Black Panther Movie: Book Display/Readers Advisory

 The Texas Book Festival published an article called Books to Read When You've Seen Black Panther and Need More. It's a good article to reference when you have customers asking for Afro-futurist and/or fantasy/magical realism fiction by African and African American authors. HPL does have all the books listed in the system.

- Tega

Team Meeting Notes - 11/1/17

                                               

Team Djuina Managers Meeting

November 1, 2017

Meeting Notes

Attendees: Drew Alvey, Tula Gorden, Djuina Hammett, John Hong, Kitty Myers, Maggie Sepulveda, Shirley Singletary, Nathan Stokes, and Celeste Diaz

Notes by Celeste Diaz

Genealogy Collection (Sue Kaufman)

·         International genealogy collection

·         CLA is partners with Family Search

·         Family Search is working on digitizing project with CLA

·         Familysearch.org can search different countries

·         Ancestry.com is a good starting off point for new genealogy customers; send to CLA for more assistance (closed on Mondays)

·         Genealogy orientation every 3^rd Saturday of the month

·         Newsletter, articles, sources, county history index

·         CLA staff can also help customers by phone

Staff Development Week 12/4-8/17

·         Six training hours total

·         Staff will have Monday to Thursday to complete mandatory online training

·         Team Building on Friday (locations may delay opening)

·         Check calendars

·         Do not approve any more vacation requests

·         Have staff adjust their schedule if Friday is their normal day off

·         Djuina’s Team will meet collectively at Fifth Ward Multiservice Center

·         Managers who will present information will be on a voluntary basis

·         Technical Writing should be covered

·         Do not share information with staff until everything is finalized

Managers Bootcamp

·         Spring 2018

·         Send any topics you would like to be discussed to Djuina

Kronos 15-minute Rule

·         Managers do not have to grant lunch time make up if staff is habitually late

·         Kronos can be added back to SMART goals

·         Teach staff to check timesheets a few times a week

·         Have staff email/text if they are late

·         Short paychecks may help improve staff’s timekeeping

·         Do not put in vacation time for staff unless they request to do so

·         Do not let Kronos take up most of your day

Book Recommendations

·         Rashomon by Ryunosuke Akutagawa (recommended by Drew)

o   Remember that everyone has a version of their truth

o   Try to get staff to see your peripheral

·         Emotional Intelligence by Travis Bradberry (recommended by John)

o   Self-Awareness – know your weaknesses

o   Self-Management

o   Social Awareness

o   Relationship Management – know how to deal with a group

o   Be perceptive to feedback and listen to staff

·         Master Leaders by George Barna (recommended by Nathan)

o   Different leaders from different industries

o   Know how to deal with conflict

o   Know which tools to use to fix different problems

o   Be humorous yet sensitive to issues

·         The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman and Paul White (recommended by Djuina)

o   Show your appreciation to staff

o   You want to keep your staff happy

o   Some like public praise, some are private (be sincere and be specific)

o   If your supervisor only praises you and doesn’t point out things to improve on, strive to be exactly how they see you

o   Have regular one-on-ones with staff; they may want to vent about issues and just need someone to listen

·         The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future by Steve Case (recommended by Kitty)

o   See the belief in the project

·         The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson (recommended by Celeste)

o   Bad days are inevitable; this book rationalizes why you shouldn’t stress out about everything

·         Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne (recommended by Maggie)

Succession Planning

·         Who can take over if you leave or have to be gone for an extended period of time?

·         Make sure you look at your staff and see who can take over; will not necessarily be your Assistant Manager

·         Network with people from other locations

·         Help staff get promoted

·         Make sure staff is ready for the job

Camp STREAM

·         BLU – full camp, all day

·         STA – full camp, half day

·         BRA – full camp, half day

·         MAN – full camp, all day

·         SMI – mini camp

·         LOO – mini camp, half day

·         YOU – full camp, all day

·         MNT – mini camp

Summer Foods/After School Foods

·         Group decided they do not want to serve breakfast

·         BLU will start After School Foods in January; food will be provided by the Houston Food Bank

Programs

·         Always volunteer your location to host a program

·         Always show interest

CMC

·         Team Djuina lost to Team Pedro by $40, but Pedro will still donate to Djuina’s charities (American Cancer Association and Arms Wide Open)

Location Highlights

MAN

·         Conversational ESL and BYOL movies are starting to gain more participants

·         Tega still teaching computer classes

·         Crochet classes

·         Family Movie Night postponed until summertime

BRA

·         Story time is getting very popular

·         Two outreaches a month (being requested by schools)

·         Started reading and math tutoring (promoting Brainfuse)

·         Will do an outreach for the Home School Association in Pearland (will promote Brainfuse)

STA

·         Held Halloween Bash (60 participants)

·         ESL students are requesting more classes

·         Partnership with Edison MS (reading program)

BLU

·         Successful Family Place Program (customers want this at other locations); parents are engaging at this workshop

·         Will have Living Room in mid-November

·         Computer Programming program

·         Once a month OJL session

COL

·         National Night Out in September

·         Created contacts in area high schools

·         Held an outreach at Candlelight Park

·         Will hold 4 trainings this month

·         Passport Services are picking up

·         Spanish computer classes

·         Will start Conversational English and Citizenship classes in January

·         New staff will be trained for 2 weeks by John (will go through checklist); Djuina will give a tour of Central and Badging Office

SMI

·         Staff need to be patient with the new reservation system

·         Follow due diligence and follow protocol

·         Ymelda still teaching computer classes

·         Ymelda assisted with the Red Cross during Harvey

·         Part-time Max is thriving in the ASZ

YOU

·         Poetry program was well received (next program is 11/4/17)

·         Early voting station

·         Outreach at Trunk or Treat

·         Wall Street Journal will be moved from Kendall to Young

 

Next meeting, December 6^th, Maggie’s Retirement Party at Bracewell

Team Djuina Managers Meeting

October 4, 2017

Meeting Notes

Attendees: Drew Alvey, Laurie Covington, Tula Gorden, Melissa Gwinn, Djuina Hammett, John Hong, Kitty Myers, LeRoy Robinson, Maggie Sepulveda, Nathan Stokes, and Celeste Diaz

Notes by Celeste Diaz

Welcome and Breakfast

Teambuilding Activity – Build a tower with sheets of paper

Article Discussion

10 Tips for Dealing with Difficult People at Work

·         Inappropriate Behavior from Customers/Coworkers

o   Make sure staff informs you of all incidents, not just when it has reached an escalated level

o   Get both sides of the story

o   Make sure staff feel safe and comfortable

·         Difficult Coworkers/Customers

o   Make them aware that they are being inappropriate

o   Read policies and procedures to double check if they are being violated

o   Don’t assume anything

o   Give a warning; customers may not know the rules

o   Observe customers first; always give the benefit of the doubt

o   Make staff aware of their body language and how customers may perceive them

o   Use the words “Is there anything library-related I can help you with?”

o   Set boundaries with customers

·         Dress Code Violations/Social Media Use

o   Dress code is usually at manager’s discretion

o   The workplace should be left out of social media

o   Have assistant manager present if you are having a discussion with a staff member

Tips for Minimizing Workplace Negativity

·         As a manager, set an example and keep up the positivity at work

·         Make sure the rest of the staff is not affected by one person’s negativity

·         Be aware of how new staff perceive their work environment; be more attentive to them

·         Let staff talk about issues so their feelings are validated

·         Be aware of each location’s culture

·         Have staff try different things for a few months and let them come up with solutions to their issues

·         Rotate staff duties so no one is territorial

·         Pay attention to someone’s negativity; build trust so they confide in you

·         Reassure staff that no one will get fired if you complain about them; let them know that bad behavior needs to be corrected and this is the first step

·         Have teambuilding activities and make sure everyone contributes

Open Discussion

Greeting and Roving

·         A manager should have no more than 2 hours on the desk; if staff complain about this, have them shadow you

·         Make your presence known; if you need your desk time covered, return the favor later

·         Make sure desk times are divided equally and fairly

·         Part-timers are there to cover desks

·         Ask staff what their preferences are

·         Creating the schedule can be delegated, but the manager needs to oversee it

·         Do not copy and paste; move duties around

·         Lunch should be the only consistent time slot

·         Make sure staff follow the schedule

·         Notify staff if the schedule changes midday

·         Make sure workroom is always photo ready

·         Walk through the front door sometimes and see how the library looks from a customer’s point of view

Staff Response in Emergency Situations

·         Keep phone tree current

·         Ask preferences; some staff may not want/be able to text

·         Let staff know they need to respond and check in

·         Remind staff about Ideson fund if they need assistance

·         Check status of building, report to senior managers, then meet with big group

HPL’s Role in Hurricane Preparedness

·         Can staff be set up in a central station before a hurricane hits? It is more difficult to get to a central station during/after the hurricane

·         What do we have in place to be prepared for the next hurricane? Nathan will prepare a document; Tula will prepare a document on how to prepare a location for a hurricane/natural disaster

·         Everyone should review their Continuation of Operations

·         A major challenge for HPL is getting the city to understand that the library has many resources available

·         Learn something new from every storm (remove books from bottom shelf, check roof hatches, etc.)

·         Educate customers that overdue fines will be waived during a natural disaster

·         Payroll should have something in place so managers know how to code timecards

·         Donated Leave for staff who need to take of Harvey-related recovery? Laurie will follow up

·         Request tarps, burlap sandbags from GSD through Sprocket

·         Establish relationships with different relationships in your area in case location is closed for an extended period

Location News

·         BLU

o   Family Place Play Program, 10/7/17, toys with developmental benefits

o   Living Room in November; theme will be games from different cultures

·         BRA

o   Attendance for story time has increased!

o   Tutoring sessions starts 10/9/17 (Math and Reading help)

o   Dance for Senior Citizens on Wednesdays

·         JOH

o   Community Awareness Crime Walk in November

·         STA

o   Halloween Bash

o   Conversational English classes have started

·         YOU

o   Art Out Loud, 10/5/17

o   Public Poetry

o   Early Voting

o   Poet Laureate

·         LOO/MNT

o   Drag Queen Story Time – first one had a good turnout, will be held on the last Saturday of the month

o   Citizenship Classes

o   ESL Classes – had 4^th of July party, will have Halloween party)

o   Groomed for Literacy at LOO

o   Self-Publishing Workshop

·         COL

o   National Night Out on 10/3/17

o   Citizenship Classes

o   Conversational English Classes

o   Heart Party

Managers Bootcamp/Managers Meeting – Send Djuina or Laurie topic suggestions