Camp STREAM

Registration opens May 7th for Camp STREAM.

July 24 - 26 | 7:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Looscan Neighborhood Library

July 31 - August 2 | 7:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Freed-Montrose Neighborhood Library

February Meetings Recap

Compiled from meetings held 2/1, 2/8, 2/15, & 2/22:

HR & Kronos

All employees with a second job must fill out the Outside Employment form on a yearly basis.

Please make sure your defensive driving certificates are current. Remember to send a copy of your updated certificate to Sharon Alvarez in HR.

Please begin work as soon as you clock in.

Library Cards

There are blank Learning Link library cards in the Desk 1 drawer where the CMH passes are. These are for elementary students who lost the cards they were given at school. We can request more from the Print Shop.

When renewing a library card that doesn’t need any changes to the account, please put a note with the date stating the renewal was verified using TDL (or whatever).

Marketing

Flyers can be requested from the Print Shop via the new marketing request form on the Intranet -> Divisions -> Communications -> Marketing & Promotion Services Online Form (big button on right hand side of page). Other forms, like holiday closure signs, can be found towards the bottom of the Communications page.

Technology

There is a new procedure for ordering toner & ink. Go to the Intranet -> Divisions -> Digital Strategies -> Ink & Toner Requests (on right hand side under Equipment Requests).

Hotspots are coming to ROB, VIN & FRA in the near future. MNT currently has 18. All locations should have them before the end of the fiscal year.

We have Meescan! Download the app and play with it. Promote it to our customers. Other branches getting it soon are BLU, PAR & ROB (ALI, HEI, JUN, MNT & YOU already have it).

Some branches have or are getting Samsung tablets to check out (and take home): CEN, JUN, PAR & STA.

Envisionware is the newest reservation system at HPL (not to be confused with iTeams, which is newer than the one we’ve got). All branches with iTeams will get Envisionware installed first because the license for iTeams is expiring soon. Our printer system will change when we get upgraded. The new print system will not involve print cards and will allow customers to use credit cards, paper money, and change.

Our printer paper is currently “DPS by Staples” brand. The other paper belongs to Coin Copiers.

The new self-check software does not scan item barcodes, which means that all items must be tagged. ILLs will need to be checked out at the desk (or using Meescan). Some older tags aren’t compatible with the new software, so we may need to replace them. Renee is going to start tagging magazines so they can be checked out at the self-checks.

Collection Maintenance & Circulation Procedures

There is a new procedure for marking periodicals circulating. Look for a CIRC label with a red line through it on the magazine, as well as a red check mark. Do not check out magazines that are checked out to LOO CIRC.

Please remember to scan items for in-house use found while shelving. Items left at the self-check machines also count.

Remember to backdate the book drop in the morning and later in the day if it hasn’t been done since before the library opened for business.

Please try to put juvenile items and adult items on separate carts when discharging the book drop.

Please remove the Flip Kit replenish labels before putting the kits on the dog house.

Please remember to use the ‘books from other systems’ log on the blog if someone returns a non-HPL book to us. We send the items to ILL in case the customer removed the purple label. If ILL determines the item did not originally come through their division, then the item is sent to Circ Admin. Circ Admin maintains an orphan log of their own and is responsible for sending the items to the owning institution.

Harlequins are now at the beginning of the Adult Fiction. The spinner rack they were on has been moved over to the DVDs.

The Juvenile CDs are now arranged in baskets.

Databases

Starting March 1st, customers may only check out 2 items per month from Hoopla. Hoopla has gotten much more expensive and the library can’t afford to let everyone have 8 checkouts per month (every individual download costs the library money). Just as a reminder, Harris County recently dropped Hoopla altogether, so at least we still offer the service to our patrons.

Meeting Rooms

Customers using the meeting room must provide their own equipment. We do not have a projector or easel/white board for public use.

Call Djuina or x32707 if you are ever unsure about booking the meeting room for a group. It is okay to take an application and tell the customer you will get back to them (within 24 business hours).

Opening Procedures

Opening procedures are now on the schedule. The big 3 are $ = Money, Comps = turn on the computers, and NEWS = newspapers. Tina would like 4 staples in each paper: top, above the fold, below the fold, and bottom.

Sprockets

Please keep an eye on the temperature in the building. Our chiller is supposedly set to be replaced, but until that happens, we need to be vigilant about making sure we report problems before it gets too hot. Please submit a Sprocket and be sure and state that the chiller is off. If the temperature is already near or at 80 degrees, also call Karrington Burnett x31374 and give him the Sprocket number. If it is after hours (after 4:30 week days and any time on Saturday), call the GSD after-hours number: 713-213-8776.

Etiquette & Teamwork

Keep the break room clean!

Shelve or shelf read according to your schedule. The rest of us need to pitch in and help shelve if every cart is full.

Other

The STE mini location is now open. It is in the YMCA next to STE library. This location is primarily for picking up holds and returning items.

We need to come up with one Linking to Us video before the end of the fiscal year.

The Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation book drive runs through March 2nd. The Boy Scouts will pick up the donations on the morning of March 3rd. The book drive is only for children’s books.