Director Briefing - August 12, 2024

OWWLDAC on September 6, 2024 at OWWLHQ

As a reminder, OWWLDAC is scheduled for 10 AM on September 6, 2024, here at System HQ.

It's in-person, so I hope you'll be able to attend; however, we will still provide an online option because I know not everyone will be able to get away from the desk.

Mileage reimbursement for this meeting will align with our soon-to-be-approved mileage policy. As long as your library has a policy reimbursing you for mileage, the system will pay 50% of the current IRS rate for approved System-sponsored events. I will have a copy of the policy in next week's Briefing after approval.

Grace (Avon) and I will work on the agenda and send it to you before the meeting.

Emergency Contact for Delivery Issues

Kelly sent out a notice last week requesting emergency contact information in the case of delivery issues outside of your library's open hours.

NOTE: Your phone number will not be shared with the drivers.

If the form doesn't appear for you, please visit https://forms.gle/GdYWQnNGCwZfnAfYA.

Central Library Hotspot Lending Agreements Clarification

After Central Library Hotspots are returned to your library, shred the completed Lending Agreements. This protects patrons' personally identifiable information (PII) from being improperly retained or sent through delivery.

If there is a concern about missing or damaged hotspots, or if you have any questions about Central Library Hotspots, contact Jessica Winum at Geneva.

Annual Report Survey from IMLS

Tor from DLD has asked if you would take the survey below to help guide any changes that might be coming to the Annual Report to DLD. Let me know if you have any questions on this.

Respondent Research Invitation:

Dear Library Director,

As you may know, a portion of the data your library submits on the state’s annual report is also incorporated into the national Public Libraries Survey (PLS), sponsored by Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

IMLS is exploring some changes to the national PLS that could affect your state’s annual report. These changes may include collecting some data at the branch level (for libraries with multiple locations), as well as adding new data elements related to public meeting spaces, mobile units, and other off-site services.

IMLS works with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to administer the PLS, and AIR is gathering input on these potential changes from public libraries. This research is a rare opportunity for your library to provide valuable input that ensures any changes to the PLS will be feasible for libraries to report, so that IMLS will continue to have high quality data about public libraries in the United States that are useful to policymakers, libraries, and the public. This collection has been reviewed and approved by OMB (3137-0081, exp. 1/31/2027).

Please click on the following URL to provide input on behalf of your library:

https://imls.gov1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b8E66k0XNbxjVjg

You will need your library’s FSCS ID to access the questionnaire. An FSCS ID is a six-character ID that begins with your two-letter state abbreviation followed by four numbers. If you do not know your library’s FSCS ID, please use IMLS’s Search & Compare Tool to look it up by entering your library’s name in the “Search for Libraries” field, filtering by State if necessary.

• How long is the questionnaire? Libraries with multiple locations will likely take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Libraries with a single location will likely take about 5-10 minutes to complete. You do not need to finish the questionnaire in one session.
• What kinds of questions will this questionnaire ask? The questionnaire will ask about the types of data your library tracks and reports and any challenges with reporting these data. It will not ask you to report any numeric figures.
• Who should complete this questionnaire? The respondent should be an administrator who is familiar with the types of information/data your library tracks. If needed, please forward this message to the appropriate individual. Please coordinate with others at your library as only one questionnaire per library will be accepted.

Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions about or need assistance with the questionnaire, please email PLS@air.org.

This Week in OSC Audits

Audit	Key Findings	Takeaways for Libraries
Newark Central School District	District officials did not always accurately calculate separation payments and did not ensure an independent review of separation payment calculations was performed. Therefore, calculation errors went undetected and resulted in erroneous and missed payments. Of the 41 employees we reviewed, 14 separation payments totaling $66,036 were not calculated correctly, which resulted in separation payment calculation errors totaling $20,157. Specifically: Our audit identified that four employees were not paid separation payments totaling $16,230, which District officials paid after we brought it to their attention. Seven employees’ separation payments were overpaid a total of $3,770. Three other employees’ separation payments were underpaid a total of $157.	Does your library pay out vacation or other unused benefits at the time of separation? Make sure everything is documented and approved when that happens.
Lindenhurst Union Free School District	District officials did not ensure that funds collected from all recreational and educational programs were properly recorded, deposited and reported. As a result, there was an increased risk of improper accounting of and potential theft of collections without detection. We reviewed $311,876 collected by the business office from five District recreational and educational programs and determined that: In-person collections totaling $130,568 were not recorded in a collection log. Employees made 25 deposits totaling $29,639 between 11 and 26 days after District programs recorded receipts on a transmittal form. Treasurer reports were presented to the Board between 65 and 261 days after the end of the month being reported.	Any and all funds taken in from the library need to be documented and recording.
Lewis County	We reviewed 366 purchase card charges totaling $229,635 and determined the charges were for appropriate purposes; however, charges were not properly approved and supported and did not follow County policies. For example: Although prior approval is required by the County’s purchase card policy, 238 online purchases totaling $189,852 did not have supporting documentation uploaded into the financial system that showed the department heads’ approval prior to the purchases being made. Although the County’s procurement policy required verbal or written quotes, 52 charges totaling $142,684 did not have evidence of verbal or written quotes. The County could have potentially saved approximately $4,800 in travel expenses and sales tax. Additionally, the third-party purchase card vendor directly withdraws the monthly payments from the County’s bank account without the County Treasurer’s (Treasurer) authorization. This puts County funds at unnecessary risk.	Prior Board approval is needed for all expenditures.

HBR: Tip of the Day

Get More Comfortable with Delivering Feedback

Providing feedback to your employees is part of being a manager. These performance conversations should feel productive and set the tone for a positive working relationship with your employee—but preconceived notions can hold you back from giving timely, helpful, and honest feedback. Here are three common misconceptions about delivering feedback and how to overcome them.

Feedback conversations are always long and drawn out. In fact, fast feedback sessions where you simply share the behavior you’re observing and allow your team member to respond can be just as effective as a lengthy one-on-one. If they’re self-aware and self-motivated, they’ll likely acknowledge their own misstep.

Your feedback has to be perfect. Your employee might see things differently than you do, and you may or may not be “right” the first time. If you’re willing to have a feedback dialogue rather than a monologue, you’re likely to get new information, additional perspectives, and even reactions to the feedback that you should consider.

With enough preparation, you can manage your employee’s reaction. How an employee responds to your input is based on personal factors. While you should commit to making your part of the conversation as helpful and productive as possible, also understand that you can’t control how the recipient will feel. Delaying providing an employee with feedback for fear of upsetting them harms both of you and your working relationship.

This tip is adapted from “Overcome Your Fear of Giving Feedback,” by Deborah Grayson Riegel.