HPL Academic and Continuing Education (ACE) Scholarship Program

From Andrea Lawrence:

HPL Academic and Continuing Education (ACE) Scholarship Program

The HPL ACE Scholarship Program provides financial

support for Houston Public Library employees to further their education. Scholarships are available for continuing education workshops or for regular course work as part of a degree plan. Eligible applicants are full-time and part-time employees, in good standing, with one or

more years of continuous employment with the library.

Full-time employees may be awarded up to $1000.00.

Part-time employees may be awarded up to $500.00.

Applications are available on the intranet at https://hplnet.houstonlibrary.org/personal.html

Application Deadline:

Friday, May 15, 2015

How To Submit Your Application:

1. Click on Open Form. Save the electronic form to your computer.

2. Fill out form electronically.

3. Attach completed form to an email and send to:

HPL ACE Scholarship Program Administrator

Andrea.lawrence@houstontx.gov

Open Enrollment is Complete

The 2015 Open Enrollment period closed April 15. Here is what to expect in the coming weeks:

• Everyone enrolled in a medical plan will receive a new medical ID card for the plan year effective May 1, 2015.
• The ID cards will be mailed to those enrolled in a medical plan to the address we have on record.
• On May 1, 2015, log on to the Employee Self Service portal and review your elections and deductions.
• If you have concerns regarding your elections the Benefits Service Center will work with you for up to two pay periods after May 1 to support requested changes.
• If you have any questions or need assistance regarding your coverage and elections, call the Benefits Service Center at 832-393-6000.

Thanks,

MR

New Websites for Kronos v.7.0

Hello,

Below are the new links for the Kronos website. Please remember that your new password for the Kronos website is now your network (desktop) login (i.e., Outlook email) password.

Quick Timestamp:  
https://coh.kronos.net/wfc/applications/wtk/html/ess/quick-ts.jsp

Full Application (New "Navigator" Interface):  
https://coh.kronos.net/wfc/navigator/logon

Full Application (Classic View):  
https://coh.kronos.net/wfc/logon

Please keep in mind a few things:

1) The new "Navigator" interface does not require a Java applet if you are a staff-level employee, but for supervisory functions, Java is still required.

2) The "Classic View" interface requires Java 7.21 or newer. IT will have to be contacted to update Java if Classic View is not working on staff computers.

3) The Quick Timestamp has been updated on the group blog under "Staff Links" (Quick KRONOS). Please use that link going forward to sign in and out of Kronos.

4) There are training videos and job aids available for the new "Navigator" interface: http://www.houstontx.gov/kronos/

5) The "Classic View" interface will be available for users until July 8, 2015.

6) All questions regarding your current Kronos account should be directed to the Payroll Services Help Desk at 832-393-8900.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks,

MR

Staff Development Day Parking

Hello,

This is a reminder to all staff that there are several parking and conveyance options for staff on Staff Development Day:

1. Staff can park at Lot H (see attached map). If you choose to park at Lot H, you must request a parking pass by emailing HPL's Staff Development Day Committee (Intranet link). Parking passes must be placed in your vehicle window while you are parked at Lot H.

2. If you are carpooling with 3 or more staff, please send an email to HPL's Staff Development Day Committee (Intranet link) and place in the subject " to receive a Discovery Green parking pass. Make sure to include the number of staff riding with you. Parking tickets will be validated on event day.

3. There will be shuttle service to and from Lot H from 6:30AM-8:30AM in the morning and 4:30PM-6:30PM in the evening.

4. Free Greenlink buses operate Downtown from 6:30AM-6:30PM Monday through Friday every 7-10 minutes. If you are going to take the Greenlink, staff are encouraged to get on board at stop 8 (Louisiana and Dallas) to avoide the trip down to Jefferson.

If you have any questions, please let me know or contact the Staff Development Committee (email: hplstaffdevelopment@houstontx.gov).

Thanks,

MR

NOTICE: Kronos Version 7.0 Update

Hello,

As everyone should know, Kronos is  being updated over the weekend. There will be a new website for staff to use beginning the morning of Monday, April 27, 2015. On Saturday, April 25, 2015, timecards will be approved by 10AM, and since the current website will be down, staff will be unable to punch in and out for their shift or lunches. Instead, staff must email their supervisors regarding their in and out punches along with the hours that they worked. All punches and shifts will be entered into Kronos by supervisors on April 27, 2015.

On Monday, staff will need to use the new website address, which will be released on April 27, 2015, at 6am. This is being done to minimize confusion and create a clean cutover to the new Kronos system.

All staff are being asked to review their timecard on Monday, April 27, to ensure that their punches for Saturday have been properly entered.

There are several things staff need to be aware of:

1. The password for Kronos will now be the same as your network login password (e.g., your Windows/Outlook password).

2. If you need your password reset, please contact HITS at 832-394-HITS.

3. If you wish to view the new "Navigator" interface at http://www.houstontx.gov/kronos/. Everyone is strongly encouraged to view the video during your scheduled E-TIME.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know or contact COH Payroll Services Help Desk at 832-393-8900.

Thanks,

MR

Library PCI Equipment Survey

Hello,

This is just FYI so that no one is caught unawares: Jeffrey Bourne from COH HITS will be visiting HPL locations in the upcoming weeks and will need access to the credit card devices at our locations.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thanks,

MR

April 2015 Door Count

Hello,

This is a reminder from Steve Hill: 

This is just a reminder to everyone that door count for all HPL locations begins tomorrow, Sunday, April 19, 2015, and concludes on Saturday, April 25, 2015.

Door count is the process where we count two things: 1) visitors on an hourly basis and 2) in-house materials use on a daily basis.

Remember that door count results show us when our libraries are used the most. This information is used to aid in decision-making about services, staffing, and capital improvements. Thus, accurate door count information is vital.

Your awareness of the process will help ensure that an accurate count is taken at our library.

If you have any questions about the process, please let me or Jose know.

Just FYI: The hourly visitor count is done by recording P-Count on the 3M machines every hour from opening until closing. The in-house materials use is done by periodically picking up items that have been used inside the library - by both library staff and customers - and documenting each item.

Thanks,

MR

Update: Centralized Floating

Hello,

Due to the new centralized floating model, both Kashmere and Lakewood may be receiving items that have been floated out that do not have a float label on them.

These items have been floated to our locations by the Collection Development Team and should be checked in and placed on our shelves. Do not send the items back as that is not an option.

If there are any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Thanks,

MR

Staff Development Day: Breakout Session Choices

From the Staff Development Day Committee:

Greetings HPL team,

This is a reminder to please submit the survey with your breakout session choices.

A bit of clarification: everyone will attend a required session titled "Finding Your Strengths and Gifts" about finding your full potential and importance of continuing to learn and grow to build on existing strengths and obtain new ones.

In addition, everyone will attend one of the three breakout sessions as listed in the survey (total sessions attended:2). Select the breakout session that you are most interested in attending, and then select your second and third choices.  Selections must be completed (via the survey) by Tuesday, April 21^st.  *If you do not make a selection, you will be placed in a session at random.  Full descriptions of the sessions are listed below:

o   Game of Tones: Getting Along at Work (Room 332AD)—We have learned about Customer Service, the HPL Way, but now it is time to focus on making sure that we treat our colleagues as well as our external customers.  Professor Elizabeth Whalen will offer tips and lessons for getting along with co-workers, improving relationships, reducing conflict, using emotional intelligence, and bridging the generation gap.

o   Speaker:  Elizabeth Whalen, Lecturer, University of Houston

o   Lost in Translation: Customers in Crisis (Room 332 BE)—Libraries are one of the few places that are open to the public; you don’t have to have money or a job or a house to use a library.  Library staff often find themselves at the frontlines of many community issues and personal crises.  A panel of experts from SEARCH, Children’s Protective Services (CPS), and the United Way of Greater Houston will provide expertise to prepare staff to deal with customers who are troubled, homeless, mentally ill, addicted or abused to provide assistance while also keeping other customers safe. 

o   Speakers:  Charity Dominguez, Community Outreach Team Lead, SEARCH Homeless Services;  Jeanette De Los Santos, Community Outreach Coordinator for United Way of Greater Houston; and Ledra Johnson, External Relations, Children’s Protective Services

o   Mission Possible: Be Your Own Spark (Room 332CF)—Libraries are becoming an innovative center in the community, but it is not always easy to decide how to be creative and when to take those calculated risks.  We also let fear, lack of information, or the comfort of our current situation hold us back from taking risks and moving ideas or plans forward for innovation.  This session will focus on empowering staff to let their creativity flow while still following organizational guidelines. 

o   Speaker:  Arquella Hargrove, Business Coach and Trainer

Don’t forget to check Inside HPL for Staff Development Day FAQs for parking options. Contact us if you need a parking pass.  

HPL Website is Down

From David Cleveland in IT:

The HPL website is down this morning.  We are working on restoring this service.  In the meantime you can get to the online catalog by going to this URL:

https://catalog.houstonlibrary.org/client/en_US/hou/

Temporary Change to the Hold Paging Order

From Fred Schumacher:

Hello all.

I want to take a moment to make you aware of a temporary change being made to the Order Hold Fill table, which governs the order in which libraries are paged to fill hold requests.  The normal order for paging is:

• Page the hold pick-up location (if the title is available)
• Page the Central Library (if the title is available)
• Page NL units (randomly) where the title is available

Beginning Saturday, 04/11/15, and for two weeks following, the system will page in the following order:

• Page the hold pick-up location (if the title is available)
• Page NL units (randomly) where the title is available
• Page the Central Library for items not available from other libraries

The change is necessary to accommodate a large shifting project at the Central Library that will have a significant impact on the ability to pull items to fill requests in a timely manner.  Changing the paging order will help ensure customers receive their requests on available items as quickly as possible.

It is likely that many Neighborhood Libraries will see an increase in the size of their holds paging lists while the change is in effect.  Please continue  to search for the all items on your location’s daily paging list and fill he requests with the items you find on your shelf.  If an item is not found on the shelf, please be sure to make the item missing in the Symphony system, so the system will page the next library with an available copy.

I apologize for the short notice on this.  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or anyone in Circulation Administration (832-393-2222, option 3).  We will be happy to assist you however we are able.

Thanks,

MR

March 2015 Staff Meeting Notes

Hello,

The staff meeting notes have been posted on the Staff Meetings portion of the group blog:

March 2015 Staff Meeting Notes

I will update everyone regarding the date and time for our next staff meeting.

Thank you,

MR