Hotspots Start Floating Sept. 28

From Edgar Fuentes, 9/26:

I hope you all got a chance to see the email regarding the exciting news that our mobile hotspots will now begin floating! 

Initially, Saima and her team were going to merge the location bib records this weekend, but they will now be merging the record Thursday night after closing. When records merge, the customer hold lists combine based on timestamp, but once the 200 new hotspots are checked in Friday morning, customers shouldn't see their position change too much. The new Houston Public Library Mobile Hotspot record will go live on the online website for customers place holds sometime Friday. Please let staff know to be on the lookout for the new record to help customers with the transition. 

If any issues come up with hotspots, please contact the HelpDesk.

Ryan's weekly tip for homeless, mentally ill and addicted patrons, 9/18/18

From Ryan Dowd, 10:02 AM:

Since I live near Chicago, I have several friends who have worked for Oprah Winfrey.  They all talk about how Oprah is an amazing listener.  One producer told me, “When you talk to Oprah, she REALLY listens in a way that no one has ever listened to you before.  It is like you are the only person in the world and listening to you is the only thing she wants to be doing at that moment.  It is truly amazing when Oprah listens to you.” So, I want you to be like Oprah and listen.  Don’t interrupt your homeless patrons. Don’t talk over your homeless patrons.  Homeless individuals don’t like to be interrupted or talked over any more than you do.  In fact, homeless individuals like it even less than you do because they are constantly interrupted.  When a homeless patron wants to explain to you why he broke a rule, give him a minute to plead his case.  Listening to him does not mean you have to agree with him.  It is miraculous how often just the mere act of listening calms the other person down.  Just last week I had an angry resident complain to me that he was kicked out of our homeless shelter.  I let him vent and complain for about ten minutes.  I didn’t say a word.  When he was done talking, he took a deep breath, thanked me for my time and left.  He never even asked me to reduce his time out. He just wanted someone to listen! In fact, the mere act of listening can convert an enemy into a friend.  So few people take the time to listen to homeless people, that a simple courtesy can make a homeless patron into your biggest fan.  It is a lot easier to solve problems when someone is your fan!

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

SRP Prizes and What to Do With Them

From Sara Pope, 8:19AM:

If you have any SRP prizes left at your location, with the exception of Whataburger coupons, please go ahead and send them back to Corey Johnson. Please make sure your branch is indicated as where it’s coming from.

If you have Whataburger coupons, give them away at checkout to kids until you run out.

Michelle already sent an email, but please send any leftover SRP books to Michelle Johnson, so she can inventory what we have for Winter Reading (coming soon!)

Changes to TexShare Databases

From Marianne Lorio, 11:18AM:

I’ve just finished updating the TexShare databases on our website. There are some new resources: Credo Complete Collection, Disaster Recover Reference, Sustainability Reference Center, Consumer Health Complete, Chilton Library and Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Please take a moment to go to the Research webpage, read their descriptions, and check them out for yourselves. Other databases were updated with slightly different names such as MAS Complete instead of Mas Ultra and Newspaper Source Plus instead of Newspaper Source. Please let me know if you have any questions.

ILL Service Down for Maintenance

From Rick Peralez, 5:20 PM:

Due to required maintenance, our online interlibrary loan service is temporarily unavailable.  We expect service to restored in the next 24 hours. This information has been posted on our website and mobile app.  We will provide an update once service is restored.  If you have any questions please call the HPL HelpDesk at 832-393-1570.

UPDATE: Via Paty Bustamante, 8/24: Interlibrary Loan online will be unavailable until Monday, 8/27.  During that time customer may submit interlibrary loan requests to E-Mail Reference online and it will be forwarded to the Interlibrary Loan staff; or they can wait for the ILL online to resume service. 

Mobile Printing at SWX & WAL!

Team,

I'm happy to report that mobile printing is now available at both of our locations!  Robin Cabrera turned on Walter's connection yesterday afternoon, although the link has not yet on the Walter web page.

With mobile printing, customers can print from their personal laptops or smart phones by using the link on the location's webpage or emailing their document to a specific email address--see the directions below.  There's also an app customers can download to their phone, PrinterOn, which will send a print job from their device to a mobile printer.

Another great feature of mobile printing is that you don't have to be in the library to use it and you can send it to whichever library with mobile printing you choose.  (Of course, you still have to go to that location to pay for and pick up your print job.)

The mobile print jobs are retrieved at the print release station with the email address the customer used to identify the print job, so it's important to remember what was entered.

I encourage you to practice by sending a few print jobs from a staff computer or your phone.  

This will be a tremendous service for our customers, just like scanning and our new mobile hotspots!

Karen

Problems Accessing Overdrive

From Marianne Lorio, 11:13 AM:

Just as a further update, there seems to be a complication anytime someone wants to access their holds or checkouts from the catalog if the titles are checked out from OverDrive. If anyone reports any issues dealing with OverDrive in the catalog, the best work around is to have the patron go to the OverDrive website via the library’s website or, if they have a smart device, to use the OverDrive app. The overall issue is being worked on.

 

Changes to RB Digital--Updated

From Marianne Lorio, 8/14:

In an effort to both save money and generate more usage, we are making some changes to what we offer through RBdigital starting September 1^st. Here is what you need to know:

•  We are switching to an unlimited simultaneous use plan that will offer fewer titles, but will include the most popular RBdigital audiobooks.
• We will start adding titles that are available exclusively through RBdigital to the collection. These will include titles by Danielle Steel, Fern Michaels, and Alexander McCall Smith among others.
• We are also reviewing the titles checked out from RBdigital for the past year for titles we need to add to the new collection.
• These added titles will not be unlimited use, but library customers will be able to place holds on the audiobooks that are checked out.
• The resulting collection will be smaller but more unique.
• Since I know someone will ask, some authors will have titles in OverDrive, but OverDrive can’t provide all of their titles. For example, Alexander McCall Smith’s juvenile titles are in OverDrive. However, the adult series he is best known for, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, is provided only by RBdigital.
• After September 1^st, it will take a couple of days for the records in the catalog to change to the new subscription.

From ML, 8/28: I just updated the description on the Research webpage to include a notice about this change. Please let me know if you get any questions you can’t answer or have any questions of your own.

From ML, 8/29: We’ve just found out that it is important for anyone who currently has an audiobook checked out from RBdigital to download it to their device before September 1^st. Otherwise their access to the audiobook will be impacted when our subscription plan changes beginning September. I have added this information to the description on the Research webpage, but anything you can do to spread the word will be appreciated.

Changes to E-Book Subscriptions

From Marianne Lorio, 8/2:

I apologize for not spreading the news better, but starting this month we will no longer be offering e-books and audiobooks in the Hoopla collection. The reasons for this difficult decision are budget cuts and the costs of these titles in Hoopla compared to the cost in OverDrive. The key factor is that Hoopla charges per checkout of any item. Whereas we pay one price for access to an OverDrive title. When we compared the cost and the usage of both services Hoopla was costing significantly more than OverDrive and getting only a fraction of the usage. If we had kept the availability as it was, it is forecasted that Hoopla would have grown to be over 10% of our materials budget, which is much greater than the percentage of total usage Hoopla provides. We are planning on funneling some of the money that we are saving on Hoopla into buying additional copies and titles for OverDrive. We are working towards reducing the wait time for OverDrive holds to be fulfilled.

As a side note, the remaining formats in Hoopla, music, movies, and comics, have cost us significantly less than e-books and audiobooks. The content of these collections is also, generally, unique to Hoopla, which is why we are maintaining them for the foreseeable future.

From Marianne, 10:46 AM:

As you know by now, budget cuts are leading us to review all our renewals very carefully. The subscription we had with Rbdigital was rather expensive, especially considering that the number of library customers using it was relativity low. Therefore we changed the subscription plan to one that has fewer titles (the top 250 titles) and costs less.

We will be taking some of the money that is saved to purchase audiobooks titles that are exclusive to Rbdigital, including Daniel Steel and Alexander McCall Smith. Please note that these title will be one copy/one user, which means that if all the copies are checked out you will be able to place a hold on the title. This change will take place at the beginning of September. Please be patient with us as we build a smaller, but more unique collection.

Back to School with Brainfuse

From Mary Wagoner, 9:52AM:

It is back to school season! This is the ideal time to promote Brainfuse [Homework Help, Adult Learning Center, Job Now] to your community. As you attend; or offer back to school programs, please mention the free online tutoring available through Houston Public Library.  

For parents, the JobNow graphic is focused on building a resume. Brainfuse has OptimalResume, a resume building software with over 500 sample templates to help build a resume. The Brainfuse Resume Template are Word documents designed to help patrons draft a resume.

Pronunciator Access Ends August 14

From Marriane Lorio, 8/1:

Due to budget cuts the Texas State Library has chosen to drop Pronunciator from the databases they offer through TexShare. We will no longer provide access to this resource after August 14^th. Please direct library users to Mango Languages instead.

NOTE: Customers using Mango Languages outside the Library should use this link instead. Karen

Ryan's Weekly Tip for Homeless, Mentally Ill, and Addicted Patrons, 7/24/18

From Ryan Dowd, 10:01 AM:

In 1980, the Walmart store in Crowley, Louisiana, was experiencing significant shoplifting. They tried adding a greeter at the front door (the now ubiquitous “Walmart Greeter”). This immediately had its intended effect, and shoplifting went down.

It also had a pleasant, unintended consequence: the paying customers liked it.

Walmart had accidentally stumbled on something amazing:  When you greet people as they arrive, everyone hears what you need them to hear, even if you don’t know what you need them to hear!

In Walmart’s case, two types of people come into their stores:  customers and shoplifters.  Unfortunately, Walmart doesn’t know which person is which type.

When they greet everyone, though, here’s what happens:

• The customers hear, “Walmart likes you.  Please spend lots of money.”
• The would-be shoplifters hear, “I see you.  The other staff see you.  Don’t take our stuff without paying.”

You can try the same thing.  Greet people who come into your building, and here’s what will happen:

• The individuals who aren’t there to do something bad will hear, “We’re glad you are here” (which gets you “pennies in the cup”).
• The individuals who want to shoot up in your bathroom will hear, “Hey, we watch everything, so don’t try to shoot up in our bathroom.”

How do you do it?  Just like Walmart!  Make eye contact and say “good morning” or “good afternoon” to everyone.

Don’t believe me?  Try it for a week and see if you don’t have fewer problems.

I agree!  Let's try to greet everyone who walks in the door.  Karen

Mobile Printing Available at Southwest

Team,

Customers may print from their smart phones, Internet tablets, and laptops remotely and at Southwest Express by using the app Printer On and selecting "Houston Public Library SouthWest Express" as the location.  The document, website or photo will be sent to and held at the Print Release Station until the customer arrives to pay and pick it up.  

Here's the information from the HPL website:

Mobile printing coming soon to a location near you! 
You can now print from your mobile device, onsite or remotely. Simply follow the prompts on the webportal (unique for each location). It's easy and fast. You can also download the free Printeron app and send print requests from your smart phone! 

At this time, mobile printing is available at Central Library, Clayton, Collier, Heights, Henington-Alief, Hillendahl, Jungman, Morris Frank, Ring, Robinson-Westchase, Southwest Express and Young libraries. With the new print solution, color copies are only $0.50 per page (black and white is still $0.15 per page). You may use coins/bills and/or credit/debit card to print. Print cards will be phased out with a balance reallocation transfer. Please check with staff for more information. 

Here's the link to the web portal for Southwest Express: 

https://www.printeron.net/system/printspot/interface/select_file.jsp?url=houston/southwest-express&protocolSwitched=true

Try it and see how easy it is!

Karen

Houston-Area ESL Classes

From Jessica Mahana, 6/8:

One of our staff members, Elena Melinger, compiled this list of other international service providers in Houston.

Houston Area International Services

Spring 2018

English as a Second Language & Citizenship Classes

   Find Citizenship Classes with this tool by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

United Way English as a Second Language Classes: http://referral.unitedwayhouston.org/

211 Texas English as a Second Language Classes: http://www.211texas.org/

Houston Community College

corpcollege@hccs.edu 3100 Main St., Houston TX 77002, 713.718.2000

The Workplace English program is built on the premise that language learners become more motivated if their learning experience correlates to immediate life application. Focus is given in building workplace vocabulary, conversational practice is centered on relevant industry topics, and the mix of literacy skills practiced is tailored to the skills for workplaces.

●      Grammar, Composition and Conversation for Foreign Speakers

●      Advanced Conversation and   Advanced Technical Composition for Foreign Speakers

Harris County Department of Education

 (713) 692-6216 adult-education@hcde-texas.org

HCDE Adult Education provides free classes and other educational services. These include adult basic literacy and math skills and GED and English as a second language (ESL). Register in person at the class site during the posted registration dates. Use any photo ID for registration. More questions about Adult Education? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions.

Alliance for Multicultural Community Services

6440 Hillcroft, Suite 411 Houston TX 77081

Phone 713-776-4700 Fax 713-776-4730

Email: info@allianceontheweb.org

The Alliance offers afterschool and summer program services to at-risk children ages 10-17 and parents in the Southwest Houston area. ESL classes are offered from 9:00am - 12:00PM, 12:30 - 3:30PM, and from 5:30PM - 8:30PM.

All classes are Monday through Thursday. Students are expected to complete a minimum of 60 hours of class.

AMCS offers four levels of instruction: Basic Literacy, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced.

Students are given a placement exam at the time of enrollment to determine their level. Orientation on the first day of classes is mandatory. Students must register in person, and a valid picture ID is required, social security cards are preferred.

ESL Classes at Harris County Public Library

 Various available at Harris County Public Libraries. Find out here: http://www.hcpl.net/category/tags/esl

Staff Meeting Notes 5-21-18

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

STAFF MEETING AGENDA 

• Digital Fluency Assessment--Thank you for finishing your assessment this month. We are 100% complete! More treats . . .

• COH Absenteeism and Sick Leave Use Policy. 

• Mayor’s memo from 4/19/17: “The HR Department is closely monitoring absenteeism in an effort to curtail sick leave abuse that may exist. . . . Abuse patterns include: 
• Sick leave taken consistently on Mondays and Fridays; 
• Sick leave taken consistently on the day before or after a holiday; 
• Sick leave taken after a vacation request was denied; 
• Sick leave taken when difficult assignments or projects are scheduled or due; 
• Sick leave taken following coaching sessions or formal disciplinary action; 
• Sick leave taken when manager/supervisor is on vacation; 
• Sick leave taken when co-workers are on scheduled vacation for fear of having to assume additional duties.” 
• Mayor’s memo from 4/11/18: All employees are responsible for knowing, understanding and complying with the rules and regulations that govern sick leave found in The Code of Ordinances, Chapter 4, Section 14-227, which states in part: 
• “...each absence for an eligible reason after 64 hours within a benefit year, regardless of the duration of the absence, whether taken cumulatively or in a single event, must be verified by an attending health care provider’s statement…” 
• “Verification may be required prior to the use of 64 hours of sick leave in any instance of potential abuse of sick leave.” 

• Customer Complaint: phone call from customer that staff are rude to well-dressed customers, nice to homeless ones. Perception is everything. 

• Weekly Update Emails (5-14-18): 
• Keep your eyes on the screen when you discharge items--make sure each item is properly discharged before going on to the next one. We have 100% human- processed returns so they should be error-free. Watch for: 
• Metallic covers which don’t scan 
• Pop-up messages which need to be closed before scanning the next item 
• Slow processing time 
• Old tags or unsecured tags 
• Example: Teen novel The Replaced, returned in book drop on 5/5, found on shelf 5/19 after customer reported item not checked in. 
• Sorting carts at desk: place items on carts in shelf order. If you’re super busy, place them in a stack after the book end and interfile later. Putting returned books on the carts in order saves everyone time because they don’t have to be handled as often and they’re ready to be shelved. 
• Check your email regularly! 

IMPORTANT DATESFriday, June 1: First day of SRP
Monday, June 4: First day of Lunch @ the Library (M-F 12-1) and Snacks @ the Library (M-F 3-4)
Saturday, June 9 and 16: Monthly Staff Training--SRP and Beanstack
Friday, June 15: Youth Services Meeting, 9-11:30 AM (Ivy, Irene)
Monday, June 18: Staff Meeting
Friday, June 22: CE Managers Meeting
Saturday, June 30: Last day of FY18 & performance review period

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.

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

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

Ryan's Weekly Tip for Homeless, Mentally Ill and Addicted Patrons, 3-27-18

From Ryan Dowd, 10:03 AM:

When Michael Jordan got mad at the opposing team, did he ever throw the ball at them (dodge-ball style)? Nope.  Never.  Why not? Because that isn’t how you win games.  Throwing the ball at the other team might have been emotionally satisfying for Michael, but it would not have helped the Bulls win.  The goal is to win; not to get the emotional satisfaction of dodgeball. You need to “be like Mike” with problematic behavior.  You need to know your goal. Your goal—your ONLY goal for difficult behavior—is to get the person to follow the rules.  That’s it.  It really is that simple.  Here are some examples: Getting a person to stop shouting Getting a person to stop staring at another individual Getting a person to leave at closing time Staff members have all sorts of other goals that have nothing to do with gaining compliance with the rules.  For example: Getting a person to respect you (or to respect your organization) Defending your coworker’s honor (or your own) Teaching a person “a thing or two” Getting a person to feel sorry for his actions Trying to accomplish any of the above is like Michael Jordan throwing the ball at the other team, dodgeball-style:  it might be emotionally satisfying, but it is not the goal and it will create problems for your team. The common theme with bad goals is that they are usually more about your own emotional needs than about the patron’s behavior. The key is to remember that it is all about problematic behavior.  You care what a person DOES.  You don’t care what a person THINKS.  If someone thinks you are a jerk but follows the rules, who cares?  As long as a person follows the rules, allow him to think whatever he wants! Have a great week! Peace,  Ryan www.homelesslibrary.com