2nd copy of Newburyport Daily News

FYI - the 2nd copy of the Daily News goes in Jessica Gill's mailbox, not PJ's......
Thanks

Updated Emergency Packets

Our updated Emergency Packet is contained in a bright yellow plastic sleeve in the middle drawer of the circulation desk.

Please familiarize yourselves with the information therein......Thanks

De-Dotting

We've gone ahead and de-dotted early due to lack of space on the reading room shelves.......

July - Fic and Non Fic

June - Biographies

July - Hot DVDs (pink dot)


Thank you.

Daily News 2nd copy

Please remember to clear the newspapers at the end of the day to prepare the racks for the next day's papers.  We are going to put the second copy of the Daily News into the Archives (Jessica Gill's) mail box each night.  The other copy will go under the rack as usual.  The 2nd copy of the Boston Globe can go directly to recycling.
Thank you.

Newsletter Reminder

Articles for the FOL newsletter are due to me by next Monday, Dec. 9th. Let's get the word out about all of the wonderful things that you have planned! Thanks.

Upcoming Staff Mtg.

We will be doing a sort of mini training procedure review for the department portion of the upcoming staff meeting.  Please come prepared with any procedural questions or email them to me in advance.  Feel free to let me know if there's anything you think we could improve upon or just want to discuss.

Thanks.

De-Dotting for Dec.

We are now De-dotting June for Fic and Non-Fic  and May for Biographies.

Also, please remember to breeze through the reading room regularly to tidy up, de-dot, etc.

Thanks

Strawbery Banke Museum

FYI -

Strawbery Banke is closed (mostly) until May however, they are open for 3 weekends in Dec. for their signature event 'Candlelight Stroll'.  The museum pass is available for this event.

Please promote this is  lovely event.......currently 5 of the 6 weekend dates are available.

Thanks

Newspaper Procedures Update

I hope everybody got a chance to read my last post......

WE are STARTING TOMORROW, TUESDAY NOV. 19TH.

Thanks......ask me if you have any questions.

New Newspaper Procedures

In order to keep better track of newspapers we receive, we will begin implementing a new check in procedure  first thing daily.   This procedure will only take a few minutes at the beginning of each work day and will provide better customer service.

There is a new check in form that will live under the stampers in the circ desk.  It's yellow in a small red binder.

• The custodians will leave the papers on the circulation desk.  

• The circulation staff will stamp the papers and check them in. If a paper is not received, leave that block blank.

• The Circ staff will put the papers out in the reading room.   (Pull and keep the Globe G section from one of the 2 copies)

• Pull, stamp, and put out the magazine sections from the Sunday Papers. And do the the same for the magazine from the weekend edition of the Wall St. Journal.  Please leave The Sunday NY Times Book Review to be barcoded.

• In the evening, the Circ staff will put the current day's papers on the rack underneath, thus leaving the racks open and ready for the next day's papers.  If a paper that we received in the morning is no longer on the rack near closing time, please circle the corresponding check mark on the daily check-in sheet so we can try to keep track of theft.

• If a paper does not arrive, Circ staff should call (asap) the distributor, Waverly News.  The number is on the bulletin board near Lynn's desk.

• The Lawrence Eagle Tribune and the Haverhill Gazette arrive days later by mail.  Just check them off as they arrive.

I'll let you all know when we will begin implementing  this new procedure.......hopefully it will be in the next few days.

De-Dotting

Fiction - May

Non Fic - May

Biography - April


Thanks

Pages

Just a reminder.....
Pages and volunteers should not be checking out their own items.  This is a privacy issue. 

Thanks

ILL Survey Time

Just another reminder. See the main blog for details.

Thanks,
Donna
Go Sox!

DVD and Audio Mending

The mending boxes in the Circ office are only for items that can be machine cleaned.  Playaways and disks that are actually broken do not go in those boxes.......they should be left for me so I can re-order them.
Thanks

More on De-Dotting, ILLs

We've decided to go to a 6 month schedule for fic/non fic schedule except during the busiest summer months.  We'll keep biographies for 7 months and the Books-to-Go will stay out for 1 year.

So.......we're now de-dotting March and April and just March for the biographies.  


Vir Cat ILLs -  When checking in the red banded books, please make sure you scan the red band Newburyport barcode, write a big X on the red band, stick the slip in the book and place it in the REF mailbox.   A few of these have ended up on the Missing In Transit list because they were not checked in properly.

I've also noticed that several museum passes that were returned would not check in because they were never checked out properly...

Please.......details, details, details.....

Thanks

October De-Dots

I have changed over all March new fiction and non-fiction to the regular shelves. Everything in the reading room as of this morning has been de-dotted but please keep an eye out for March returns and take the stickers off. I also changed over February biographies and March hot DVD's please also keep an eye out for these and de-dot those as well.
Thanks!!

2nd Floor Shelving Cart

Please!  make sure the correct books are placed on all carts!   

Biographies go on the BOTTOM SHELF.

When one side is full, TURN the CART AROUND!

Thank You.

Clarification

Re-Barcoding -

The wire bin in the circ office is only for NEWBURYPORT items going into TRANSIT that don't have an exterior front cover barcode.

Thank you.

MVLC Circ News

News from the MVLC Circ/Ill meeting yesterday......

• Groton Public Library is joining MVLC as of Oct. 1 bringing the number to 36 members.

•  Haverhill is now open on Sundays from 1-5pm

Evergreen -  things MVLC is currently working on: 

• A new status between 'overdue' and 'lost' called Long Overdue which will show up at the bottom of a patrons' items out page.

• Billing fixes to eliminate negative balances  

• Ability to delete lost items and have the information remain on the patron's acct.

• Increase speed 

• New Reports Generator similar to the one in Horizon

• Ability to retain info in the work log for the last 5 patrons (currently 2).

• A mobile App for smart phones

Also new......

All Holds Go Home  - Our transited items that have our patrons on a waiting list will automatically come back to Newburyport to fulfill our holds first.

More De-Dotting

I have switched over February Fiction and Non-Fiction and January Biographies from "New" to their correct copy locations in the regular stacks. If you see any of them pass by the circ desk please take their stickers off. I have also changed over the Hot DVD's (pink stickers) from February to circulate regularly so please be on the lookout for those as well.
Thanks!!

De-Dot January

August 1st has come and gone rather quickly (and sadly unnoticed by me!) so I've just changed over January new fiction and new non-fiction to the regular shelves. If you notice January stickers please de-dot them. We are leaving January biographies alone for now.
Thanks!

A VERY BIG DAY YESTERDAY..........!

We checked in and out 3400 items.  We had 1220 patrons come through the door.

We managed to provide service with a smile despite all the staff vacations, etc.  Thank you, everyone.


Handling such volume can cause us to feel pressured and rushed and therefore we are prone to making more mistakes.  Please take your time.  You will  provide better customer service.


Of note:

• P is for PHONE CALL.  Please make sure these folks get called.  Check the hold slips carefully before interfiling.  And if appropriate, suggest alternative notification methods to the patron.

• New Cards - please refer to the laminated sheet in the circ drawer if you are unsure.                       Also, don't forget we can set up multiple family members quickly by using the 'save and clone feature'.  This is done by setting up one patron and then rather than clicking 'save', you click 'save and clone'.

•  Holds -  please check holds out to the person who made the request.  If you check it out to another family member, the hold will remain on the original patron's account.  If you go to check out a hold and a message pops up that says 'Item is on Hold shelf', this should serve as a cue that you are checking the item out to the wrong patron.

New Schedule Format

You may have noticed that next week's schedule has a new look. We are now using scheduling software for the schedule prep. There are two views of the schedule posted in the Circulation office; a weekly (calendar) view and a graphical view for each day. The other department desks only have a copy of the weekly view. Soon, you will be able to log on and view the schedules in all of the different views. And, eventually, each staff person will be able to log on and request leave time through the software. But, just the basics for now. Of particular note is the vertical arrangement of departmental shifts for each day, which is different than the horizontal arrangement we have been using with a spreadsheet. As we learn how to use this system, please pay careful attention to your own scheduled shifts and let me know of any questions or errors as soon as you see them. Thank you.

We're De-Dotting Dec. Now

Circ Notes

Museum Passes -Both the Peabody Essex Museum and the Isabella Gardner Stewart Museums have now switched to paper passes.  They are dated passes.   Please make sure you hand out the correct pass!  Also, remember to remind patrons who check out passes that get returned, that they must be returned by the next morning or they will be charged $5/day.

The Door Counter - Please remember to zero out the counter after taking the daily count.

Snugging -( not snuggling )  Snugging.  Please.  Snug the books on the reserve shelves.  And the reading room.  And the DVDs and Audio Books and anything else you see.  It looks better.  And it keeps the books, etc. from falling down.

Barcodes -  Any item going on the transit cart in the circ office that does not have an exterior barcode (usually these belong to other libraries) should be placed horizontally on the back side of the cart.  If the item is ours, it goes in the wire bin under the counter for re-barcoding.

Shelving carts - please browse shelving carts behind the circ desk  prior to moving them out.  We are finding all sorts of wrong books on the wrong carts......  including items belonging to other libraries.

Thanks for your careful attention.

June 24 -28

Hi Everybody........I'm off next week on vacation.....I'll be back Sat. June 29.

I hope all goes swimmingly!  Especially Monday morning June 24th.!  If we are down, the Down Time folder in the circ office has signage and instructions.  I've also left a list of museum reservations for Nancy in case patrons come to pick up passes. (She'll be on the Circ desk Monday morning)

While I'm gone:  Please

• Follow through with daily hold expires.

• Keep the Hats replenished......there are more on the top shelf in the circ office.

• Beth  is going to ensure all brochures are available.

• Nancy will print the daily overdue notices.

• Anna will water the plants.

• Giselle will check my emails. 

 

• And mid week, can someone put up the signs announcing the beginning of Summer Hours.

Thanks!

A few things......

If you roll the fiction cart up to the 2nd floor, please remember to put the music cds into the reshelving basket in the reference room.

Re-barcoding bin in the circ office - The only items that belong in this bin are items that we own that have triggered to transit (and of course have no barcode on the front cover).

The 3rd fl. shelving cart -  the 900's go on the middle shelf as there are many more of these than 800's.  The 800's go on the bottom shelf.

Thanks.

No More Children's Museum of New Hampshire!

Hi, all!

Sadly, we are dropping the museum passes to the Children's Museum of New Hampshire.  By far, it was the least used, and therefore not worth the cost.  We are hoping to add something else in it's place!

The calendar is not on the website, but it is listed.  That is where confusion may lie.  At the next website update, Giselle will have it removed from the museum list.

Thanks!

Peabody Essex Museum - Update

The Peabody Essex Museum  has now changed over to coupon passes.  Patrons no longer have to return the pass for check-in.

The checkout  identifier is now a simple 100......no more barcode.

Easy!

Caps for Sale! Caps for Sale!

The Friends of the Library are now offering great stone washed CAPS FOR SALE......
They are $10/ea.  and are on display on the Friends counter at the front desk.  There's an envelope in the center circ desk drawer.

Library Cards

I've updated the write-up of all the various types of library cards we offer.   With summer fast approaching, please review.  It's in the main circ drawer on a bright yellow laminated sheet.

Feel free to refer to the sheet even as you are setting up a new patron's card.

There have been a few changes so please familiarize yourselves. Notably, we are now:

• setting a 3 month expiration date to Newburyport group home residents.  
• setting a 1 year expiration date for all other MA. consortium cards entered into our system.
• if possible, having in-state summer residents register their own library cards into our system and setting an expiration date......

Also, please remember to offer temporary cards (the yellow ones) to patrons from other MVLC towns.

De-Dotting

I have changed the copy location for all NOVEMBER fiction, non-fiction, and biographies from "New Books" to fiction, non-fiction, and biography respectively. If you see any November items at the desk please de-dot them. We are trying a seven month cycle to see if this leaves enough room on the reading room shelves. Keep an eye out for November books-to-go and leave them in the cataloging mailbox for updating. I'll be posting here when I change over new books.
Thanks!!

Don't forget to keep an eye out for patron phone calls when items trigger.  I've noticed that some are getting by us.  If the patron's number turns out to be invalid, go into the patron account and see if there's another number listed or an email and make every effort to contact them.

Inactive Library Cards

This today from MVLC:

It was recently discovered that the way inactive cards are handled in checkout has changed.

 Previously, if you scanned an inactive card in Checkout it would NOT bring up the patron account. This would give you a clue that the card may be a lost or stolen. 

Now, if you scan an inactive card it WILL bring up the patron account with just an Alert that reads:

"Patron account retrieved with an INACTIVE card."

 

A ticket has been created (#1703) to look into this and see what can be done. It is believed that this may have been associated with a recent bug fix.

It has been suggested that if an inactive card shows up, you should confirm the identity of the card holder and acquire the card for disposal.

 

 

A Couple of Things

• SATURDAY Staff - Please remember to write down the door count at the end of the day and reset the counter.

• ILL CART  - please remember to place all items WITHOUT BARCODES laying flat on the second shelf if they belong to another library.  If they are ours, they should go in the wire bin under the circ office counter.

Thanks

Visitor

James Keenan from MVLC will be coming on May 16th at 10am to observe us working with Evergreen.  He is their help desk Tech person and can offer us tips, tricks, etc.... 

New Procedure

In view of the fact that we have sporadic 3rd floor coverage, we will no longer be making the patron holds phone call notifications up there.  Donna will  be noting these items with a "P" (for phone call) and will be bringing them directly to the circ office.  If there's room, she'll be filing them on the 'to be called' shelf.  If not, she'll leave them on a cart in the office and the circ office staff will make the calls.  This will also allow the items to be immediately available to patrons who just wander in......

I encourage you to engage patrons (when appropriate) in a conversation regarding their notification method of choice.  With summer reading soon upon us, we will have many more calls to make.  Hopefully, we can, at the very least, convert many of the the tech savvy YA patrons to text notification.

Employee Handbook

FYI -  There is now a copy of the City of Newburyport Employee Handbook in the circulation office.  It is located on the top utility shelf in a black binder.

Notes and Reminders

A couple of reminders:

• On Wednesday mornings, please pack the ILL cart items in the bins before 10:30 if possible. We usually do not have anyone doing ILL work on Wednesday mornings.
• Stamp and put out the Haverhill Gazette and Lawrence Eagle Tribune newspapers as soon as the mail arrives (Mary usually brings these in to the Circ Office).
• Tidy the Reading Room - including book shelves - frequently when possible.
• Snug bookends after taking items from Hold Shelves in Circ Office to prevent items from slipping and falling.
• Have a building issue (clogged toilet ...) when a custodian is not in the building - call Mike on his cell phone.
• Self Checkout troubleshooting - if the Self Checkout Station is not working (the screen usually shows gears and a message) always check to see if the receipt printer is on (power button is on the front of the receipt printer and the green light indicator is on the top). After turning the receipt printer on, it can take a few minutes for the software to re-capture the printer and start working again. A green flashing light means the receipt paper is almost gone. If the Evergreen server or the Internet connection from MVLC is interrupted (even for a few seconds), you may need to shutdown and restart the Self Checkout PC. 
• KUDOS to all regular Circ Staff for being so welcoming, friendly and helpful to our patrons as they enter the NPL, and to our "visiting" staff and subs, too!

Circ Desk Computers

We have new computers at the Circ Desk - faster and smarter than ever! 
A few things to note: on the bottom task bar you will find two browsers to use: Internet Explorer and Chrome (Firefox is not installed as it may be adding to the "memory bleed" that slows down Evergreen - this is a test). Both browsers are set to the NPL Staff Blog as a homepage. There is a shortcut to the Circ News Blog on the desktop.
To login in to Library/Museum Insight and to EKRooms, just type "n" in the user name box - this will then auto-complete the user name - click on it and the password also auto-completes. Now you are ready to login.

My Vacation

I'm off and I'll be back May 1st.  

While I'm gone, Joyce will take care of overdue notices.

Please remember to expire holds Mon - Thurs.


Have a good week and a half, everybody,
Linnie

Book Club Kits

There's been some confusion lately......

Book Club Kits can now be ordered online by patrons which in itself can lead to some interesting situations.  They are also scheduled and requested by Andrea and the reference desk staff.  Book Club Kits are managed by KitKeeper software which does NOT interface with Evergreen.  Kits cannot be checked in or out of Evergreen even though they can be viewed and requested in the catalog.

The procedure for patrons checking a kit out:

•  The Kit is retrieved by staff from the circ staff office

• The staff place a note on the patron's acct. stating that he/she has checked out a book club kit titled __________ and the date.

•  Staff takes the slip out of the outer tag holder and gives slip to Lynn (or Giselle in Lynn's absence) so that it may be ck'd out in the KitKeeper software.

The Procedure for patrons returning a kit:

•  Staff check the kit to ensure that all contents are included.
•  Staff remove the alert message from the patron's account and leave kit in the circ office for Lynn (or Giselle) to be checked back in in KitKeeper.

The book club kit is the sole responsibility of the patron once it has been checked out.  Under no circumstances will NPL keep a kit here and disseminate the books individually.  Patrons will be charged $15 for each missing or damaged book.  This will be handled by the Book Club Kit manager.

Please refer any questions by patrons regarding Book Club Kits to Lynn, Giselle, or Andrea.

Thanks

Problems with Holds

Since the Evergreen update this past weekend, there is a problem with patron requests.  If our patron requests an item that is available on our shelves, the hold is fulfilled.  If there is no copy available here, the request is not being targeted so it is not appearing on any pull list anywhere.

There are two tickets open with MVLC.

I expect patrons to notice this at some point soon so please explain that MVLC is aware of this and is diligently working to resolve this issue.

Crumbs

It's getting pretty crumby around here.  Reminiscent of days gone by but we've been having lots of goodies lately.  We don't want to invite furry friends or an army of ants.

Please dispose of any food from the circ staff office at the end of the day/night.   Thanks

More on Parts ordering

We have now replaced the old patron request forms with the new parts specific forms.......these have space on them for patrons to select which parts they want when ordering TV series.  Please point this out to patrons when appropriate.

We are also now inserting informational bookmarks into requested tv series as they trigger for our patrons.  Donna is inserting them downstairs as the ILLs come in and there are also some up on the third floor should staff trigger items up there....

Thank you.

Scavenger Hunt Coin

One of our patrons is having a scavenger hunt for her daughter's 10th birthday Thursday.  There is a gold coin for a child to claim between 1 - 2pm.   It is in the circ drawer under the left hand computer station taped to a bright yellow paper.  Please hand it out if I'm not here.  Thank you.

De-Dotting

All de-dotting is now moving to 8 months for Fic, Non Fic, and Biographies to ensure that we have enough books on the shelves.  7 day books will remain up for 1 year.    So, beginning April 1 (today)  please remove from AUGUST on.......

Thanks

More On Patron Requests

It is hard to send patrons up to the second floor when it appears we have the time (at times) to assist them. However, we are striving to provide the best service possible in the fairest manner.

Some things that might help.......

Andrea is working on:

• Designing signage to be posted by the patron kiosks directing them to the reference staff should they need further assistance.
• Designing a new bookmark type insert for requested dvd series to provide guidance to patrons making those specific requests.
• Redesigning the patron request forms to better address format and parts issues.

Things we circ staff can do to be more proactive:

• Use positive language when directing patrons to the reference staff (They are better able to ensure that you receive the correct item, etc.)
• Offer to assist and instruct patrons at the kiosks if you have time.
• Offer to fill out the request forms with them.
• For consistancy sake, staff who are tasked w/ patron requests when they work at other desks should remember to direct patrons to the reference staff when they work the Circ desk.

Thanks

Patron Requests

PLEASE.....in the interest in providing excellent customer service........

Patron requests are to be done by the reference staff.  Patrons who don't want to go upstairs have other options.

When we request dvd's and there are parts involved, if we do it wrong, the patron's request never gets filled.   The result is an unhappy patron.  This has happened a few times lately and the patrons have told the reference staff that the request was handled by the circ staff.

So please ........do not place holds at the circ desk.  Thank you.

Music CDs

When bringing the 2nd fl. shelving cart upstairs, please remember to remove the music CDs from the cart and deposit them in the CD reshelving basket in reference area.   We find it's best not to leave them uanattended in the stacks area.  
Thanks

Meeting room reservations

If you field a call for someone wanting to make a meeting room reservation, you can connect the person to Mary's voice mail or take down the information and leave it in Giselle's box. 
Giselle will be checking Mary's voice mail throughout the day until she returns from vacation.

Books in Bloom

The Friends sponsored Books in Bloom event takes place on April 6.  

Tickets are in an envelope in the circ desk drawer.  Please be sure to fill out the sheet with the purchaser's name and the ticket numbers.

Also, we have been fielding calls asking for general information about this event as well as ticket sales and submission of floral arrangements.  Literature for you to refer to is available on the Friends table along with the Book Sale volunteer sign up sheet.

Remember, we are the front line marketers for this evening of entertainment so talk it up! 

Thanks

Welcome to the new Circulation Blog!

For lack of a better way of communicating to all the staff, permanent or substitute, who find themselves happily spending time at the Circ Desk, I've created this new blog.

Staff should read the blog each time they begin a shift at the Circulation Desk.

There are so many details to keep track of that I cannot even name them all.

Items that I'll post will include but will not be limited to:

• Evergreen changes or tips
• Information regarding Delivery
• Procedures - Evergreen and NPL
• Anything related to a specific day at the Circ Desk
• Important Patron specific info
• Program information

Of course, this will only be effective if everybody reads it.   It will be particularly helpful to staff who work the Circ Desk sporadically.

Staff can post to this blog as long as it is information pertinent to the circulation desk staff.  In order to do this, you must respond to an invitation to the blog that was sent to you via email.

I hope this will improve  our communication.....let me know what you think!

I've placed a link to this blog on both circulation pc desktops.

Thanks,
Linnie