Manager of Library Operations Meeting Minutes for December 2008

Date: December 17, 2008

Location:  Downtown Library

Attending: Denyvetta Davis, Kay Bauman, Julie Ballou, Karen Bays, Barbara Beasley, Rosemary Czarski, LaVetta Dent, Priscilla Doss, Chris Kennedy, Michael Owens, Katrina Prince, Phil Tolbert & Randy Wayland.

Meeting called to order at 1:30p.m., by Denyvetta Davis, Director of Library Operations.

1. Special Guest: Donna Morris, Executive Director
• Donna wished the managers Happy Holidays and extended her sincere thanks for all of the wonderful work they’re doing as managers of Library Operations. She is very impressed with the service plans she has read.
• Donna, Kay and Karen visited with Randy, Chris, and Phil to discuss the “Family Talk” section in their libraries. They will be visiting with all of the library managers.
• Donna informed the library system did not see downsize in revenue this year and indicated Lloyd, BO, believes the revenue will remain stable as we go into the next calendar year.
• The system will work on an Organizational Culture Survey after the New Year.
• Donna is excited the foundation is down at the new Service Center.
• The SO request for proposals for architects went out and is moving forward.
• The NW Library community meeting had a good turnout on December 2.
• Donna is anticipating having funds put into the budget next year for the full compensation classification study.
2. Open Discussion – Denyvetta Davis, Director of Library Operations
• Page Manual
• Denyvetta passed around a copy of the Page Manual developed in 2004. She received from Julie a copy of the DN Page Manual recently created  by Charla and invited the managers to share their thoughts regarding the manual.
• A Page Manual that is consistent throughout the system is preferred by Denyvetta. Managers suggested the manual developed in 2004 be  added to the Managers’ Handbook on the “M” drive.
• Denyvetta asked for volunteers to form a committee and make revisions to the manual. Barbara, WA, Rosemary, CT and LaVetta, VI, agreed to  revise the manual and Denyvetta will discuss timelines at a later date.
• H-T Clerks/Librarians
• Denyvetta asked managers to share how half-time staff is working out at their libraries. Some managers expressed concerns of being short  staffed during programming and briefly discussed the amount of full-time and half-time programmers at each library.
• Denyvetta stated the purpose of having half-time librarians is to provide flexibility and asked that managers assist in arranging half-time  schedules due to Library Operations limitations with relief staff.
• Stuart, PLA, is working on the staffing formula and is currently collecting data from information submitted by the managers. Denyvetta asked  managers to ensure that information is accurate and to submit as much details as possible. Once all of the data is collected, Stuart will submit a  spreadsheet to Kay, Denyvetta and Donna for review.
• Other topics
• Karen, ED complimented DN staff for folding reserve labels in one corner for easy removal from books.
• Priscilla informed that BI has been receiving empty DVD cases and asked that managers remind staff to keep a close watch when checking in  DVD’s.
3. Kudos, Character First, & Misc. – Denyvetta Davis, Director of Library Operations
• Kudos
• Denyvetta received from Donna an appreciation letter regarding DC staff. She received a thank you note from LaVetta given to Sally Gray from a  VI customer. A thank you card was received from Katrina, BE, from the Cub Scout Pack to Daniel Fields. Denyvetta received a thank you note  from Julie given to Buddy Johnson from Mayor Mick Cornett for a job well done on photos of former mayors of Oklahoma. Julie shared
  that Buddy has been asked by the City to scan its’ historical photos for preservation in MLS Oklahoma Images collection.
• Karen, ED shared a great compliment given by her dance partners to BI Library. Denyvetta informed that open house was a great success and gave kudos to Candace for doing a great job. Managers shared activities performed during their holiday parties.
• Character First
• Denyvetta shared the “Character First” for December: “Generosity.” Carefully managing my resources so I can freely give to those in need. The five keys to generosity are: Carefully manage resources; identify needs; share your resources; give of yourself and invest in others.
4. MLS News/Updates – Kay Bauman, Deputy Executive Director of Library Operations
• Ad Team Update
• Kay stated Candace shared highlights from the DN Open House. Todd will be looking at furniture selections for the NW Library sometime in January or February 2009.
• MaC is working on the annual report which should out by the first of the year. Kay informed that the new Strategic Plan highlights are on the Intranet slider page. She asked the managers to set up a system for regularly making entries into the Strategic Plan highlights intranet page.
5. Resource Sharing
• Facilitator – Barbara Beasley, WA
  Barbara distributed to the managers and briefly discussed an article regarding a paperless society theory.  She will forward e-books to all of the managers. Michael will facilitate resource sharing at the January meeting.
• “Who I Am Makes a Difference” Reports
• Managers shared how they distributed their “Who I AM Makes a Difference” ribbons.
• Collection Management Report – Julie Ballou, DN
• Julie distributed a collection analysis pamphlet to each manager with brief discussion.
• “Workplace Bullying”
• Denyvetta briefly discussed workplace bullying and advised everyone to be aware that it does exist. She distributed to the managers a pamphlet regarding various generations in the libraries and shared an article from the Daily Oklahoman titled “Drop-out Dilemma” regarding the drop out rate in Oklahoma and how youngsters out of school impact libraries.
6. Announcements/Reminders

Next meeting – January 14, 2009 – Choctaw Library - 1:30p.m
Tri-System Managers’ Retreat – Tulsa, OK – Tentative date April 13