7/24/14 Manager's Meeting Notes

NL Managers Meeting Notes

July 24, 2014

Prepared by Yolanda Anguiano

In attendance: Cory Eckert, Richard Hurst, Patrick Atkins, Virginia Williams, Shirley Singletary, Brandon pope, Maggie Sepulveda, Edgar Fuentes, Suzanne Rickles, Beatriz DeAngulo, John Merullo, Karen Luik, Maria Powers, Djuina Hammett, Melissa Jarvis, Pedro Fonseca, Marcos Martinez, Kathrine Myers, Pat Jones, Tony Goodwyn; Guests: Nathan Stokes, Lin Swalley, Marianne Lorio, Sally Bates, Chris Hu, Mary Stanton, Donna Jackson, Larry Payne and Michele Gorman; NL Admin: Laurie Covington, Shammi Gill, Theodora Muokebe, Elva Alvarez, and Yolanda Anguiano

Collection Development:  The Materials Budget for FY15 hasn’t been finalized yet, but we expect it to be flat, the same as previous years.  The cost of materials has increased; therefore, we can’t afford as many items as before.  Due to Sirsi complications, some of the materials that were ordered for FY14 will be paid for with FY15 money.

          Marianne spoke about AV & electronic resources.  Databases are handled centrally system-wide.  Because of rising costs, LMS will have to drop some but need your feedback to evaluate which ones.  We continue to purchase CDs due to demand for that format but have decreased the purchase of multiples of each title.  If there are budget savings for these types of media, the money will be considered for the new digitized services, like Freegal.  We pay on a per use basis and customers would like the ability to checkout more than 4 a month. 

          Sally commented on the YA budget and standing orders.  To be able to order what your community needs, it is important to evaluate your collection through Collection HQ. There will be more training on the program in upcoming months. Sally added that the graphic novels and manga are very popular with juveniles and YA customers.  LMS wants you to recommend the new service Comics Plus to customers.  Even though the service doesn’t carry DC or Marvel comics, it still offers a variety of titles.  If you are in need of certain types of YA materials consult the floating hubs.  Let Sally know if you have very popular YA series or if you have series that just sit and you don’t want them anymore.

          Chris said that adult ordering will undergo budget cuts but not universally for every library.  He added that if you are receiving materials that aren’t popular feel free to drop the title.  We will be retaining some standing orders.  Chris advised the group to reach their target budget figure, so please add or drop what’s needed to achieve it. 

          Mary handled the juvenile budget and said because of the budget crunch, we need to float more.  She will make every effort to order what is circulating.  You can also suggest that an item transition from reference to a circulating title.  It’s important to get customers to place holds, so LMS knows what is needed. 

The budget worksheet is due on August 15 and the Standing Orders worksheet is due on August 29^th.  You can find handout instructions on how to complete them on our intranet page.

         

Michele:  Please educate your staff on the meaning of the HEAR ratings.  A 3 means you’re doing your job.  A 4 means you consistently exceed expectations, and a 5 means you’re exceptional.  Please keep this in mind when writing your SMART goals.

Communications & Library Card Campaign:  The Print Shop and Communications are working on templates for you to use, especially the calendar ones.  You will receive an email when they’re ready.  There will be video tutorials instructing you on how to use them. 

There is a new library card campaign launching in September.  HEB is sponsoring it.  Some of the goals are to update 100% of our current customers’ cards and increase our cardholder number by 300,000 by September 2015.  We want to raise awareness concerning the benefits of having the HPL card and how it allows you to access our services at anytime from anywhere. We also want to emphasize that our services are free. 

One interesting note is that the campaign will also feature photos of current staff members.  The slogan is “I have my Link, do you have yours?”  The Mayor will kick-off the campaign on September 10^th with a press conference. 

Civic Engagement:  Dr. Lawson has a vision of how the Library should become a place for civic engagement, so you were asked to provide a list of community leaders for each of your locations.  We will work with this list, narrow it down to three individuals, and invite them to participate in our initiative along with you as manager.  You will set up meetings with your community leaders and host a civic discourse on what is important in your community and what it will take to accomplish one goal. 

There will be four sessions in this process.  All meetings will take place in the JIB Auditorium.  On September 23^rd, you will meet with your leaders and explore the needs of your community and gain knowledge on the issues.  During the second meeting on January 26^th, the group will view a short film and have a panel discussion to talk about and research what needs to get done to accomplish the goal that will be selected. This event kicks of “Civic Engagement Week” which will take place in NLs Tuesday-Thursday of that week with local leaders. The third meeting will be on May 12^th, 2015 and focus on values and what resources and people we need to achieve the goal.  A separate room will have different people from the public and private sector that will offer their resources to help execute the group’s plan of action that will be created.  The fourth and last meeting will be on September 27^th, 2015 and will be a discussion on practice.  The participants will deliberate on what was accomplished and what lessons were learned in the process.