As soon as possible, all staff should log in and update their password using the “First Time Login and Password Update Instructions” here. From this point forward, no new news will be posted to this site. All Staff News will be found on the new Intranet (http://staff.cmlibrary.org).

First Time Login and Password Update Instructions:

• Go to http://staff.cmlibrary.org
• At the top of the left side-bar, input your USERNAME and PASSWORD. Your USERNAME will be the same as your current Windows network/Webmail username (usually first initial and last name – all lowercase). A hint about your initial PASSWORD was sent to you in an email from Paul Devillo on Sept. 7.
• If you are unable to login, please click the “Request new password” link. A temporary password will be emailed to your CMLibrary email account once the request form is submitted. Staff who have logged into the site before now and updated their passwords will continue to use their own personal password for authentication.
• Once successfully logged into the site, please change your password. (We recommend changing it to the same password you used to access the old Intranet, just to make it easier to remember.)  To change your password, locate and click the “My Account” link at the top of the left side-bar, then click the “Edit” tab.
• Click “Save” at the bottom of the form to save your updates.
• IMPORTANT: When you’re done with your Intranet session, select the “Log Out” link on the left-hand navigation bar. It is very important that staff using shared computers LOG OUT AFTER EVERY SESSION as all activity on the site is tracked to a specific user.
• Congratulations! You’ve successfully logged in and updated your password!

Logging in and updating your password is the most important step toward using the new Intranet, so please report any technical issues you might have with updating your password to pdevillo@cmlibrary.org.

And, look for more emails coming in the next several days that will  introduce you to features of the new Intranet, and help you explore and find things. (It’s pretty intuitive, so feel free to venture on.)

Paul DeVillo

Virtual Communications Developer – Marketing & Communications

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

310 North Tryon Street

Charlotte, NC 28202

704.416.0451

pdevillo@cmlibrary.org

The Library is scheduled to be closed to the public on Monday, October 11 for Columbus Day. In the past, this day was used for staff development, in the form of Staff Day; and last year it was a furlough day. When the budget for this fiscal year was finalized, the Library eliminated furlough days, but there were also no funds available for a Staff Day event. Therefore, October 11, 2010 will be treated as a holiday, much like Labor Day or Memorial Day. Please plan accordingly.

Since this closing has been a part of our holiday schedule for several years, there will be no change for the public. The public will be notified in the same way they were notified about Labor Day, or any other holiday:

• Door signs
• Closed greeting on phones
• Closed message on website

Tags: closings, columbus day, holidays

Neiman Marcus Raffle Ticket Sales are well underway. If you have any questions or need any tickets at your location, please let me know via email at cbates@cmlibrary.org or leave me a message at 704.416.0622. I am the main contact until Arden returns from vacation on Tuesday, September 7. The last day for ticket sales in branches is Wednesday, September 8. Tickets can be purchased online through Thursday, September 9.

Remember that http://www.plcmc.org/raffle/ is the place to buy tickets online and find the information about the Neiman Marcus Fashion’s Night Out, September 10. All proceeds from ticket sales come to CMLibrary. We have 1000 raffle tickets that can be sold. A number will be sold the evening of the event, but we are hoping to sell a significant number online and in library locations as well. The drawing for raffle prizes will occur at the event the evening of Friday, September 10, at the Neiman Marcus store in Southpark.

A Press release went out on 9/1/10 promoting the raffle and event. You can access the release  at http://www.plcmc.org/about_us/in_the_news/.

Staff may purchase tickets and are eligible to win just like any other ticket holder. And if you have a fashion focused person in your life, share this information with them. Ticket holders do not have to be present to win.

Thanks-Chris

Chris Bates, Senior Manager
Library Experiences 

Tags: neiman marcus, raffle

A memorial service for Janet Davis, sister of Jackie Miller (ML) will be conducted at 1PM on Tuesday, September 7th at The Mission of Hope on Old Pineville Road.  Please keep the Miller family in your thoughts and prayers.

Tags: personnel news

Hi all,

seems we’ve been getting lots of requests for distribution as of late so I just wanted to send a quick note. I am the new contact for flyer distribution.  If anyone brings flyers to the branch directly, feel free to share this policy with them or put them in touch with me.

Jenifer Daniels

jdaniels@cmlibrary.org

704.416.0701

If you are extremely busy and can’t respond to them at that moment, simply take the flyer and send me a quick note later confirming its use/non-use.

Please use the policy as a refresher to what we will and will not post. – jenifer

————-

Policies & Practices Manual, Section III. – Policy as Adopted by the Library Board, page 57.

Display or Distribution of Materials

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library recognizes its role as an information source for community information.  Because of space limitations, however, the Library must set limits and priorities for distribution or display of printed materials (flyers, brochures, posters, etc.) within the Library’s facilities.

The highest priority will be given to materials relating to Library events/programs/services or Library sponsored events.  Next in priority for distribution will be civic/governmental materials for Mecklenburg County, the City of Charlotte, and the towns situated in Mecklenburg County.  At the same level of priority will be materials from Arts and Science Council affiliates.

Materials from sources other than the groups and organizations listed above will not normally be displayed or distributed. One copy may be kept in a Library agency for in-house use, but it will be at the discretion of the Library and dependent on space available.  Posters will not be accepted for any location.

Items from commercial or profit making groups, businesses, or organizations, or items of a religious or partisan nature will not be accepted.  Any unsolicited materials found in a Library location may be disposed of as the Library sees fit.

Distribution of printed materials in the Library to the Library users or staff is disruptive to the operations of the Library and its use by the public and is not allowed.  Printed information used to announce or supplement a Library sponsored program may be distributed.

Any questions regarding display or distribution of specific items under this policy should be referred to the Library’s Public Relations Director.  Final authority rests with the Executive Director.

West Blvd. Library will celebrate 25 years in the community this month. We will host an anniversary Drop-In on Tuesday, September 21^st, 11:00-5:00 pm.  We are inviting all staff to drop by on that day to help us celebrate this very special occasion.

Mecklenburg County is undergoing a planned systems outage.  Therefore, staring 5 PM on Friday, September 3^rd , MyHR will be unavailable.  System functionality should be restored  by 8 AM, Tuesday, September 7^th.

Tags: myHR

Deepest sympathy is extended to Vonda Davis (ML) in the passing of her special great aunt Jessie Lee Sanders.  Funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 4 at 2 PM at Greater Galilee Baptist Church on West Park Avenue.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Davis and Sanders families.

Tags: personnel news

Our deepest sympathy goes out to Jackie Miller (ML), whose sister Janet passed away this morning.  We will provide additional information when received.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Miller family.

Tags: personnel news

As our organization nears crossing the Inter-local Agreement finish line with respect to recruiting, screening and orienting new library volunteers in the municipalities, the Mint Hill Branch Library staff are finishing strong. Robin Doermann, Circulation Supervisor and Volunteer Point Person @ MH, welcomed 29 volunteers to our team on Monday, August 30 and 26 volunteers on Thursday, September 2.

Mayor Ted Biggers thanks library volunteers

Mayor Ted H. Biggers made an appearance to thank his community residents for supporting their valued community library and the Town Manager Brian Welch was also in attendance. Town Liaison Melinda Johnston from the mayor’s library committee, was also present to thank members of the library committee for their support in this process and she provided refreshments for the volunteers and staff in attendance.

The testimonials of these residents of Mint Hill were very encouraging to hear as they all professed their support for our library and the important role we play in serving Mint Hill. One recent transplant from San Jose, CA remarked that she has been very impressed with our public library since her arrival. One of the highlights of the orientation was seeing some former MH staff in attendance as members of the volunteer team.

Former staffer Gay Loesch leads volunteer tour

Former Library Services Associate Gay Loesch provided a comprehensive tour of the facility and commented afterwards that she was very pleased to see many of the new volunteers marvel at the formats and collections they did not previously know existed. Reporter Kara Lopp from the Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly was present to cover the volunteer orientation.

Thanks to the tremendous efforts of the Mint Hill Branch staff, the organization is now on track for an anticipated restoration of a 5th day of service the first week in October for Mint Hill Branch Library and Cornelius Branch Library. Thank you VPP Robin Doermann for making this volunteer recruitment in Mint Hill a success!

Submitted Aug. 27, 2010 by Amrita Patel and Jennifer France.

We’re looking for active bodies and minds to help the Charlotte Fit Girls teams complete the Dowd YMCA 5k, Saturday November 6 at 8am. If you are interested in volunteering for this event, or have questions about how you can help the Fit Girls train for the 5k, please contact Amrita Patel (MS) 704-416-5000 x2 or Jennifer France (WBL) 704-416-7400 x4. Fit Girls is a national fitness program for girls in 4th and 5th grade that uniquely combines training for a 5k with a book club component.

As we continue to forge into the era of the “new library”, social media continues to be an area of intrigue with staff.  While we are actively in the social media space, we are re-evaluating its use and have begun a policy of contraction – taking dormant and low participating sites offline.  This week, we will explore the use of Facebook fan pages at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.  Currently, the Library has one system wide fan page, several branch fan pages, and one service area fan page.

But let’s begin at the beginning and define social media…

What is social media?

By definition, Social media or Web 2.0 describes the online tools that people use to share content, profiles, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives and media itself, thus facilitating conversations and interaction online between groups of people. These tools include blogs, message boards, podcasts, micro blogs, lifestreams, bookmarks, networks, communities, wikis, and vlogs.^[1]

Why use social media?[2]

1. Build awareness about your agency or mission.
2. Gather information about topics important to you.
3. Build relationships that translate into donations of money and time.
4. Collaborate and learn by increasing conversations with other nonprofits.
5. Extend your reach by using social media in your overall marketing program.
6. Deepen relationships with your core constituents – volunteers, donors & patrons.
7. Gain access to new ideas and talent through online communities.
8. Connect with the news media to tell your story on an ongoing basis.

Social media rules to live by:

1. Conversation – Listen to others online and build relationships with them.
2. Community – Ask questions, engage people and provide inspiration.
3. Flexibility – Guide the conversation, but know that you cannot control with others post.
4. Authenticity – Be honest about your organization and mission.
5. Relationships – think long term and do not expect immediate results.

What Facebook is and isn’t

Facebook began as a social hub with college students keeping track on their friends.   Facebook now has over 500 million users that receive daily updates in their ‘timeline’ from their friends and pages that they have “fanned”.  Users are motivated to view fan pages because of their content and two-way engagement.   Facebook users have begun to expect social interaction that they are familiar with in real-time, making it a great place to connect.

Therefore, Facebook is a great way to engage in a two-way conversations with our patrons.  It allows us to monitor what they may be saying about the Library and helps us get information out to them quickly, without the filter of the evening news.  Although Facebook has tools like event calendars and allows you to post links, Facebook is not best used as a repository for links and/or photo galleries.

(Remember, the Library uses Evanced to promote events and programming and we continue to have online visitors in the hundreds of thousands (some pages millions) yearly.  This is a more effective way to deliver event updates and programming. )

Facebook’s role in communication is best explained as public relations but many of our pages are being used as marketing tools – posting events and marketing messages.  While this is acceptable, you will discover that patrons are not overly receptive to marketing messages.  They love the Library and wish to engage with us, but they don’t want constant marketing messages pushed out with no one listening on the other end.

So remember, if you intend to use Facebook, use it to the best of its ability. Think two-way conversation and you won’t go wrong.  Otherwise, if you don’t think that you have the resources to engage in that conversation, point them to the system wide account where we are engaging with over 4,000 fans everyday. Talk about a conversation!

jenifer

Remember, if you have questions about your Facebook fan page or wish to inquire about where it fits in our overall policy, do not hesitate to contact me at 704.416.0701.

[2] http://projectignite.npowercharlotteregion.org

Due to our recent budget cuts, and the resulting higher level of public interest in the Library, now is a good time to review best practices in regards to email correspondence.

The Library is subject to public records law, under NC General Statute 132. That statute says: “public records and public information [which includes email] compiled by the agencies of North Carolina government or its subdivisions are the property of the people. Therefore, it is the policy of this State that the people may obtain copies of their public records and public information free or at minimal cost unless otherwise specifically provided by law.”  In other words, your library email (and other materials such as documents, letters and even photographs) can become a part of the public record, specifically through a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request. If you have questions about public records law, you can find more information on the State’s website (http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html).

The Library also has an email use policy, under the Computer and Network Use Policy, on page 62 of the Policies and Practices Manual, Section I-IV. It would be beneficial to review that as well.

So, what are some best practices for email? Above all, use common sense. Do not put something in writing that you wouldn’t mind seeing posted in public. Review the Library’s email use policy. And always consider whether email is the best format for your  communication. We all suffer from inbox overcrowding – how many emails could we eliminate by having a simple conversation?

In addition, you will be getting some new communication tools with thelaunch of the new Employee Intranet in September (more information coming soon). Some of these tools may help facilitate conversations and collaboration in a more efficient and effective way. Just keep in mind that the new Intranet also will be subject to public records law.

We have been remiss by not sharing the news about 2 new teams that are working very hard right now.  Since we cannot possibly provide the same level of service now that we have lost so many positions and have reduced hours, one team is looking at how we can streamline the workload to make work more manageable.  The other team is investigating how we can generate more revenue without making life too hard for our customers.  Both are ‘discovery’ teams which will formulate recommendations for CORE; they are not charged with implementation.  The Work Smart team, led by Chris Bates and Linda Raymond, will make any needed changes.

Just as the Adult Programming team developed new sub-teams as the work progressed, we anticipate that both teams will have several incarnations.  The first teams are finalizing recommendations for next week’s CORE meeting so that any that need Board approval can be on the agenda for the 9/19 BOT meeting.  The teams include:

Service Adjustments Patrice Ebert,  Terri Wilburn, Dana Walters, Beatriz Guevara, Andrea Haigler, Mark Engelbrecht, Frank Blair, Linda Raymond.

New Revenues Patrice Ebert,  Susan Green, Angela Craig, Tamara Osborne, Kevin Bittle, Frank Mendoza, Irania Patterson, Michael Engelbrecht, Jenifer Daniels, Rick Ricker.

Feel free to contact any of us to pass along ideas or to volunteer for new sub-teams.

I had to share this with everyone. Hope you enjoy the slideshow as much I did.

 Jason Hyatt created this slide show for our Youth Services retreat on August 25, 2010 to illustrate what we’ve been through since April 2010.  He’s done a beautiful job of visually illustrating the at-times overwhelming barrage of ‘change’ but coming out on the other end to celebrate the joy of perseverance and service (in this case, Summer Reading) – and to fearlessly face and shape our future.  Dolly Parton’s song is a wonderfully uplifting anthem.  Jason’s talents are never-ending – thanks so much! — Lois Kilkka and Michele Gorman Change!

Tags: summer reading, Youth Services

1. Neiman Marcus has chosen the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library as the charitable beneficiary for its Fashion’s Night Out event on September 10, 2010. They have donated three fabulous prizes that we will offer through a raffle:

• Package from Bond Street Imports, a boutique wine provider, to include a private wine tasting for 12 guests featuring highly rated handmade wines from around the world plus three bottles of Northern Rhone Wine.
• Package from the Ritz Carlton, including 1 night in a Deluxe Guestroom  and breakfast the following morning
• $500 Neiman Marcus Gift Card.

Raffle tickets are $20 each, with 100% of proceeds to be used to purchase books/materials for the Library. Our goal is to sell 1000 tickets between August 30-September 10^th. Raffle tickets will be available for sale at library locations through Sept 8, online at www.cmlibrary.org/raffle through Sept 9, and at Neiman Marcus Charlotte Fashion’s Night Out on September 10^th from 6:30-10pm. Arden McLaughlin is the main event contact and will be sharing specific details about raffle tickets sales logistics with branch managers on Wednesday, the 25^th. Chris Bates will be supporting ticket sales at library locations as well.  Staff are eligible to buy raffle tickets too! Please contact Arden or Chris if you have questions.

2. Stories Under the Stars is a fundraising dinner on October 28^th to benefit the Library’s early literacy programs/resources. The event is sponsored by Bank of America, Barry Evans Josephs & Snipes, and TIAA-CREF. Our goal is to raise $100,000 in net revenue from this event.

The evening will include:

• A VIP reception for select sponsors on the 60^th floor of the Bank of America Corporate Center;
• Dinner in the new Urban Garden at One Bank of America Center; and
• Conversation with bestselling author Tom Wolfe in the Booth Theatre about the value of libraries and a sneak peek about his upcoming book.

Trustees and Community Engagement staff are currently soliciting additional corporate table sponsors and individual table captains to sponsor a table for 10 at this event.  A limited number of individual seats ($300 each) will be available for staff that might wish to participate in this fundraiser. Please contact Dick Pahle if you’d like to purchase tickets for the evening, or have other questions about this special event.

*This was posted on behalf of Community Engagement.

Cornelius Branch Library Volunteer Orientation

The Cornelius Branch Library welcomed 11 new volunteers to their volunteer team on Monday, August 23rd and 11 more volunteers again on Thursday, August 26. Location Manager Ellen Giduz welcomed the new recruits to the branch and thanked them for their willingness to get involved in supporting their local library. All of the attendees shared heartfelt testimonials demonstrating their passion for public libraries and more specifically for their Cornelius Library. Following the introductions Volunteer Coordinator Chauna Wall and Michael Lambert provided an overview of the organization’s mission, renowned status in the library industry and the expectations of library volunteers. Then Cornelius Branch Volunteer Point Person Angela Arnold toured the new volunteers around the branch and showcased various collections. The Town of Cornelius Volunteer Liaison Becky Partin provided the refreshments for the session. The Thursday, August 26 session also featured a brief presentation by Senior Manager John Zika and an appearance by Anthony Roberts, the Town Manager of Cornelius, who thanked the community residents for supporting their local branch.

Mugshots of the new recruits can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/plcmc/sets/72157624793176410/

Mint Hill Branch Library will host volunteer orientation sessions on Monday, August 30 at 4 p.m. and on Thursday, September 2 at 10 a.m.

As we plan for the  ’future of the library’, a new communication tool has landed us in the spotlight. During the budget crisis, our social media presences experienced a huge increase in participation (some as much as 900%) as patrons, friends and media outlets began looking to our sites for timely updates about the system. This increased activity has led to some discoveries and updates have been made accordingly.

The current state of social media at the Library

As many of you know, the office of Marketing and Communications manages our social media presences and tools . We specifically manage the system’s Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, FourSquare, YouTube, MySpace and UStream accounts. We also manage various third party accounts that support these primary social media presences. We are constantly monitoring trends and engagement, and producing ROI reports to ensure the best places to be in this space.

We also manage and monitor the activities of branch or program specific social media sites through the Library’s ongoing census.

Changes in social media at the Library

One of the most significant updates to our social media management process is the development of a Social Media Tool Kit. This tool kit is  used as a resource and includes descriptions, definitions, best practices, guidelines, and policies in regard to social media at the Library.

Some of the most recent changes include:

• an updated Tool Kit including additional information on how to measure success and more
• the development of social media priority levels (1-tells our story; 2-supports programming/services; 3-does not support) based on the Library’s strategic plan and priorities
• the future development of a Library branded social media dashboard, social.cmlibrary.org, meant to unify the library’s brand and  level 1 & 2 social media presences
• the streamlining, consolidation and deprecation of all social media presences based on priority levels

In the coming weeks, M&C will be alerting all account users of their priority levels and consulting with them on next steps.  In the meantime, we ask that you become reacquainted with the Social Media Tool Kit and confirm your strategic plan for using social media and if that plan has been articulated with your supervisor and noted in your work plan.

If you have any questions about the Social Media Tool Kit (in the Intranet under Communications service area) or its contents, please contact Jenifer Daniels in Marketing and Communications.

The biggest difference in this new Intranet – and the reason we’re converting – is that the new platform will allow staff to update more information themselves. This will make for a more efficient, empowering hub for employee information.

How the transition will occur.

• Library Experiences Direct Reports (LEDR) will get a preview next week.
• Library Location Managers will get a preview at their next meeting, Thursday Aug. 19 at MS.
• Username and password information will go out by email to ALL STAFF on Sept. 7.
• Once you receive your username and password, you can go to the new Intranet (http://staff.cmlibrary.org), log in and start using it.
• Further information about first-time login will be provided in that preliminary email.

Some additional features of the new Intranet:

• Better organized to easily find the information you’re looking for.
• Enhanced search tools.
• A calendar that is easier to access.
• A Rewards & Recognition Program with direct Staff nomination capability
• A streamlined section for Forms, with improved search capability to quickly locate the form you need.
• Employee profiles created and maintained by you the employee. That’s right! You can upload your own photo and personalize your employee profile yourself. Now you have the power to keep your contact information completely up-to-date.

When the new Intranet is first launched it will already contain the most heavily-used content. Sections of information not yet migrated will be accessible through links back to the old site. Eventually, all relevant employee information will be located on the new Intranet.

These are just a few of the *NEW* items we have posted in the Swap’n’Shop!

http://intranet.plcmc.org/classifieds2/

(Go to Staff Tools on the Intranet.)

Complete instructions are on the web page, but to get you started:

Steps to request an item be moved to your location:
1.    Respond to ad to determine if item is still available.
2.    If item is available, confer with your Senior Manager about its suitability for your location.

In compiling this past month’s volunteer utilization statistics I wanted to take this opportunity to begin sharing our organization’s progress with everyone on an ongoing basis to keep everyone posted on how we’re doing (We’re doing GREAT!!!). In a month in which our staff was often getting reoriented to new locations, new team members and increased workloads, it is worth noting that we were able to process 454 new volunteer applications, on top of everything else we were doing. It is extremely encouraging to know that this many individuals have reached out to us during our time of need to offer their support to our Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Our overall volunteer force has declined from previous peak levels due to the closures of some locations and changes in volunteers’ availability in light of changes in our operating hours, but we can certainly build on this past month’s addition of 76 new library volunteers to bolster our strong core compliment of 375 dedicated volunteers.

Our locations in the 5 municipalities involved in the Inter-Local Agreement made great strides in July to insure the library upholds our obligations under the contractual terms. Davidson, Cornelius and Matthews Branch Libraries have set the pace for strong recruitments in tandem with assistance from the Town Liaisons. Matthews Branch in particular has been swamped in following up with 121 applicants. Davidson recently concluded a successful recruitment with 55 applicants in July alone and Davidson Branch is already well above their monthly target of 144 volunteer hours. We appreciate all the efforts of the Volunteer Point People system-wide, but particularly in Davidson and Matthews, where Martha Ferguson and Nancy Granzen have pioneered the front line VPP effort in our new approach to volunteer utilization inclusive of heavy local involvement from our Town partners. The entire system is going to benefit from their innovations in absorbing and integrating such a high level of volunteers into our work-flow and daily modus operandi.

As an organization we exceeded our monthly goals for total hours donated by 3% in July (4,568.4 hours donated), as our Volunteer Point People system-wide are continuing to augment our volunteer teams every week by interviewing new prospective volunteers. We’re already making great progress in August to boost our total number of volunteers and hours donated to once again exceed our monthly goal of 4,438 volunteer hours donated.

Hickory Grove, South County, University City, Steele Creek and Davidson deserve special recognition for their efforts in July as they all exceeded their new monthly targets for volunteer usage! Hickory Grove and Davidson shattered their targets by achieving 234% of a 150 hours goal and 177% of a 144 hour goal respectively. South County and University City garner praise for eclipsing the 400+ hour threshold !

We also want to give a special “shout out” to Teen Librarian Catherine Haydon, Team Lead for the Teen Summer Volunteer Program. Catherine’s oversight in working with Teen Specialists at HG, IB, IMG, MS, MH, MTI, NCO, SOR, ST, and UC has allowed 51 teens to volunteer 731 hours this past month, which significantly boosted our overall organizational volunteer use numbers. We appreciate the staff at all these locations working closely with these teens this summer to insure they have an enriching volunteer experience.

Last but not least – we all owe Ms. Charlotte Goode a big THANK YOU! for processing scores of background checks the past few weeks! Thank you Charlotte for helping to insure the safety & security of our work spaces!

Keep up the outstanding work you are doing to provide volunteers opportunities to make a difference each and every day! Your efforts are truly making our organization stronger.

7 July systemwide vol utilization 2010

Hi everyone. The Library Experiences Direct Reports (LEDR) met Wednesday, August 11, 2010.  The following are items of interest from our meeting:

•    Sarah Poole and Paul DeVillo shared a timeline for going “live” with the new Intranet which will be an interactive website for staff.  LEDR will get training next week and Library Location Managers will get a preview at their next meeting Thursday 8/19 at MS.  This will replace the current Intranet and Staff Blog.
•    John Zika reports that Julia Lanham is working on a training event for new managers, most likely an online facilitated discussion to ascertain their training needs.  LEDR members will send John a list of individuals who could benefit from management training.
•    Patrice Ebert reported that CORE approved allowing ML and IMG staff work up to 8 hours on Sundays so that they will not have as many hours to make up that week. Supervisors will work with individual staff to arrange schedules. Guidelines and sample schedules will follow.

Tags: senior managers

Mary Lou Brown’s (IB) brother-in-law, Tom Allen, passed away after a short illness.  A memorial service will be held on August 14 in Cape Coral, FL.   Please keep the Allen and the Brown families in your thoughts and prayers.

Tags: personnel news

In light of current staffing realities, restrictions on who can send an ‘all staff’ e-mail were removed August 6.

To send an all staff e-mail, simply enter: allstaff@cmlibrary.org into the To: line of an e-mail message.

What is changing
While the IT Help Desk can send emergency notices to the “All Staff” distribution list before 5PM on weekdays; the new expectation is that notifications of emergency events with direct public service impact will come from the location manager, the manager on duty, or the Senior Library Manager with responsibility for the location, or any staff member as designated by the location manager.

What is NOT changing
Staff should use the “All Staff” e-mail distribution list only for emergency notices of system-wide importance with direct public service impacts, such as a branch closing caused by an HVAC, electricity, water or other outage, or an inclement weather or other emergency event (e.g. car drives into the building).

Why is this changing?
This step is being taken so that Managers and Supervisors can send notifications to all staff. The IT Help Desk is not as available to forward these notices in a timely fashion.

Recommended format for “Closing” or “Reduced Service” messages
The subject line should include

1. the name of the location affected
2. the service impact (e.g. closing early, closed, etc.)

The body of the message should include location, service impact, cause, and duration (if known):
For example:
Davidson is closing early due to severe weather. We anticipate being closed through the end of the day.
Cornelius is closing early due to water outage. We expect to re-open at 3PM. Staff is remaining in the building
Scaleybark is closing because of a power failure. We do not yet have an estimated time for re-opening.

Recommended format for “Re-Opening” or “Service Restored” messages
The subject line should include

1. the name of the location affected
2. the service impact (e.g. Reopening; HVAC restored, etc.)

The body of the message should include location, service impact, cause, and time of re-opening or service restoration
For example:
Davidson is re-opening at 3PM after closing due to severe weather
Cornelius’ HVAC was restored at noon and we are now serving the public..
Power was restored to Scaleybark shortly before closing and will re-open tomorrow.

Note: If the e-mail is one that requires County Security or Keith Corporation staff to be notified, you must add the individuals to the cc: line. The All Staff e-mail distribution list does not include security or Keith Corporation staff.

(Post submitted by Arden McLaughlin.) We realize, with the loss of so many staff this year, we also have the loss of involvement in key community and corporate groups. To ensure it’s known where Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is and is not represented, it’d be much appreciated if you took a simple survey.

The questions are:

• On what boards, task forces, civic engagement groups, do you serve on behalf of the Library?

• If, given the time, would you want to serve with an organization on behalf of the Library?

The survey will be closed at the end of the week, Friday, August 13 at 5 p.m. All answers will be read by partnership coordinator, Arden McLaughlin, and information distributed to appropriate members of each team.

Take the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZDY58C9

Tags: survey

(post submitted by Michele Gorman)

The Library Experiences Direct Reports (LEDR) met Wednesday, August 4, 2010.  The following are items of interest from our meeting: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: senior managers

You may have seen an article in this week’s American Libraries Direct that references a “task force” that is leading an engraved brick campaign for the Davidson Branch. The task force mentioned in the article, which was pulled from DavidsonNews.net, is the “Town of Davidson Library Task Force,” NOT the “Future of the Library Task Force,” which we have talked about in recent posts. To provide some clarification:

The Town of Davidson Task Force is a group formed by the Town of Davidson, and the brick campaign is a fundraiser they are leading to fulfill their part of an interlocal agreement with the Library. Details of that agreement can be found in this press release; specifically, the part that details the Town of Davidson’s contribution as, “forgiveness of lease payment in the amount of approximately $37,000; and solicitation of additional donations to total $175,000.” This brick campaign is part of their effort to raise that $175,000.

The Future of the Library Task Force is a group that ischaired by Dr. Jim Woodward, and currently being formed to look at the future of the entire Library system. You can learn more about the Future of the Library Task Force in these recent posts and press release:

• Update on Task Force and Restructuring Committee - Aug 2
• Update on Library Restructuring Committee and Task Force - July 16
• Press Release: Library receives grant to fund task force - July 26

(post submitted by Lois Kilkka)

Staff who report directly to David Singleton meet weekly, mostly on Wednesday mornings. The group shares an Items of Interest summary with managers and supervisors as soon as possible after each meeting. Group members will be taking turns sharing these summaries with all staff via this blog. Meeting summaries are archived under the category Library Experiences Direct Reports. The Library Experiences Direct Reports (LEDR) met Wednesday, 7.28.10.  The following are items of interest from our meeting: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: senior managers

Reader’s Club would like to thank the following for contributing to our website during the month of July. Angela Arnold (COR), Jessica Brewer (UC), Linda Katzman (NCO), and Carrie Milstead (MPK). Thank you for helping to make Reader’s Club a great reader’s advisory resource.

Well…does it get any better than this?  After thirty six years of service as a librarian cataloger, and with a brief stint as head of cataloging in 1984; submitting an OCLC authorization application to improve the quality of the online union catalog and it being implemented, as well as being managed by eight different supervisors (Elizabeth Crawford, Carol Myers, Carol Bradsher, Chris Murray, Alice Peery, Cindy Miles, Linda Raymond and Peggy Whitehouse) Kitty Hughes has decided to leave cataloging behind and officially retire October 1, 2010.  Kitty’s last day with CML will be September 30.  Wonder how many items she’s cataloged?!?  All our best for a wonderful retirement.

Tags: personnel news