Alternate Greeting

Hello,

In addition to posting the sign on the door, please remember to change your alternate greeting.

• To change and turn on the alternate greeting, please call 832-395-1299. 
• When prompted for ID enter "2580" and # 
• When prompted for password enter "0852" and # 
• When prompted for the extension of the call handler, enter 1 and the full 10 digit number of the branches main phone number and # (for example 18323931740 #) 
• Listen to the prompts, they will let you activate/deactivate/record an alternate greeting.  

Voicemail Greetings for Public Service Telephones — Holiday Closures
1. Thank the caller and follow with the name of the branch/unit and the library system.  
Thank you for calling the Alief Regional Library, part of the Houston Public Library System.
2.State that the library will be closed for the named holiday, the dates it will be closed and when it will next be open.
The library will be closed for the Christmas holidays on Thursday, December 24 through Sunday, December 27. We will resume normal hours of operation on Monday, December 28.

Once you have recorded it, make sure that you activate the alternate greeting at closing on December 23rd.

While the alternate greeting is active, all other greetings and busy/closed behavior are ignored. Deactivate the alternate greeting when the holiday is over.

Thanks and Happy Holidays!

Laurie Covington

New Workers' Compensation Reporting Number

Effective December 1, 2015, TRISTAR Risk Management began managing our workers’ compensation claims.

Please note the reporting number has changed... see below.

** Supervisor reports the claim to Claims Reporting Service (CRS) at:

(832) 393-SAFE (7233) within 24 hours! ***

Options Press 1

Use these links for more information:

City of Houston Workers' Compensation Site

Supervisor's Accident Packet 

Workability Guidelines E.O. 1-33

Thanks,

Laurie Covington 

CE Admin

832-393-2707

Meeting Room Occupancy

As per SPACES, the formula for calculating the occupancy of a meeting room uses the architectural standard of 7.5 square feet per person.The architectural standard of 15 square feet per person is applied for a room with tables. If there is equipment, performers, podium, speakers, furniture, etc. requested for the room, this displaces the number of occupants for the room.  In other words, the capacity of the room for occupants is cut down with every chair, lectern or piece of equipment. 

The occupancy rate for Houston Public Library meeting rooms that is posted on our webpage and 2015 Library Information Sheets is based on 7.5 square feet per person. Customers might assume the room will hold more people.  We thank staff for clarifying in conversations with customers how many people can comfortably sit in the room; or how many tables and chairs can be accommodated.  Your initial conversations are what lead to a great experience for our customers when they arrive at their meeting.  Thank you so much for continuing to use your best judgment! 

Mary

MyLink & Overdrive

Greetings HPL Team,

When new MyLink library cards are issued, the customer’s Overdrive account does not automatically convert over to the new library card number.  The merge has to be done manually by the Digital Strategies Help Desk, formerly known as the IT Help Desk.  They have the tool and permission to do it.  In order to merge the accounts, please email the HPL IT HelpDesk with the following information:

n  Old library card number

n  New library card number

n  Contact e-mail address

n  Name of customer                         

Please explain to the customer that the account will be active within 24 hours after the information has been transferred.  The Overdrive customer should use the new library card number to access the service after the merge has been completed.

Thanks!

Mary 

Alternate Greetings

Hello,

To change and turn on the alternate greeting, please call 832-395-1299.

1. When prompted for ID enter "2580".
2. When prompted for password enter "0852".
3. When prompted for the extension of the call handler, enter 1 and the full 10 digit number of the branches main phone number.
4. Listen to the prompts, they will let you activate/deactivate/record an alternate greeting among other things.  The alternate greeting should be used on holidays (July 4 for example).  To use it, record a greeting for it, then activate it.  While the alternate greeting is active, all other greetings and busy/closed behavior are ignored.  Deactivate the alternate greeting when the holiday is over.

Voicemail Greetings for Public Service Telephones — Holiday Closures

1. Thank the caller and follow with the name of the branch/unit and the library system.

Thank you for calling the Alief Regional Library, part of the Houston Public Library System.

2. State that the library will be closed for the named holiday, the dates it will be closed and when it will next be open.

The library will be closed for the Thanksgiving holidays on Thursday, November 26 through Friday, November 27.  We will resume normal hours of operation at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 28.

Find other telephone greetings in the Telephone Etiquette Guidelines.


Thanks,

Laurie

Learning Link Cards

Hello everyone.

HPL recently delivered 7,214 Learning Link Cards to HISD for distribution to 3^rd graders at the 63 elementary schools participating in the NCAA Read to the Final Four program over the next year.   We are excited to participate in this program by providing each of the participating 3^rd graders with a free Learning Link Card with the following privileges:

• Full access to HPL’s collection of electronic resources.
• Check out of up to 10 physical juvenile items at one time.
• No fines, no fees
• No parent signature required for card replacement

There are a few limitations on the Learning Link Card that are different from other cards:

• Laptops and gaming equipment cannot be checked out on the Learning Link Card.
• Adult and Teen physical items cannot be checked out on the Learning Link Card.
• No more than 10 physical items can be checked out on the Learning Link Card at one time. 
• The cards will each expire on August 31,2016.

So here’s some information and a few guidelines  you need to know and follow when assisting one of our new Learning Link customers:

• This is a pilot. We are tracking data this year so that we can make a case for expanding the program next year to all HISD pre-K-3^rd grade students. This is one of the many reasons we need staff to adhere to the guidelines of the pilot and be careful about who gets replacement cards. Also, we want to make sure the cards are not being abused by parents or siblings so it’s incredibly important not to override anything (item limits, JUV materials only, laptop or gaming checkout availability) because that will negatively impact the data and potentially impact the future of this program for all students.
• Learning Link Card accounts all have the HOU-HISD  as a user profile name.  This profile is only assigned to 3^rd graders at the 66 HISD schools participating in the NCAA Read to the Final Four program this year (the list of schools is attached).  The HOU-HISD profile is not and should not be assigned to other users.  HISD will update our user files regularly for students transferring into the participating schools.  Cards will be created for those students as we receive the files.

• Replacing a lost Learning Link Card does not require the completion of a registration form or the signature of a parent or guardian.  If a third grade child from one of the participating HISD schools requests a replacement card, you need his/her name and student ID number in order to look up the existing record in the Symphony system.  If there is a Learning Link account in the system for him/her, you may simply issue a new card to the child by overwriting the User ID with the new card number and saving the change.  You will not need to attach a Learning Link label to the replacement card.  Remember, this is only acceptable for Learning Link accounts already in the system.  Cards with other user profile types still require the completion of a registration form and the signature of a parent or guardian for customers under the age of 18.  Do not change the user profile in an existing account in order to issue a replacement Learning Link card.

• The Alt ID for each Learning Link Card is the student’s seven digit school ID number, preceded by the letter ‘S.’  So the Alt ID for a Learning Link Card will be S#######.  This format is consistent for all Learning Link Card accounts and should not be changed.  To find a student account using the Alt ID, go to the User Search widget in either Display User or Modify User, do a Keyword Search on the Alt ID index in the Search Index field and input S plus the seven digit student number in the search box.

• The default PIN for each account was set to the last four digits of the student’s HISD Student ID number. 

• The Group ID for each Learning Link card will be the three digit school number + a dash (-) + the three digit homeroom number provided by HISD.  000 is assigned as a homeroom number on accounts for which no homeroom was provided in the data set.  Additionally, each account includes a note field in which the school number and school name is recorded.  Please do not alter the Group ID or the note fields with school number and name in any way.

• You should not override the block to check out a laptop, electronic device or any non-juvenile materials to the card. 

• You should not override the block to check out more than 10 physical items to the account.

• No fines assess to the account when overdue items are returned.

• The accounts will not be sent to collection for unreturned material.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Learning Link cards, please do not hesitate to contact Circulation Administration at 832-393-2222 (option 3), Fred Schumacher at 832-393-1567 or fred.schumacher@houstontx.gov, or Kallie Benes at 832-393-1428 or Kallie.Benes@houstontx.gov . Any of us will be glad to help in any way we are able.

Thanks.

Fred Schumacher

Senior Manager

Houston Public Library | Library Materials Services

500 McKinney St., Houston, TX 77002

Office: 832-393-1567 |  Email:  fred.schumacher@houstontx.gov

Meet CE Administration

Meet some of the staff for Customer Experience Administration!
If you have questions or concerns, remember to call 832-393-2707

Celeste Diaz--Administrative Associate

• Facility Checklist
• Outreach Kit Incentives--Pens, pencils, magnets, post its
• Mileage reimbursements
• Booksale supplies--ear buds and flash drives (for sale), sign holders, door stops, Chlorox wipes
• No Tape supplies--Removeable mounting tabs, medium hanging strips

Yolanda Anguiano--Administrative Assistant

• Tracks Incident Reports
• Tracks temporary closure due to AC, plumbing and power issues
• Maintains Customer Experience directory and Intranet roster
• Manager Meeting Agenda and Minutes
• Assists with interview booking