ALA/TLA Reminder

Greetings,

This is just a quick reminder to all staff that if you wish to attend ALA (June 24-29, 2010 in Washington D.C.) or TLA (April 14 -17, 2010 in San Antonio) the deadline for submitting the relevant sheet of questions is this Friday (2/19/10). These need to be submitted to your supervisor and to the Chief of Central Services. Thus far, I have only seen one request. While money is very limited, there are some funds to assist with financing these trips.

The original e-mail with the attached questions was sent out by Paty on 1/29/2010. I will resend this today so that everyone has easy access to these.

Thanks,

Mike VC

Overtime Opportunities at HMRC

Overtime Opportunity!

As many of you know, HMRC is in the midst of moving their collections into the new wing. They have received permission to pay overtime to 5 staff members to work on Saturday, February 6. The hours will be from 9 - 6. Types of duties include:

• Shelving bound journals and books on carts in preparation for move to new wing;
• Sorting maps by county, size, and year;
• Moving lightweight materials into the new wing;
• Applying labels on shelves in the new wing;
• Securing barcodes and labels that are in danger of falling off;

This overtime opportunity is open to non-supervisory staff in pay grades 13 and lower.

Please contact Kemo Curry before noon on Friday. Email her at kemo.curry@cityofhouston.net or call x31662 to submit your name if you are interested in working overtime this Saturday. She will get back in touch by 2 pm as to whether or not you have been selected.

Thanks,

Mike Van Campen
Chief of Central Services

A Huge Thank You to CEN Staff and Managers

Greetings,

I apologize for not posting recently to this blog and for being seemingly non-existent at Central. I just wanted to write a quick post thanking you all for the incredible work you continue to do day to day. I know that things are tough and that you face difficult situations daily. I personally am beyond impressed with the grace and courtesy with which these difficulties are handled. Thank you for that.

I also wanted to thank the Central managers. They have really been asked to step up in my absence and have done a wonderful job.

I really miss meeting with staff at all levels on a regular basis and hearing feedback, concerns, and ideas from front line staff. Some time in the next few weeks, I would like to set up meetings so that I can chat openly with all staff and you can share feedback with me. Be watching this space for more information on this. In the meantime, again, I extend a thank you and my appreciation for your hard work.

Thanks,

Mike Van Campen

Chief of Central Services & Happy New Year

Greetings,

Just a quick note to share some information. As I have shared in meetings and e-mails, my role at HPL is changing. Instead of solely being responsible for Central Services, I have taken on additional responsibilities that currently include two areas.

The first is working closely with the Deputy Director of Public Services and serving as a member of the Executive Leadership Team. The second area is to function as the leader of the HPL Transformation Team. As part of the latter, I am also responsible for all locations involved in implementing the new service model that has been shared with staff. Currently, this includes Vinson, Blue Ridge, and Bracewell. However, in the coming months, it is possible that more locations may be added to this list.

I regret that these duties have prevented me from being as present at CEN as I have been in the past. However, I am confident that Paty, Sandy, and Bea are doing an exceptional job running things in my absence. I would like to stress that even though I am taking on more responsibilities, I still value input from staff at all levels and, while it might be hard to catch me in my Central office, I make it a priority to respond to calls or e-mails from staff at all levels with concerns, questions, etc.

Finally, Happy New Year!! I regret that I got so busy that I did not post a message wishing everyone a Happy Holiday but was quite happy to have made it to the holiday party and white elephant gift exchange.

You are all doing an outstanding and invaluable job. I just want to thank you all for that. And again, Happy New Year!

Thanks,

Mike VC

Visit for Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County

Greetings,

On December 8th, we will have visitors from the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in North Carolina. They will be visiting many location with ELT and other staff. In the afternoon between 2 and 3:30 PM, they will be touring the Central Library and Technical Services. Paty and I will be leading the tour. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Mike VC

Incelement Weather - December 4th

Greetings,

As many of you know, it is looking more and more like there may be winter precipitation tomorrow. A Winter Storm Watch and Freeze Warnings have been issued for area counties, including Harris, until noon on Friday. Please tune into local news stations for information concerning weather conditions and any potential closings. Also, you can call the HPL Emergency Line (832.393.1550) for status updates. If weather conditions prevent you from reporting to work, please contact your immediate supervisor as soon as possible. Also, your managers may be contacting today to ensure they have correct contact information.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Mike Van Campen

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Greetings all,

I regret that I was unable to make it to yesterday's Thanksgiving meal/party. I did want to post a quick message expressing my ongoing appreciation of all the hard work that staff at Central do everyday in an often challenging environment. You are all quite amazing and your dedication is to be commended. I sincerely hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and a restful few days off of work.

Thanks,
Mike VC