September 2016 Managers Meeting

CE Managers Meeting

09-23-16

Compiled by Yolanda Anguiano

Digital Strategies: (Rick Peralez & Manuel De La Cruz): The wireless network, public and OPAC2 side, are fully operational.  When experiencing wireless problems with library owned equipment, report it to the help desk.  The OPAC2 network is tied to library laptops and desktops that are wireless. Report if customer owned devices are still having wireless problems.   Rick’s team is still working on the staff side; HITS wants authentication required for connecting staff wireless.  Staff would log in similar to logging in to Windows/Outlook.  Rick also wants feedback on VOCERA.  Is it working at your location?  Who is using it most?  Central and Stella responded yes.

Rick and Manuel spoke also about the new PC reservation system roll out.  It has been delayed until the current problems are resolved.  They are working with the vendor to help them understand the unique needs we have.  Please continue to report problems, and attach pictures of the issues to the DS team and cc Laurie and Mary. 

One known issue is new library cards not working on the reservation the same day that they register the card so Rick and Manuel suggested offering a guest pass to those new library card holders.  The library card will work for check out but not for the reservation system.  Printing batches of guest passes was suggested.  Call the Helpdesk for a walk through of how to print batches.

CE Update: (Elizabeth Sargent)

Liz thanked Dominick and Jenny for hosting the meeting and let everyone know that the official opening of Jungman will be Thursday, October 13^th at 10AM.  Full service hours will begin at noon.  There will be an additional grand re-opening celebration on October 15, for the public with food trucks, retro games, an art exhibit and a cake celebrating the opening. 

                                                                                                                                              

News from around Customer Experience:

·         Kallie Benes returned from her maternity leave Friday, Sept. 2^nd.

·         Alief had a successful grand re-opening on Saturday, September 10.  There were 433 people in attendance with 113 families participating in the activities.  Congratulations were extended to the entire Alief team for a job well done.

·         Robinson-Westchase closed at COB Wednesday, August 31^st.  Liz thanked the Robinson team for making it happen.

·         Chris Arrowood is now assisting at Hillendahl as Acting Manager while Alma Avina handles Ring.

·         John Merullo is now at Central as Librarian III for Business Resources and Periodicals.  Craig is now Acting Manager at Vinson.

·         Vinson added Monday hours as of Monday, September 12^th to improve customer service and be better aligned with the Multi-Service Center hours.  If other locations wish to reinstate their Monday hours and can do so with current staffing, you can approach your Senior Manager and CE Admin will consider it.

·         Congratulations to Acres Homes/Oak Forest for their successful Open Houses as well as Scenic Woods.  Maurina spoke and said it was a great way to re-introduce library services to the community.  They had 30 people attend at ACR and OAK had 81.  Maurina also had a sign in sheet that she used to collect customers’ emails, so she could email them directly any ACR/OAK news.

·         Liz had kudos for Hillendahl/Ring staff for staying calm in a difficult situation.  A banned customer created a disturbance at Ring.  Staff called police but the customer left before they arrived.  Ring staff alerted Hillendahl staff that the customer could be headed their way.  The customer did go there, so Hillendahl staff informed Ring.  They were able to redirect police to Hillendahl and the abusive customer was apprehended.  Communication was critical to ensure staff safety.  The customer is banned indefinitely from Hillendahl/Ring and we are working on a possible system wide ban.

Employee Discounts: Liz alerted staff to a $5 City of Houston employee discount to Disney on Ice’s “Dare to Dream” performances occurring November 9-13. Visit http://cohemployeenews.com/events-activities/city-nights for that and other discounts.

Pensions:  There has been much talk about pensions recently and on 9/16 around 2:42PM Mayor Turner released the following message to all City Employees’ email addresses.

Dear City Employees,

I want to let you know that negotiators for the City, the Houston Police Officers’ Pension System, the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund and the Houston Municipal Employees Pension System have developed Preliminary Points of Understanding on a structural approach to long term, sustainable, defined benefit pension reform.

From the first time I met with representatives of all three employee unions at the start of this year, there has been agreement to maintain defined benefit plans. The plan announced this week holds true to that agreement.  We will have fully funded, secure, sustainable and affordable defined benefit pension systems that our employees can rely on today and tomorrow.  I know employees are anxious to know how the plans are changing.  There are different changes for each pension system but they could affect one or more of the following: cost of living adjustments, future benefit accrual rates and the DROP program.

For some time, we have known we had choices to make regarding our employee pensions.  The current situation is straining our finances and putting at risk our ability to meet our pension obligations in the future.  We have chosen to come up with modifications that will minimize adverse impact on our hard working employees, especially the thousands of police, fire and municipal workers eligible to retire today.  We have to work it out here at home or the state legislature will impose its will on us, which none of us want to happen.

This week’s announcement is the first step.  There is still much more to do.  The negotiators will work out the specific language for more formal agreements over the next month.  Then there will be votes by the governing bodies of the three pension systems, City Council and the state legislature.

I do not expect our City employees to shoulder the entire burden for achieving financial stability.  Once we fix pensions, I will ask voters to repeal the revenue cap that hinders our ability to keep up with the needs of a growing city.  No other governmental body in the state has such a restraint.  It is bad public policy, and it has to end.

I know how hard each of you works to meet the needs of our residents.  You deserve certainty regarding your retirements.  This plan provides certainty and takes the pension issue off the political radar for good.

Bright Ideas:  On August 26^th around 2:08PM City employees received an email entitled “I want to hear your ideas!” It announced the City’s bright ideas initiative. 

Mayor Turner wants to hear your innovative ideas about ways to save taxpayer dollars and deliver increased value to our constituents. The City is prepared to fund cost-saving ideas from City employees.  The ideas should be innovative and support greater efficiencies in the way the City does business.  The ideas need to be feasible and measurable. 

To submit your ideas, go to: http://brightideas.houstontx.gov.  Take a look at the website for inspiration and what kind of ideas the City is looking for.  For any City employee that submits an idea that is implemented and results in savings, there will be a cash prize of up to $5,000.

Drug Test Policy:  Liz reviewed Executive Order 1-12 “Amended Controlled Substance and Alcohol Abuse” and handed out a copy of the policy specifically relating to Reasonable-Suspicion Testing.  A manager can request an employee get drug tested if they have a reasonable suspicion of drug use.  She pointed out that section 7.2.4 ends saying:

the following Circumstances which constitute a basis for determining that reasonable suspicion exists include, but are not limited to: abnormal or erratic behavior, direct observation of alcohol or controlled substance use, observing the physical symptoms of controlled substance and/or alcohol use, including but not limited to glassy or bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, odor emanating from the body characteristic of alcohol or marijuana, uncharacteristic hyper/hypoactivity or hypersensitivity, poor motor coordination and/or slow or poor reflex responses different from what is usually displayed by the employee. 

If a Manager feels there is a reasonable suspicion situation going on with a staff member, managers should immediately contact their Sr. Manager.  The Sr. Manager will get with Liz and they’ll discuss the situation with Mr. Weeks and/or Dr. Lawson to determine what to do.  Staff who experience side effects of prescribed medication that causes one or more of the symptoms/behaviors described above should declare their prescriptions upon review.  The City will still run tests but will check for the appropriate dosage to appear in the results.

City’s Leadership Institute Program (LIP):  The next LIP class started orientation this week.  LIP was created to implement a leadership and succession planning program that develops strong, confident leaders in management and supervision at all levels in the City.  It’s an 8 month program and those in this year’s class from Customer Experience are Marcia Cameron-Denton (ALI), Sylvia Espinosa (CEN), Billy Glasco (GRE), Jennifer Myers (HEI), Helen Chou (CE Admin), and Laney McAdow (HMRC). 

CMC 2017: This year’s CMC theme is “Compassion in Action”.  Managers should’ve already submitted the name of their CMC coordinator and the coordinators should’ve already attended training.  Our CMC goal is $50,000 in donations, 100% participation and an increase in the number of “Above and Beyond” donors, or those staff who give 1% or more of their gross salary.  Last year we met all our goals.

                The Online CMC Auction will run from October 10-21.  It offers a variety of items to bid on including lunch with a department director, Texans memorabilia, and gift baskets.  You can go to houstoncmc.org for more information regarding CMC events.

                The CMC Fall Festival will be at Central on Friday, October 28 from 11AM-2PM.  Dr. Lawson has approved a 1 hour delayed opening for every location except Clayton and Central.  Administration wants 100% participation from all groupings/locations by either entering the pumpkin carving contest or sponsoring a booth at the festival.  There is a $5 entrance fee for each event.  Due to the festival, our CE Managers Meeting will be shortened and take place in JIB Auditorium from 8:30AM-11AM.  Liz asks that everyone park at Lot H on that date.  Laurie will send out more details about parking soon.

Wellness 2016-2107:  The new Wellness program “Win for Life” began on August 1^st.  Remind your staffs that they need to complete the health assessment by getting their biometric results: blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, height, weight, and waist circumference by December 5^th. 

To earn a $600 annual medical rate discount on your 2017 medical plan rate, you need to submit your health assessment and also complete one of four Wellness options by March 10, 2017.  You can earn an extra $300 annual medical rate discount if your covered spouse does their health assessment and a wellness option, too.  For the Wellness options, Option A, requires you earn credit for preventive care activities between February 1, 2016 and January 31, 2017.  Option B: Coaching via Telephone, Option C: Onsite lifestyle management programs and Option D: Fitness Tracker have a deadline of March 10, 2017. For more information on the Win for Life program, you can go to Win for Life.

Youth Services (Kallie):  Volunteers are needed for LibroFEST being held at Central on Saturday, October 1^st from 12PM-5PM.  The event will take place on the plaza.  Several Hispanic authors and civic leaders will be coming.  JIB will have a special exhibit centered on Hispanic Heritage Month.  If interested in volunteering, send an email to Kallie Benes or Jennifer Schwartz.  Youth Services is also looking for volunteers for the SCREAM IN on Saturday, October 15^th from 5PM-10:30PM.  The event will run from 6PM-10PM.  Attendance has been opened to 50 kids between the ages of 10-15.  If you would like to participate, contact Rebecca Denham.  Volunteers will be allowed to park at Central. 

Look to the YS blog for requesting kits for your next youth program.  They have Very Ready Reading, Science Experiments, After-School Zone and Craft kits to choose from.  Please click on the link and complete the Google Form.  Don’t forget to include 2^nd and 3^rd alternate choices, in case your first choice is unavailable.  This is a great resource when your youth services staff happens to be on vacation. 

Kallie’s team will be sending the kits out a week before the scheduled program.  Each kit contains enough supplies for 20 participants and has a list of its contents inside.  The only items staff will need to provide are scissors, glue and tape.  Please complete the survey in the kit after the program is over.  If needed longer, notify Kallie’s team.  To return a kit, just slide the return label that is under the top original “Send To” label and place it in delivery.  More information is available on the YS blog’s Kit Section.

International Services (Helen):   Helen thanked all staff for participating in the Go Vote! campaign.  HPL is collaborating with the League of Women Voters to get Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrars who have been trained to help our customers register to vote.  Volunteers should be contacting managers to let them know when they will be assisting.  In order for the public to stay up to date on when they will be available, enter the times as an event into Events Module.  HPL – League of Women Voters Voting Registration Calendar is being updated daily by Helen and the LWV to keep staffs informed on which locations will have on-site Volunteer Deputies. 

Not all requested time slots have been filled.  This is the first time HPL is participating, so if locations don’t have volunteers, please encourage customers to register to vote using the usual “short form” or online.  The last day to register to vote is October 11. 

HPL is also holding a Voting display competition.  At the very least, locations should use the poster and flyers received this week and the short-form registration forms in their display.  If more Go Vote! Posters are needed, please email Helen.  Voter Guides will only be available the week of October 15^th.  When managers set up their location’s display, they should take a picture of it and send it to Saima Kadir and Marjorie Gonzalez, or place them in the G: Drive /_Neighborhood library Marketing/your NL folder.  Staff should encourage customers to do hashtags and increase traffic on the HPL social media accounts.  The contest ends on October 8^th and the winner will be announced on Staff Development Day.  Early voting runs October 24^th-November 4^th from 7AM-6PM and Election Day is November 8^th. 

                Helen has an International Services intranet page International Services.  Staffs can find All About Your Library Card, Library Rules, Passport Services, 10 Cool Things, and Community Engagement documents translated in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Urdu and Vietnamese that can be printed out. 

Citizenship Corners: if locations need more of the materials that USCIS provided for free, contact Helen.  She’ll be sending out order forms before the end of the month.  Helen envisions turning the Citizenship Corners into an International Services Corner in the near future to be more inclusive.  She wants to begin citizenship classes lead by the recently trained staff over the next six months.

                Welcome posters with Mayor Sylvester Turner’s picture were distributed at the meeting.  Helen asks that managers post them at each of their locations immediately.  Press may come to look at them.  Please place the poster in a highly visible location.  Jason Stephens is looking at a long term solution for displaying it.

Commitments: (Derrick Spearman) Derrick trained his staff on completing Sprocket work orders.  He has worked on better communication and is using read receipts for his emails and has staff using a “tag” system when dealing with difficult customers.

(Alma Avina) Alma is conducting more staff training, helping morale by bringing food to meetings, and improving communication by revamping the staff blog.  She is conducting more one-on-one meetings with staff and following up on that discussion.  Some of the trainings she’s have been on e-readers, basic reference, and Mango languages.  Her team has already had a pot-luck lunch.

(Laney McAdow) Laney has worked on consistency, communication, and facilities.  She has made staff more accountable for the information discussed in staff meetings.  She now sends out meeting agendas prior to the event and has minutes taken for those meetings.  She has raised staff morale by providing food at meetings.  She has also celebrated her team’s success, made sharing information at her meetings easier and more approachable, and built a team building activity into them.  She has also created staff assignments for every staff member, so they know each other’s duties and become more responsible on how they plan to execute their tasks throughout the day.  Laney is also a building manager of an adaptive reuse facility and event building.  She attends monthly meetings with Mr. Weeks, SPACES, Special Events and others to troubleshoot building issues.

Staff Appreciation (Laurie):  The guidelines for using staff appreciation funds were passed out.  If your purchase was less than $100 you should use a petty cash form.  If it is over that amount, you will need to do a check request with the check made out to the store/vendor.  You will need to use a tax exempt form for all purchases.  Receipts should reflect the exact amount of requested reimbursements.  If you have additional items to purchase, purchase them separately.  If you have questions regarding how to complete a petty cash reimbursement, instructions are on the blog or you can contact Celeste. 

For check requests, please make sure the store or vendor is a City vendor.  You can check if they are a City Vendor here: City Vendor.  If they aren’t one, speak to the manager of the store and request that they become one.  Then ask him/her if they accept a city check from a third party, get a quote or receipt for the items you wish to purchase, and submit the check request with the quote or receipt to CE Admin/Attn: Celeste for signatures.  CE Admin will make sure it goes to Financial Services.  It can take up to a week to get a check issued.  Once the check is received, purchase the items and give the vendor payment.  The final receipt needs to be returned to Financial Services within 3 days.  It’s important to speak with the manager because pricing has to be fixed and cannot change.  Laurie added that HEB, Pappas and Jason’s Deli are popular City vendors.  For more instructions on how to handle staff appreciation paperwork, refer to the Guidelines which will be posted with the minutes.

Notary Service (Laurie):  Notary services began on Monday, September 19^th at Acres Homes, Central, Collier, Frank Express, Hillendahl, Johnson, Kashmere, Park Place, Robinson, Smith, Stella Link and Vinson.  If response for the service increases in locations without it, additional sites may be added.  An announcement advertising this new service is on HPL’s webpage.  The FAQs for this service will be posted with the minutes, blog and on the Customer Experience department intranet page.  The revenue from notary services should be placed with the fines bag at the end of the day.  Laurie has purchased new lock bags for that purpose, but they haven’t been received yet.  She will also be sending an email regarding what the City will do if you are sued stemming from a notary transaction.  The City will support you as long as staffs are following policy and doing the best they can.  Notary training can be found on the training portal under the Library Function page.

Houston Housing Authority Voucher Program (Mary):  Mary thanked everyone for their help with the Voucher Program.  She has spoken to HHA and they report that 75% of all applications have been done via mobile phone.

Sprockets (Mary):  Mary reminded managers that they need to submit a Sprocket work order before contacting CE Admin at x32707 to help resolve an issue.  We will be requesting the work order number and a description of the problem before we address it with the necessary department.  If you can’t do a Sprocket, due to no power or phone, Mary or Celeste can do one for you. 

If you have an on-going issue, put it in your Facilities Checklist, give problem details and dates.  Mary is the liaison for SPACES and Digital Strategies.  She only needs to be involved if the problem is immediate or on- going without resolution.  Mary meets monthly with either Karrington or Jason and goes over the building issues Managers report on the facility checklist.

Landscaping (Liz):  Liz asks that Managers and staff stop submitting Sprocket work orders for landscaping or tree trimming issues.  This isn’t handled by GSD; it’s a Parks Department problem.  The issue needs to be addressed via email with Karrington Burnett or Enrique Boulouf with a cc to your Sr. Manager, Mary Wagoner and Celeste.  Please email Enrique and copy Mary and Celeste.  Placing these requests in Sprocket slows down the system because the work order has to be passed on to different people before getting to Parks and SPACES.   Please share this with your staff.

Staff Development Day (Laurie):  The committee is working on putting together the list for Central Parking.  Anyone who didn’t submit the survey will be assigned to Lot H or need to take the bus/train or get dropped off.  Anyone parking at Lot H will need a pass.  The Central Parking will be by list.  Those staffers who try to park at Central and aren’t on the list will be re-directed to Lot H.

Monthly Narratives (Laurie):  Laurie referred Managers to an email she sent on Monday, 9/19 regarding a change in reporting monthly narratives.  She wants managers to include comments in the notes section of your statistics page.  There is no need to include full sentences and if there is nothing new to report, it can be left blank.  Special Collections and Central are to do this moving forward as well.  Liz will give them more direction later.  These notes will help everyone create a more concise annual report.

Buildings (Mary):  Old Young will be closing Friday, September 30^th at 5PM.  New Young is scheduled to open on Saturday, November 15.  Liz or Laurie will be sending out an email recruiting staff for the new Young within the week.  They are looking for staffs that are tech savvy and good instructors.  There will be a quick turnaround time with a deadline of Friday, October 7^th. 

Learning Link (Fred):  Learning Link kicks off October 3^rd.  Accounts are already in Sirsi but they aren’t ready to be used.  If staff is registering a child for a My Link card and he/she sees the duplicate account, continue with the transaction.  Children are allowed to have a full service card with parental approval, but need to be informed of the fines and fees that may be accrued on that card.  Fred will be sending out FAQs soon.

Reports from the Frontline:  (Patrick, Paty, Pedro, Djuina)

Patrick: Stella had a retro gaming night. Jacob Hornbeak brought in 6 tube TVs and 6 retro gaming consoles, such as Atari, Nintendo and Sega Genesis, for customers to play.  They had 14 people show up for the program.  He is going to reproduce this program at the Jungman opening weekend event on October 15^th.  Kendall is going to participate in Cigna Sunday Streets.  This is a citywide program where they shut down a few blocks of a major street, in this case Eldridge Parkway, to allow families to come and walk and bike around.  There will be vendors and activities.  This will be October 2^nd, from 12PM-4PM.  Jungman is going to have Bedrock City Comics come out on the first Saturday they are open to give out free comics to the kids from 10AM-1PM.  Frank is doing the after school meals program.  They have given out all 30 meals each day.  Walter had a series of outreaches to the Neff Early Learning Academy where they were able to talk to over 400 kids.  Irene from Southwest/Walter went to the Russian Theater Festival where she was able to provide a Russian storytime to over 200 people.  Meyer is doing some heavy weeding to get ready to be tagged in mid-October.

Paty:  Central had a groundbreaking for the plaza renovation on September 6^th.  The first phase of the renovation is underway.  Lighting and storage will be added.  The plaza will have park hours.  Central has had a few retirement and staffing changes.  Everyone is invited to Fred Mondrik’s retirement party on 9/30.  It will take place in JIB Auditorium from 10AM-12PM.  The CMC Fall Festival will take place on all of Central’s public floors.  The food booths will be on the Concourse level and Program Place.  The pumpkin carving contest will be in the gallery area.

Pedro:  Carnegie had a great Back to School Bash. Many partners came and there was a great turn out from the community.  Hillendahl added an extra baby time to accommodate the growing turnout they are having.  Pleasantville added programs to accommodate Kinder, 1st, and 3rd grade classes. The staffs go to them and the schools also come to visit the library.  After a couple of years of trying to get into Roderick Page Elementary, Dixon has finally been let into the doors to provide outreaches. We look forward to many more collaborations with the school.  Scenic Woods is having a Little Free Library build event on Saturday, September 24^th.  It is part of the Groomed for Literacy Initiative so staffs are welcome to attend or help out.  Congratulations to Oak Forest, Acres Homes, and Scenic Woods on their great open houses. They were able to plan and implement the events to show visitors what their library offers.  Thanks to Jose Santoyo for helping Acting Manager Drew Alvey with the Kronos and HEAR plans for the Pleasantville/Tuttle staff.  Also thanks to Jennifer Myers and Alma Avina on creating HEAR plans for staff and addressing staff issues on Kronos.

Djuina:  Flores is having a Little Free Library event on September 24.  They are having their own Fall Festival on October 27 with food, movies, and crafts.  Looscan is having a Harry Potter party on October 29.  Montrose is holding another self-publishing and series workshop. The original workshop had 8 stories published to the series, and 4 individual stories published.  Looscan and Montrose have been using the Neatoscan on their book sale items.  Djuina suggested if you have book sale items in good condition, alert Melissa or Leonore and if they agree, send them the items to use with the Neatoscan.  Mancuso had a Labor Day book sale, selling 16 bags worth of books. They are running out of food at their after-school food program.  They are slowly increasing their box count and each time has run out. They are doing several outreach opportunities with area schools and have also started going to Academy of Accelerated Learning every other Thursday, to provide a storytime for the AM Pre-k classes that are unable to visit the library. Housing Voucher traffic is steady and they have an adult volunteer who has started to teach workshops on Basic Personal Finances.  Smith is getting good numbers for their after school food program, as is Park Place.  Voter Registration programs are on Tuesday nights until 10/11. They are getting the collection ready for RFID tagging in November.  Notary services started on Monday.  There is a closing and opening date already set for Young.  Stanaker staff attended 10 outreaches in September.  They visited every elementary school in the surrounding area.  On September 26, they will begin their yoga classes which will occur every Monday and Wednesday.  On September 28, they will begin a program for the mentally handicapped.  Board games, movies, library tours, and board books will be instituted at these programs.

Clayton (Sue):  Clayton is celebrating Family History Month in October.  Sue passed out a handout listing all the different events they will be having.  There will be a Hispanic Genealogical Society of Houston Day on Saturday, October 1^st from 10:30AM-12PM.  It will offer an introduction to genealogical research on families of Hispanic descent.  Clayton will also have an Open House on Saturday, October 8^th from 11AM-3PM.  They will also have a special Genealogy after Dark event on Friday, October 21 from 12PM-11PM.  For more details on the celebrations, you can look at their blog or the HPL website.  The handout will also be posted with the minutes.

In attendance: Helen Chou, Felicia Brisco, Mercedes Mayne, Hellena Stokes, Melissa Hayes, Sara Pope, Melinda Campbell, Melissa Gwinn, Kelly Patton, Jennifer Myers, Melissa Ryans, Jose Santoyo, Michelle King, Nathan Stokes, Alexandra Drake, LeRoy Robinson, Angela Barratt, Tula Gorden, Nhu Le, Craig Bertuglia, Richard Hurst, Tim Siegel, alma Avina, Edgar Fuentes, Patricia Ogea, Christopher Patrick, Maggie Sepulveda, Drew Alvey, Billy Glasco, Kitty Myers, Diane Doyen, Vanessa Gempis, Jenny Phengdara, Sylvia Espinosa, Robert Lewis, Gary Lackey, Laney McAdow, Jennifer Sessa, Monica Siboldi, Chris Arrowood, Fred Schumacher, Tara Hornbeak, Donnie Byrd, Erika Cardoso, Virginia Williams, Karen Luik, Christy Chang, Shirley Singletary, Cylenthia Hoyrd, Dena Melvin, Dominick Spinelli, Maurina Powers, Derrick Spearman, Kallie Benes, Iona Joseph, Paty Bustamante, Sue Kaufman; Guest: Rick Peralez, Manuel De La Cruz; CE Admin: Elizabeth Sargent, Laurie Covington, Mary Wagoner, Patrick Atkins, Pedro Fonseca, Djuina Hammett, Leah Fraser, Celeste Diaz, & Yolanda Anguiano

Next meeting will be in JIB Auditorium on October 28^th 8:30AM-11AM.

August 2016 Managers Meeting

CE Managers Meeting

08-26-16

Compiled by Yolanda Anguiano

CE Update: (Elizabeth Sargent)

Management Changes/Updates:  Liz congratulated everyone for a great summer.  She added that our next CE Managers meeting will not take place at Central but at the new renovated Jungman.  It will begin at 9AM instead of 8:30AM to allow staff to meet at their branch and carpool to Jungman.  Because of limited parking, staffs need to carpool to Jungman.  A revised manager presentation schedule was distributed.  We will not have anyone present at September’s meeting.  The new managers that have recently joined our meetings were added to the group of presenters.  Their names are highlighted in red.  A copy of the assignments will be posted with the minutes.

News from around Customer Experience:

·         Billy Glasco and his wife are expecting their first baby.

·         Kallie Benes returns next Friday, Sept. 2^nd from her maternity leave.

·         Cedric Clark is the new Librarian II-Assistant Manager for Smith/Young.  He relocated from Virginia where he worked in various library systems.  He started at HPL on August 1^st. 

·         Tony Goodwyn has left HPL to work part-time and dedicate himself to his writing.  Alma Avina is serving as Acting Manager of HIL/RIN while we find a new manager.

·         Liz also thanked Drew Alvey (PLE/TUT) and Christy Chang (SWX/WAL) for serving as Acting Manager while we find replacements.

·         The vacant Collier Manager position has changed from Admin Supervisor to Librarian III and will be posted soon. Melinda Campbell is currently serving as acting manager until we hire a new one.

The Library asked the Mayor for 7 additional positions: 6 dedicated passport agents and 1 Library Service Supervisor to serve as Manager of Blue Ridge once it reopens with the WIC clinic inside.  We succeeded in getting 4 of the 7 positions: 3 passport agents and the Library Service Supervisor.  Mayor Turner will consider giving us the other 3 passport agents once we demonstrate an increase in revenue that would pay for the additional positions.  We are finalizing the locations for these new positions. We plan to have these positions posted very soon.  HR has to create them before we can post them.

The Library Service Supervisor of Blue Ridge will need to have a background in and passion for Early Literacy.  This position is a Library Service Supervisor rather than a Librarian II to allow those library professionals that don’t have a degree from an ALA accredited program to apply, especially school librarians.  The email recruiting staff for this location will go out later today.  Responses will be due by Friday, September 9^th.  If you are someone interested in working at Blue Ridge please reply to the email.  This applies even if you are interested in the Manager position. 

Employee Discounts: Liz made managers aware of the various discounts City Of Houston employees have and ask that you share this information with your staff.

                The new Working Advantage employee discount and reward program can save COH employees up to 60% on a huge selection of tickets, memberships, event passes, travel and more.  Guidance Resources Online offers 24/7 access, so visit guidanceresources.com to register and if you’re a first-timer, use code HOUSTONEAP.  Click “Discounts” in the “I’m Looking For” box on the homepage and see for yourself.

                Visit http://cohemployeenews.com/events-activities/city-nights for other discounts including some of the current ticket promotions, like a 60% discount on Houston Museum of Natural Science tickets.  Currently discounted tickets are being offered to the Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions at the Toyota Center on September 30^th.  Discounts end September 20.  The Sugar Land Skeeters and Houston Astros offer significantly discounted tickets to select games. 

Leadership Academy:  The new class of Leadership Academy has begun.  Those from CE that are participating include: Alma Chavarria (LMS), Tara Hornbeak (PAR), Candece Beverly (ALI), Jenny Phengdara (ROB), Emily Scott (HMRC), Dominick Spinelli (JUN), and Tim Siegel (STE).

Youth Services:  Leftover SRP incentives need to be sent to Sara Pope.  Leftover SRP books should be sent to Michelle Johnson at CEN.  Recycle your leftover certificates, since they were made from card stock.  The Halloween program SCREAM IN is fast approaching.  If you wish to volunteer, get your supervisor’s approval and reply to the recruitment email when YS sends it out.  Volunteers should enjoy working with teens and tweens.  Make sure you keep reading the YS Blog.  The Very Ready Reading Program kit request link is now live! YS is planning to go live with Very Ready Reading Program starting September 1, so you can go ahead and request the kits that you want to use that first week for your Baby Storytime, Toddler Storytime and Pre-K Storytime.  YS hasn’t received as many requests as they’d like, so please ask your Youth Staff to follow up.

Outreaches:  CE Admin thanked those that have been doing outreaches for HISD this summer.  Blue Ridge/Vinson did two weeks for Elementary School teacher training.  Kashmere and Flores did Middle School teacher training events.  Edgar Fuentes presented at Long Academy with help from Walter staff signing people up for library cards.  Kelly Patton and Jennifer Myers presented for ELA Department Heads, and Jennifer presented at HISD’s Job Alike day (library in-service).

Food Programs:  Without all the August numbers in, we served 9,500 meals and 3,600 snacks this summer compared to 7,100 meals and 2,100 snacks last year.  We are planning to start after school food programs at FRX, MAN, and CAR this year, in addition to SMI and PAR.  Through a United Way grant we are getting fridges and microwaves for PAR, JOH, STE, MAN, FRX, CAR and ALI.

Learning Link: The Learning Link is a student’s educational passport to all of the resources that HPL has to offer inside the classroom, at home and at any HPL location.  Students can check out books, eBooks, audio books, classic literature, animated books, comic books, access online homework help and tutoring, music and video streaming, and have access to free Wi-Fi and computer access at HPL locations.  There is no launch date yet but we hope to get it out mid-September or early October.  It is an initiative that isn’t widely known yet by schools.  We will have a dedicated webpage for Learning Link.  HEB is sponsoring this program and paying for posters for each location.

                Students will be able to borrow up to 10 items at one time.  There will be no fines.  The loan period will remain 3 weeks.  The maximum loan period, including renewal is 6 weeks.  Students will be able to access digital materials including eBooks, eAudiobooks, and specialized online research tools.  If items are lost or damaged, they will be charged up to $10 per item.  Accounts will become inactive once a student reaches $50 worth in non-returned books.  HPL is still trying to develop a way to earn down or read down charges on a student’s account.

                The Learning Link library account is connected to the student’s HISD ID and the first initial of their last name.  The PIN will be the month and day of their birthday.  Pre-K through 5^th grade will receive a card on which to write their account number.  Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers will not get a physical library card but use their HISD Student ID.  Elementary students will be able to check out juvenile materials only.  The other students will be able to check out juvenile, teen and adult materials.  We are working on guidelines for staff override of exceptions.

                There will be three resources per age group that HISD wants to highlight and will be placed on the hub or portal.  For Elementary kids, Tumblebooks, National Geographic Kids and Explora were selected. Tumblebooks offers animated talking picture books.  The picture books integrate sound, animation, music, narration, and activities to keep kids engaged in learning.  National Geographic Kids engage kids and take them on adventures in science, nature, culture, space and archaeology with age-appropriate content.  It offers videos, articles and kids’ books.  Explora is a child-friendly and graphically fun database to search newspapers, encyclopedia, magazines and more.  It is similar to Kids Search. 

For middle schoolers, Explora, Britannica Library for Young Adults, and E-Books were chosen.  Explora aids in research and has articles, pictures and videos in magazines and newspapers.  It also offers teachers lesson plans and Lexile reading levels. The resource has an elementary school version and a secondary version.  Britannica for YA has a variety of topics from art to technology and more.  It’s easy to use, conduct research, complete homework assignments and special projects.  It also helps students explore and compare countries from around the world.  It includes an on-line dictionary if you encounter unknown words in their resources.  E-books – Overdrive is the most robust and oldest platforms.  You can borrow eBooks, audiobooks and more from HPL anywhere and anytime.  There is a 10 item checkout limit.  It offers items in English, Spanish and other languages.  The checkout period for eBooks is 14 days.

For High Schoolers, Literature Resource Center, NoveList and e-Books were picked.  The Literature Resource Center offers up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on writers in all disciplines from all time periods and from around the world.  Students can use citations and other material offered to support their thesis.  Information is also downloadable or students can email it to themselves.  NoveList connects readers to their next book by making recommendations with read-alikes, book reviews and book discussion guides. Students can search for read-alikes by titles, authors, plot, series and more.  This database doesn’t include the full narrative or books, but has plot summaries and reviews.  It’s good for readers advisory.  E-Books are available with the same guidelines as for the middle-schoolers. This service is not streaming, but you can place a hold on an item.  It has a good source of teen fiction.  If the book icon on the book title is greyed out, it means the item is checked out and you will need to place a hold.  If the icon is dark, it means it is available for check out. 

Additional resources were also covered in the presentation.  Brainfuse is a free online tutoring service HPL offers.  It builds skills, offers a writing lab, job and career resources and adult learner resources.  The live online tutors are available every day from 2PM-11:59PM for 20 minute sessions in English or Spanish.  This service matches the grade level and subject to the child and teacher.    It offers tutoring for elementary through college prep and some adult learning.  SkillSurfer gives practice sessions to learn more about the subject.  In the writing lab, students can submit resumes or essays and get suggestions on improvements.  Career Resources are offered through Brainfuse as well.  JobNow can help match careers to student interests, offer resume templates, and other job resources.  For the adult learner, it offers tutoring for GEDs, Citizenship, Microsoft Office, Career and Resume writing.

Another resource is the Learning Express Library which offers help with math, reading, science, social studies, vocabulary, spelling and writing skills and test prep for STAAR and college exams.  It has a carousel that offers different platforms for different age groups.  You first need to set up an account with them.  Students can take pre-tests, study and then take post-tests and get recommendations for improvement.  This service can help the child that struggles as well as the one that excels.  It has a college prep center component and job and career accelerator that helps students with internships.  The Adult Learning Center helps with writing, speaking, and citizenship.  Services are also offered in Spanish.

E-books options were given that included Overdrive, Axis 360, ComicsPlus, and Hoopla.  All but ComicsPlus have apps available in the Apple Store, Google Play, or Kindle Fire.  ComicsPlus can be accessed through the HPL app only.  You can create an account with your library name and card in all but Hoopla.  Hoopla requires an email password as well. 

For help with reading and writing, Brainfuse, NoveList, Literature Reference Center, Literary Criticism Online, Something About the Author and Mango Languages are recommended resources.  For math help, students should access the Learning Express Library and/or Brainfuse.  For Science, students can search for services like Facts on File Science Online, Teen Health and Wellness, National Geographic Virtual Library, and National Geographic Kids.  Social Studies resources are offered through CultureGrams, Gale Power Search, Press Display, Historical Newspapers, 19^th Century U.S. Newspapers, and Houston Area Digital Archives. 

HISD staff members are also getting a Learning Link account, too.  The accounts will be virtual library accounts only.  They will be able to access HPL electronic resources but not physical items, like books, DVDs or CDs.  HISD staff can check those items out with their own library card. 

Schools can schedule visits to or from their local library. CE Admin asks that you accept all outreach requests.  If staffing is a problem, consult your Sr. Manager.  For more details, look to the handout posted with the meeting minutes.

Digital Strategies: (Rick Peralez & Roland Lemonius): Rick introduced the new Senior Manager of Tech Link Roland Lemonius.  Any suggestions you may have for Tech Link should be addressed to him.  Roland said he’s looking for Tech Link staff members that are comfortable with customer interaction and good with reference interviews.  Staff will need to know about digital and audio recording and be able to configure these instruments, but not necessarily play them.  They need to be multi-taskers and be willing to work at the new pilot site Scenic Woods.

Rick informed the group that the wireless issues are being addressed.  They are working with HITS to prioritize the issue and hope to have it resolved by next week.  The Hot Spot lending program is still being worked on.  DS needs Council approval for the fines/fees structure.  Rick hopes to have this resolved and launched at Dixon and Acres Homes next month.  Rick added that the issue TDI is having with losing remote access to HVAC is related to the wireless transition problem.  The new printing services Request for Proposals (RFP) arrangement was originally canceled, but a new one was released last week and Rick is waiting on the vendor response.  The new reservation system is being rolled out soon.  Staffs are welcome to suggest any improvements and Rick will look into possibly making adjustments.  The staff suggestion of being able to assign computers to specific customers is being considered as a walk up feature and is being tested out.

Staff Motivation: (Billy Glasco, Jose Santoyo, Derrick Spearman, Leonore Hu)  Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors.  It involves the biological, emotional, social and cognitive forces that activate behavior.  The reason why people do something is extrinsic or intrinsic.

Extrinsic behavior involves earning a reward or avoiding punishment and intrinsic behavior is done for its own sake, personally rewarding.  Everyone is different and has a preferred motivator.  It’s important to get to know your staff, know yourself and evaluate your resources.  Motivation matters because lack of it results in increased absences, wasted time, lower quality of work, decreased responsibility, reduced creativity and staff tension, which all could lead to increased customer complaints.  This can also affect the manager’s productivity, efficiency and morale.

                To help motivate your staff a manager should lead by example, interact with staff and have a presence.  You should focus on finding solutions instead of dwelling on the problems.  Show a humanistic side.  Take a few hours at the service desk and shelve a few carts.  Empower your staff by giving them projects to lead, forming teams to tackle projects and designate staff as team leaders in meetings.  Allow staff to interact freely and step into the manager’s shoes.  Other ways to motivate staff include praising their accomplishments, taking opportunities to teach and learn, having clear staff expectations and making the environment feel safe.  Be approachable.  Managers should build and enable their staff to succeed.  Leaders should be able to acknowledge mistakes and ask for help.

                Celebrate small accomplishments with your team.  Use food or chocolate to reward yourselves or have an occasional lunch together to invite conversation.  This encourages a motivated team that isn’t afraid to fail, is eager to learn new things, able to work harder with less, and is focused and determined.  The team will feel encouraged to grow and face new challenges so it will produce more.

Staff Appreciation:  Each location was given their staff appreciation budget.  The budget numbers were based on the number of staff at your location or grouping.  Guidelines, sample petty cash form, and a tax exempt certificate were included in the envelope with the budget memo.  If you do spend something before the September meeting, get with Laurie or Celeste on how to do the paperwork.  At our next meeting, Financial Services will conduct training on how to process the paperwork.  Remember that the amount for reimbursement has to be the same as what’s on your receipt.  You are not allowed to have personal items that you purchased on the receipt especially if you used the tax exempt form.  Any expense reimbursement for $100 or more needs to be processed with a check request.  You need to work with Financial Services to create a third party check for payment.  The vendors need to be City approved vendors and agree to take the city check.  HEB is one.  More details will be given during the training next month.

Booksale:  If your booksale inventory is robust, reach out to smaller locations to share your items.  All the money earned from the sales go to the same fund.  All the earbuds and flashdrive sales profits go into the same account.  Special Collection locations are welcomed to sell these items too, just speak to Celeste.

Commitments: (Jennifer Sessa)  Jennifer focused on teamwork, communication and training at her location.  She initiated a “Group Project Friday” event.  Every other Friday her team works on a project.  It builds teamwork and gets things done.  A new project will begin in September and she is taking staff suggestions on what it should be.  She is also working on her blog to communicate better with staff.  She is updating and overhauling it to include links and external resources and make it somewhere staff can go daily for information and announcements.  Jennifer wants to get beyond the standard HPL training and include more professional development.  She is asking staff with specific skills to share their expertise and conduct trainings and best practice teachings.

(Kelly Patton) Kelly committed to giving staff time to implement and execute projects.  She gives staff small blocks of time off the desk to complete their goals.  She has taken time to celebrate staff birthdays by decorating their cubicles or having cake.  She also celebrates different occasions, like having a Jazz Day, Star Wars Day, or Talk Like a Pirate Day to keep things fun.

(Dena Melvin): Dena has taken to emailing staff important information and using the blog for meeting notes.  She works on morale by having parties, food and holding team exercises.  She spends extra time with customers.  More one on one staff meetings have led to good discussions on job performance.  She discovers what staff like and don’t like to do and works with that to create new challenges.

The next three commitment presenters are Derrick Spearman, Laney McAdow, and Alma Avina.

City Savvy: Liz recommends reading the City Savvy when it comes to your inbox.  It has great information on all City Departments.  The site is City Savvy.  It often has features about HPL that you won’t find elsewhere.  It had articles on the recipients of the ACE scholarship, the Citizenship Institute class training held in Tomball, Gregory School exhibit of church hats, and the little library project called “Groomed for Literacy”. 

The 7 Academic and Continuing Education (ACE) scholarship recipients were Sr. LSS Lauren Ray, Archivist Valerie Wade, CSC Monique Pickrom, LSS Savannah Dorsett, Sr. CSC Debra Allen, Sr. LSS Carrie Tombs, and Tech Hardware Analyst Robin Cabrera. These funds were provided to further their education through continuing education courses, seminars and degree plans.

The Citizenship training helped prepare 30 staff members to conduct future citizenship classes at our library locations. 

The hat exhibit at Gregory celebrates “the domestic engineers that have come before us, and the history of why African-American women wear hats to church.” The exhibit opens on Saturday, Oct. 29 and the final day of the exhibit will include a fashion show and reception. Everyone visiting the exhibit is encouraged to wear their hats.

The Groomed for Literacy program is a partnership between HPL, Put It In A Book Foundation and local barbershops.  It will address literacy for children and promote a love for reading by putting books in community barbershops where there is a high population of individuals with low literacy, low income and low access to books. The kick-off will be at Scenic Woods on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 10AM-12PM.  More details on all these events are found at the City Savvy website.

Innovation Lab: Liz also wanted to mention how our Tech Link library project could be just as successful as the Innovation Lab at Clear Lake City-County Freeman Branch Library.  She focused on the news article about a girl who traveled from Victoria, Texas to Clear Lake to use their 3-D printer to create a prosthetic hand.  With the help of staff and volunteers, they took design plans from the internet and after several attempts were successful in creating her prosthetic hand.  You can find more information at http://www.click2houston.com/news. 

CMC 2017: CMC time is coming.  The theme this year is “Compassion in Action”.  Please make sure you select a CMC coordinator for your location and send this information to HPL CMC Coordinator Candece Beverly at Alief.  You can select more than one coordinator.  Liz encourages you to select someone new this year to give more people the experience.  The CMC Coordinator Training will be Friday, September 9^th and Wednesday, September 14^th from 9:15AM-11:15AM at Central’s Program Place.  Coordinators need only attend one of the meetings.  A link with the dates will be sent to you to register your coordinators for the training.

                The CMC Fall Festival will be on Friday, October 28 from 11AM-2PM.  Dr. Lawson has approved a 1 hour delayed opening for every location with the exception of Central and Clayton.  We are requesting 100% participation between all groupings/locations by sponsoring a booth or entering the Carved Pumpkin Contest.  There is a $5 fee for each activity.  Your CMC coordinators will receive more information at their training.  This event is the same day as our CE Managers Meeting.  We will adjust the schedule to accommodate it.  More details will follow.

                Our CMC goal is $50,000 in donations, 100% participation, and an increase number of Above & Beyond Donors.  To be considered Above and Beyond, you need to give 1% or more of your gross salary.  Last year we met all of our goals.

Good news from HPL:  Clayton is having an open house Oct. 8^th, where they will have getting started sessions, genealogy society tables, historical re-enactors, etc. along with a full month of genealogy programming for Family History Month.  Handouts will be available at our next meeting.

                HMRC is having their next exhibit August 27-November 12 entitled “We Serve Humanity: Stories of Hope and Commitment”.  HMRC salutes its 40^th anniversary with a gallery of individuals who strived to make the world a better place for future generations.  The exhibit includes photographs, documents, audio-visual media and ephemera from the fields of business, medicine, civil rights, social justice, the arts, journalism, environmentalism, education and government service.  Programming and tours will coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month and Citizenship Month.

                HMRC has recently been awarded a TexTreasures grant through TSLAC for the digitization of additional KHOU-TV film reels.  This is important because without digitization these film reels will deteriorate to a point where they are unusable.

                Gregory School is collaborating with HISD and HPLF to coordinate field trips for 4^th graders across the district that will fulfill Texas history curriculum requirements for the 2016-2017 academic year.  They hope this encourages more teachers and students to visit the location.  Students who visit will have access to a number of books, worksheets, and learning activities to help them understand the themes presented in the galleries.

                Central held its first Housing Assessment last month and it was a success.  Homeless individuals were assessed on a variety of aspects of their lives to determine the best housing intervention.  In the 2 hours that assessors were here they were able to interview 23 people.  They were also able to make contact with 6 people that they had not been able to find before.  The assessors were pleased with the facilities and the programs we have at the library.  They added that our customers were really a good group of people, less unruly than others.

Locations are doing great at supporting each other when short staffed.  ROB has lent ACR/OAK staff.  Richard and Drew did a great job working together to get staff HEAR reviews done.  Drew has lead by example and is working Saturdays.

Dominick and Isabel are doing an excellent job of getting Jungman ready for opening.

Marcia and her team have done a great job of getting the books on the shelves at ALI.

Chris and his team have done a great job of weeding the ROB collection and preparing it for closing for renovations.

The ALI and ROB teams held a special team bonding event last month by celebrating their diverse culture.  Each staff member brought a dish either from their country of origin or US state within which they were born.  They shared why they picked the dish and the importance it held for them personally or their culture.  They realized that for most of the dishes the same ingredients were used, just prepared differently, which tells us that we are all very similar, just based on different cultures, religion and place of origin.  Please see pictures on their Yammer page under Henington-Alief Regional Library.

Collier made $5,000 in its first month of doing passports.  Also their Star Party is this Wednesday, Aug. 31.  Explore the solar system at their community Star Party.  They are borrowing the Lunar Planetary Institute’s walk-in Planetarium and are having activities, snacks, and crafts for all ages.  They have also begun training new hires, having them spend their first week at HPL at Collier and reporting to their home locations the following week.  Feedback from new hires has been extremely positive.

Stanaker has received a new PS4, and has placed it in their teen area to invite more teens and to provide additional programming without overtaxing staff.

Melcher has added Family Movie Time on Thursday afternoons, which has become very popular with patrons.

Bracewell has conducted several outreaches with more to come.

LOO/MNT will be piloting the Neatoscan project starting September 12^th.  The Friends have it at their warehouse.  It tells them if the item is a “hot item” at Amazon.  Senior Managers took the training.  Staff will be asked to set aside the hot items in a green wrapper and place in a bin.  FIDS will pick up the bin and ship it to Friends twice a week.  This will help clear items from the location more quickly.

Staff Development Day: Staff Development Day is October 10^th.  It is mandatory for all staff.  We are encouraging carpooling.  Laurie will send out a survey to managers/assistant managers regarding parking.  There are a limited number of parking spaces at Central and staffs that are carpooling with 3 or more people will be given priority for those spaces.  Everyone else will need to park at Lot H.  Staffs that work at Central need to use their regular parking arrangements (bus, Lot H, Hobby etc.).  All staffs need to have an employee badge to get access to the building for that day.  It’s the manager’s responsibility to ensure that all staffs have a way to get to the event.  The survey will be sent out September 13 at around noon and carpools will be taken on a first come, first serve basis.  It will be due by COB September 16^th.  A list of everyone in the car will be needed as well as the driver.  Security will only allow the staff on the list entry to the garage.

Annual Reports:  Laurie will be sending out an email regarding annual reports soon.  They are due by COB Friday, September 16^th.  The guidelines that have been used in the past will be the same: trends, challenges, etc.  The report should only be one page long.

Notary Service:  HPL is launching notary services in mid-September.  They are looking to begin services on the 19^th, but more information will follow.

HEAR:  Because some HEAR plans didn’t get done and were canceled, the FY16 plans will be re-opened.  You have until September 30 to do the reviews.  Remember if you have an approved plan in place but you alter it in any way, it will be kicked back into draft status and you will have to go through the approval process again.  You will need to get your 2015-2016 template done, reroute it for signatures (reviewing authority and staff signatures) which will get the plan active and then do your HEAR evaluation.  Refer to last month’s minutes for the behavioral factors standard.  Also refer to Suzy Benton’s email to create the plan.  Liz is working with the Senior Managers for standard goals and behavior factors for supervisors.  This will come out next week. 

                This is important to get done because not getting a HEAR evaluation for an employee is a grieveable offense.  On October 1^st, HOPE will go after staff with no reviews and encourage filing a complaint.  Part-timers also need reviews.  You also have until September 30 to have the 2017 HEAR plans in place.

Buildings: (Mary Wagoner) Robinson has already stopped passport services in preparation for closing for renovations on Wednesday, August 31.  Collier is getting a new roof and will take longer than originally planned because of documented leaks.  They expect it to be done in ten weeks.  Alief opens on Tuesday, September 6 with a grand opening Saturday, September 10.  CITGO has provided funds for the grand opening.  We are still not certain on when Jungman will be opening because we’re waiting on the Mayor and City Council.  Young grand opening is set for Saturday, November 5.  Blue Ridge will be opening with a WIC clinic inside and the opening is yet to be determined.  Dixon will undergo interior enhancements that were funded by City Council but the dates are not set yet.  The new Tech Link renovations are scheduled for Scenic Woods, but no specific date has been set.

Houston Housing Authority Voucher Program:  HPL will be participating in the Houston Housing Authority Voucher Program this year as we did four years ago.  We will offer internet access to the program applicants.  This is a lottery program for public housing.  The program dates are Monday, September 19 to Sunday, September 25.  The applicants will need an email account, so staff will assist them in getting one.  We will have a webcard on our website advertising the program.  It will have a link to the application website and a few sentences about what the program entails.  We are working to get a training webinar where staff can get training credit. 

This is a pre-application process.  The application requires personal information on the customer and his/her family like social security numbers, income, birthdates, etc.  Income can be estimated.  HHA will not disqualify an applicant if their application is incomplete.  They can get all the required information further into the process.  Customers will receive a confirmation email from HHA, so they don’t need to print their confirmation.  They will be notified of the next step through email.  There is typically a high volume of applications in the beginning of the week and the program only takes 20% of the applicants per day, so it may be better for applicants to file later in the week for a better chance of selection. 

Computer labs will be open to applicants, but Mary doesn’t want you to cancel any pre-existing programs to accommodate this.  The application will be mobile friendly and the program website will be in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Mandarin. 

Helen: This is an election year and we already offer all customers the opportunity to register to vote with each transaction.  Customers can register to vote now through October 11.  HPL is partnering with non-profits to do voter registration at our locations with volunteer help.  Helen asks for you to create and expand displays around the League of Women Voters Voting guides. HPL will have web banners and webcards regarding the elections.  Helen will email you about the different efforts surrounding voter registration we will have in September and October. Early voting runs October 24^th-November 4^th.

In attendance: Chris Arrowood, John Merullo, Tim Siegel, Iona Joseph, Jesus Villegas, Felicia Brisco, Melissa Gwinn, Leonore Hu, Mercedes Mayne, Maggie Sepulveda, Cedric Clark, Melinda Campbell, Shirley Singletary, Robert Lewis, Patricia Ogea, Melissa Ryans, Jennifer Myers, Jose Santoyo, Jayla Parks, Helen Chou, Alma Avina, Drew Alvey, Monica Siboldi, Richard Hurst, Dena Melvin, Michelle King, Kathrine Myers, Craig Bertuglia, Laura Montegrande, Sara Pope, Alexandra Drake, Kelly Patton, Laney McAdow, Erika Cardoso, Virginia Williams, Nhu Le, LeRoy Robinson, Rebecca Denham, Billy Glasco, Vanessa Gempis, Christy Chang, Donnie Byrd, Nathan Stokes, Edgar Fuentes, Hellena Stokes, Dominick Spinelli, Jennifer Sessa, Sue Kaufman, Karen Luik, Gary Lackey, Christopher Patrick, Beck Gorman, Fred Schumacher, Sylvia Espinosa, Maurina Powers, Tega Zoma, Cylenthia Hoyrd, Melissa Hayes, Tula Gorden, Marcia Cameron-Denton, Derrick Spearman, Diane Doyen, Paty Bustamante; From Youth Services: Michelle Johnson, Jacqueline Thomas, Shanti Rao, Lisa Swan, Erica Moreno, Jerome Hurt, Nagma Akbar, Alexandra Zengotita, Irene Resnick; Guest: Rick Peralez, Roland Lemonius; CE Admin: Elizabeth Sargent, Laurie Covington, Mary Wagoner, Patrick Atkins, Pedro Fonseca, Djuina Hammett, Leah Fraser, Celeste Diaz, & Yolanda Anguiano

Next meeting will be at the Jungman Neighborhood Library

at 5830 Westheimer Rd, 77057 on September 23^rd 9AM-12PM.

Remember to carpool!