January 2010 Staff Meeting

Homeless Patrons
The procedure for issuing cards to homeless patrons was reviewed. Cards are good from October through May and should be made to expire on 5/31. Although these cards are intended to be used only at Aram and authorize checkout of only one item, they have been used at other libraries as well. Sue will check with Jim to see if we can have a restricted profile set up.

Recycling/Sorting
Janice reported that some items in our recycling bin were refused by Nieuwenhuis. They will provide a list of items that can be recycled and how they must be prepared. Everyone should clean cans/bottles and flatten cardboard boxes before putting them in recycling.

Van/Transit Items
There has been a change in the procedure for processing in-transit items for van delivery.

Transit slips will list only the TRANSIT TO library. Blue, white and yellow routing slips will not be used. The computer in the Circ Workroom and the sit-down computer upstairs are programmed to produce these transit slips.

Items for individual libraries will be bundled according to previous instructions -- like sized items together (no pyramids), stacks no taller than can be comfortable held in your hand.

Lakeshores libraries' items will be separated into:
#1 - Burlington, East Troy, Elkhorn, Rochester, Union Grove, Waterford
#2 - Darien, Fontana, Genoa city, Lake Geneva, Lakeshores, Sharon, Walworth, Williams Bay
#3 - Racine

Midwisconsin libraries' items will be grouped together into bins with lids.
Pink routing slips will still be used for items from other library systems and they will go into a separate bin.

Meeting Room Applications
Amber pointed out that the room capacity listed in the Meeting Room Policy is incorrect. This issue will be addressed by the policy committee. Until then, we should be sure applicants know the room holds 24 people with tables and chairs, 35 with just chairs.

Payments may not be taken at the Children's desk. Refer patrons with fines or who need to put money on their print accounts upstairs.

TDD
We discussed how much use the TDD gets and whether we need to have one available when our new phone system is installed. Mary will gather info from our deaf patrons.

Dots
Removing the color-coded dots from videos has created a backlog at the check out. We decided to leave the dots on until the item is returned. Then, upon discharge, the old dot can be removed or covered with the new.

Book of the Month
Sandi gave a book talk on The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This book is set during the civil rights movement in Mississippi, where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. "Skeeter" Phelan is just home from college in 1962 and anxious to become a writer. She is advised to write about what disturbs her. The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of black women, enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who's raised 17 children, and Aibileen's best friend Minny, who's found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams.

###