Customer Satisfaction Survey Promotion - August 2010

FYI.

Thanks,
Justine

Good Afternoon,

This is a reminder that we are asking you to promote the LibSat online Survey on a particular day of the month. In August that day will be Thursday. We ask that you encourage customers every Thursday to complete this survey and when possible, staff should distribute the survey bookmarks to customers. Please let me know if you need more bookmarks.

Thank you.

http://hpl.countingopinions.com/

Veronica T. Davidson
Houston Public Library
Communications Division
832-393-1335

Washing of chairs at the SWMSC

FYI,

Thanks,
Justine

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen

Greetings from the South West Multi Service Center

This weekend the janitorial services will be machine cleaning all fabric chairs throughout the center. Kindly store away all your valuables for your security and to allow them access.

Wish you all a fruitful rest of the week

Thank you,

Nicholas Bisase
Administrative Associate
6400 High Star
Houston, TX 77074
713-778-6525 - office
713-778-6561 - fax
nicholas.bisase@cityofhouston.net

Sunday Schedules

FYI,

Thanks,
Justine

Public Services Staff:

RE: Sunday staffing at Central

Sunday hours begin at Central 22 August 2010.

· Staff from Neighborhood Libraries, Special Collections, Library Materials Services, and Programming will assist Central Services to cover Sundays in FY2011 (August 2010-June 2011). We anticipate most staff will work on average two of the 35 Sundays we will be open.

· We anticipate that Central staff (with the assistance of Circulation Administration staff and selected Library Materials Services staff) will be working a 6-week rotation.

· Staff from the NL extended hours locations (ALI, COL, KEN, PAR, SCE, STE) have been excluded from the rotation due to the longer service hours they are already providing to the public.

· Staff from the following locations: BLU, VIN, FRA, and SW Express will be supporting Discovery Green weekend hours and have therefore been excluded from the Central rotation.

· Staff orientations for working Sundays at Central will be offered on an ongoing weekly basis to assure all staff has the knowledge to offer good customer service.

Further information is forthcoming from Paty Bustamante, Central Services.

Thank You,


Beatrice Duran, on the behalf of Meller Langford
Administrative Specialist
Houston Public Library, Public Services Division

Discard Bins in the Back Workroom

FYI- (Two Things):

I. Since we are supposed to weed materials as items get checked in, rather than stack these items on my desk or in my cubby hole above it, I have placed 3 bins in the back for items that need to be removed from the system:

1) Hardbacks (including the infant board books)
2) Paperbacks
3) A/V materials (CDs, DVDs, etc)

All you have to do is toss the item(s) in the correct bin, and I will remove them from the system at a later date.

II. For any items missing barcodes, but not in bad enough shape for discards, simply rubber band a note reading, "To: Processing, Missing Barcode", on the item and place in the delivery bin behind the checkout desk. If you have the barcode #, then write it on the note.

Delivery will get the item to the Processing Department, and they will put on a new barcode sticker and send it back to us.

Please don't leave these items on my desk.

Thank you!

-Eric

TV in the Teen Area

FYI an update from IT,

Reggie from Wire Works will be picking up the TV and taking it to get repaired. He is aware that it is mounted on the wall and will take care of taking it down. When he arrives at SWX, please make sure that he signs in on the visitors log.

Thanks,
Justine

Texshare Cards

FYI,

Thanks,
Justine

Greetings all.

From time to time it is good to remind ourselves of the proper way to perform certain tasks that may not be part of our daily routines. Issuing Texshare Cards is one of those. Below is a brief overview of the does and don’ts for correctly issuing Texshare cards to customers. The full policy may be found on the intranet at https://hplnet.hpl.lib.tx.us/polandpro/pol-6_2.pdf - HPL Policy 6.2 J.

1. HPL issues Texshare cards to resident borrowers only. We do not issue Texshare cards to non-resident borrowers. Anyone who resides outside of the city limits of Houston is a non-resident borrower.
2. HPL requires that the HPL borrower account be at least six months old and in good standing at the time the Texshare card is issued. If the account is less than six months old or if the account is blocked for any reason, the Texshare card should not be issued. All outstanding blocks, fines and fees must be fully resolved before the Texshare card is issued.
3. HPL issues Texshare cards with an expiration of one year (or the expiration date on the borrower account if that is less than one year) to resident borrowers whose accounts are in good standing and at least 6 months old.
4. When a Texshare card is issued, the t-Texshare code is placed in the Program Field in the III Patron Record. The p-type for the III Patron Record is not changed.

If you have other questions about Texshare cards, take a look at the policy (HPL Policy 6.2 J) or give your local LA Supervisor a call. You are also welcome to call Connie Moore, Cynthia Howard or me in Circulation Administration for assistance at 832-393-2222 (choose option 3).

Have a wonderful day.

Fred Schumacher
Circulation Administration, Manager
Houston Public Library

Laptops & more...

IT has taken all of the laptops from SWX to upgrade them to Office 2007. We should have them back by Friday.

PS. Computer #5 is back & operational.
The flat screen used for the reservation waiting list is no longer working. IT is aware and is working on the problem.

Thanks,
Justine

SMM - Going Live on Wednesday July 21, 2010

Greetings everyone,

Smart Money Manager will be going live at SWX on Wednesday July 21, 2010. SMM is only available on the computer on the far right hand side of the customer service desk. All staff (including MU) have been trained on SMM. If you need any assistance, please ask me or refer to the Revenue Deposit Quick Reference binder that is available behind the customer service desk. If you need your SMM password, please contact Jeff Robin.

Each night when we close, all available staff will help out with closing the register, printing the reports, and preparing the daily deposit. This process will ensure that all monies are accounted for and that the daily figures are correct.

Now that we will be using SMM here at SWX this means that the time we leave the building will change. We will be doing the daily cash deposits at night; thus all staff working until close will stay until at least 15 minutes after the hour (or until the deposit is completed).
Days that we close at 6:00pm - we will leave at 6:15pm
Days that we close at 7:00pm - we will leave at 7:15pm

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Thanks,
Justine

Schneider Electric and Library Location Site Visits

FYI - Please be aware that Schneider Electric will be visiting SWX.

Thanks,
Justine

From: Stephens, Jason - HPL
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2010 9:33 AM

Importance: High

Good morning all

I have received a schedule of the library locations being toured by Schneider Electric this next Monday, July 19th starting around 8 am and lasting until about 4pm. Unfortunately, I don’t have precise times when they should arrive except for the first location (which will be around 8:30am). GSD staff will provide access to any facilities not open when they arrive, so no one will need to come early to open up.

HPL Express Southwest

Door Count - July 2010

Monday, July 19th is the start of another Door Count week, which will end on Saturday, July 23rd.

The purpose of Door Count is to track the numbers of visitors who come to the library on an hourly basis. This helps managers make decisions about staffing levels and service hours. It also helps us to gain insight into how people are using the library (i.e. through In House Material Use). These are standard industry measures that all libraries record.

Please check your gates to make sure that they are operating correctly. If you have not already done so, this week would be a good time to clean your filter and make sure that your gate is in working order. You can refer to the exciting gate maintenance video if you need a refresher: https://hplnet.hpl.lib.tx.us/your-library.html

As a reminder, Door Count ONLY involves recording P numbers from your gate(s) on an hourly basis and recording your In-House materials use on an hourly basis. Record other statistics (such as Reference) as you normally do.

Daily Stats & P Number

FYI,

Please be sure to mark down all reference, directional, and computer related questions each time that you are on the desk. Please also remember to get the P number from the 3M gate at the end of each day.

Thanks,
Justine

Daily Schedule for July 2, 2010 - Update

Update,

The daily schedule should now be visible via this blog and Google Docs.

Thanks,
Justine


Greetings all,

Google Docs is down and is not allowing us access to the daily schedule. Have no fear I have generated a low tech version of our schedule...aka printing it out. It is posted on the wall by the staff entrance door. The Sign In/Sign Out document should not be an issue, so please sign in/sign out accordingly.

Thanks,
Justine

Floating Collection - 07/01/10

FYI,

Thanks,

Justine

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Hello everyone.

Today we begin floating the vast majority of our materials at most HPL locations. Since items formerly belonging to other locations will become part of your branch’s collection when you check them in, you should notice fewer items generate transit slips. Keep in mind that Central Library items, except uncataloged paperbacks, and Children’s Museum items will not float, so the system will continue to place these items “In Transit” when they are checked in anywhere other than their owning locations. Laptops, reference items, gaming equipment and literacy collection materials are also excluded from floating.

If you notice that you are being prompted to place items that should float “In Transit” and you have already restarted your Millennium session today, please let me know about the problem you are seeing. I’ll be happy to look into it and see what can be done to correct the error. You can email me at fred.schumacher@houstontx.gov or call me at 31567.

Happy Floating!

Fred Schumacher

Circulation Administration, Manager

Houston Public Library

PS... you can check out the Floating Collection blog http://hplfloat.blogspot.com for more information.