7.21.2017

Barcodes

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7.20.2017

Stella Link Team Meeting July 19, 2017


Present: Patricia Tucker, Linda Shen, Carol Wu, Ade Odusanwo, Ales Gabitto, Ray Williams, Sharon Martell Castillo, Frances Saldana, Erica Huff, Jacob Hornbeak, Jose Zamora, Amethyst Taylor, and Tim Siegel
Leading: Edgar Fuentes
Not Present: Nhu Le and Lexi Fruge

Passports Page
: houstonlibrary.org/pasaportes is now the page for Spanish passport information and for getting in line for passports. Jacob has agreed to modify the flyers to include the information. Please continue to direct customers to that page and allow them to read through the information and to put themselves in line.

Printing: Those of us who have computer classes and need to print out materials for the classes should try to print using the computer lab printer. We have so few toner for the two staff printers in the workroom that large print jobs could make us run out more quickly than we’d like.

Please remember that we should not use City printers for personal use.

Kronos: Please remember to stay on top of you Kronos punches so that you have 8 hours each day and 40 hours at the end of each week. If you go over, please make arrangements to use that extra time before the end of that week.

Smart Money: Please try to enter Smart Money transactions carefully. We had a transaction on Saturday that was entered as cash instead of Credit Card. In this instance, just put a note and slip it in the drawer so that the people who do money will be alerted. Please do not void transactions. If you enter an incorrect amount into Telecheck machine and it charges the customer, get a supervisor to help you though the process of fixing the amount. 

Keep in mind that any customers who want to pay with a credit card can do so at the 3M Express Checkout machines if there is a line at the desk. Please walk a customer over to the machines and walk them through the process.

Rescued Pets Display: If any of you or your family have pets that were rescued, please send pictures to Lexi so that she may use them for the August display.

Houston Book Link:
If you have not already completed the Book Link survey and submitted it Marianne Lorio, please do so today as soon as possible. She is looking for feedback on the service, which allows customers to search the Overdrive eBooks from Harris County Public Library and Houston Public Library. It only takes about 5 minutes to complete. http://houstonbook.link/#/

Volunteer Appreciation
: Jose and Jesse are hosting the Stella Link volunteer appreciation party on July 27 at 1 p.m in the small meeting room. There will be food, drinks, and gifts for the volunteers. If any of the staff would like to contribute please see Jesse or Jose.

Team Discussion:  
Tim announced that the meeting room calendar of October 2017 has been created. If you lead a program that requires one of the rooms, please enter the information. It will be open for public reservation on Friday.

If you have any old magazines or dictionaries, Jose would to distribute them to his ESL class.

Frances is asking for empty toilet paper rolls for crafts in August. Also, Frances announced that Tune Time has been moved to begin at 1PM, instead of 12PM. Frances also asked about the end of the Summer Food Program; it will end on August 10th.


Jacob is reorganizing and cleaning the supply room. Please see him know if you are having problems finding anything. 

7.12.2017

Team Meeting Notes 7/12


Leading: Edgar Fuentes

Present: Ray Williams, Nhu Le, Frances Saldana, Alex Gabitto, Linda Shen, Lexi Fruge, Amethyst Taylor, Jacob Hornbeak, Erica Huff, Jesse Farias, Carol Wu, Patricia Tucker, Sharon Castillo, Ade Odusanwu
Absent: Jose Zamora, Tim Siegel

Thank you everyone for your continuous hard work!

United Way Senior Resource Guide
We have received two reference copies of the United Way Senior Resource Guide. They provide information on various senior issues, such as housing, end of life care, health care. It’s a good supplement to the United Way Community Resource Guide.

Hoopla
Hoopla has added HarperCollins Publishers ebooks to its collection.

Viva Art Bilingual Art Class
On Saturday October 21, we will be hosting a bilingual art class.
Customers will need to preregister. We can take up 25 kids maximum per age group (3-5 yrs/ 5-10 yrs), with a wait list of 5 more in case of cancellations or no-shows. The signup sheet is at the desk.

Description for the class: “Get up close and personal with art and the Spanish language in this bilingual art class designed for SSL students & those wanting to learn Spanish. Kids will be practicing their Spanish language skills by connecting through the culture and art. Students will learn vocabulary and phrases related to the theme in English and Spanish. Registration required; limited space. Please call this location to pre-register your child for this program.”

Literacy in the Bag
Stella Link will be participating in the Literacy in the Bag program.


During the weekend of October 7th, we will launch our kick-off event.   Later during the first two weekends of December, homes in select neighborhoods will receive a book donation bag. Homeowners are asked to drop their new or gently used books in the bag and place them on their porch or driveway the following weekend. Our team of volunteers will pick up books between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Children’s books will be distributed to Title I Elementary and middle schools. Adult books will be donated to The Friends of the Houston Public Library to give back to the community. 

Lynda.com Password
We've received new instructions on how to handle lost passwords for Lynda.com. If a patron needs their password reset, there is phone number for them to call Lynda.com directly. The number, as well as the hours for this service, is included in the description for Lynda.com on the Research webpage. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Meeting Room
We have had to suspend a customer, Zandra Jackson, from Sip n Tea for 3 months since they brought in food to their meeting after they stated they had spoken to several staff members and understood the rules. They have been notified and Zandra Jackson has confirmed receiving the message of suspension.

Qless
A couple of notes on Qless: keep directing customers to houstonlibrary.org/passports to get in line. If customers download the Qless app, it may not work on iPhones. Direct customers to the library’s website instead.

If the line closes, we just need to tell customers to try again later. Qless message after hours or when the line closes shows “If you are seeing this message during our regularly scheduled hours, the queue is full. You may try back later to see if a spot opens up due to cancelations.”

Currently, Internet Explorer has the best results for Qless. Have customers try a different browser if needed.
Stay clear of using the word, “appointment”.

Pension Notes
Group A – contributions will increase to 8% in a 2-year phase
Group B - members will contribute 4% as member contributions in a 2-year phase
Group D – members will contribute 2% as member contributions

General phone number for HMEPS is 713-595-0100 if you have questions, although they mentioned try to hold off until after July 28 to ask questions, as they are busy with these new changes.

Open Discussion
When shelving/paging, please check behind the shelves for library materials that may have fallen behind or under the shelving units.

Lego Robotics for ages 9-18 is scheduled for next Thursday July 20th at 1:00pm. Registration is required. Max is 25 attendees. There is no waitlist. The signup sheet is at the front desk.

More Family Prize packs have arrived. We currently have all the age groups in stock.

Frances want to give thanks to Maricarmen and Sydney for their amazing work on the Fire Engine and Kelsey for her drawing skills on the Dalmatian dog. The Houston Fire Department Safety Speaker program went well and thanks to the staff for the support.

Pajama Storytime is tonight at 7pm. The last Wednesday in July will be Fitness Storytime at 7pm replacing Pajama Storytime.

Qless system with customer signup online has been in effect for almost two weeks now. Please continue to direct customers to houstonlibrary.org/passports to sign up when speaking to the customer in person or over the phone. Use your best customer service judgment in assisting customers who may have technological disadvantages and need more assistance in signing up for a spot in the “virtual” passport line.


Please continue to report issues and suggestions to Edgar or Tim as it comes up. We want to improve Qless where possible for us and our customers. 

7.11.2017

Senior Guidance Directory

Hi,

We have received 2 copies of the 2017-18 Senior Guidance Directory from the United Way. They will be kept at the front desk for reference use only.

It is a great supplement to our existing United Way Community Resource guide that is currently at the desk.

-Edgar

7.05.2017

Hoopla Added HarperCollins ebooks

FYI: Hoopla has added HarperCollins Publishers ebooks to its collection.

Valueline Access

From Marianne Lorio:

Valueline has made changes to their system and we are unable to access it at this time. We are already in contact with the vendor to determine what needs to be done so that we can provide access again. Normally I would say if you have any questions to e-mail me, but I will be out of the office for most of the rest of the week. If you have questions it is especially important that you e-mail both me and the IT Help Desk as should been done whenever you have an electronic resource issue.

7.03.2017

Viva Art Bilingual Art Class

Stella Link is offering the Viva Art! Bilingual Art Class on Saturday 10/21/2017 - two age groups: 3-5 year olds and 5-10 year olds. Customers will need to preregister. We can take up 25 kids maximum, with a wait list of 5 more in case of cancellations or no-shows. Nhu will add a sign in sheet at the desk. Description for the program is online and below:

Get up close and personal with art and the Spanish language in this bilingual art class designed for SSL students & those wanting to learn Spanish. Kids will be practicing their Spanish language skills by connecting through the culture and art. Students will learn vocabulary and phrases related to the theme in English and Spanish. Registration required; limited space. Please call this location to pre-register your child for this program.