Director Briefing - April 17, 2023

System Open House: Wednesday, April 19, 2023

The System's Open House is Wednesday! Register here. Lisa Kropp, incoming NYLA President, will be listening to library thoughts about NYLA and what they can do to serve you better.

System Board Meeting Follow-Up

OWWL Library System's Board of Trustees met last week to discuss and approve several items. Below is a run-down of some of the key topics. You can find the full agenda by clicking here.

Systems Access and Confidentiality of Library Records Policy

Following the independent review committee's recommendations, the Systems Access policy was updated with the following changes.

• Added third-party services definition.
• Added patron consent definition.
• Added electronic security clause on shared computers and browsers.
• Added physical security clause on unauthorized access.
• Added clarification language on the appropriate use of data.
• Replaced “Employee Confidentiality Agreement” with “Member Library Policy Agreement.”
• Replaced “Member Library Agreement Form” with “Member Library Board Agreement Resolution.”
• Amended agreement language that is now part of the board resolution section.
• Added an FAQ to the last page of the policy.

The approval from Member Library Boards will replace the Director Agreement Form. There is not a set deadline for this one yet. I plan to schedule some Trustee training on Patron Confidentiality, where we will discuss it. Updated Systems Access and Confidentiality of Library Records

Cost and Services to Member Libraries

The 2023 Cost and Services to Member Libraries document was updated to reflect the actual cost of 2022 System-Wide Delivery rather than an estimate. Updated 2023 Costs and Services to Member Libraries

ALA Unite Against Book Bans Partnership

OWWL Library System has signed on to be an ALA Unite Against Book Bans Partner. If your library is interested, here is the information form - ALA Unite Against Book Bans Partnership Letter.

Book Challenges in OWWL Library System

I plan to assemble a Book Review Committee to preemptively review challenged materials in our System. I discussed this last year; however, with the recent challenges, I'd like to revisit this idea. If you're interested in helping, please let me know.

New Member of the System Team: William Gorczyca, Junior Systems Administrator

William Gorczyca has been hired to the position of Junior Systems Administrator at the System. He'll be working with Bob and the CANS team on networking and other tech-related projects. So when you see him answering tickets, say, "Hi!"

Password Managers and Password Security

Passwords continue to be an issue with the security of critical informational systems. I highly recommend attending Kelsy's Password Managers and Password Security on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.

Question of the Week: COVID Sick Time

Question: Is there still separate COVID sick leave? Or is it the paid sick leave that the Library gives to employees? This has come up a couple of times recently. It turns out there is still job-protected paid and unpaid COVID leave depending on your organization type.

Here is the most concise answer that I have received from our HR consultants:

The NY Covid-19 Paid Sick Leave still remains in effect and has no end date at this time.

• If you have 10 or fewer employees and you had a net income less than $1 million last year, you must provide your employees with:
  • Guaranteed job protection and unpaid COVID-19 sick leave for the duration of the quarantine order.
  • Compensation for the remainder of their quarantine through your existing Paid Family Leave (PFL) and Disability Benefits (DB) policy up to a combined $2,884.62 per week.
• If you have 10 or fewer employees and you had a net income greater than $1 million last year, you must provide your employees with:
  • At least 5 days of COVID-19 paid sick leave and guaranteed job protection for the duration of the quarantine order.
  • Compensation for the remainder of their quarantine through your existing PFL and DB policy up to a combined $2,884.62 per week.

This covid pay is not the employee’s own PTO, vacation, or sick time. Employees are allowed up to three instances of the covid paid sick leave and the second and third order must be based on the employee’s own positive covid-19 test.On this portion of the law, NY State provides in part:

“In no event shall an employee qualify for sick leave under New York’s COVID-19 sick leave law for more than three orders of quarantine or isolation. The second and third orders must be based on a positive COVID-19 test and the employee must submit documentation from a licensed medical provider or testing facility attesting that the employee has tested positive for COVID-19. The employee does not need to submit documentation of a positive result if the employee’s employer gave the employee the test for COVID-19 that showed the positive result.”

The county in which the employee lives will determine if and when an employee should be out of work for being exposed or test positive.

Additional Resources on Covid-19 Paid Sick Leave:

• New York Paid Family Leave COVID-19: Frequently Asked Questions
• Obtaining an Order of Quarantine
• COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Fact Sheet - Employers