Manager of Library Operations Meeting Minutes for December 2011

Date: December 14, 2011

Location: Downtown Library

Attending: Denyvetta Davis, Julie Ballou-NW, Barbara Beasley-WA, Rosemary Czarski-CT, LaVetta Dent-VI, Priscilla Doss-BI, Jana Hausburg-CT, Melody Kellogg-ED, Chris Kennedy-MC, Tera McAmis-DC, Michael Owens-RE, Katrina Prince-BE, Angela Thornton-DN and Randy Wayland-SO.

Guest: Donna Morris, Executive Director; Pauline Rodriguez-Atkins, CAT; Karen Marriott, MSL; Diane Sarantakos, DEV; and Kim Terry, MaC.

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

1. Donna Morris, Executive Director
• Donna greeted and wished everyone a Merry Christmas. She briefly discussed the Compensation & Classification Study and informed that doctor/dental leave has been eliminated and the earn rate for sick leave was reduced from 10 hours per month to 8 hours per month. These changes will take effect on January 1, 2012. Donna invited managers to contact her with any questions from the changes.
• She reported to the managers the NW Library opening is tentatively set for late March 2012 and how well the SO project is going.
  Donna indicated there has been no decision made regarding when the new Sunday hours are going to take effect.
• She visited Pioneer Library System’s new Southwest Library last week. As of date, there is no information on the opening date.
• Donna met with the bank next to CH to discuss the possibility of MLS purchasing about 100 feet of their parking lot to expand as parking space for library staff and customers.
2. Playaways, ILL Stops – Pauline Rodriguez-Atkins, CAT
• Pauline distributed to the managers the procedure handouts for Audio Media Players (AMP) “aka” Playaways and ILL Fines and Special Stops. She informed the managers the AMPs require AAA batteries and headsets in which these items must be supplied by the customer. Pauline informed that ILL will not lend or borrow AMPs and asked that staff discourage customers from requesting them through ILL.
• Karen Marriott, MSL, informed the managers that the libraries will be receiving ear-buds to sell as they are looking to start in mid-January. She will email the managers with a definite date and when to expect the materials in. Batteries will also be sent for customers to purchase. Karen passed around the hand stand for I-Pads for viewing.
• Kim Terry, MaC, will provide marketing materials to the pilot libraries and non-pilot libraries will receive bookmarks. She informed that flyers for batteries and ear-buds will also go to the libraries for placement at the circulation desk. There will be an article in the January edition of ShelfLife.
• Pauline informed the managers the ILL Special Stops can be cleared at the library level as long as customers meet the requirements indicated in the handout. She asked that the special stop screen be printed out before clearing. Any questions may be forwarded to Pauline or the ILL office.
3. Literacy Voices - Diane Sarantakos, DEV
• Diane informed that the Literacy Voices event is scheduled for September 2012. $87,750 has already been raised. Diane stated that the Author Confidential usually takes place DN and that they plan to couple with other libraries next year. She is interested in knowing whether customers will embrace the idea and asked the managers to email her if they feel it will be well received by their customers to host the event at other libraries.
4. Kudos
• Tera, DC, informed that she was asked by Del City mayor to visit the Capitol in representation of having a new library built in Del City. She gave kudos to her staff for partnering with the City of Del City to volunteer at the Christmas lighting on Friday evening where staff gave away toys and books to over 200 children.
• Rosemary shared that CT was recognized in the newspaper with a half page article highlighting library programs in December. She will forward a copy to Denyvetta.
• Julie extended appreciation to the managers for allowing NW staff to temporarily work at their locations while NW Library is still under construction. Melody, ED, gave kudos to NW staff for helping out in circulation.
• Barbara, WA, shared that the City of Warr Acres placed a street sign pointing towards the library on the northwest corner of 63rd & MacArthur.
• LaVetta, VI, extended kudos to Denyvetta regarding LO new relief staff members, Beverly Williams and Galaxia Suba.
• Jana, CH, gave kudos to Randy and Tera for assisting with CH staff meetings. She indicated that over 600 people attended CH open house and praised staff for doing a great job.
• Randy, SO extended kudos to Cheryll Jones for coming up with the idea of a Christmas shop program held at the community center. He also gave appreciation to staff and volunteers for donations which allowed children attending the program to select 2 gifts for their parents. Over 100 people attended the program.
• Diane, DEV, gave kudos to the managers for allowing herself and Kay to come to the libraries to do storytelling. She informed the managers that they are starting Phrase II to involve customers.
5. Open Discussion
• Julie asked the managers to inform her regarding the NW staff’s performance while working staff at their locations.
• Melody, ED, met with City of Edmond officials regarding the parking situation at the library. A long-term solution was presented that involves the church next door. Code Enforcement will step up their efforts in the meantime.
• No progress has been made on a second library in Edmond at this time.
6. Sharing
• SO Library Update – Randy Wayland, SO
• SO project is going well.
• NW Library Update – Julie Ballou, NW
• Julie was proud to share NW Library has a Christmas tree on display at DN Open House and Rondia created bookmarks. Four new staff members will begin employment this week. She informed the managers that with the approval from the Commission and the City of Oklahoma City, NW will be officially named Patience Latting Northwest Library. NW is the third largest library in the system at 35,000 square feet.
• Safety Committee – Jana Hausburg, CH & Chris Kennedy, MC
• Chris, MC, informed that the Safety Committee meeting was held at CH on Tuesday, December 13. They are looking to update the safety manual. Candace and Jana will be updating the fire safety manuals. Denyvetta reminded managers that all libraries should perform a fire drill at least once a year.
• CONNECT – Angela Thornton, DN
• Angela stated the “Librarian in Charge” topic was a good discussion at the CONNECT meeting. She expressed there are some concerns that other staff do not respect the authority given to librarian’s in charge and would like the managers to outline a more clarification of authority. Denyvetta reminded managers that librarian in charge is a task not a position.
• Linda Hyams attended the meeting and discussed incident reports, the appropriate language to be used since they may be obtained as legal documents and the Rules of Conduct when customers are monopolizing space.
• Workshops/Training
• Melody, ED, completed the 1st part of the Sexual Harassment training.
• Jana, CH, attended the Smart Start luncheon.
• Tera, DC, attended the Pruning Negativity workshop.
• MLS News
• Denyvetta announced RE unveiling of artwork on February 9, 2012 at 3:00p.m.
• Staff donated a large amount of items to the Infant Crisis Center.
• 62 applicants were received for the Human Resources Director position which has been narrowed down to 8 applicants.
• Denyvetta reminded the managers that if staff has already entered doctor/dental in HR/pay for 2012, they will need to manually change it to AVL, sick, etc.
• Library News – Local/state/national
• Denyvetta shared with the managers that some of the books have been recovered from the 5000 reported destroyed during the Occupy Wall Street movement.
• Denyvetta stated that the Innovative plans will not go on the Intranet. In January, she will begin scheduling individual meetings with the managers to discuss their plans.
• LaVetta shared she is a member on the OLA Local Arrangements Committee. The meeting was held at the Embassy Suites in Norman.
7. Reminders/Announcements
• PLA – Early bird registration – January 13, 2012
• Next MLO meeting – January 18, 2012 – WA – 1:30pm