Meyer/Frank FYI

1. Door Count starts next week from October 25 - 31.

2. Due to a restructuring of Blue Ridge, they are floating out materials directly.  Please, check these items in as you normally would.

3.  The proper procedure for creating an ITEM ON THE FLY is as follows (according to Stella Link's Blog on 10/21/15):

• On occasion, a customer may find and attempt to check out an item that is no longer listed in the catalog. This is mostly due to an item being listed as missing for a couple months and the system will delete the item. Please use the following procedures to correctly add item that is not found in the catalog at checkout.

  1. Open the Add Item Wizard in the Items Wizard and perform a Browse Search for the Title ITEM ON THE FLY. The Index should be listed as Title and Library as All.
  2. Select the highlighted ITEM ON THE FLY as it appears in the viewing window.
  3. Scroll down in the viewing window that appears to find ATTACH HERE ON THE FLY HOU-LMS.
  4. Select any item in this LMS location and click ADD ITEM.
  5. In the note field, add a brief note describing the item with your initial identifier and the date. (ex. 10/21/2015; STE/TS; BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN WAYNE BY LOUIS LAMOUR)
  6. The locations are defaulted to CATALOGING and Library as HOU-LMS.
  7. Scan the barcode into the Item ID field to save.
  8. Proceed to check the item out to customer.

  Do not search for or add the item by its title. An item should only be added as an ITEM ON THE FLY. When a properly added item is returned by the customer the system will prompt us to send the item for full processing at Central. 

   

~ BAH

More About the Learning Link Cards

[ tl;dr: Learning Link cards are only for 3rd grade HISD students.  Don't override anything for any reason on learning link accounts.  There are no late fees.  No more than 10 items per account.  Only JUV items may be checked out on Learning Link cards.  To get replacement cards, students must give their name and their student ID number (they do not need a parent or guardian and they do not need to fill out a registration form).  When replacing a card, don't change anything on the account except for the User ID. ]
 

-------- 

Hello everyone.

 

HPL recently delivered 7,214 Learning Link Cards to HISD for distribution to 3^rd graders at the 63 elementary schools participating in the NCAA Read to the Final Four program over the next year.  The list of participating HISD schools (includes school name and number) is attached.  We are excited to participate in this program by providing each of the participating 3^rd graders with a free Learning Link Card with the following privileges:

·        Full access to HPL’s collection of electronic resources.

·        Check out of up to 10 physical juvenile items at one time.

·        No fines, no fees

·        No parent signature required for card replacement

 

There are a few limitations on the Learning Link Card that are different from other cards:

·        Laptops and gaming equipment cannot be checked out on the Learning Link Card.

·        Adult and Teen physical items cannot be checked out on the Learning Link Card.

·        No more than 10 physical items can be checked out on the Learning Link Card at one time.

·        The cards will each expire on August 31,2016.

 

So here’s some information and a few guidelines  you need to know and follow when assisting one of our new Learning Link customers:

·        This is a pilot. We are tracking data this year so that we can make a case for expanding the program next year to all HISD pre-K-3^rd grade students. This is one of the many reasons we need staff to adhere to the guidelines of the pilot and be careful about who gets replacement cards. Also, we want to make sure the cards are not being abused by parents or siblings so it’s incredibly important not to override anything (item limits, JUV materials only, laptop or gaming checkout availability) because that will negatively impact the data and potentially impact the future of this program for all students.

·        Learning Link Card accounts all have the HOU-HISD  as a user profile name.  This profile is only assigned to 3^rd graders at the 66 HISD schools participating in the NCAA Read to the Final Four program this year (the list of schools is attached).  The HOU-HISD profile is not and should not be assigned to other users.  HISD will update our user files regularly for students transferring into the participating schools.  Cards will be created for those students as we receive the files.

·        Replacing a lost Learning Link Card does not require the completion of a registration form or the signature of a parent or guardian.  If a third grade child from one of the participating HISD schools requests a replacement card, you need his/her name and student ID number in order to look up the existing record in the Symphony system. If there is a Learning Link account in the system for him/her, you may simply issue a new card to the child by overwriting the User ID with the new card number and saving the change.  You will not need to attach a Learning Link label to the replacement card.  Remember, this is only acceptable for Learning Link accounts already in the system.  Cards with other user profile types still require the completion of a registration form and the signature of a parent or guardian for customers under the age of 18.  Do not change the user profile in an existing account in order to issue a replacement Learning Link card.

·        The Alt ID for each Learning Link Card is the student’s seven digit school ID number, preceded by the letter ‘S.’  So the Alt ID for a Learning Link Card will be S#######.  This format is consistent for all Learning Link Card accounts and should not be changed.  To find a student account using the Alt ID, go to the User Search widget in either Display User or Modify User, do a Keyword Search on the Alt ID index in the Search Index field and input S plus the seven digit student number in the search box.

·        The default PIN for each account was set to the last four digits of the student’s HISD Student ID number. 

·        The Group ID for each Learning Link card will be the three digit school number + a dash (-) + the three digit homeroom number provided by HISD.  000 is assigned as a homeroom number on accounts for which no homeroom was provided in the data set.  Additionally, each account includes a note field in which the school number and school name is recorded.  Please do not alter the Group ID or the note fields with school number and name in any way.

·        You should not override the block to check out a laptop, electronic device or any non-juvenile materials to the card. 

·        You should not override the block to check out more than 10 physical items to the account.

·        No fines assess to the account when overdue items are returned.

·        The accounts will not be sent to collection for unreturned material.

 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Learning Link cards, please do not hesitate to contact Circulation Administration at 832-393-2222 (option 3), Fred Schumacher at 832-393-1567 or fred.schumacher@houstontx.gov, or Kallie Benes at 832-393-1428 or Kallie.Benes@houstontx.gov . Any of us will be glad to help in any way we are able.

 

Thanks.

 

Fred Schumacher

--------


~BAH

Attendance and Punctuality HEAR Review Metric

Attendance and Punctuality are equally important. To get a certain score you have to meet both metrics. 


5 (Exceptional) = An employee uses 0-16 hours of VACU or AWOL AND is tardy 0-5 times.

4 (Exceeds Expectations) = An employee uses 17-32 hours of VACU or AWOL AND is tardy 6-12 times.

3 (Meets Expectations) = An employee uses 33-48 hours of VACU or AWOL AND is tardy 13-24 times.

2 (Below Expectations) = An employee uses 49-64 hours of VACU or AWOL OR 65-80 hours of sick time AND is tardy 25-36 times.

1 (Needs Improvement) = An employee uses 65+ hours of VACU or AWOL OR 81+ hours of sick time AND is tardy 37+ times.

Attendance

-       Sick time usage up to 64 hours no longer counts.

o    An employee is granted 64 hours of sick time each benefit year. When they exceed that amount it is deemed excessive and the employee is required to provide a doctor’s note.

-       Vacation Unscheduled (VACU) and Absent without Leave (AWOL) hours are what you count for the attendance metric in addition to sick time usage over 64 hours.

o    VACU is defined as not providing a full day’s notice (24 hours)

o    Supervisor will need to manually enter the time as VACU in Kronos. The employee should not submit the request themselves into Kronos.

Punctuality

-       Tardiness will be defined by the Kronos rule of 7.

o    If you have to mark an exception for the employee arriving late that is a tardy.

o    Ensure you are adjusting an employee’s schedule at the beginning of every pay period if it deviates from their pattern in Kronos.

o   Lateness due to a major weather event will be excused. John Middleton or Roosevelt Weeks will send out messages when a major weather event occurs. 

 

Liz Sargent

Deputy Assistant Director, Customer Experience

~BAH

About the New "Learning Link" Cards



Here's the latest information about our new "Learning Link" cards and the "Read to the Final Four" campaign.

 



 

FAQ’s

 

Benefits of the Learning Link card?

• Access to more than 1 million books, e-books, DVDs,

magazines and research materials that make up the

Houston Public Library (HPL) juvenile collection.

• Access to more than 150 electronic resources which

include streaming music, videos, images, audiobooks,

and countless other subject-based websites and

databases.

• FREE Wi-Fi and computer access at all 43 HPL locations.

• Access to Brainfuse, the Library’s FREE online tutoring

programing for students of all ages.

• There are no fines/fees for materials checked out on

your child's Learning Link Library card.

 

How will this card help my child?

• Stronger reading skills - the more students read, the

better their comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary.

• Academic success - the more students read for fun

on their own time, the higher their reading scores AND

math scores.

• Good communication skills - readers will be armed

with the vocabulary they need to better communicate

with their peers, teachers, and parents.

• Critical thinking skills - readers improve their general

knowledge, and more importantly, are able to spot

patterns quickly and identify solutions.

 

How does my child get a Learning Link card?

• During the launch of the NCAA “Read to the Final Four”

Program at your child's school, he/she will be given

a Learning Link library card. It’s set up to begin using

immediately. A parent or guardian signature is NOT

required for activation.

 

How many items may my child borrow?

• Your child may borrow up to a total of 10 juvenile items at

one time for FREE. These can be print items, or audiovisual

items, including juvenile DVDs and books on CD. Your

child will also have unlimited access to digital materials

with their Learning Link card, including e-books, e-audio

books, and streaming video and music.

 

If my child loses their card, how do we

replace it?

• If your child loses their Learning Link card during the 2015-

2016 school year, you can stop by the Central Library or any

Neighborhood Library. Staff will verify their participation

in the NCAA “Read to the Final Four” Program by asking

them to verify their School ID and name of school. They

will then replace the missing card with a new card. This

card will be good for the remainder of the school year. All

Learning Link cards will expire July 31, 2016.

·         All locations will receive Learning Link stickers to place

on MY LINK cards when issuing replacements.

·         New students will be issued cards by CEN, LMS staff ONLY.

.

 

How long can my child keep library materials?

• The standard loan period is three weeks. Most items may

be renewed for one additional three week period. The

renewal period is calculated from the date the items are

renewed. DVDs cannot be renewed. The maximum loan

period, including renewal, is six weeks.

 

~BAH