Food and Beverages

Greetings,

An update:

According to recently revised Policy 2.3 "The consumption of non-alcoholic beverages in covered containers is permitted at all Library locations except HMRC." This means that customers can bring in and consume the contents of bottles with lids and cups with covers so long as they do not contain alcohol; I do not consider a can a "covered container".

As for food, the policy allows food in designated areas. Rather than put up signs designating various areas as designated or non-designated or more signs indicatins "No...", food will be allowed in all locations of Central with the exception of the Computer Area on the first floor and the computer lab on concourse. However, in the areas that are a part of Inversion, only food from Inversion is allowed.

Thanks,

Mike VC

Janitor's Closet

Greetings,

Here is information from Wendy Heger on the Janitor's closet:

Paul Marro says that he and Frederick Lee will make sure the doors are locked.

mvc

Elevator Issue

With the Central elevator out far too frequently of late, the issue of how to get people with strollers, wheelchairs, etc. into and out of the building from the garage has come up.

Security has been calling Manny and having him escort people in and out using the staff elevator in the column. This works in some cases but Manny is not always available. In order to respond quickly to this need, I would like to ask the person at WD be prepared to step away momentarily and escort a person down or up in the staff elevator as needed.

Here is a quick break down of how this should work.

Situation One: Customer needs to come up from Garage
1) Security guard in garage contacts guard on first floor
2) First floor guard lets WD librarian know they are needed to assist
3) WD Librarian walks (or rides staff elev) down to garage and escorts customer to staff elevator and walks customer to side elevator to access other floors
4) WD Librarian returns to WD

Situation Two: Customer needs to Return to Garage
Same process as above but in reverse - If customer asks about access at WD, ride side elevator with them down to Concourse and escort them to column elevator down into garage.


Thanks,

Staff bathroom keys!!!!!

Staff bathroom keys are now available on every floor but C. They are in drawers at the laptop desk on 1, the north service desk on 2, Remote Reference on 3, and by the managers printer in 455.

Each key is on a long annoying rope lanyard so they (hopefully) cannot be misplaced. The blue lanyard is the Mens key and the green lanyard is the Ladies key.

Staff restrooms on 1, 2, and 3 are in the same place. If you are familiar with the location of Remote Reference on 3 they are directly across the hall. On the 4th floor they are down the narrow hallway between the meeting room doors.

Courtesy to your fellow coworkers is a must. Please return all lanyards immediately to their holding place for the next person in need. Please also always remember to lock the doors when you leave to prevent sharing with our customers.

Your macrame "artist", Sandy

Important Reminder

Katie posted a very important reminder on the issues blog.  Since I am not sure everyone is checking that regularly, I am reposting here because of its importance.  Thanks, Katie. -mvc

"Please shut down MilCirc at the close of each day. Often, IT does updates to III overnight and having III running (on) can cause problems.

Also, Milcirc *does not* need to be running on every computer all day long. Only so many sessions can be running at a time. If too many sessions are running, this can cause staff who need it (like LST or other circulation depts) to be locked out until a session is available."

Help Cards

We have restocked Help Cards from the Coalition for the Homeless at the Welcome Desk.  These are larger versions of the cards we have that gave out information on shetlers, fodd pantires, etc. in the Houston area that exist to help the homeless.  These are avaialble to give out to custoemrs.  We also have a stack of them available behind the South (Lamar) Service desk on the First Floor.

If we run out at either location, they can be printed out at:

http://www.homelesshouston.org/hh/Downloads_EN.asp?SnID=31273286

They are listed as HELP CARD.  YOu can also let me or a manager know and we will get a large quantity of them.

Thanks,

mvc

Please Report Crimes and Violations

Greetings,

I would like to stress to all staff that whenever they see a violation of a rule or a crime committed in the library or on the plaza, they need to report it to security (if a rule violation) or the police officer on duty (it it is a crime) immediately.  That is why we have security and police.  They need to be informed when these things occur so that they can act to eradicate these issues.  We need everyone's help in this effort.

If you report these issues and they are not addressed, I need to know about it so that we can make sure they will be in the future.

Thanks,

mvc  

Sprocket Requests

Greetings all,

As I shared a few days ago, Yolanda Anguiano is now the Administrative Assistant for the Chief of Central's Office.  Her phone and voice mail has now been set up.  Her phone number is 832.393.1367.  As of today, you can send her (or call her) with any facilities issues that need to be reported via Sprocket.

Thanks,

Mike VC

Security Updates

Manny and I just met to discuss customer Alex Zepeda, who had been suspended from JIB.  He is not to be allowed in the Jones building as well.  If you see this customer, please do not approach him, instead call the secuirty office (31648) and they will work with HPD to have him removed from the property.   If you have seen him, please post a description as a comment to this posting so that those who are unfamiliar with him might be able to identify him.

Also, Ron Stauss in IT has agreed to provide a phone at the instructor's podium in the computer lab so that folks in there are able to place and receive calls in the event of an emergency or for any other need.

Thanks,

mvc 

Police Cars on Plaza

If you observe a Police car parked on the plaza, please either inform the HPD officer on-duty or contact security or a manager to do so that they cannot park there. The reason for this is that millions of dollars were spent repairing the water barrier between the Plaza and the Central Library and the floors below ground. Vehicles being parked on the Plaza had destroyed it. Therefor, there should absolutely be no vehicles on the plaza. There are spaces on McKinney by the City Hall side where the on-duty officer can park.

Thanks,
Mike VC.

Reminder: No Food/Drink at Public Desks/Floors

Greetings,

A casual message from a customer prompts me to issue a reminder to all staff.  I am sure most of us are aware of this.  Staff should not be eating food or drinking beverages while working with the public.   This means there should never be any food or drink at a public service desk.   The need for a closed bottle of water is allowed as long as it is kept out of view.

Thanks,

Mike VC

Book Lift

Greetings,

My apologies for confusion on the book lift.  It is operational at this time.  However, in light of the fact that many staff need to be trained on its use, I am asking that we hold off on using it until this can occur (early next week).   Stay tuned for the post announcing we should officially used it.

I apologize for not reaching this decision and sharing it sooner.

Thanks,

Mike VC

New Administrative Assistant in Cheif's Office

Greetings all,

As of yesterday, the Chief of Central Services' office has an Administrative Assistant.  Yolanda Anguiano is now working in this office and will be taking on most duties previously done by Martha.  The one exception to this is Meeting Rooms.  For the time being, meeting room duties will remain with the Central Programming Team; this seems to be working and they are doing an exceptional job.  

We are still working out some kinks with Yolanda's phone.  Once those get worked out, she will be the person to refer all Sprocket requests to during business hours.  Until that point (I will post here), continue to direct these requests/issues to Adam and/or Rachel.

If you get a chance in the coming weeks, stop by our office and welcome Yolanda to Central Services.

Thanks,

mvc

Congratulations on a Very Successful Program

I just wanted to take a quick moment to congratulate Jennifer Schwartz and everyone who assisted with the Charlaine Harris event last night.  To say it was successful is an understatement.  With over 350 people, this is easily the most successful single program we have hosted at Central since Grand Re-opening weekend.   I have received compliments and praise from several people about the excellent program.

Great work,

Mike VC

Readers' Advisory Mini-Experts Spreadsheet

Greetings,

As everyone is aware, we currently provide electronic services via email reference and chat.  Starting at some point in January, we will expand our online services to include readers’ advisory.  To that end, the RA/Email Ref Mini Experts Google spreadsheet has been created.  

The spreadsheet has been shared via Google with all Central staff (once you log in to Google, it should be , and will soon be shared with all members of the Dublin Committee and all NextReads editors.  All Central staff are expected to participate in some way both readers’ advisory and email reference, so please do not leave your line in the spreadsheet blank.  

This is meant to be a tool for us to identify in which areas staff have interest and/or expertise, so that folks can be matched up with queries that appeal to them.  Do not worry, at this point, about whether your interests or unique.  All we ask is that everyone fill in areas of interest and knowledge.

Thanks for your help,

Mike VC

Exceptional Customer Service

Greetings,

The opening of Inversion Coffee House at Central is receiving a lot of attention in local media and is even being discussed in City Council, where members, staffers, and attenddees are being encouraged to visit Cental.  With this attention, we are expecting an influx of new customers.  It is extremely important when working with new customers we make as positive an impression as possible.  

I know that our staff works hard to deliver exceptional customer service on a daily basis.   This is a real chance for us to continue to do this and attract some new customers to the library.  So, I am asking that all staff commit to being as friendly and helpful as possible and to delivering great customer service to everyone they help or encouter in the library.    I would further stress that staff be exceptionally helpful to folks getting new cards, as the benefits of a library card will be heavily promoted.

I know I can count on this exceptional staff to deliver high quality service during these exciting times at Central--just as you do day in and day out.

Thanks,

Mike VC