Updating Your Direct Deposit

From COH Payroll Services, 9:30 AM:

UPDATING DIRECT DEPOSIT INSTRUCTIONS

Effective immediately and until further notice, employees will no longer be able to update direct deposit instructions via the online Employee Self Service (ESS) portal. Employees needing to update their direct deposit instructions must complete the Direct Deposit form available at http://www.houstontx.gov/ara/payrollforms/directdepositform.pdf and submit it along with a voided check for checking accounts or a preprinted deposit slip for savings accounts to the Payroll Services Division at the help window located at 611 Walker, 2nd floor. Questions or concerns can be addressed to the Payroll Services Help Desk at payroll@houstontx.gov or 832.393.8900.

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This may be the reason why:

From HITS, 4/29:

Information Security Alert: Phishing Scam Targeting Payroll Direct Deposits

What Is Being Done	Important Alert: Phishing Scam Targeting Payroll Direct Deposits
Impacted Service(s)	Payroll Direct Deposits
Impacted Departments/ User Groups	Potential impact to all City employees
Background	A relatively new email phishing scam targeting employee direct deposits is currently in circulation. Many of the attacks follow the same patterns, suggesting that the same threat actors are behind the attacks. The attacks begin with employees receiving spoofed email messages appearing to come from internally trusted sources (e.g., IT, HR, fellow employees). The spoofed messages make a request for the employee to click a link, access a website or answer a few questions, and, ultimately directs the employee to confirm their identity by providing login credentials leading to account compromise. The threat actors then use the compromised account to access payroll portals and reroute direct deposits to accounts they own and control.
Required Actions:	Remain vigilant and look for suspicious email messages; look for incorrect grammar, capitalization, etc. Verify the senders actual email address, rather than just looking at the displayed account name Roll your cursor over the links received via email and look for inconsistencies; if it’s not the website the email claims to be directing you to, then the link is pointing to a fraudulent site Do not provide credentials in response to any email request (including requests appearing to come from system administrators or the HITS Service Desk) Utilize unique, complex passwords for all accounts and avoid using the same password for multiple accounts (e.g., COH domain/email password should be different from SAP/ESS password) When in doubt, do not open, click or respond and contact the HITS Service Desk and report suspicious email messages Stop and Think before you Click to do your part to help keep COH data, information and systems safe!
Notification Plan	HITS will continue to provide updates as additional information becomes available.
Contact	For issues concerning this notification please contact: Phone: 832-393-9800 Portal:  help.houstontx.gov

SRP 2018- Block Party!

From Mary Wagoner, 4/26:

Houston Public Library’s Summer Reading Program theme this year is BLOCK PARTY! We’re celebrating community and community building through reading, library program participation and community involvement. 

Houston Public Library is streamlining the reading levels by logging days for everyone. If participants read just 20 minutes a day they can log that as a day read. Participants in the Summer Reading Program will earn digital badges with corresponding button pins as well as a book at the 10 Day, 20 Day and 30 Day level. For Library Program attendance and Community Involvement, the prizes will be digital badges and corresponding button pins.

To that end – every location will receive a 1.25” Button Machine, a 1.25” Graphic Punch, and button pieces! Participants will be able to make their button and add it to their lanyard!  The buttons/pins are fun, collectable and advertise the program to other families.  The button/pin makers can be used throughout the year as part of a craft or reward for attending a program!  The button/pins will be part of the prizes for future Summer Reading Programs as well.

Prizes for Babies: Registration – Book 10 Days – Finger Puppet + Book 20 Days – Bubbles + Book 30 Days – Rubber Duck + Book

Prizes for Kids and Teens: Registration – HPL Lanyard + Book 10 Days – Button Pin + Book 20 Days - Button Pin + Book 30 Days – Button Pin + Book 5 Library Activities – Button Pin 5 Community Activities – Button Pin

Teen Grand Prizes - Teen readers who unlock the 30 Day level will be automatically entered into a drawing to win a pair of wireless Skullcandy headphones (1 pair per location).

Weekly Drawings for Kids – Any kid who is registered and has logged reading will be entered in a random drawing for a Kindle Fire Kids Edition each week during the summer.

Family Prizes – This prize is awarded through the adult Summer Reading for Grownups program. To unlock the Family Prize badge, adults must review 1 book marketed for juvenile or teen readers and 1 book marketed for adult readers and the youth must unlock the 30 Day badge. Family = 1 Adult + 1 Kid (Ages 5-18)

• To make logging even easier, Beanstack will have a mobile app up and running by June 1!

• Pre-registration will open on May 15^th, but participants will not be able to log books until June 1.

• Training is coming soon!  All frontline staff will participate so in training and HPL’s customers will be thrilled that anyone on the HPL Customer Experience team can assist them with registration and prizes. 

My special thanks to Rebecca, Sara and Corey for being Beanstack gurus, trainers and consultants and working so hard behind the scenes to plan,  coordinate and implement the program. My thanks to entire Youth Services team for their hard work and dedication to improving and making Summer Reading Program exciting! In addition, I would like to acknowledge Communications for their support and Camp STREAM for becoming a mainstay of Houston Public Library’s Summer Reading Program.

Let Rebecca, Sara, Corey or me know if you need more information; or have any questions.  Thank you for sharing the joy of reading!

From Saima Kadir, 11:32 AM:

We have partnered with Unique Management Services (UMS) to take our customers’ calls on behalf of our telephone and circulation services. Please make a note of the following:

• UMS answers HPL customers’ calls during these hours:
  • Circulation: Monday – Thursday | 6 PM – 8 PM AND Saturday 10 AM – 5 PM
  • Telephone Reference: Saturday 10 AM – 5 PM
  • TR and Circulation Administration staff continue to take HPL customer calls during regular business hours:
    • TR: Monday – Thursday | 9 AM – 8 PM; Friday 10 AM – 5 PM
    • Circulation Administration: Monday – Thursday | 9 AM – 6 PM; Friday 10 AM – 5 PM
• During these times, we recommend that you:
  • Call another location
  • Call TR or Circulation during regular business hours
  • Send an email:
    • Email Reference at hplemail.reference@houstontx.gov
    • Circ Info at circinfo@hpl.lib.tx.us

We hope this information is useful. Please contact me directly if you have any questions.

New Digital Fluency Program

DATE: Monday, April 23, 2018 TO: All HPL Employees WE HAVE EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE ON THE NEW HPL DIGITAL FLUENCY PROGRAM!

Dear HPL Team,   Would you agree that technology skills are essential to serving our customers at HPL as well as for our own personal lives? The need to continuously evolve, learn and grow in the use of digital technology and fluency are important factors for HPL as a customer-focused organization. The HPL Organizational Development Team, along with the Digital Strategies Team, has developed a Digital Fluency program to assist HPL staff in enhancing the organization's technology skills. This program is designed to help HPL evolve with the continuous evolution in technology, which ultimately helps us continue to deliver exceptional customer service to our internal and external customers.   What is Digital Fluency? What is the goal of the HPL Digital Fluency program?  Digital Fluency is the ability to use technology to achieve desired outcomes. The goal of this program is to gain an understanding of our organization's digital fluency and identify where to provide learning opportunities for staff. HPL staff will have the opportunity to demonstrate their current level of digital fluency through an online assessment tool called NorthStar and use it as a guide to improve or gain additional digital fluency with online resources, training modules and individual training. Our priority is to provide each and every one of you with technological skills development and learning opportunities.   Digital Fluency Assessments - April 23 - May 20, 2018 The NorthStar online assessment tool offers six (6) special assessments. These assessments will kick-off the Digital Fluency program and provide a comprehensive understanding of HPL's digital fluency level. All six assessments will be available starting on Monday, April 23 and must be completed by Sunday, May 20 (at end of day). Every HPL staff member is required to take the online assessments. You must achieve at least an 85% passing rate on each assessment. Assessments may be re-taken to achieve the passing rate during the assessment window. Thirty (30) minutes of training credit are given for each assessment. This is a skill building process! We encourage everyone to review the HPL NorthStar Resource Guide before taking or retaking the assessments. How to access the online assessment tool Visit the Digital Fluency Resource Page on the HPL training portal. You will find instructions on how to get started. Attached is a “How To” guide to help as well. HPL supervisors and managers will be able to assist you with questions. You may also contact the HPL OD Training team at hpltraining@houstontx.gov or the Digital Strategies Team at hpl.helpdesk@houstontx.gov. This program is designed to support HPL staff in maintaining or gaining the Digital Fluency necessary to serve HPL internal and external customers. The goal is to provide all staff with the best learning and training opportunities and is not designed to be punitive.

Sincerely, Ophelia Gomes | Rick Peralez Digital Fluency Sponsors

Staff Meeting Notes 4-16-18

9:15-9:45 AM, Walter Meeting Room

STAFF MEETING AGENDA 

     1.     Counting In-House Use--great March stats: 11% and 12% in-house use! 

     2.     Staff Borrower Cards 

a.      Handout: Library Materials Services: policies relating to: 6.2 Registration (page 4-5) “. . .  Houston Public Library staff are expected to comply with the same lending policies applied to other customer accounts.  Abuse of the staff borrowing privilege by a staff member may result in disciplinary action. . .”

     3.     Weekly Update Emails

a.      4-9-18: Shifting in Adult Non-Fiction and Periodicals/Newspapers; Digital Strategies has spent paper and toner budget for rest of FY18; do not use bypass code on Coin Copier machine for staff copying.

b.     4/2/18: Discharging: Keep your eyes on the screen, we should be 100% accurate; Volunteers: must wear a badge, prepare ready-to-shelve carts for them; National Library Workers Day, 4/10: Horray for us!

c.      Check your email regularly!

     4.     New Public Service Hours proposed for FY19 (beginning Aug. 1) - confidential

     5.     Staff Appreciation: Pick Your Own Snacks. Fill up a bag from our selection of delicious treats!

IMPORTANT DATES

•         Wednesday, April 18: Regional Youth Services Meeting, 9-11:30 AM (Ivy)
•         Friday, April 20: Last day of pay period, timecards approved after 5:30 PM
•         Saturday, April 21: Branch Staff Training, 8:30-9:30 AM: Scratch Coding (Pam)
•         Tuesday, April 24, and Wednesday, April 25: Managers Boot Camp @ CEN (Karen & Christy)
•         Friday, April 27: Payday
•         Saturday, April 28: International Children’s Talent Show at SWMSC, 1-3 PM
•         Friday, May 4: One Houston, One Library staff meeting @ WAL, 8:30-9:30 AM
•         Saturday, May 12, and Saturday, May 19: Branch Staff Training 8:30-9:30, tba
•         Monday, May 21: May Staff Meeting, 9:15-9:45 AM

REVIEW: ENVISIONWARE RESERVATION & PRINTING SYSTEM

•        Guest numbers good for 1 day only--discard at the end of the day
•         Computer Use cards (554…) seem to be working--check this
•         TIme automatically extends 15 minutes at  a time, no limit
•         Staff can blanket reserve a group of public computers for class or demo
•         Black & White printing/copies $0.15/page, color printing/copies $0.50/page
•         Printing takes cash or credit cards only
•         Maximum. cash $3
•         Minimum credit card charge $1 (authorizes $10, after printing adjusts charge to actual cost, min. $1)
•         Courtesy printing for customers from desk computer, if Coin Copier at fault (equipment or paper malfunction), using bypass code.  
•         No free staff printing with bypass code at Coin Copier machine--use the copier/printer in Workroom
•         Send old payment cards with more than $1 to Coin Copier for refund using self-addressed envelopes in desk drawer; Collect and give to CC tech when in building.

Ryan's Weekly Tip for the Homeless, Mentally Ill, and Addicted Patrons, 4-10-18

From Ryan Dowd, 10:02AM:

Most homeless individuals have experienced significantly more trauma than most non-homeless individuals:   Homeless individuals have experienced more sexual violence as children and as adults than the general population. Homeless individuals have experienced more physical violence as children and as adults than the general population. 45% of men have experienced at least one traumatic brain injury event in their lives (that’s not quite at the NFL level, but it’s coming close). Neuroscientists have studied trauma extensively and determined that trauma (especially childhood trauma) physically changes the brain by remapping neural pathways, altering the chemical makeup of the brain and killing brain cells in specific parts of the brain. There are two specific (and highly relevant) consequences of substantial trauma. We will discuss one this week and one next week. Trauma Part 1:  Threat stimuli Individuals who have experienced a lot of trauma oftentimes “misperceive threat stimuli.”  This is just a fancy way of saying that their brain has trouble judging just how bad something is. Consequently, individuals who have experienced a lot of trauma oftentimes “overreact.”  Something mildly bad happens (like a fine at the library for an overdue book), and they absolutely explode as if it is the worst thing that has ever happened to them.  If you have not experienced significant trauma in your life, their behavior makes no sense.  But, if you think through their life experiences, it actually makes sense: At some point in the past, something catastrophically bad happened to them (rape, severe beating, etc.) Their brain wants to ensure that never happens again. Consequently, the brain now always errs on the side of caution:  it is safer to treat everything as very dangerous (and be wrong) than to let your guard down (and be wrong). So, the next time you are working with a homeless individual and he or she “overreacts” to something that seems trivial to you, remember that past trauma has fundamentally altered the way his/her brain processes the world. Next week:  Trauma Part 2.

Have a great week! Peace, Ryan www.homelesslibrary.com

Photos from the Lunar New Year Living Room

On the Intranet at https://houstonlibrary.libguides.com/c.php?g=819086:

New Freegal Interface

From Marianne Lorio, 4/5:

Freegal has just released a new browser interface and app. Included are a handful of older audiobook titles. I’ve found the new interfaces pretty straight forward to use, but please give them a try. Let me know what questions you have and I will forward them to the vendor.

NOTE: Freegal: https://houstonlibrary.freegalmusic.com/home

Ryan's Weekly Tip for Homeless, Mentally Ill, and Addicted Patrons, 4-2-18

From Ryan Dowd, 10:01AM: 

In the Fifth Season of the hit sitcom, Seinfeld, Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) starts dating a guy named Aaron (Judge Reinhold).  Aaron is a “close talker,” someone who stands too close to people, invading their personal space.  The episode is funny because we have all encountered a close talker who made us uncomfortable with their distance (or lack thereof).  I have a few tips for handling close talkers:

• Invite the person “talk while you walk.”  Tell him that you want to talk to him, but that you need to restock some books (or get papers, or whatever) and then have him follow you.  This allows you to control the distance between you.  (THIS IS MY FAVORITE!) 
• Try to position something (like a table) between the two of you, so that the natural barrier keeps the person at a distance.  The key to this (and the hard part) is to casually slip behind the table without being obvious. 
• Invite them to talk to you sitting down (on opposite sides of a table). 
• If nothing else works, you can use a little “alternative fact.”  Ask the person if you can take a step back because you forgot deodorant this morning (or forgot to brush your teeth, or whatever).  This works because you aren’t making it about them and because it is just weird enough to be disarming for most people.  (Note:  you are going to ask if you can step back, not ask the patron to step back).

Have a great week!

Peace,

Ryan
www.homelesslibrary.com