HPL Fall Festival for CMC

The Fall Festival is tomorrow, Friday, October 26! The festival begins at 11AM till 1PM. To make the Fall Festival a successful fundraiser event, your division or library, CMC Coordinators will collaborate with their location staff to help sponsor tables and booths.

Dr. Lawson has approved a delayed opening for all library locations including Central this year to enable staff to attend the festival! All libraries will open at 2 PM.  

Annual HPL Fall Festival

Friday, October 26 | 11 AM - 1 PM

Barbara Bush Literacy Plaza

HPLQ

Per Carmen

As you may know, the Houston Public Library is hosting Walter Mosley as part of our quarterly author series, HPLQ.  

We are seeking a few enthusiastic HPL staffers to help out as ushers, greeters, and line managers. The event is to be held on Thursday, October 25, 2018, in the evening, at the Ballroom at Bayou Place located at 500 Texas Street. Please note that this is a less than 10-minute walk from the Central Library.

If you are interested and have supervisor permission to help, please contact me so that we can discuss potential shifts (a block of time between 5:30 PM — 9:30 PM) and your role at the event. 

We are expecting a few hundred attendees. Seating for volunteers to enjoy the program is very likely, although not guaranteed. Thanks so much for considering.

CMC Fall Festival

Per Liz and Laurie message about CMC Fall Festival:

 

• The CMC Fall Festival is scheduled for Friday, October 26^th from 11am - 1pm.  We will end the managers meeting a little bit early (around 10:45am) to allow managers to get down to the event. 

 

• Participation from staff is strongly encouraged but not mandatory.  Dr. Lawson has allowed us to delay opening until 2pm to allow staff to attend and enjoy the festival and then get back to the location to open.

 

• Staff should carpool to Central.  I believe that Lot H passes will be arranged.  Managers will also be asked to park at Lot H.

 

• If staff elect to not come to Central for the event, that is okay so long as safety factors are taken into consideration (2 staff in the building) and they are given tasks that the supervisor can ensure that work has been accomplished (shelving, paging, shifting, etc).

 

CE Admin plans to submit a pumpkin to the pumpkin contest so if you have any brilliant ideas, please get with Yolanda and Celeste.

 

HPL Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Week!

The Houston Public Library is designating October 15-21st as Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Week!  During EDI week, staff at all levels will view TED talks, videos and webinars pertaining to topics of equity, diversity, inclusion, unconscious bias and privilege. Teams will also participate in dialogue during a team building exercise. Our goal is to provide HPL team members an opportunity to further develop their EDI knowledge professionally and personally. HPL recognizes that equity, diversity and inclusion is central to all aspects of our work and will provide continued learning opportunities to support our team and the diverse communities we serve!

Instructions and Dute Dates

All staff is required to view the training materials listed below and participate in a team building activity during EDI Week, October 15-21, 2018.

TED Talks/Videos (Choose 3 of 5)

1. Inclusion, Exclusion, Illusion and Collusion
2. Diversity is Being Invited to the Party: Inclusion is Being Asked to Dance
3. Your Privilege Is Showing
4. Humanize Diversity and Inclusion
5. Improving your diversity IQ

Webinars

1. Communicating about Culturally Sensitive Issues (You need to create an account with Lynda.com if you don't have one.)
   • How to access Lynda.com course 
2. Understanding Power, Identity, and Oppression in the Public Library

Assessment

1. Harvard Implicit Bias Test – Race IAT (Studies at Project Implicit examine your attitudes, preferences and memory. At the end of this study, we will give you personal feedback. This study will take 10-12 minutes to complete.)
   • How to access the Harvard Implicit Bias Test 

Team Building

1. Participation in a team building exercise during EDI week. Instructions provided to managers.

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​Training Credit:

Each activity is required. A total of (4) hours of training credit earned for full participation. Sign-off forms with instructions provided to managers to be submitted to the Organizational Development Team at hpltraining@houstontx.gov by 5pm, Wednesday, October 24, 2018.

Note:  Requests for make-up time due to pre-approved absences will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by executive team members.

Upholstery Cleaning

Per Jason Stephens....

We are working on getting some upholstery cleaned around the system.  Rachelle Ewart and Kathy Baba from Coit Cleaning will be coming around to several locations over the next week or so to get counts for all the upholstered furniture at locations.  Please allow them access to the building, including storage rooms where upholstered furniture might be kept, to get a full assessment.  I don’t have a specific timeline for which locations on which dates.

Johnson NL Staff Meeting

September Minutes

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Agenda

Ice Breaker: Theme Songs

1. Consistency in Customer Service

·         Greet the Customers

·         Be Aware and Alert

·         Use Best Judgement

2. Kronos

·         Attendance Patterns

·          Making Up Time

·          Monitor Your Punches and Timecard

Vacation - Administrators said do not take advantage of the 7-minute Kronos Rule.

·         There will no making up of time if you arrive late. Must use Unscheduled Vacation time will be used. Lisa suggested request for time off in advance to schedule adequately.

3. SE Manager’s Meeting Highlights

·         Djunia informed the managers and staff should keep a tidy breakroom (Ex. Microwaves and Refrigerators) – Set a schedule for cleaning every Friday

·         Djuina wants managers to meet with their asst. mangers regularly

4. CMC - Kiara is Coordinator for the Combined Municipal Campaign.

·         Staff will be able to order CMC T-Shirts order with Kiara.

·         Kiara asked each employee to donate at least one dollar to CMC.

5. Halloween Bash 10/31

·         Kiara asked for suggestions and ideas for the Halloween bash and that staff may dress up if they wanted too. Lisa suggested that we ask for volunteers.

6. Putting Your Schedule on Staff Scheduling Calendar

·         Once your vacation is approved please place dates on the Staff Calendar.

·         Meetings and trainings should be placed on the Staff Calendar.  * Training should be approved by Manager and/or Senior Manager.

Announcements and Reminders

• Please remember to logoff Sirsi at the End of the Night.

• Iona will move the supply list near the supply room and the supply order will going out on the 10th of every month and possibly more.

• Kiara reminder us that Hotspots check out the patron will need Library card and ID.

• Lisa asked that we check hotspots to see if they work and that the patron will return all the components. Staff will receive an email about the charges that can accrue with hotspots.

• Lisa also reminded staff to please send an email to Kiara concerning Friends and Discards Boxes.

• Lisa would also like to staff to keep their desk clean.

• Iona will be taking the minutes for the staff meetings and putting them on the blog.

Attendance: Lisa Swan, Iona Joseph, Kiara Hampton, and Sandra Cortez

Assistant Managers Meeting

Iona attended the Assistant Managers Meeting at Scenic Woods Library on 09/13/18.

 The managers gave a tour of the Library and the Tech Link Center.

The managers discussed the features and flaws printing system

Djunia handed out the Outreach Hotspots.

A Few Hotspot Reminders!

Hotspot Reminders

• Hotspots are automatically deactivated 3 days after the due date.  A charge of $80 is billed automatically at 30 days after the due date.  Staff should also manually add a $10 processing fee and a $10 fee for the case.
• Missing or damaged accessories (charger, cord, case) should be billed $10 each with staff adding the fee manually.   The maximum for missing accessories should be $20 ($10 for the case and $10 for any missing part of the charger)
• When customers check out a device, please check for a valid photo ID.
• There are still no fees for late hotspots, tablets, or notebooks.
• With the increase in hotspots, staff who would like to use a hotspot for personal use can place themselves on the list. Digital Strategies will have a limited number of hotspots available for library related business including attending conferences.  You can contact the Helpdesk to request one.

Contact Saima Kadir if you have any questions.