Manager of Library Operations Meeting Minutes for October 2004

Date:  October 27, 2004

Location:  Village Library

Attending: Susie Beasley, Katrina Prince, Priscilla Doss, Debbie Robertus, Mary Patton, Phil Tolbert, Randy Wayland, Jack Kinzie, Deb Willis, Barbara Beasley, Jean Engebritson, Lisa Weissenbuehler, Karen Bays, Anne Aliotta, Deb Spindle, Denyvetta Davis, and Judy Walden.
Guests: Stacy Schrank, Susan Ryan, and Scott Carter.

1. Greetings & Minutes
• Minutes approved as written.
2. Open Discussion
1. Proctoring at Library
• Denyvetta asked if this is a system-wide issue. Mary did an e-mail questionnaire and had the results to pass around. She did this after a particularly bad week a couple of months ago. She had several encounters with a difficult professor out of Kansas and some very demanding students at the same time. Based on some previous experiences Karen has set up some ground rules for proctoring at Edmond. Randy said that the ones they've dealt with included a stamped addressed envelope with the paperwork, or specifically required the student to be responsible for mailing the paperwork back. Debbie mentioned that she received a call from someone needing a proctor to actually read the test to the student. She tried to coordinate with Heidi Port to find a volunteer, but never could get that together. The basic rule of thumb for everyone is that it's on a case-by-case basis, depending on who is available and willing to handle it. Karen will e-mail a copy of Edmond's rules to everyone.
2. Periodical discard policy
• Denyvetta asked if the current retention rules were still working for everyone. The general feeling is "yes"
3. Joy of Subjects
• People still use them occasionally, mainly when the computers are down. If they need to be updated, it will need to go into the budget for next year.
4. Shelving AV Fiction
• In the last SRTF meeting Deb asked Jim if it would be possible to do a different sort on the audio part of the reserve list. His response was that it is possible, if everyone agrees on how the audios are shelved, such as the CDs, otherwise it would not be a help to everyone. It seems like the managers are fairly evenly split between the libraries that have CDs arranged by Genre or by Artist. The general opinion seems to be to arrange the reserve list alphabetically by genre, then alphabetically by artist for the ones not cataloged by genre.
5. Networking Sessions
• Denyvetta asked if everyone wanted to continue the networking sessions before Managers' meetings. Because they are finishing up the schedule for next year, Karen feels that it works better if it's kept more informal. Deb Spindle asked if it was just her perception, or if the meetings were starting earlier. Denyvetta agreed and everyone decided that the meetings would start at 1:30.
6. Comic Book Collection at Warr Acres
• Mary reported on her recent addition of a collection of comic books to Warr Acres.  She noticed that within minutes she had several boys who literally stopped in their tracks as they noticed the comic books. Overall the collection has been very popular and she would strongly support this being an added format system-wide. A show of hands of Managers in support of this was unanimous.
3. Sharing
1. Kudos
• Denyvetta handed out certificates to Barbara for a Pages workshop and Staff Catalog, and to Randy for True North, and Deb Willis for Readers' Advisory. Phil also completed a recent workshop for Money Handling. Denyvetta attended the opening of Midwest City's new Teen Central area. Letters of congratulations have been received from United Way for Lisa for acting as a volunteer on their allotment committee, and from VOYA for Edmond's Comedy Commandos being a runner-up as one of the most exciting teen program.
2. System Reserve Task Force Update 
• Denyvetta reported that no final decisions have been made yet. The task force is still meeting, and is still in the final stages of the   investigation process. The plan is to present the recommendation to Donna by January 10th, then to the Ad Team on Feb. 2nd, and finally at the Managers' retreat in February. 
• Deb Willis commended everyone on his or her helpful staff. Yesterday, Oct. 25th, she toured all the agencies except Luther (they're closed on Tuesdays) and was very impressed with the quality of the staff she encountered. 
3. Living Leadership Conference
• Denyvetta attended a recent teleconference and was very impressed with the event. She mentioned several books that were brought up in the session: The Fred Factor, and Today Matters, and Carolyn 101 (by Donald Trump's Exec. Assistant.) Another speaker that stands out in her mind is the former CEO of the Girl Scouts, who changed their organizational chart from a typical box format to a circular interdependent one. 
4. Customer Appreciation Highlights
• Deb Willis & Lisa presented Judy with a collection of golf balls signed by managers and assistant managers as she starts her retirement. 
• Ralph Ellison - Susie - On Tuesdays and Thursdays they've been doing donut days. The customers have really been enjoying this, and are usually waiting outside the doors those mornings. They have a banner at the Circ desk, and will be doing a drawing this week for a prize.
• Del City - Katrina - They have a banner up saying "Thank You to Our Customers", along with drawings for adults and children, candy being handed out this week, and refrigerator magnets with the 2005 calendar and DC's address and phone number. 
• Belle Isle - Priscilla - This year they've been concentrating on giving away bookmarks and candy and stickers. Also, they got some book bags that are heavier plastic with a drawstring top. 
• Warr Acres - Mary - They've gone with a theme of "Honk n Holler Servin' Up Books" with staff occasionally wearing cowboy gear. There are drawings for prizes. This Saturday there will be a community service day with blood pressure checks, the police handing out DNA ID kits for kids, and the Fire Department if there aren't any fires. 
• Capitol Hill - Phil - The east wall of the library is decorated with fall leaves and a banner that says "We Appreciate You." They also had their Information Fair, and Phil brought pictures to show everyone. They also made their own bookmarks to hand out
• Southern Oaks - Randy - Darrie has been working with the Made in Oklahoma group, and she got them to donate a basket of products, and they're doing a drawing for that, along with information from the Tourism Dept.
• Midwest City - Deb - She went to Marketing and raided their supplies of give-away stuff (t-shirts, mugs, book bags, etc.) and they've been doing drawings all month long. On Monday they will be doing a drawing for some bookstore gift certificates.
• Bethany - Barbara - They had a lot of success again this year with weekly drawings for gift certificates to local restaurants. They also ordered pens from Demco that they have been giving away each day.
• Edmond - Karen - They have been wearing fun hats that say "We Vote For You", tying in with the upcoming election. Ann has spearheaded a program of local authors.
• Downtown - Deb - They have opened a new library, and beyond that Kim Edwards has been primarily responsible for the activities for the month.
• Village - Lisa - The "candy" thing has been popular, along with purchasing plastic bags to ensure that every customer who checked out could take their things home in a bag. Also, all staff, including Pages have been encouraged to do more active readers' advisory as they're helping customers.
• Bethany is having a Day of the Dead celebration Saturday.
• Ralph Ellison is having a two-part program on Saturday, Nov. 13 with Traditional African American Quilting, and Healing Self with Quilting. Susie told everyone that RE received an award from the Eastside Capitol Gateway group for In-kind Donations to the group.
4. Marketing Update -- Scott
• Several months ago Scott began negotiations with Sam Noble Museum, one of the libraries main sponsors for last summer's reading program. As a result of this there will be one cast of the Allosaurus living in the Downtown atrium beginning in January, for six months or more. They will try to bring over several groups of classes for programs to watch/help the paleontologists as they put it back together. Scott would also encourage the managers to call on Sam Noble to have people come out and do programs, or bring one of the traveling exhibits with them. Let Scott know if anyone is interested, and he will put you in contact with the right people.
• Scott needs the managers help: in the future, if anyone talks to Scott or Jeanne, or anyone else in Marketing, about a special project, please follow up the conversation with a detailed e-mail or an art request form so that nothing gets dropped.
• Deb Spindle commented that one of the Downtown new Librarians noticed that the system map has the wrong hours for Downtown, and asked how to correct this problem. Scott told her to have the Librarian contact him and they will take care of it.
• Debbie asked what the status is on the Metro Magazine, and Scott said that they are still working on getting the scheduling down. Deb Spindle asked if it is the calendar of events that is holding things up, and Scott said that it is not really the calendar, just the editing process. Denyvetta inquired about the possibility of a quarterly magazine. After a lengthy discussion, Barbara suggested and managers agreed that the Metro Magazine be published quarterly, and that a monthly calendar of events be a separate publication. Scott agreed that this could work, but it would be a “painful” transition to make.
5. Training Update, Focus 2004, Oklahoma Archives -- Stacy
• Stacy thanked Scott and all the staff in Marketing for their help with the printing and graphics for Focus 2004.
• Focus 2004 – Everyone agreed that the food was great and there were plenty of bathrooms! Phil really enjoyed the “Pickle” session, while Deb Spindle liked all the sessions. The one change suggested was to have something upbeat/funny right after lunch to help wake people up. Scott suggested that each year Donna should do a “State of the Library” session. Judy feels that Focus should not be completely comfortable for everyone, since some lessons are uncomfortable.
• Wellness Fair – the massages were GREAT! People enjoyed the variety of different booths, and 81 people took advantage of the health screening, even without having flu shots available.
• Deb Spindle asked if part-time staff could attend only if they are there all day. Stacy said he is not aware of any rule requiring that.
• Oklahoman Archives –
• ▪ Susan stated that the library is still in negotiations with Newsbank, and there has been no  resolution at this time. She asked that each manager have the Reference staff keeps notes on difficult questions to be searched on the Oklahoman Archives, and bring those to upcoming training sessions.
• Stacy stated that the library has someone willing to come in and do a workshop on searching the Archives. This should be scheduled as soon as possible in November, with one person attending from each agency. Deb Willis and Debbie Robertus volunteered to act as in-house trainers for anyone who is not able to attend this session. Deb Spindle also has someone on staff who could act as an in-house trainer. Stacy will look at possible dates for this workshop, and the managers need to act quickly to enroll staff. Please be sure that the person you send can act as a mentor/trainer back at your library!
• Management Training – More classes will be coming after the first of the year. These have proven to be popular and the library would like to continue them, so keep watching for the announcements. 
6. Remarks / Announcements
• Ralph Ellison has a temporary need for a Technical Assistant, so if you have a Tech who can work extra hours, please contact Susie!
• Remember, Judy’s Retirement Party is Friday, October 29th from 1-5 at DN. The party will be held on the 4th floor, in the Friends Event Room.
• At the next meeting Anne Fischer will be showing a prototype of the System Reserve Pull List.
7. Next Meeting – November 10, 1:30 at Choctaw