February Meetings Recap

Collected from meetings held on 2/7, 2/14, 2/21 & 2/28.

Wellness
The deadline to complete Option B (phone coaching), Option C (onsite programs) or Option D (fitness app tracking) is March 10th.

Monthly Reports
Monthly Reports are due by the 7th of every month.  The next deadline is March 7th.

Work Room Etiquette
Please put a label on a cart if it needs special attention and you have to abandon it for whatever reason. This will cut down on confusion and errors. We have labels already printed for most situations (pinned to bulletin board next to Delivery computer).

Please ensure that books on your desks are checked out to you, one of the Looscan cards if a display or programming item, or to LOO-REPAIR if in the process of being relabeled, etc. Items that are shown as being available in the catalog wind up on paging lists and then get marked missing when they aren't where they are supposed to be.

Mileage
The new mileage rate is 53.5 cents/mile.

Schedules
Please put planned time off or other important scheduling information on the wall calendar. The Tuesday rotation can also be found there.

HPL ACE Scholarship
Applications are due March 31st. https://hplnet.houstonlibrary.org/personal.html

Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation Book Drive
The Boy Scouts will collect the donation boxes on Saturday, March 4th.

Summer Job Program
Interested persons ages 16-21 can apply for summer jobs available in various city departments, including the library. The application period runs February 13-March 20. Here is the information:
http://www.houstontx.gov/hr/gyow/summer_jobs.html

Meeting Spaces
We are now keeping a problem log for the Garden Room. Please save the signed form if there is an issue and put a note on it.

Please make sure groups using the meeting room or conference room sign in and out in the binder. We use the binder to track statistics and no-shows.

There is an election scheduled on Saturday, May 6th. The meeting room has been blocked off the day before for setup and the day of for the election itself.

Other Issues at Library Facilities
There have been several instances of people petitioning outside some library branches. It is okay to allow someone to ask for signatures outside the building, but they can't block the doorway or harass customers. If an incident should occur, document it in an incident report.

One of the city council members is eager to get abandoned shopping carts off our sidewalks, etc. He's set up a hotline for reporting abandoned carts: 832-393-2015.

Technology
ACR, DIX, JOH, JUN, MAN & YOU will start lending out mobile hotspots sometime in March. Each location is supposed to get 25 devices, and customers will have to fill out a special form to check out the device. Devices must be returned to the location where they were checked out.

When a laptop is returned, please verify that the customer closed out all applications. We don't want a customer's private information being out there for the next person to see.

Library Cards, Applications & Accounts
Online library card registration is coming sometime in March. There will be a paperless pilot program at CEN and JUN to get things started, but it is possible a customer might find the form online and come to our location to get the card.

Please identify out of state licenses or passports used as ID. If a customer uses a US passport as photo ID, say so on the application itself and in the notes field.

Holds
Item has holds vs Item has available hold: If a customer brings a book to the desk and a message block pops up saying "Item has holds", then it's okay to check the item out to the customer. If the message block says "Item has available hold", then the book is supposed to be on the hold shelf for another customer. Do not override the message if it says "available hold."

New Books
Use discharge to check in new books. Pay attention to the item location. If it says inshipping, then the item will need to be rescanned.

Databases
OverDrive checkouts have been increased to 15 (previously 10).  User recommendations have been reduced to 2 (previously 5), because the library has received more recommendations than it can afford to purchase.

We have a new language learning database called Pronunciator. This is in addition to Mango.
http://houstonlibrary.org/research/resources-by-category/256

Collection Maintenance
If a book with a yellow tag (which means it's on loan from Baker & Taylor and doesn't belong to HPL) is moldy or housing critters, then there is no need to send it to Sara Karow (as you would other damaged yellow-tag items). Just email her the barcode and then discard the item. We don't want mold or bugs to spread elsewhere. Please send other damaged yellow-tag items directly to Sara. Do not stamp the item! We have special labels for this purpose in the desk drawer where the discard stamp is and on the discard boxes in the work room.

If you are shelving and see an old version of something next to a newer version, please pull the older version (test guides, legal guides, etc.). The SAT exam was completely overhauled recently, so any SAT guide from 2014 or earlier is no longer relevant.

Friends goes through all the boxes sent to Friends/Discards. Most items sent to Friends should be stamped with the Friends stamp (see Marlena for the stamp).

Multiple copies of items can be floated. Give extra copies to Renee.

Programming
Movies: We have a new license (pinned to bulletin board with building permits).

Advanced ESL (Thursdays 11a-1p) and ESL 101 (Thursdays 2-3p): Please make sure patrons who arrive for either class have registered. Remember that these two classes have an 8 person limit. Interested patrons can be placed on the waiting list. Sam has also said that she is willing to talk to interested patrons at 1 pm.

ESL (Tuesdays in March & first Tuesday in April 1-3p): Community Engagement is teaching this 5-week course. This class has no limit and anyone at any level can attend.

SRP: We will have a Tae Kwon Do class, and we might also have a knitting/crocheting class. The summer reader Evanced software we used in previous years will not be used this summer. Patrons will be expected to enter in all book titles (no more staff putting in "various").  We may enlist volunteers to help with this.

Gentle Yoga has ended.

There are new sensory kits for special needs patrons, ages young child-mid thirties. This program will have a 10 person limit (+ caregivers). More on this later.

Levy Park is in our area and has just reopened. HPL has a partnership with the park and is conducting storytime there every Thursday morning at 10 am. The park is located at 3801 Eastside 77098, just south of Richmond between Kirby and Buffalo Speedway.  http://levyparkhouston.org/

Tax Help
http://houstonlibrary.org/find-it/tax-resources