Call When Security Alarm Not Working

Dear Team,

 

FYI: Please call 832-316-1944 if and when you experience issues/problems with the security panel (ex. Arming or disarming alarm, etc.). I have also taped a post-it right below the panel with the phone number for our convenience. It is crucial that you call as soon as you experience any issue.

 

Thank you,

-MM

New Online Service/Resource: Freegal!

Hello:

We are going to unveil a new digital music service mid-March called Freegal.  Hopefully you have all had a chance to become familiar with Hoopla.  If you read my e-mails or have attended the Hoopla Training one thing that was mentioned is that Hoopla does not carry the Sony music catalog. The Sony catalog represents at least 40% of the music publishing industry. The new service, Freegal, is the service that provides Sony music.  However, it does not work like Hoopla so there will be new things to learn.  Freegal has two features. First, anyone with a valid library card will be able to download 3 Freegal songs per week. The difference from Hoopla is that the downloads from Freegal are individual songs, not albums, and the customers keep the downloads.  Their access never expires. The second part of Freegal is that the customer is allowed 3 hours of streaming music per day. The service is not necessarily more complicated than Hoopla, but it is different.

To help prepare for the new service there will be a webinar presented twice on March 5^th  at 9:00 am and again at 11:00 am. The invite with the links will be sent in the next couple of days. The webinar will also be recorded and put on the Training Portal. We are also working on other videos, etc., that we can supply through e-mail or post on the Training Portal.

Sincerely,

Marianne Lorio

Multimedia Specialist

Quick Roam Every Hour or Two

Dear Team,

Please remember to take 5 minutes to conduct a quick walk-through of the public floor every hour. Only one person scheduled on the CSD needs to step away to do this--ideally when there are 3 staff scheduled on the CSD. The walk-through includes walking the perimeter of the interior, checking the restrooms (Male staff check men's; Female staff check women's), and a glance at the parking lot from the entrance. This will allow us to report any issues early on, assist customers on the spot, tidy areas, and provide a staff presence in areas not as visible to us from the CSD.

Also, if a customer reports the restroom needs cleaning, please refer the issue to Tracy or Marcos. If the issue is minor or during times when Tracy or Marcos are not available, please make attempts to attend to the issue (ex. throwing away trash on floor, etc.). If the issue is major and Tracy or Marcos are not available, please contact GSD Call Center at 3-8400 and place a temporary Out-of-Order sign.

Thank you,
-Marcos

ESL Classes: Avance and Harris County Dept. of Education

Dear Team,

In response to a suggestion made at the Director’s Chat, posted here https://hplnet.hpl.lib.tx.us/blogs/dir/dir_t1391622730-74.html, I’d like to share with you some information. Unfortunately, the comments feature does not work on the Director’s Chat blog, but here is my response:

“All great suggestions and ideas! I would like to follow up with item #5 regarding ESL classes at Collier Regional or a nearby site. Research was conducted to determine if HPL staff should offer ESL classes at Collier, but a couple of other organizations are already offering this service at sites/facilities within a 3-5 miles radius from Collier Regional. Therefore, we have begun to refer customers inquiring about ESL classes to these organizations--Avance, http://www.avancehouston.org/esl-english-second-language , and Harris County Department of Education, http://www.hcde-texas.org/default.aspx?name=AdultEducation . We'll continue to explore the possibility of partnering with one of these two organizations to offer this service on site. Thank you! -Marcos”

In the meantime, please refer customers to Avance or Harris County Dept. of Education. I’ll also post this on the Collier blog for easy access with link to their sites and phone numbers listed.

 

Avance phone#: (713) 812-0033

Harris County Dept. of Edu. phone#: (713) 692-6216

Thank you,

Marcos Martinez

IRS Tax Instruction Booklets

A copy of the 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ instruction booklets have been pulled aside for reference copies when we eventually run out of booklets. These have been labeled as "Reference Copies. Library Use Only" and can be found on the laptop cart by the CSD.

Thank you,
-M

HPL Staff Goodies

Some of the Collier Team showing off their HPL goodies recently received. All smiles! :)

Collier Program Registration Binder

Dear Team,

I am very pleased with the number of programs we have lined up for all of our customers. As we continue to promote our opening and the programs offered to our members of the community, we should see an increase in attendees at programs. A few of our programs, such as our upcoming Extreme Couponing Workshop and Spanish Computer Classes, have limited seating. Therefore, a program registration binder has been created and can be found on top of the laptop charging station at the CSD. Please refer to this binder to register interested customers and ensure all information required/requested is entered by STAFF only. We do not want customers writing in their information since other customers' personal info will be listed on the sheets.

Thank you,
-Marcos M.