reservation Computers

Team,

IT indicated that if you have trouble with the teen/kids reservation kiosks to do a Ctrl + Alt + Delete to restart the computer several times if necessary. That should address the issue before we call IT. If it does not, please let them know.

With the switch to the new WiFi system, restarting will reset the settings back to normal.

-Edgar

Stella Link Team Meeting August 17, 2016

Present: Patricia Tucker, Carol Wu, Jesse Farias, Marjorie Hackley, Alex Gabitto, Mike Kozman, Jacob Hornbeak, Mark Hall, Frances Saldana, Nhu Le, Ray Williams, Ade Odusanwo, and Tim Siegel

Leading: Edgar Fuentes

Not Present: Amethyst Taylor and Jose Zamora

Welcome: Today is the first day for Michael Kozman. He is joining the STE as a part-time Customer Service Clerk.

Thank you: Multiple team members assisted in making a young child very happy last week. The young man was the winner of the SRP bike prize. Several team members applauded the young man has he received his prize. Coincidentally, the day was also the birthday of the boy and we helped to make it extra special and hopefully give him fond memories of the library as he grows up.

Tonight’s Programs:
Arabic Class  at 12PM
Ebooks  at 12PM and 6PM
Tune Time at 12:30PM
50+ Computer at 1:30PM
LiftOff Houston at 6pm
Pajama Storytime at 7PM

Library Card Info: Please carefully enter all information provided on an application into WorkFlows. If multiple phone numbers ( or emails) are provided, they should be entered in the same field separated by only a comma (713-123-4567,832-987-6543 or jsmith@email.com,smithj@promail.com). Do not use other symbols or add a second phone number or email field.

For juvenile library cards, enter the signing parents name and information in the Address1 section. If a second parent’s name is given, include this information in the Address2 section. Place a note in the Extended Info with the parent’s birthdays (P1: 01/01/1975; P2: 02/02/1980).

If a non-parent/guardian adult (such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or older brother) wants to sign up a child, that is acceptable. Please make them aware that they will be held responsible for all fines and fees incurred on the account.

After School Zone Training: School will begin next Monday, August 22^nd. The vast majority of the students will behave and follow the rules. On occasion it may be necessary to give a written warning or suspension to a student who does correct unruly behavior after a verbal warning. The “Student Issue Log” is located on the left side of the Passport Desk. Please follow these steps to properly issue a warning or a suspension.

1.   Escort the student/s to the front desk and have them provide their name, age, school, parents name, and parents phone number.

2.   Search the logbook for a previous offense. If a previous offense was found, update this form with the new information if necessary. If no previous offense was found, complete a new form and place in the correct location in alphabetical order by the student’s last name.

3.   Determine the best consequence to the action. For example, running or eating in an unauthorized location would warrant a warning. Rough horseplay or fighting would warrant a suspension. When in doubt or if Edgar or Tim are absent, please consult a team member that has warned/suspended a student in the past.

4.   Call the parent in the presence of the student and inform the parent of the warning or suspension. Leave a voicemail if there is no answer. Notate the call, voicemail, or no answer on the form in the space provided.

5.   Always give the student a copy of the library rules and unattended children policy which is also located in the logbook. Please note that the rules were given in the logbook in the description of incident (and incident report if necessary).

6.   In the event of a suspension, an incident report must be completed. Remember to CC Edgar and Tim on this email.

Workflows may be used to search for parent information and phone numbers if the student has a library card. Other team members may also be asked for assistance in identifying the student. 

If the student is still giving questionable information, please inform the student that providing false parental information is grounds for a one-month suspension (per Planning & Facilities: Procedures relating to 2.3 Library Security Section E.1.b. in HPLnet Forms and Documents).

Learning Link Updates

Learning Link Updates as of 8/12/16

The student’s account number will consist of …the first letter of the student’s last name and their student ID #. For example: Johnny Appleseed’s Learning Link card number would be … A231001.

Their pin will be based on the student’s birthday (whether the birthday will be a combination of month, day, and year or just month and day, or etc. has not been decided on just yet)

Since Stella Link Library uses the check-out machines, the students will need a physical barcode. Laurie is working on a solution/procedure for that.

Some HISD students may have a My Link card. They can use their My Link card if they want to, but please do explain the difference between the My Link card and the Learning Link card to the students and/or parents if they are undecided on which to use. The main benefit of the Learning Link card is that the account will not be charged late fees for overdue books.

Elementary School Students

-will receive a physical card from the school. The card will have the student’s account number written on there.

-the student’s teacher is responsible for replacing a Learning Link card for the student if card gets lost

-the card can only access kids materials (books, audiobooks, databases, and electronic materials)

High School Students

-will not receive a physical card (student will tell us verbally their account number, write it down for us, or show their school ID)

-can access all age level materials (books, audiobooks, and electronic materials)

HISD Staff

-will have access to electronic materials

-will have access to databases

-cannot check out any physical materials (they are welcomed to apply for a My Link card)

Applied to all Learning Link account

-account can check out up to 10 physical materials at one time

-there will be no late charges on Learning Link account if physical items are returned late.

-physical items that do not get returned in a timely manner will be assumed lost and will incur charges on the account for the cost of the physical item/s. Please encourage students to return the assumed lost item if they still have it so that the charges will be taken off their account.

-Learning Link account with balance of $50 or more will be blocked from checkout. The balance on the account will need to be paid off or lowered to under $50 to check out more physical materials.

-account cannot check out music CDs, Laptops, Flip Kits, DVDs

In our partnership with HISD, HISD has agreed to put the following databases on their official websites to advertise to the students and parents. The databases below are resources backed by HISD. Learning Link account holders are, however, able to access all the databases listed on our HPL website and not limited to only the databases listed on the HISD website.

Elementary School Resources

-Tumblebooks (animated books)

-National Geographic Kids (explore topics: science, nature, culture)

-Explora (search for articles, videos, and images)

 Middle School Resources

-Explora (search for articles, videos, and images)

-Britannica for Young Adults (encyclopedia)

-e-Books and audio books (overdrive, hoopla, etc)

High School Resources

-Literature Resources Center (search articles for research on books, literary criticism)

-Novelist (reader’s advisory)

- e-Books and audio books (overdrive, hoopla, etc)

Stella Link Team Meeting Notes August 10, 2016

Present: Patricia Tucker, Carol Wu, Jesse Farias, Alex Gabitto, Jose Zamora, Jacob Hornbeak, Ray Williams, Nhu Le, Frances Saldana, Ade Odusanwo, Amethyst Taylor, Marjorie Hackley, and Tim Siegel.

Leading: Edgar Fuentes.

Thank you: Thanks to Nhu, Jose, and Patricia for assisting with the Jungman weeding project last week. Another thanks to Amethyst for volunteering with the Montrose tagging project next week.

New Part Timer: Michael Kozman, our new part time CSC, is scheduled to begin working next week. Please be sure to introduce yourself and make him feel welcome on his first day.

Today’s Programs
Tune Time = 12:30pm will be in children’s area
Lego Robotics *Webotics* – 1pm (5-10 year olds)
Lego Robotics *NXTbotics* – 2pm (9-12 year olds)
End of Summer Bash – 5:30PM

Change: A solid bill may be exchanged for coins for printing or copying. We are unable to make change for large bills. It is also a safety issue to be opening the drawer to change out a large bill.

Deposit: Please be sure to count deposits carefully. Both team members need to count the money to ensure the proper amount is sent to Financial Services. If the money is over, please send it in. If it’s short, please write a note explaining the discrepancy, with a reason if possible. If there’s any concerns, please call Financial Services when Tim, Edgar or Nhu are not available.

Also, the passport deposit should be taken directly to the safe rather than the box at the front desk. This is also a safety issue since the passport deposit can be in the thousands.

Blog: Please do not share the blog or blog address with the public. The blog is only for HPL team members.

HPL Training Resources: The Training Portal now has instructions for e-book and other digital media resources with description of checkout procedures, length of checkout, etc. This website is for staff only. Please take a look at it when you get a chance: http://training.houstonlibrary.org/ebooks

Reading Lists: The HPL Website has provided some excellent reading lists for when someone asks for book recommendations. Please take a look at them when you get a chance: http://houstonlibrary.org/learn-explore/kids/kids-book-lists

Outlook Web Access: Staff members who check e-mail via Outlook Web Access or mobile devices may have connection problems today from 9am-6pm. Please refer to the email to all employees sent yesterday at 4:26pm.

Marjorie: This may be Marjorie’s last week here at Stella Link. Her home library, Alief, is calling all of its staff members back in preparation for its reopening, and she is scheduled to report there on Monday. We wish her well.

Posted: Tim Siegel

SRP Winners Update

Just a quick update:  Winners are being contacted today.  Location managers will get an email detailing their location’s winners and the process for awarding bikes.

Stella Link Team Meeting Notes August 3, 2016

Present: Patricia Tucker, Carol Wu, Jesse Farias, Amethyst Taylor, Jacob Hornbeak, Ade Odusanwo, Frances Saldana, Alex Gabitto, Ray Williams, Mark Hall, and Tim Siegel.

Not Present: Nhu Le, Jose Zamora, and Marjorie Hackley.

Leading: Edgar Fuentes.

Thank you: Nhu, Jose, and Patricia volunteered to assist in the massive weeding project at Jungman this week and the help is very much appreciated. Jacob has graciously accepted the request to work every Saturday until the end of the calendar year and created a Harry Potter display above the Express Checkout machines.

Volunteers: Our volunteers have done an amazing job this summer. Please be aware the volunteers do not get special privileges such as fines being waived for overdue items.

STE Blog Calendar: Mark and Tim devised a calendar that is instantly available on the blog that displays the daily events at the library. If you are leading a program, please be sure the information is posted to the STESTAFF google account calendar. Please see Mark if you need assistance.

HPL Public Wifi:  The Vocera communication devices have not been configured to connect to the new Library Public Wi-Fi name and are not functioning. Two of the access points have been changed. If there are any problems with the public Wi-Fi please contact the IT Helpdesk and inform the person in charge of the issue.

Teen Writing Contest: The deadline for this contest has been extended to October 1, 2016. Teens can submit a poem, story, or both. Please encourage our teens to submit.

Summer Reading Programs: SRP is officially over. We are still awarding prizes as availability allows until August 22. Customers are no longer able to register, but staff can log in number of books/hours and award prizes. Our supply of prizes is running low, so apologize if a prize is no longer available.

$20 Fine: On Monday, a customer paid a 20.00 fine on his account. The transaction was completed with a debit card that was accepted by TeleCheck, but not cleared in Smart Money. The fine still remains on the customer’s account. If a customer visits the library and states he paid on Monday, but the fine still appears on his account, please review and waive the fees and place notes as normal.

Children’s Book Festival: The Children’s Book Festival will be held at the Health Museum on Saturday September 10, 2016 from 10AM-5PM.

Manga: “Tokyo Ghoul” and “Taboo Tatto” are being changed from Teen to Adult. If you come across these items, please send them to LMS-Attn: Gary.

FLIP Kits: Please send any incomplete FLIP Kits to CMH for replenishment. This includes items returned and items that were mistakenly used in the library.

Posted: Tim Siegel

Reading Lists

Team,

There are some really good reading lists on the HPL Website. Please take a look at them when you get a chance:

http://houstonlibrary.org/learn-explore/kids/kids-book-lists 

WorldCat Issue

There is currently an issue with WorldCat not recognizing library ip addresses. The vendor has been contacted and the issue is being worked on.

Logmein HPL Rescue Calling Card

Greetings HPL Team,

As part of our continuous efforts to improve customer service, we are excited to launch a new way to contact the HelpDesk: Logmein HPL Rescue Calling Card is a way to chat with a live, HPL HelpDesk tech in real time. You may use it to report staff computer issues such as printing, Java, web browsers and Outlook.

Here’s what you need to know:

•       You may still call or email the HelpDesk. HPL Rescue Calling Card is just another quick and fast way to get your issue resolved.

•       During the beta phase, service hours are Monday-Friday, 9 AM – 6 PM.

•       This service is for staff computers only. You will notice the blue icon on your staff desktop computer Thursday, August 4. 

Here’s how it works:

•       Our techs will “remote in” on your computer to resolve the issue ONLY after you’ve given them permission.

•       Once the session has ended, our techs will no longer have access to your computer.

•       Only you can initiate the chat/call from your computer.

•       Make sure to review the how-to handout to familiarize yourself (see attached file).

As always, do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. 

SRP - End of Summer Survey

All staff have been asked to complete the Summer Reading Program End of Summer survey, which will be used to help improve SRP 2017!

Please take a moment to complete this survey: https://goo.gl/forms/6Sh4Ed5ZHdoF9VZZ2.

Only a couple of the questions are required and the rest can be answered or skipped as you see fit.  Any feedback we can get will ultimately help us troubleshoot issues for next year and improve our program for both our staff and customers.

Please submit your survey by 5:00 pm, Wednesday, August 10, 2016.

IMPORTANT: $20 fine

Team,

There was a transaction for a $20 fine that a male customer paid on 08/01/2016. Unfortunately, the fine was not rung up in Smart Money and therefore the money was collected from the customer, but the fine did not clear from his account.

If you have a customer who comes in disputing a $20 fine, please let Edgar, Tim, or Nhu know so that we can handle it. If none of us are available, please ensure the customer presents proof of payment (such as their bank account statement) and we can go ahead and waive the fines on his account. Be sure to put a note in the extended info in the customer's account.

-Edgar

Summer Reading Program

From Sara Pope:

Today is the last day of SRP! This means that we are no longer accepting registrations/logging books after midnight tonight.

However, we will still be awarding prizes to customers who haven’t yet collected their prizes. Please make sure the staff at your locations are aware of this! We will be providing further details about how to send back the leftover prizes and Scholastic books for registration in a future email. Prizes can be awarded through when HISD school starts back up (August 22^nd), or until we run out, whichever happens first!

Family Prize Pack information: I will be running reports and doing the drawing tomorrow (August 2^nd). 100 winners of the drawing will be contacted by youth services/communications. If you have winners at your location, we will be sending the prizes to your location for the winners to pick up. The prizes will be clearly labeled. If customers are asking you about the prize pack, please remind them that it is a drawing, and so you don’t have any prizes to actually award them at your location.

The bike winners are also going to be determined tomorrow after I run the reports, and they will be contacted by youth services/communications. We will be letting you know when the customer has said they want to come pick up the bike.

Prize update: We still have a few children’s Chipotle, Dynamo, and a few boxes of trophies left. We have very few CMH passes left for the program attendance prize. We are completely out of Teen Chipotle and Astros tickets. If your location has prizes that you don’t think you’ll realistically be awarding before the end of August, please let me know, and send them back to me. I can reallocate them to locations that need them. If you are in need of any prizes, please let me know (even if they are prizes that we are currently out of!) I’ll keep a list, and send them to you if they become available.

Please continue to award prizes in Evanced properly, especially the tricky 5 programs attended prize (awarded through the Patron icon, clicking on Yes next to Got Program Prize, and then clicking the save button).

Thanks so much for your hard work throughout the summer! SRP is really a group effort. We got a very nice compliment from a customer that we’ll be sharing at the August youth meeting.

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Teen Writing Contest Extension

From Youth Services:

We have extended the Teen Writing Contest due date.  All entries are now due by 5:00pm on October 1, 2016.  Please make sure that your staff are aware of the new due date.

Contest rules and more information can be found here: http://houstonlibrary.org/learn-explore/library-events/teen-writing-contest

Prizes for Each Category:

• 1st Prize = $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card
• 2nd Prize = $15 Barnes & Noble Gift Card
• 3rd Prize = $10 Barnes & Noble Gift Card

How to Submit Entry:

• In Person: at any HPL Location. Use the fillable PDF form.
• By Mail: Houston Public Library | Attn: Rebecca Denham - Teen Room | 500 McKinney St., 77002. Use the fillable PDF form.
• Online: complete the form below. Don't forget to upload your document file!

Contest Submission Rules:

• Participants must be a current student between grades 6-12.
• For each submission fill out the entry form (download here) and attach to your submission. A submission consists of 1 entry form attached to 3 copies of your entry. (If you participate in two categories, you should have two Entry Forms.)
• One entry per category per participant
• Submit 3 copies of your entry typed on white paper with 1 entry form attached. No handwritten entries will be accepted.
• Text & Formatting
  • Title of work should appear at the top of the submission. Your name should only appear on the entry form. Do not put your name on the copies of your short story or poem attached to the entry form.
  • Color – Black ink only
  • Font – Times New Roman
  • Size – 12pt
  • Spacing - 1.5 line spacing
  • No pictures are permitted
• All entries must adhere to the word count. Poetry must be 800 words or less. Short stories should be a minimum of 1000 words and not exceed 5000 words.
• All short stories must be stand-alone. Excerpts of larger works will not be considered.
• All entries must be original work; Fanfiction will not be accepted.

Note: If a teen has already submitted an entry and would like to further revise their poem/short story before resubmitting they are allowed to do so. Please email Rebecca Denham (rebecca.denham@houstontx.gov) their first and last name and age so that she can pull the old entry.