Giving Change for the Copier Machine

Greetings all,

I know that we've all wondered whether or not we should give change to assisting with printing/copying. So I hunted down an answer for us. This information is from Daniel @ Central.

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns.
Please let me know.

Thanks,
Justine

Dear Daniel,

When is it okay to give change from the register?

Never Change

Well, Never, the answer is never. I understand some people don’t come in with exact change for the copier or to get a drink in the Teen room, but we should never open the register unless we are paying a fine, running our start of day till or our end of day till. Should they require change, direct them to local businesses or banks. And remember, our keystone is fair and equitable treatment, meaning if you give one person change, you must give everyone change and the last thing want is to set a precedent.

Daniel

HPL Policy for Suspending Customers

Greetings all,

Please read the following information regarding HPL's Policy for Suspending Customers.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks,
Justine

HPL Policy for Suspending Customers

Greetings,

I wanted to remind everyone that all staff needs to be very familiar with Policy 2.3 (see link below this paragraph) and ensure that we are all following it when suspending people from the library. This policy explicitly lays out the offenses that can result in suspensions and how long each suspension should be based on type of offense. When suspending someone from a location, we need to make certain that it is done according to this policy.

https://hplnet.hpl.lib.tx.us/polandpro/pol-2_3.pdf

I really want to draw everyone’s attention to section C. In fact, it is a good practice to print this out and share it with all staff. I also would like for everyone to post this information to your location’s blog. We have to make sure that the suspension we issue for rule violations matches the appropriate listed category (Short Term Suspension, Long Term Suspension, and Indefinite Suspension). In addition, it is crucial that the length of suspension follow the guidelines listed here based on whether it is a customer’s first, second, third (etc.) offense.

Finally, and I can’t stress this enough, anytime there is a suspension, there needs to be an incident report to document the details. In the reports, it is important to explicitly state why the customer was suspended and the duration of the suspension. I find it useful to include a reference to the phrasing in our policy that applies to the situation at hand.

Please let me or your team leader know if you have any questions at all about this.

Thanks,

Mike Van Campen

New Laptop Delivery Procedure

Greetings all,

Please see the information regarding laptops needing repair.

Thanks,
Justine

From: Hiott, Judith - HPL
Sent: Monday, February 14, 2011 12:24 PM
To: HPL - All Employees
Subject: New Laptop Delivery Procedure

In an effort to improve customer service by decreasing the turn-around of IT repairs, the IT and FIDS departments are implementing a procedure to send laptops that need repair through delivery rather than being picked up by IT.

In delivery today or tomorrow, each location will receive two bubble envelopes with a set of procedures including two forms. Please read through the procedures and let the IT Helpdesk know if you have any questions.

This procedure does not pertain to the Central Library and Marston since IT has relatively easy access to those buildings.

We hope the bubble bags can be used several times before discarding them. If possible, please save and re-use them when a laptop is returned to you. Please contact Alfredo Amaya in IT if you need additional supplies.

The new procedure begins as soon as you receive your supplies. As we proceed through the initial implementation, I welcome feedback from staff about how to improve the process. Thank you.

Sincerely,


Judith Hiott, Chief
Houston Area Library Automated Network
500 McKinney
Houston, TX 77002
832-393-1476


Ron Stauss approved this message.

Tax Resouces Section on the HPL Website

Greetings all,

Here is the link to the HPL Tax Resources Section on the HPL Website.

http://www.houstonlibrary.org/tax-resources

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

Thanks, Justine

In it, you will find:

· Basic information on IRS services and online tools, with links to each item

· Contact information for local IRS offices

· Links to PDFs of more commonly requested 2010 tax forms and instructions (for easy printing when we don't have the item a patron is looking for)

· A list of locations that have reproducible tax forms (including the dates available), as well as a link the IRS "Previous Year Products"

· A list of locations providing free tax aide through AARP, and a link to the AARP's Tax Aide site locator

· Links to other organizations providing free tax assistance in the Houston area, and FAQs about their services

· Links to PDFs for each location, listing all tax forms and instructions ordered at that location (with a disclaimer about immediate availability)

· Information about related programs and resources, including a shameless plug for More Money @ Your Library® and selected database categories

Fines for Friday, 02/04/11

Greetings all,

Please see the information regarding fines from Friday, 02/04/11.

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

Thank,
Justine

Greetings all.

As you know, the Library was closed last Friday, 02/04/11. Unfortunately, the closed dates calendar in the Library’s computer system was not altered to reflect this additional closed day, and fines will assess for that day on items that became overdue on or before Friday, 02/04. Please keep this in mind as you work with your customers and waive any fines that accrue for Friday, 02/04/11. This affects only fines that accrue for the single day, 02/04.

Thanks for your assistance with this.

Fred Schumacher

Changes to Hold Pick Up Notices

Greetings all,

Please read the following information regarding Hold Pick Up Notices.

Thanks,
Justine

Hello all.

On Monday, February 7th, HPL will stop sending Hold Pick Up notices to customers via US Post. For the past month and a half (since December 20th), mailed Hold Pick Up notices have included a message advising customers of the coming change and requesting they update phone numbers and email addresses in their accounts. Customers with good email addresses and/or phone numbers in their accounts will continue to receive Hold Pick Up notices either by email or automated telephone notification.

Please be mindful of the coming change as you assist customers, especially those who you know make use of Holds. If you notice that a customer does not have an email address and/or phone number in his/her record, please take a moment to ask if they would like you to add the information so we can get notices to them in a timely manner.

As always, thanks for all that you do.

Fred Schumacher

Rolling Black Outs

Greetings all,

Please read the following information regarding the statewide Rolling Blackouts.

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

Thanks,

Justine

RE: Rolling Black Outs

VanCampen, Michael - HPL

Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 9:57 AM

To:

VanCampen, Michael - HPL; HPL - NL & Express Managers

As an addendum to the last message: Please call NL Administration at 832.393.2705 if your location needs to close due to a rolling black out.

Also, please do open your location once power is restore

From: VanCampen, Michael - HPL

Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 9:54 AM

To: HPL - NL & Express Managers

Subject: Rolling Black Outs

Greetings all,

In the event that your location experiences a rolling black out, you should ask customers to leave and close the building because of safety concerns. Please place a sign at the entrance to your location that indicates: “This library location is temporarily closed due to rolling black outs”.

Please call me if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Mike Van Campen

Chief of Neighborhood Libraries

Houston Public Library

Phone: 832.393.1371

Mobile: 713.303.1974

NEW! michael.vancampen@houstontx.gov