Door Count 7/17/11 - 7/23/11

Hello Managers,

As we approach the busy summer season, I wanted to remind you of the July Door Count dates: Sunday, July 17th – Saturday, July 23rd.

I will be sending out reminder emails and notification that your Door Count templates are ready on the G drive closer to the date.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!


Ann Otto
Planning and Evaluation Coordinator
Houston Public Library
(832) 393-1437

NL Administration - Coverage

Greetings all,

I will be on vacation for the next two weeks. I will return to the office on July 7th. While I am away, Mary Wagoner (Office: 832.393.2711 / Cell: 713.447.1545 / Home: 713.973.1771) will be in charge of my locations and Neighborhood Libraries Administration.

Thanks,


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

Sundays at Discovery Green

Discovery Green will be open on Sundays throughout the summer 2011 from 1 – 5 pm. If you would like to work at Discovery Green but have never worked at Discovery Green; basic training and orientation will be provided. You will be expected to work from 12:45 -5:15; the following Sundays are available :

July 10, 17, 24, 31
August 7, 14, 22, 29

Please E-mail: Yolanda Anguiano and specify which date(s) you are interested in working at Discovery Green. NL administration will work with your supervisor to ensure you get compensated for working the 4.5 hours at Discovery Green and your location gets coverage if needed.


Edward Melton
edward.melton@houstontx.gov
Houston Public Library
832-393-1442

NL Administration - Coverage through June 3rd, 2011

Hello,

Over the next two weeks some of our Team Leaders will be out of the office and others will be covering their locations.

Mike Van Campen will be out on Wednesday, the 25th. Heidi Daniel will be subbing for him. Her office number is x31448 and her assistant Debbie’s number is x31369.
Mary Wagoner will be out on Thursday, the 26th and next Wednesday, June 1st. Shammi Gill will be subbing for her both days. Her office number is x31511.
Edward Melton will be out Friday, the 27th. Mike Van Campen will be subbing for him. His office number is x31371.
Suzy Benton will be out Friday, the 27th and all of next week. Heidi will sub for her on Friday and Edward will do it next week. His office number is x31442.

As always the NL Administration phone line is available at x32707 and the admin support staff answer that line.

Thank you,
G Yolanda Anguiano
Administrative Assistant
Chief of Neighborhood Libraries Office
Houston Public Library
500 McKinney
Houston, TX 77002
832-393-1367; 832-393-1462 fax

Library Journal Article May 12th, 2011

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/890584-264/houston_public_library_to_lay.html.csp

Houston Public Library To Lay Off 39 Employees
By Michael Kelley May 12, 2011

The Houston Public Library is going to lay off 39 employees effective July 1 as its budget continues to shrink.
The layoffs will mean that the 42-branch system's staff will have shrunk from 558 FTEs in FY10 to 469 for FY12, a 16 percent reduction.
"We cannot remain the same organization with that kind of impact to our system, so it's giving us an opportunity to reassess, reimagine, and retool the way we do business and utilize staff," Director Rhea Lawson told LJ.
On June 7, Lawson will be going before the City Council to try and hold the line for FY12. The proposal on the table right now has the library facing another cut to its budget, from $37.1 million in FY11 to $32 million. Houston is making cuts to all city agencies as it tries to close an expected $75 million gap in its FY12 budget, according to Jessica Michan, Mayor Annise Parker's press secretary. The library's budget was $39.3 million in FY10.
Lawson said that if the library has a budget of $32 million it should be able to preserve its core mission and continue to avoid closing any branches.
"It was very important to me and to the staff and to the people we serve that libraries remain open to communities, and even if we had to reduce the hours, having some access is very, very important, so we were able to make that happen," she said.
Lawson defined the core services as student support, literacy advancement, technology access and instruction, and workforce development.
"We recognized that we needed to zero in on some core business priorities, and we rested with those," she said. "And they've been working out pretty well for us."
The library has been having managers oversee more than one location and employing unified circulation/reference desks where staff members are cross trained as a way of coping with the loss of staff.
"When you are challenged you really do have to take a step back and reassess and look at your organization," Lawson said. "You find out where your strengths and weaknesses are and you use your best thinking and skill sets and move forward," she said.
A representative from the Houston Organization of Public Employees Local 123 (HOPE), which represents some library workers, could not be reached for comment, but Melvin Hughes, the president, said in an April 28 message to members that HOPE "has never supported layoffs."

Is your 3M Gate Rope Broken?

Please contact IT help desk to submit a request if the 3M gate ropes at your location are broken and need to be replaced. Do save the broken ropes to show 3M folks and they will replace the broken ones.

Thanks,

Shammi

Retention Period for Time sheets & Deposit Records

Greetings - I checked with Christi Weems in Payroll and confirmed that the retention period for copies of time sheets kept in the neighborhood libraries is three years.

Isis Mathoslah in the Financial Services recommends to maintain deposit records for five years in the neighborhood libraries.

Shammi