Incentives to Read Minutes - November 03, 2015

Summer Reading

Pro & Cons:

-Kim Terry reported when it came to ordering supplies, everything went great. Her cons for this year was the communication between staff when running out of prizes. Kim received calls from staff and customers on the issue of running out of prizes. Some staff members were told to give out prizes only while supplies last. Kim suggested ITR give information to all staff on what to do if this happens again in the future. She stated there was also a little confusion on whether to order supplies from Marketing or the Outreach Department. LaVetta stated this process may take a little while to get used to, but she believe it’s a needed process for each department to distribute to libraries what they keep in their stock. Therefore each department will maintain their own inventory and know the correct numbers for ordering. Kim reported there were a few questions on what the weekly drawing prizes were and she would go onto the intranet for the answer. LaVetta stated as we raise awareness most of these issues will decrease.

-Emily stated people loved the large face cutout and the city backdrop. LaVetta stated library staff were happy they were able to keep the city backdrops. She stated the bookmarks were well liked and really helpful for everyone. They will need to be changed to match the new software.

Kim asked the ITR Committee if they needed to add anything to SR handouts / bookmarks:

-LaVetta stated if the bookmarks were sent out earlier next year would be great, to give staff something to use to promote the reading program in advance.

-Kay received a comment that combining prints of Spanish & English on bookmarks was the “best idea ever”. Kim stated they will be sure to continue printing this way.

-LaVetta wants to establish ways to better communicate information about the adult incentives and have sufficient numbers of incentives as we increase adult participation. Kim suggested including the words, “While Supplies Last”, or “Substitutions May Occur” on handouts/bookmarks. Outreach and the committee will work to have plenty gifts each year, however planning for growth is not an exact science.

-LaVetta wants to try a new way to promote Summer Reading, by placing informational SR stickers on mailing instead of sending postcards. The SR stickers will include the wording “Vacation reading equal better grades. Take your child to the public library for summer reading” and will be placed on report card envelops being mailed to Mid-Del parents. LaVetta received this idea from an article she read of a California library system who started this concept and increased their program numbers by twenty-five percent. She want to start this project with the Mid-Del school district and possibly branch out.

-Kim suggest we still mail postcards along with placing stickers on grade card envelops. LaVetta stated once they meet with the school superintendent they’ll discuss more on whether to do both.

Software:

LaVetta asked the ITR Committee to give their own personal desirables and requirements for our new software so she can meet with Kelly Delaney and Anne Fischer with final results.

LaVetta handed out the Functionality - Business Requirements or Desirables sheet, where library staff rated different software categories by required or desirable.

-LaVetta stated our current software (Evanced) and our possible new software (Beanstack) had most of the requirements suggested by staff.

-Kay stated the new software must include authentication.

-Emily said she would go along with any recommendation Kellie Delaney may have, because she will know what the software need to be and how it should function for the public.

-Erin stated the Beanstack software sent a lot of email notifications, she wished it was more obvious where a person could opt out of getting emails. If a customer with multiple children may want to opt out rather than getting so many emails from Beanstack.

All ITR Committee member’s agreed Beanstack will be best for our needs. Even though Beanstack does not offer authentication at this time, they are willing to work with IT to develop a way for authentication.

Goals:

-LaVetta want to move towards of having an all year reading program available, but only promote and have rewards during special focused times, such as Summer Reading, Winter ReadFest, Teen Read Week, etc..

-Kristin plans to have books ordered in December, she was able to adjust the percentage of each reading category based on the 2015 totals. She stated for Goal 2, members will be able to pick out two books instead of one.

-J-Fiction will be in a separate level next year, not combined with Tween or Young Adult.

-LaVetta plans to purchase medals and trophies for photo opts and other related items. She will look for contacts to have local athletes appear at one or more of our libraries during Summer Reading.

-Allow participants to select a book to give to a child in their life or add to our Read It Forward (RIF) and have a display to make it tangible for customers. Outreach will provide stickers to put on boxes, after they are filled with 25 RIF books, then the box can be sealed up and large sticker labeling it as RIF books for a display on the public floor for customers to see their contributions.

-Erin will work on testing software with Kellie and LaVetta and she will be a liaison to Regional Directors via ITR.

Discussions:

-There was a discussion about mentoring as part of the Summer Volunteer program. LaVetta will talk to Heidi Port about training needs. Erin discussed staffing needs and addressing those to make sure volunteers are managed properly. Heidi will attend the meeting next week, the ITR committee will talk to her about the sign up process.

-Committee looked at the CSLP catalog and discussed reading log options, stickers, bookmarks, etc.

-LaVetta says, Kristin and Emily will arrange to attend spring regional staff meetings to talk to staff about Summer Reading. Regional Directors, Managers and librarians who provide programs for children, teens and adults will have the same training/discussions about Summer Reading, and these regional staff meetings are an opportunity to send other staff in their region/library.

-Training for Summer Reading – Erin suggested “best practices” or pre-test email to help staff with the test. Committee will talk to Stacy next week on this matter.

-Printable Reading Log – Should include registration info for customers who do not want to sign up online.

Meeting adjourned: 3:30 pm