Circulation Forum Minutes - April 06, 2021

Welcome: Tricia welcomed everyone in attendance and explained meeting and breakroom expectations.

Ice Breaker: Staff shared “wins” at their library during Grab and Go.

Expectations, Role of Circ Forum: Circ Forum was originally created to connect with frontline staff to address concerns and for frontline staff to build relationships throughout the system. Circ Forum Representatives are expected to take what was shared at meetings and MS Teams conversations and share the information with their home library. Circ Forum Representatives should also seek input from staff at their location when call for topics are done. Circ forum will meet quarterly.

Submitted Topics

• Reports in CARL.X: All of the information needed to run reports are available in Access Manual 3. Tricia showed the group features and various views for the following reports: Report 80 Expired Holds, Report 61 Tracer List, Report 62 Claims Never Had, and Report 11001 In Transit.
• Notes in CARL: Notes are how we communicate across the system about conversations with customers. Please write notes as if the customer can read them – stick with facts and be clear about the issue. Include your initials/location/date/item numbers when adding a note. Please delete outdated notes (aside from notes added by Manager of Access, which should only be deleted by Manager of Access.) Meeting participants discussed when to use “Urgent Note” or “See Notes” as the status. Please note that if an account has a note that is designated “Soft block for bounced email” that means the Manager has blocked the account for a local suspension. For more information regarding notes is available in Access Manual 1.
• Self-Care during the pandemic: Tricia expressed gratitude to all frontline staff for handling issues during these challenging times and suggested library resources such as Wellness Works and EAP for staff to use. The group discussed other methods of self-care they have found effective as a means of self-care. A small group was formed (Tracy Mabry, Crystal Easley, Brittni Mulkey) to collect all resources into a single document that MAC can put together and share with all staff.

Full Legal Name Field: This feature went live in January 2021. Only use if a customer has a preferred name (ex. Liz Smith in the name fields and Elizabeth Smith in the full legal name field.) It is okay to leave blank if a customer does not have a different preferred name.

Key TLC Upgrade Highlights: All updates will take place at end of day on 4/13 and the updated Access manuals will be posted to the Intranet on 4/14. Highlights include:

• New damaged items feature in Carl X and Carl Connect
• Ability to update status of multiple items on a fill list at the same time in Carl Connect
• The “Not Found” list is being renamed “Wander List” and includes the ability to see how many holds are placed on a BID.

FRBR Catalog Testing: Tricia encouraged everyone to play around in the test catalog and do some searches to see if there are any issues before we go live. The test catalog can be accessed at https://catalogtest.metrolibrary.org/?section=home To report errors such as records that you think should be linked or vice-versa, please send email to [email protected]  To provide feedback on the new catalog system, please email to [email protected]

How to communicate with each other in non-meeting months: The group agreed MS Teams is the best way to communicate with each other in non-meeting months as many libraries are already using MS Teams in their building. Tricia sent out instructions via email on 4/3/21 on how to turn on notifications. It is encouraged for everyone to participate to ensure we’re getting information and feedback from all libraries.

Manual fines for prints/copies: Now that we are in the Grab and Go stage and customers can come into the library to use computers and the copier, please do not add any manual fines to a customers’ account to pay for copies. They need to pay for anything they print/copy at the time of their visit.

RD system Updates (Erin Bedford)

• Library Giving Day is Wednesday, April 7, 2021
• Library Administration has created a proposal to try going fine-free for a year starting 7/1/21. “Fine free” includes print items, DVDs, Playaways, books on CD, and music CDs but does not cover technology that some locations check out (ie: iPads, Chromebooks or Hotspots), Experience Passes, and ILL overdue fines. The proposal will go to the Public Services Committee for the Commission before it is voted on at the full Commission meeting.
• Public Services is working on ways to help staff feel more comfortable now that many cities within our service area no longer have mask mandates.
• PS is busy working on the FY22 budget.
• Staff will be getting surveys soon to gather information on things we have done differently over the past year (take home kits, curbside services, virtual programming, etc.)
• Quarantining of materials will end on 4/26.
• Metro will likely move into the “Sit and Stay” phase sometime in May.

Conclusion: The group reviewed the highlights of the meeting and filled out their Takeaways lists to share with their locations. The meeting adjourned at 3:00.

Next Meeting: May 25, 2021 1:00pm via Zoom