New comment forms

Hello,

There is a revised comment form in English and Spanish on the Intranet under Forms and Misc.  The new form includes a place for customers to put an email address as well as indicate how they would like to be contacted.  Please start to use the new form from here on out.

Also, please remember that the staff member that accepts the form should initial the form and indicate what he/she might have said in response to the customer and whether or not follow-up is needed.

English Form
Spanish Form

If you have any questions, please contact your Team Leader.

Thanks,

Laurie

ACA

Hello,

We have been conducting the first of the ACA trainings and have had some questions.  Suzy asked me to post them in case other people have had similar questions.

1.            For those who are disabled/handicapped will we be filling out applications for them?

•             We will never fill out applications for customers. Our role is to link them to the resources as we do for taxes, immigration, housing, etc.

2.            Will the navigator organizations be working with HPL or ever available at HPL? Who are the navigators specifically?

•             Navigators have not been identified as of yet. They are still going through the interview process to select them. Our (HPL's) role is not to be a liaison for the ACA or its navigators. We only provide access to computers and point the public to the resources. Customers will need to reach out to navigators or community helpers independently.  We can, however, point them to contact information for these various services.

3.            When will the resource list handout for staff to handout be available?

•             Our Communications Dept. is currently looking at what (if anything) we should produce in terms of collateral (resource lists, handouts, bookmarks, etc). We very well may receive these items from IMLS, so we are waiting for more information at this time.

4.            When will the paper application be available?

•             The official application will be available to all on October 1st.  That is all we know at this point. No new information has been released.

5.            Should we ever be typing anything for people on their applications, preliminary questionnaire?

•             We should only assist with access to computers and the official website if needed. We never assist with typing applications/questionnaires. We should never handle customer confidential information such as insurance information, bank account information, social security #, etc. This has always been a department rule of thumb.

6.            Should we be walking people through enrollment or questionnaires in Telephone Reference?

•             No, we will not function in this capacity. Again, we are only pointing customers to the official website and ACA resources.

7.     Can staff answer questions about benefits or partial benefits that customers may be eligible for? 
•     Staff should NOT provide customers with information about possible benefits.  Our role is to provide access to computers and point customers to the ACA resources on the official website.  Customers would need to complete the questionnaire and/or application in order to find out what benefits they qualify for 

 

8.  Will there be a link on our website to the available resources

•    Virtual Services is working on adding a link.  We will let you know when it is available.  For now it is always best to refer questions to www.healthcare.gov.  They have live chat and telephone numbers for people who have questions.
 

  
Let us know if the are other questions.

Thanks,

Laurie

Stats Pulled and Processed

Hello,

Per our discussion today 8/22/13, we will start counting holds with these definitions:

·         Pulled:  Items on the paging lists

·         Processed:  Items received in delivery, items that come across the desk as holds for customers (both in house and to send in delivery), and items cleared from the holdshelf

We will start this as of September 1^st.

Let me know if there are questions.

Thanks,

Laurie Covington

Neighborhood Library Team Leader

City computers are for City business

Please remember that City computers are for City business.

This is very important to remember when you are in public view. Since many phones have cameras and video it is very easy for citizens to document their complaints. And nobody wants to end up on the news in a picture or video.

So unless you are on Face book, shopping, watching a video or listening to a recording to show a patron something related to a reference question, please don’t do these activities on City computers in the public areas on work time.

Couple of other reminders

When on the public floor remain conscious of volume and content of conversations because the customers can hear us and they don’t always get the context of the conversation.

And as the holidays approach remember we cannot accept gifts or tips.

Also remember there is no solicitation on city property. That includes collecting person information, selling, fundraising or begging for money.

Thanks in Advance
Kitty

Lost Cards

Below are a few reminders regarding correct procedures for some circulation functions.  Please look them over at your convenience.  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Circulation Administration Department  (832-393-2222, option 3) or your local Library Assistant Supervisor.

1.       Lost cards found by staff members should not be kept at the desk.  If a staff member finds a lost library card, s/he should:

a.       attempt to contact the customer to inform him/her that the card is found.  Mark the card lost in the account.  Give the customer a day to pick up the found card.

b.      If the staff member is unsuccessful in contacting the customer or if the card is not picked up in a short period of time, destroy the card and note the record.

c.       Do not hold the found card at the service desk for longer than 24 hours.  The customer may complete a new registration form and receive a new card when s/he next visits the library.

2.       Customers whose accounts are In Collection are blocked from check out until the balance owed on the account is paid in full. 

3.       Customers whose cards have expired must settle all charges owed at the time of renewal. Staff may override the Expired Card block to assist a customer with placing a hold.  Staff should assist the customer to renew the account before checking items out, though.

4.       Accounts are blocked from privileges when they are expired.  Check out privileges are blocked for customers owing $10.00 or more and for customers whose cards are blocked for any other concern.  Check out privileges are restored only after blocks are resolved.

5.       Lost card blocks should not be overridden to check items out.  Customers with Lost Card blocks should complete a new registration form and be issued a new card before checking out.

6.       Texshare Cards are issued to residents of the City of Houston only.  Customers who reside outside the city limit of Houston are not eligible to receive a Texshare Card from Houston Public Library.

7.       Rather than using “Change Due Date” for 6 week check outs, do the following to check items out for 6 weeks:

a.       Complete the initial check out of each item that the customer wishes to check out for 6 weeks.

b.      Close the customer record and wait a moment before reopening it (please wait approx 10 to 15 seconds).

c.       Reopen the record, navigate to the Checked Out Items tab, and highlight all items to be renewed

d.      Click “Renew.”

e.      Highlight the items to be renewed a second time, and click “Renew” again.

8.       Customers are entitled to return receipts for items returned at the circulation desk. 

9.       Customers are to be issued receipts for all payments on their accounts.

10.   If a customer claims an item was returned, the staff member receiving the claim should request a shelf check at the location the customer claims the item was returned and mark the item Claims Returned in the III system.  The customer should be informed of the outcome of the shelf check asap.

11.   When an item is found on the shelf, the staff member should check the item in, waive the resulting fine, and place a note in the record that the item was FOS and the fine waived.  Do not back date the check in.

12.   If an item we have found on the shelf is checked out to and caused an account to be In Collection, the staff member should check the item in, waive the resulting fine and waive the Collection Agency Report Charge.  The staff member should place an appropriate note in the record explaining that the item FOS and charges waived for that reason. 

13.   Replacement Computer Use Only cards cost $1.00.  Replacement Power Cards are free.

Computer cards

Computer Card FAQs

Q: Do we have to check for a duplicate record before issuing a computer use card?

Yes. Please search for duplicate records before issuing any type of library card.

Q: Does the customer need to complete a Registration form?

        No. Printed registration forms are not required for computer use cards.

Q: Do we have to use the online template for computer use only?

Yes. Please use the appropriate online template for registering customers and then complete the Milcirc record by adding the permanent barcode.

Q: Do all the blanks have to be filled out?

It is recommended that the form be completed, but the only required fields are marked with an asterisk.

Q: Are youth required to present a current ID to register for computer use cards? 

No.  The policy requires the child’s name, date of birth, and school name.

Q: When a customer asks for their card number and has their ID, do we still give them the number?

YES, provided the customer can present a valid Photo ID (or in the case of a minor validate their account by verbally providing their DOB and school name) that can confirm their ownership of the account.

Q: Can Computer Cards be renewed?

Yes. Customers will need to have their computer card present and a valid photo ID (verbally confirm DOB and school name for youth) to verify all information is current.

Q: When do we charge for a replacement Computer Use card?

                When a card is reported lost or stolen. When a replacement card is issued.  This is an instance when staff members will want to take care regarding what they tell the customer.  If a customer reports that s/he needs a replacement card, the staff member may do best to say that we will be happy to issue a replacement for a $1.00 charge and not offer to just copy down the number for him/her.  Of course, if the customer asks to have the number written out and given, the staff member should do that.

HOLDS new way of looking at them

I have had several questions from staff trying to understand what they are seeing in Workflows when they look up a hold for a customer. 

              

·         If you look up a hold and it says “unavailable” this means that it is not yet on the hold shelf for the customer to pick up.  It does NOT mean that the item is missing or overdue or in some other status.

·         When you are using Display User Holds or Display Title Holds, once you pull up the title record, you can right click on the title and select “Display Item” and you can get more information about where that title actually is.

·         When you attempt to mark an item missing, the system will stop you if the item is actually in transit or on the hold shelf or some other status than “check shelf”.  For now, when you get this message, do NOT override.  Just cancel out of marking the item missing. 

·         Thanks to documentation from Mark Morrow, SirsiDynix identified a problem with the Clean Holds Shelf report.  It was placing cleared items on the shelf at the previous owning library instead of floating them in to the location where they had been on hold.  This is apparently a software problem.  As a temporary solution, the Clean Holds Shelf report will now put the item back in transit to its previous location so at least the system knows it is not on the shelf.

As you encounter problems or have questions, please be sure to document what is happening and then let us know.

Thanks,

Syma