Ahoy Mateys!
well a couple of us are a year older at the branch, then we were last week, and after this email we might all be sporting new wrinkles, so don't say you weren't warned.
Firstly, it is most important that ALL of you review the long and involved procedures for handling materials sent to CMS that Richard sent out on Thursday. They are in your email as well as printed and attached to the clipboard on the back counter. You will probably need to refer to them for awhile when handling damaged items, or items not correctly cataloged. I have set up three crates on rolling pallets in the workroom; one for withdrawn items, one for non-media selector review. and one for media (please note that none of these items should be in transit). When the crates are full we will send them to CMS and replace them with empties. There are extra signs above the crates. There are also CMS special flags which I have placed at the discharge station and also the aides computer, which you should use as specified in the instructions that Richard sent out.
Please feel free to ask me if you have questions about any of these new processes and we will muddle through with the instructions (which are now also available in the green book).
Note: an upside to these new procedures is that we no longer need to use a deleted items bucket so that has been eliminated from our database.
The next new change is that processing will no longer be marking the branches in or on the items. This means that there will be no point in flipping open the books to check for branch designation but it will also put the onus on us to really really pay attention to the screen when we are discharging and then pay attention to where we are putting the discharged items (ie: get them to the right crates or carts, please). If a wrong item ends up on our shelves we won't know it until an unwary patron attempts to check it out. I am told that eventually the entire system will be using a floating collection, which means that where an item is returned is where it stays until someone checks it out so this is one of the reasons for no longer marking items with the branch designations. This process has just started so it may be a while before we see any of these things and really if you feel compelled like me (can't teach this old dog any new tricks)to go ahead and open the books to check, you are welcome to. Just don't be surprised when one day you pop open that book and there is nothing written there.
New items are now being ordered again so you can reassure any of those patrons who are wondering where those new title are, that they are on the way. It usually takes a couple of months between ordering to actually get the items in hand so counsel patience, by September they should start seeing them come in.
Our towel vendor has been cancelled. It looks like the library will be purchasing towels and washing them ourselves (not us, the building maintenance crew) but in the meantime we should just use paper towels as needed.
For those of you who are confused: Richard is the system wide circulation supervisor so he is the go to person you should refer people to if they have concerns about collection agency issues or refunds. David Sidle is the downtown circulation supervisor so he usually only deals with downtown staff issues. You can call him if you have questions but don't refer patrons directly to him concerning circulation concerns that are not specific to downtown.
Shelvers, please be aware that we have a special plexiglass holder on the back counter above the A section of the Jeasys where we display all the magic school bus titles. I keep finding these interfiled in our regular non-fiction but these titles are so popular we have pulled them out and display them separately now.
The story hour subject this coming week is fruits and vegetables, should you find any jeasys on that subject, or be looking for any for the pulls list...check my desk and feel free to add titles to the stack.
ok, that should keep all your brains quite full for now. I hope there are no other big changes until after August. 2nd, when there will be the biggest change of all and you will have a new branch manager, Melanie Barash, whom I am sure you will all enjoy working for as she is much less a slave driver then old cappy D.
A special thanks to all of you who so wonderfully helped us all celebrate our UN-BIRTHDAYS!! You are very sweet and now so am I since i am stuffed with goodies!
tootles,
Cappy D
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