Staff Association Council Meeting Minutes - October 27, 2022

Locations Represented: AL, CAT (Co-Vice Chair), CH (Digital Chair), ED (Chair), MC (Secretary), NW (Treasurer), RE, SO, VI (Co-Vice Chair) 

Wins & Challenges: Each representative shared recent wins and challenges from their location. 

• AL – Haunt the Library event was a success, with about 70 people attending! Kits are still going well, too. The challenge is staffing, which means there is always a lot of shelving to be done. 
• CAT – More books are coming in than they have room for. Fallout from Baker & Taylor malware attack.  
• CH – Working on planning how to use the Garden Tools Library of Things grant and mobile Maker Space; coming up with programs, etc. There is also some extra shelving to do because of staff changes.  
• ED – Fun seasonal décor was a hit! No big challenges at this time.  
• MC – New children’s librarian has started, so families are looking forward to more programs and activities. A challenge is that nearby road construction has the main entrance blocked and makes it hard for people to get in. 
• NW – Glass finally replaced in the study room! Challenge is being down a manager and assistant manager.  
• RE – Recently met the new branch manager who will start Nov 14. No real challenges at this time.  
• SO – Monthly game night is coming back. The challenge is staff morale related to the class & comp results and “adjusting to new pay charts.” 

Discussion – Keep doing wins & challenges? 

• Sabrina asked for feedback as to whether we want to keep doing wins and challenges to start each meeting or try something else.  
• Pro: It creates a built-in time for everyone to speak, which is helpful for those who are less outgoing or unlikely to volunteer to speak on their own; helps us keep up with what is going on around the system which may not make it into the main news-sharing channels; easier to have a voice without having to ask for the floor. 
• Con: It takes time; not everyone always has something to share; the same things could be mentioned during Open Floor 
• Decision: We will keep doing this, but to be clear it is always optional to participate. 

Discussion Item: Shared Leave, Hospital Example 

• Jammie reached out to the HR department of the hospital she also works at and received a response explaining their process: 
• There is no continuous pool, but employees may request leave donation through HR for something like maternity leave or an extended illness, not vacation. HR sends an email to all employees saying who is asking for the leave and how much is needed. Staff respond to the email with how much they are willing to donate. HR converts the donated hours to dollars and shares when the requested amount has been met.  
• Action steps: 1. create a poll about whether staff would hypothetically be willing to participate in a shared leave pool or donation system 2. Representatives who have friends who work for other library systems will ask if they have anything similar, especially Pioneer and TCCL.  

Discussion & Update: Bilingual Staff Compensation 

• Lupita reports that no new documents have been sent to CH for in-house translation. Unfortunately, this means that things are simply not being translated at all, which fails to serve the community.  
• There has been no feedback about the situation from management 
• Discussed a proposal put together by former SA representative Tim Rice in 2016 recommending Metro hire an in-house translator. 
• When the topic was raised with then-Executive Director Julie Ballou, her response said that “if a need is identified a library or department manager could work with their Leadership Team member to develop a job description and submit it to Human Resources for review and grading. A budget request would be required to add a new position or reallocate funding.”  
• Action Items: Lupita will reach out to Tim to learn more about his proposal and see if a job description was ever drafted. She also volunteered to draft an email about the topic for SA. We will also reach out to Angel in MAC to see what she would think of the recommendation, as it would make sense to have a translator in MAC to help with outreach and marketing materials and other in-house needs. 

Newsletter 

• Want to include a link tree in all future editions  
• Publish ASAP – the current edition will go out Monday, November 7.  
• Discussion: include bookshelf perpetually? Decision: Yes 
• Jana walked Jammie through accessing the in-progress Sway newsletter on her projected screen so that everyone could see the process. 
• Action Items:
  • Officers need to send Lupita a brief bio (why you joined SA and a fun fact) by Thursday, November 3. Jana also needs to send a piece about the pumpkin decorating contest, and Kassy will share the link tree info. 
  • Jana will make a tutorial for using Sway and send it to all representatives 
  • When everything has been sent to Lupita, she will publish the newsletter 

Staff Day Feedback 

• Much more interest in the morning than afternoon 
• Bookmarks were a big hit (thank you Jammie for making them!)  
• Jana will check responses to sign-up forms to share at next meeting

Discussion: November meeting location 

• Decision: Bethany conference room 2-4, Sabrina will leave early to attend the Commission meeting 

Meeting Adjourned: 4pm