HPD Presence @ your Neighborhood Library

Greetings,

In an attempt to assist with security concerns at your location, library administration has been working with HPD in order to increase the presence of police officers at libraries. Beginning this coming Monday (possibly sooner), your location should begin seeing HPD officers coming to your locations to work on completing reports and other paperwork. They may come in to the library or may remain in their car. Either way, the hope is that their presence will act as a deterrent to misbehavior. Further, they will be readily available if needed by staff. I ask that you and your staff are welcoming, accommodating, and pleasant as you would be with any partner. They should not require too much access to staff areas other than to perhaps use the kitchen, break room, or rest rooms briefly.

In addition, we ask that you keep a record of frequency, length, and nature of visits (e.g., worked in car, public area, back room, spoke with customers/staff, etc.). This can be done by keeping a notebook at a public desk and just asking staff to note down this information as they observe a visit by HPD. In about two weeks, we will be coming back to you to get feedback on how this program is working and how often you noticed a police presence in your location. We will then share this information with HPD as we assess the usefulness of this partnership.

Because there is the possibility that officers might begin showing up as early as tomorrow, I want to request that you share this information with your staff immediately.

Please do not hesitate to call me if you or your staff has any questions about this.

Thanks,

Mike Van Campen
Chief of Neighborhood Libraries
Houston Public Library
Phone: 832.393.1371
Mobile: 713.303.1974

Important information regarding Coin Copiers from Ron Stauss

Managers,

I has come to my attention that there may have been some rules and practices in use regarding OCE that are NO LONGER accurate.

I will be issuing some rules in this memo that may conflict with things you have been told in the past. These rules pertain to Pay for Print and Copy as of receipt of Coin Copiers equipment at your library.

All money belongs to Coin Copiers.

There has been a Smart Money category for Pay for print that was used if an OCE payment device would not accept a Patron’s money. That Category is NOT TO BE USED> regarding Coin Copier transactions.

It will disappear as an option from Smart Money Manager before this week ends.

Any difficulties with bad prints or copies or situations with the card issue device or payment devices are to be called into the Coin Copiers 800 number clearly displayed on the equipment.

HPL does not refund money or issue refunds if a print does not work correctly – Coin Copiers will handle those issues.

If a customer leaves behind a card that has money, you can hold it for a short while in the event they come right back and identify the fact they left it. Cards such as these not claimed in a day or two are confiscated by Library and can be used to help hardship situations. There are no identifying numbers on the card unless a patron immediately on purchasing a card, marks it in some way as to identify it to you.

The special “Mini Till” device is to be used for ONE purpose only – After a person purchases a card from the card vend device, they can bring that card to you and have you transfer money from their patron account on Pharos ( you have a tool to read that balance from their patron card account) to their new debit card. A routine should exist to zero out their OCE Pharos balance when you process that transaction.

If you have any questions, please ask.

All problems are to be reported to the 800 number on the equipment.

Thanks

Ron

Ronald L. Stauss

Assistant Director - CTO

Houston Public Library

500 McKinney St.

Houston, TX 77002

Office 832-393-1400

Cell 832-748-1809

Voluntary Furlough Program FAQs - Updated Dec. 9

From: COH - Broadcast Message
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 11:01 AM
To: COH - All Employees; Request, Broadcast
Subject: Voluntary Furlough Program FAQs - Updated Dec. 9

Voluntary Furlough Program, as authorized by Ch. 14-172(e) Here are details about the Voluntary Furlough that was implemented by Mayor Parker on Dec. 3, 2010, via broadcast email. The program is in effect from Dec. 4 – Dec. 31, 2010. Furlough days may be requested and used for any day between Dec. 4 and Dec. 31, 2010. It applies to all civilians except those in grant funds, including part-time employees. Furlough days are taken in whole-day (8 hours) increments – not partial days. You may request furlough days – no limit - in advance, and must seek supervisory approval before taking a furlough day. Supervisors are encouraged to accommodate furlough requests, but departments will consider business and operating needs before approving a furlough request. Participation in this program is completely voluntary, and is subject to departmental scheduling requirements. Directors have been encouraged to approve voluntary furlough days, whenever feasible. You are encouraged to let your supervisor know as soon as possible if you plan to take a voluntary furlough day by December 31, 2010. I appreciate your willingness to consider this possibility. Voluntary Furlough FAQs – bookmark this link and check back for updates to continuing questions on voluntary furloughs. Updated Dec. 9 ** This message is being directed to ALL City of Houston employees. This email was approved for citywide distribution by the COH HR Department. If the reader of this e-mail is not an intended recipient, you have received this e-mail in error. Any review, dissemination, distribution or copying is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and permanently delete the copy you received. **

Ring Neighborhood Library's Grand Reopening 12/7/10

The Houston Public Library and the Houston Public Library Foundation (HPLF) invited the community to the Grand Reopening Celebration of the Elizabeth L. Ring Neighborhood Library on Tuesday, December 7, 2010 at 10 am.

The distinguished guests included:

Brenda Stardig, City of Houston Council Member, District A
Dr. Rhea Brown Lawson, Director, Houston Public Library
Harriet Calvin Latimer, First Vice Chair, Houston Public Library Foundation.
Special guests:
Peter Brown, Former City of Houston Council Member
Anne Schlumberger Brown, The Anchorage Foundation of Texas

MORE INFORMATION:
Ring Neighborhood Library had closed temporarily for the construction of a new community meeting room and accessibility upgrades of the library. The new meeting room will provide community members with meeting space for the first time since the library was built in 1964. This addition has increased the size of the library by approximately ten percent.

The addition of the meeting room, which continues the iconic round architecture of the 1964 structure, was funded by the Houston Public Library Foundation. Bailey Architects, Inc. designed both the meeting room and other improvements. Natalye Appel + Associates Architects, LLC, designed the accessibility upgrades. Improvements included revised parking for accessibility, a relocated entrance with a steel and glass canopy, rubber flooring, new paint throughout, new restrooms, a new circulation desk with a book drop, flat-screen TV for upcoming events, new computer tables, a new teen area, and refurbishment of the original furniture. Times Construction was the General Contractor.

The Houston Public Library Foundation contributed more than $400,000 for the construction of the HPLF Meeting Room and architectural design services of the entire project. In addition, The Anchorage Foundation made a generous contribution to improve the lighting for the entire facility. The Anchorage gift was made in honor of former City Council Member Peter Brown whose father, Hamilton Brown, was the primary architect of the original 1964 library.

Ring Neighborhood Library is located at 8835 Long Point, 77055, 832-393-2000. Hours of operation will be: Mondays 11 am - 7 pm; Tuesdays 10 am - 6 pm; Wednesdays 10 am - 6 pm; Thursdays 11 am - 7 pm; Fridays 10 am - 6 pm.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scenes at Scenic Woods

Booksale - Programming Funds

Good afternoon managers!

We just wanted to follow up on last Thursday’s discussion of book sale funds with a procedure that we think will help to make the process go a little smoother. I know we have used the following Google form in the past for various programming requests:

http://tinyurl.com/nl-programs

Please share this link with your staff as well. We would like for you to use this form to indicate any requests you may have for your location’s share of the book sale funds, or for programming in general. If we get a requests that doesn’t quite match book sale funds, we will e-mail or call to discuss the possibility of using a different fund or altering the request.

If you have any questions about this process, please feel free to ask either Jennifer or me. Thanks!

Heidi M Daniel, LIV

Programming

Houston Public Library

500 McKinney

Houston, TX 77002

Coverage Instructions

Greetings,

Here are the basic instructions for seeking coverage that I mentioned in the manager's meeting. Many of you are already doing this, but we wanted to make it official.

Implementation date for this process is October 18.

Thanks,

mvc

Neighborhood Libraries

Coverage Process

1. If a coverage need arises at your location, call your Neighborhood Library Team Leader directly.
• If unable to reach your leader, call the Neighborhood Library Admin office (32707) to find another member of the NL Leadership Team
• If no member of the NL Leadership Team is available and it is emergency, call manager (or person-in-charge) at closest “Extended Hours” location, who will serve as Acting NL Team Leader and carry out the following steps.
2. NL Team Leader will approve request for coverage.
3. NL Team Leader will work with other locations to arrange coverage
4. NL Team Leader will send an e-mail to all parties involved confirming coverage

Online Sign in/out Implementation

Greetings all,

All NL locations should begin using the online sign-in/-out forms on Saturday, October 16. This system has been in place at the Central Library for just under a year and has been very effective. Below are basic instructions on the procedure. There is also a set of instructions that develop further on these 7 points attached to this e-mail. We owe a big "Thank You" to Thuy Vo for all of the work she has done on this and other projects that are helping us to move to a digital environment.

The HPL NL Sign In/Out Procedures:

1. The Sign In/Out procedure at all HPL NL will effective on 10/16/10
2. Sign In/Out form for all HPL NL locations is available on the NL blog http://hplnl.blogspot.com/
3. HPL NL managers can copy the link to the Sign In/Out forms and add to their library blogs. (Instructions included)
4. HPL NL managers can view the Sign In/Out results by signing in as nlmanagers@gmail.com and ffats#1492 password. (If managers want to view the database with another gmail or personal email, please send the request to Thuy Vo)
5. HPL NL managers can export the Sign In/Out results to Excel format to sort or save the database. (Instructions included)
6. The NL Admin Assistant Team will archive the database monthly.
7. A separate account has been created for the staff wishing to view the database. Staff can view by signing in as hplnlstaff@gmail.com and ffats#1492 password.

Please let me or one of the NL Team Leaders know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Mike Van Campen

Change in PFD Responsibilities effective 9/23/10

Good Day, Managers!

I want to let you know about some responsibility changes here in the Planning & Facilities Division. Effective immediately, Karrington Burnett has assumed responsibility for Property Management and Security issues for the Houston Public Library. Any questions regarding work orders, Sprocket, security, access requests and the like should be directed to him. He can be contacted at 832.393.1374 or by email at karrington.burnett@houstontx.gov. If he cannot be reached in the case of an emergency, please contact Jason Stephens or me.
Jason Stephens has accepted new responsibilities, helping the Communications Division with statistics and evaluation. He will continue to assist with Property Management and Security issues in Karrington's absence.

We have also changed this info on the Planning & Facilities page on the Intranet (https://hplnet.hpl.lib.tx.us/depts-plan.html under the About Us – What We Do tab) for your reference.

Thanks for your flexibility. We hope this change will maintain or even improve our service.

Wendy

Wendy Heger, AIA

Assistant Director for Planning & Facilities

Houston Public Library

(832) 393-1681

(281) 217-7960 mobile

Team Leader Assignments

Greetings all,

I wanted to make sure to update everyone on some changes to which team leaders will be covering which locations in Suzy's absence. The main change from the last notice is that Heidi Daniel from Programming will assist Neighborhood Libraries by serving as team leader for two Neighborhood Library locations. The NL Admin team is excited to welcome Heidi and looks forward to working closely with her.

The updated assignments are:

Heidi Daniel - Heights and Smith
Shammi Gill - Mancuso
Edward Melton - Johnson
Mike Van Campen - Young
Mary Wagoner - Freed-Montrose

Please let me or your team leader know if you have any questions.

Thanks and have a great day,
Mike Van Campen

Important Information on Requesting Design and Print Projects:

Good Morning-

I think you all know that today is Donna Jackson’s last day at HPL. This email is advise you of process issues and work assignments in Communications that result from this transition.

Veronica Davidson is now managing the Print Shop and Dan Castillo, our Senior Graphic Designer. Donna Jackson is on contract with us to help with several items related to branding and design.

I know that we’ve all relied, to some degree, on direct email or conversation with Donna regarding design and print projects. Beginning today, I need to ask that you have your teams request all design and print projects through the hplprintgraphics email address. If a request requires design work, Veronica and I will decide to whom to assign the project.

Please remember that we have a guideline for this process, with timelines, available for your review. You can find it at https://hplnet.hpl.lib.tx.us/documents/HPL_Printshop_Information1.pdf. Please see page 5 for specifics related to project timelines.

I appreciate you taking the time to discuss this with your staff members. We ask for your patience with us as we work through the changes in the Division. If you have questions, concerns, or problems with particular projects, please feel free to contact either Veronica or me.

Thanks-

Greg

Greg Simpson, Assistant Director

Communications Division

Houston Public Library

(O) 832-393-1333

(C) 713-851-8390

Houston Press Best Public Library 2010: Stella Link

Greetings,

For the second time in under five years, the McGovern-Stella Link Neighborhood Library was selected by the Houston Press as their Best Public Library for 2010. Stella Link also received this honor in 2007. A big congratulations goes out to John Merullo and his team for all their hard work. The write-up for the award recognizes that hard work by pointing out--among other things--the library and the "shelves are wonderfully maintained".

Thanks to the entire team at Stella Link for bringing this wonderful honor to HPL.

While Suzy is out ........

Greetings, everybody:

As you all know, Suzy will be going out on maternity leave soon. In her absence, the following Team Leaders will be in charge of her locations:

· Edward – JOH, YOU

· Mary – SMI, MNT

· Shammi – MAN

· Mike – HEI

Thanks,

Shammi

Shammi is out of the office

I will be out of the office and returning back on 9/13/10. In my absence following team leaders will be available for assistance with any question -

Edward Melton – Friday 9/3 from 1-6 pm
Mary Wagoner – September 7th & 8th
Suzy Benton - September 9th & 10th

Have a good holiday.

Thanks,

Shammi

Payroll has Moved

The Payroll Team is now permanently located on the 3rd floor of 611 Walker! For now, the business practices have not changed; timesheets will be emailed each week and should be returned via delivery as normal. Staff may continue to contact payroll via email or by calling their new phone extensions below with any pay and/or leave concerns.

Gloria Edmond 832-393-8856
Udelia Vega 832-393-8853
Christi Weems 832-393-8867 (713-837-0138 fax)

Thanks,

Shammi

On behalf of MVC,

Greetings,

I will be on vacation and out of the office from Monday, August 16 until Monday, August 23; I will return on the morning of August 24; The following team leaders will be in charge of Neighborhood Libraries and the library locations that report directly to me:

August 16-17: Edward Melton (Office: 832.393.1442 / Cell: 281.217.7990)

August 18-20: Shammi Gill (Office: 832.393.1511 / Cell: 713.447.0914)

August 23: Edward Melton (Office: 832.393.1442 / Cell: 281.217.7990)

Thank you,

Mike Van Campen

How to file a claim with the City for damages or personal injury

Filing a Claim



Article IX, Section 11, City Charter, City of Houston,
Notice of Claim for Damages states:

Before the City of Houston shall be liable for damages for personal injuries of any kind, or for injuries to or destruction of property of any kind, the person injured, or the owner of the property injured or destroyed, or some one in his behalf, shall give the mayor and city council notice in writing of such injury or destruction, duly verified, within 90 days after the same has been sustained, stating in such written notice when, where and how the injury or destruction occurred, and the apparent extent thereof, the amount of damage sustained, the amount for which claimant will settle, the actual residence of the claimant by street and number at the date the claim is presented, and the actual residence of such claimant for six months immediately preceding the occurrence of such injuries or destruction, and the names and addresses of the witnesses upon whom he relies to establish his claim, and a failure to so notify the mayor and city council within the time and manner specified herein shall exonerate, excuse and exempt the city from any liability whatsoever, provided that nothing herein shall be construed to effect or repeal section 12 of Article IX of this Charter. (Act of 1905, as amended October 15, 1913).

Procedures to follow when filing a claim:

Provide the information required in Article IX, Section 11, Notice of Claim for Damages, referenced above, in writing and sign the letter before a Notary Public; and

Mail letter, with the following attachments

· Three property damage estimates,

· Photographs of damage, if any,

· Accident report, if available,

· Photocopy of Certificate of Title of damaged vehicle,

· Photocopy of medical bills, if any, and

· Doctor’s narrative, to:

City Secretary’s Office
City of Houston
P.O. Box 1562
Houston, TX 77251-1562

with a copy provided to:

City Attorney’s Office
Attn.: Claims/Subrogation Division
P.O. Box 368
Houston, TX 77001-0368

FAX: 832.393.6259

Phones: 832.393.6393 or 832.393.6392

Cell Phone Usage - Reminder of Noise Policy/Rule

Greetings,

I just wanted to send a quick reminder for everyone to share with staff. While we do not have a policy that forbids cell phone use, there is a policy that forbids "any loud, unreasonable, or disruptive noises". This specifically includes "those from electronic and communication devices"-whether it be a ring-tone or a conversation held on a cell phone. I have heard from a few customers that staff have told them that we have to allow all cell phone usage no matter if it is loud and disruptive. This is definitely not the case.

Using the policy above, if there is any excessive noise--be it from a cell phone, a face-to-face conversation, or anything else--based on a staff member's judgment and/or a customer complaint, staff and/or security need to enforce the rule by asking the customer making the loud noise to lower their volume. In the case of cell phones, it is perfectly reasonable to ask someone to turn down or silence a ring-tone and lower the volume of their conversation. If the customer persists in speaking too loudly, staff should ask them to continue their call outside or in a more appropriate spot in the building. They can and should use this rule as backup for this.

Moving forward, this is a topic that will be discussed and reexamined in Policy and Procedure meetings to see if the rule needs to be reconsidered or adjusted. However, in the interim, it is important that staff know the existing rule and use it to address excessively loud disturbances in our libraries.

Please let me know if you have any questions on this issues or suggestions on this perennially popular topic.

Thanks,

Mike VC

Book Sale

Greetings,

I have received a few questions about booksale. For the time being, please continue to hold off on spending. We are waiting for further information to see what level of funs are available. In addition, we are working on new procedures for spending funds. Our hope is that this will all be resolved shortly and we will be able to give you the green light to use booksale funds.

Thanks,
Mike VC

Cooling Centers

Greetings,

I know this e-mail from Wendy Heger was sent to all managers but I want to share it in as many ways a spossible since it is so important. Please make sure to share this information with your staff.

Thanks,
Mike VC

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HPL Managers:

All library locations will officially serve as City Cooling Centers, starting tomorrow. End date is to be determined. Operating hours will not change.

Please be careful with these hot temperatures, and communicate this as appropriate to your employees.

Thanks,

Wendy

Changes in Neighborhood Libraries Reporting

Greetings,

There will be some minor changes in reporting structure of Neighborhood Libraries due to facilities that are opening soon and the change in hours of some locations. Here is a quick break down of the changes (which will impact four locations):

HEI will report to Suzy Benton
JUN will report to Edward Melton
STE will report to Mike Van Campen
RIN will report to Shammi Gill

These changes will be effective as of this coming Monday (Aug 9, 2010). A complete list of NL Team Leaders and their assigned locations will soon be available on the Intranet and the NL Blog.

Thanks,

Mike Van Campen
Chief of Neighborhood Libraries
Houston Public Library
Phone: 832.393.1371
Mobile: 713.303.1974
NEW! michael.vancampen@houstontx.gov

Sundays at Central effective 8/22/10

Public Services Staff:

RE: Sunday staffing at Central

Sunday hours begin at Central 22 August 2010.


· Staff from Neighborhood Libraries, Special Collections, Library Materials Services, and Programming will assist Central Services to cover Sundays in FY2011 (August 2010-June 2011). We anticipate most staff will work on average two of the 35 Sundays we will be open.


· We anticipate that Central staff (with the assistance of Circulation Administration staff and selected Library Materials Services staff) will be working a 6-week rotation.


· Staff from the NL extended hours locations (ALI, COL, KEN, PAR, SCE, STE) have been excluded from the rotation due to the longer service hours they are already providing to the public.


· Staff from the following locations: BLU, VIN, FRA, and SW Express will be supporting Discovery Green weekend hours and have therefore been excluded from the Central rotation.


· Staff orientations for working Sundays at Central will be offered on an ongoing weekly basis to assure all staff has the knowledge to offer good customer service.


Further information is forthcoming from Paty Bustamante, Central Services.

Thank You,


Beatrice Duran, on the behalf of Meller Langford

Administrative Specialist

Houston Public Library, Public Services Division

832.393.1332 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              832.393.1332      end_of_the_skype_highlighting (Direct)

832.393.1324 (Fax)

Issuing Texshare Cards - reminder

From: Schumacher, Fred - HPL
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 11:18 AM
Subject: Issuing Texshare Cards - reminder

Greetings all.

From time to time it is good to remind ourselves of the proper way to perform certain tasks that may not be part of our daily routines. Issuing Texshare Cards is one of those. Below is a brief overview of the does and don’ts for correctly issuing Texshare cards to customers. The full policy may be found on the intranet at https://hplnet.hpl.lib.tx.us/polandpro/pol-6_2.pdf - HPL Policy 6.2 J.

1. HPL issues Texshare cards to resident borrowers only. We do not issue Texshare cards to non-resident borrowers. Anyone who resides outside of the city limits of Houston is a non-resident borrower.
2. HPL requires that the HPL borrower account be at least six months old and in good standing at the time the Texshare card is issued. If the account is less than six months old or if the account is blocked for any reason, the Texshare card should not be issued. All outstanding blocks, fines and fees must be fully resolved before the Texshare card is issued.
3. HPL issues Texshare cards with an expiration of one year (or the expiration date on the borrower account if that is less than one year) to resident borrowers whose accounts are in good standing and at least 6 months old.
4. When a Texshare card is issued, the t-Texshare code is placed in the Program Field in the III Patron Record. The p-type for the III Patron Record is not changed.

If you have other questions about Texshare cards, take a look at the policy (HPL Policy 6.2 J) or give your local LA Supervisor a call. You are also welcome to call Connie Moore, Cynthia Howard or me in Circulation Administration for assistance at 832-393-2222 (choose option 3).

Have a wonderful day.

Fred Schumacher
Circulation Administration, Manager
Houston Public Library

New Promotional Opportunities

From: Alvarez, Sharon - HPL
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 1:28 PM
To: HPL - All Employees
Subject: New Promotional Opportunities

HPL Employee,

More opportunities for enthusiastic, creative, customer service driven individuals! HPL seeks individuals who are committed to excellence and who have proven ability to provide extraordinary service to all.

Important Note:
For advanced consideration, applicants must provide a cover letter and resume along with a City of Houston application.

The following job announcements are open to LIBRARY DEPARTMENT/ DIVISION EMPLOYEES ONLY:

Job Title Location/Division/Section Web Link
Library Service Specialist (Full-Time) Various
Public Services http://agency.governmentjobs.com/houston/job_bulletin.cfm?JobID=243938

Customer Service Clerk HPL Express - Vinson
Neighborhood Libraries http://agency.governmentjobs.com/houston/job_bulletin.cfm?JobID=243919

Library Assistant
(Full-Time) Various
Public Services http://agency.governmentjobs.com/houston/job_bulletin.cfm?JobID=243952


Thanks,

Sharon Alvarez
Administrative Assistant
Human Resources
Houston Public Library
832-393-1351

Click here for instruction on "How to unlist a blog from search engines"

Retention Period for Deposit Records

Greetings,

I talked to the Financial Services and Isis Mathoslah confirmed that deposit records should be kept for 5 years.

The deposit records earlier than June 2005 can be shredded.

Thanks,

Shammi

Performance Improvement Discussion - Update

Greetings,

In one of the managers meetings this past week, there was some discussion about whether the paperwork for Performance Improvement Discussions needed to go to HR or if they were to be kept in files kept by the manager.

According to Ophelia, we should always send PIDs to her attention in HPL-HR.

Please let me know if there is any further question.

Thanks,
Mike VC

Staff Reassignment - Apology for Delay

Greetings,

I know that we have been sharing for a while now that there will be some staff reassigned to new locations in order to ensure staffing levels are what they need to be at all locations. I sincerely apologize for that this process is taking longer than I thought it would. We should be able to share information on this and move forward within two to three weeks.

Again, I sincerely apologize for this delay and will share information as soon as possible.

Thanks,
Mike Van Campen

Click here for Smart Money Training Schedule

Thanks,

Shammi

Vacation - Unscheduled

Greetings,

I understand there have been some questions about VACU and how it is used (or assigned) in SAP. I went to Ophelia with this question and she responded quickly. Below is her response. Please comment if there are any questions or a need for further clarity.


If vacation time is submitted on a 605 after the time has already been entered into SAP, then the vacation time is coded as VACU. Below is the definition of terms according to our HPL Policy 5.0.

The key is that if the employee does turn in the 206 on time, the manager must be sure the timekeeper receives it timely. If there is some delay between manager approval and timekeeper entry on that week’s timesheet, then a 605 will be generated and a VACU will appear.

B. Definition of Terms

a. Scheduled absence: An employee is unable to report to work and the supervisor approves the absence. Absence may be paid or unpaid according to accrued leave usage guidelines.

b. Unscheduled absence: An employee is absent without prior approval due to an unforeseeable or unplanned event. Absence may be paid or unpaid according to accrued leave usage guidelines."

Thanks,

Mike VC

Voter Registration Procedures

In our meeting we discussed the Voter Registration cards. I want to update you that the procedure for Voter Registration Cards is being decided by ELT; this is a project Meller and Roosevelt are working on. It will be a part of the revised Registration policy and procedures (6.2). At the moment we don't have an update. As soon as we have an update, we will pass it on once this has been decided by ELT and the new policy is officially approved.

Thanks,

Shammi

Ivy Insiders - Meeting Room Booking

Greetings - It has come to our attention that Ivy Insiders are booking our meeting rooms to offer free SAT/ACT workshops. What they are doing instead is selling their services and trying to fill up their classes.

This group was barred from using our meeting rooms last year, so be very careful when booking any space for them to ensure Meeting Room policy is followed. The same group also never submitted their publicity for approval before distribution as mentioned in the rules for meeting room use.

This incident happened at the Looscan NL, and you may be getting requests from them as well.

Thank you,

Shammi

SRP - Group Registration

Email from Heidi regarding SRP group registration.



It has come to our attention that this year we already have identified at least a handful or more of potentially fraudulent groups who are registering under various names and collecting large amounts of prizes, but whose information can not be verified.



To keep this from occurring, we are now asking that groups (specifically those over 10 kids) that register must show/ provide one of the following to collect their prizes:

State Daycare Registration/ License Number (if they don’t have an official paper with the license number you can look them up here: http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Care/Search_Texas_Child_Care/CCLNET/Source/CPA/ppSearchTXChildCare2.aspx)
501 c.3 status (You can search here if they don’t have proof http://www.irs.gov/app/pub-78/forwardToSearch.do)
If it is a school then they can show a current School ID and list their Principal and a contact number for the school. We will send you a form to assist with this later today
If they do not have any of these items, but you feel or know that they are valid, just try to get them to show you something that is valid, even if it is just google searching their name and address to verify. For example, one of the possible fraudulent groups used a real group’s name, but we can call the real group and find out if they actually signed up for the program.
If they are a group that says they are a large family or something similar then they should have all the kids register individually with their parent or caregiver, and they should not register as a group


If you need assistance with this, please let us know. We are not trying to make the summer more difficult, but we are trying to make the program one that rewards kids for reading and not rewarding people who just want to get the prizes. As you all know, our prize numbers are low this year, and we need to make things stretch as much as possible. We have also had issues with this in the past, where “groups” actually got the prizes and scalped them for profit.



I am out of the office this afternoon, but if you have questions that must be answered today, please call Michaela at x32028 or Jane at x32027.



Heidi



Heidi M Daniel, LIV

Programming

Houston Public Library

500 McKinney

Houston, TX 77002

Floating Collection Presentation Schedule

As you probably already know that starting July 1st, the circulating items at all Neighborhood and Express Libraries will float between branches. This means that items which are borrowed from one location and returned at a different location automatically become part of the collection at the returning location. Such items will not generate an in-transit slip. Interim Team Leaders and Chief of the neighborhood libraries strongly recommend that every staff member attend one of the sessions pertaining to floating collection for more details.

Here is the schedule:

Thursday June 10th @ SCE & JUN 10:30 am
Wednesday June 16th @ CEN 9: 00 am @ Kids Place on the 4th floor.
Thursday June 17th @ Stella; ROB; & STA @ 10:30 am
Friday June 18th @ Park Place @ 10:30 am
Friday June 25th @ STE @ 10:30 am

Thank you,

Shammi

Praise for Neighborhood Libraries

Greetings,

I had the honor of attending the Library's presentation of the FY2011 budget to City Council this afternoon. I wanted to take the time to share with everyone the high regard with which City Council holds the library and the tremendous respect they showed for our hard-working staff. Each time a Council Member spoke, they lead with extremely high praise for the library, our staff, and the crucial roles we play in our community. I wanted to make sure that I shared this overwhelming appreciation and sincere gratitude for the great work you and your teams do every day.

Thank You,
Mike VC

Action Required: Executive Order 1-50 "Prohibited Workplace Conduct Including Sexual Harassment"

Team Leaders,

Please ensure that you and your staff members have submitted your forms to your appropriate supervisor.

If you have not submitted please take the time today to do so.

Here are the instructions:

Please make sure these items are handled by their due dates:

• All HPL employees must read Executive Order 1-50, sign the attached acknowledgment form and submit it to their supervisor by Friday, May 21, 2010. The acknowledgment form is also available under HR Forms on Inside HPL https://hplnet.hpl.lib.tx.us/forms/EO_1-50-Acknowledgment.pdf

• Managers are asked to confirm each employee under your supervision has read and signed the acknowledgment and must forward all forms to the HPL-HR office by Friday, May 28, 2010.

If you have any questions about the Executive Order, please contact one of HPL’s DDRs listed above.

NOTE: If you have already sent the form on to HR, please let your respective Team Leader in Neighborhood Libraries Administration know. Also, you need to make sure that all of your staff have either submitted this document to HR or to you for submission to HR.

Thanks,
Mike Van Campen

Definition of Obscene; Child Pornography & Harmful to Minors

As you know we are obligated to follow guidelines as laid out in the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which states the library "must protect against access to visual depictions that 1) are obscene, 2) contain child pornography, or 3) are harmful to minors." I am including links to these definitions to share with staff.

For a definition of obscene, CIPA ultimately points to state law. In Texas Statute 43.21, the term "obscene" is clearly defined. This is the definition we need to operate on when determining if something is obscene. Here is a link to Chapter 43 of the Texas Penal Code:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.43.htm#43.21


The second two issues--2) child pornography and 3) harmful to minors--are well defined at the following CIPA information page provided by WebJunction.
http://webjunction.org/91/articles/content/432235


Please review & share with staff the HPL Policies & Procedures: https://hplnet.hpl.lib.tx.us/polandpro/pol-2_3.pdf specifically relating to Short term Suspension; Long Term Suspension and Indefinite Suspension. Anytime a customer is suspended from the library, an Incident Report must be filled out.

Thanks,
Shammi

COMS Floating Survey

Greetings all,

This is just an additional reminder to complete the Floating Survey for COMS that was sent out via e-mail by Mary Stanton on Monday and again today. As we move to floating collections, it is extremely important that every location provide input to help make this as smooth a process as possible. The deadline for submitting the survey to Mary Stanton is tomorrow (Friday, May 21).

Thanks,
Mike VC

Mayor Parker comes to Carnegie

On May 14th, 15 students from HISD schools visited the Carnegie Neighborhood library to sign up for the Summer Reading Program and search the catalog using Lexile rankings. Dr Lawson, Jim Hundemeer and other high ranking officials from HISD and the Mayors office were also in attendance.

Naming Convention - HPL Incident Reports

Greetings - Below is reminder information on how all incident reports should be named when submitted.

This information will be shared in your managers’ meetings and added to the NL blog. To facilitate filing and finding incident reports throughout the system, HPL is adopting a naming convention for these reports.

Please name all incident reports in the following manner: Date-location-staff initials-subject-name of person involved. For example, if, yesterday, staff member John Doe at Robinson-Westchase filled out an incident report about customer Martin Smith assaulting the security guard it would be named: 051610-ROB-JD-Assault-Smith.doc If you don’t have a person’s name, just leave it off.

All reports will be able to be viewed on the G:\ drive in the G:\INCIDENTS files. Please continue to put your location code and a brief summary of the incident on the subject line of the e-mail.

Thank you,

Jungman neighborhood library wins the First Quarter All-Star Team Award

Jungman Neighborhood Library staff was nominated for an All Star Team Award by Charlie Murray, and Jungman team is the proud winner of this award! Congratulations to the team!!

Dr. Lawson, along with Meller Langford, Roosevelt Weeks, Michael VanCampen and Shammi Gill were at the Jungman Neighborhood Library on 4/6/10 to suprise the staff with a team trophy. This is a traveling trophy and will go to the next winner of this award. Each Jungman staff member received HPL tote bag; HPL t-shirt; a Certificate of appreciation and a memo pad with HPL logo.

The manager received a check for $250 to spend and celebrate this event. I encourage all the NL managers to take a look at the Nomination forms on the Intranet and nominate either their team or a staff member who is doing a phenomenal job at their NL.

HR will be sending more information about this and deadline for the next quarter.



Shammi

Interim Neighborhood Libraries Team Leaders

An interim team of leaders has been established to ensure that the operational needs of Neighborhood Libraries and their staff are met. Below is the list of the members of this interim leadership team, their contact information, and the locations for which each person is responsible. Please feel free to contact your Interim NL Team Leader as needed. The Interim NL Team looks forward to working with HPL’s exceptional Neighborhood Libraries’ staff.

Mike Van Campen – Interim Neighborhood Library Chief
Office: 832.393.1371 / Cell: 713.303.1974 / Home: 713.344.1042

•Collier Regional
•Henington-Alief Regional
•Kendall
•Park Place Regional
•Scenic Woods Regional
•Oak Forest (closed until FY11)
•Ring (closed until FY11)

Suzy Benton
Office: 832.393.1305 / Cell: 713.447.1469 / Home: 832.243.1958

•Freed-Montrose
•Johnson
•Mancuso
•McGovern-Stella Link
•Smith
•Young

Shammi Gill
Office: 832.393.1511 / Cell: 713.447.0914 / Home: 281.240.1108

•Carnegie •Heights •Hillendahl •Jungman •Looscan •Robinson-Westchase •Stanaker

Edward Melton
Office: 832.393.1442 / Cell: 281.217.7990 / Home: 281.413.7049

•Bracewell
•Fifth Ward
•HPL Express Locations
◦Discovery Green
◦Frank
◦Southwest
•Meyer
•Stimley-Blue Ridge
•Vinson
•Walter

Mary Wagoner
Office: 832.393.2711 / Cell: 713.447.1545 / Home: 713.973.1771

•Acres Homes •Dixon •Flores •Lakewood •McCrane-Kashmere Gardens •Melcher •Moody •Pleasantville •Tuttle