Director Briefing - March 10, 2025

New hold and circulation exception report

At EAC's and OWWLDAC's request, we've put together a new scheduled report that will detail hold and circulation exceptions. The first version of this report should be released later this week.

The hold exceptions tab details holds that have been available on hold shelves for more than two weeks. The report will include items that fit these criteria that are either:

• Owned by another library and owned by you, or
• Owned by you and on another library's hold shelf

The circulation exceptions tab details open circulations that have had a due date extension of at least seven days or that have had renewal limit overrides. The report will include items that fit these criteria that are either:

• Owned by another library and have been checked out at your library, or
• Owned by you and have been checked out at another library

If you have any questions, please email us at evergreen@owwl.org.

Aspen upgrade

Our next Aspen upgrade is scheduled for the morning of Tuesday, 3/11. There may be some minimal downtime, so we have put up a banner on Aspen.

Aspen upgrades are a little more lowkey than Evergreen upgrades and are mostly added integrations, small bug fixes, and slight tweaks. We do have a few new features to look forward to with this upgrade, though. More details are available on the Evergreen & Aspen changelog on OWWL Docs.

We discussed the upgrade in-depth at February's OWWLUG meeting. If you missed it, you can catch up with the Zoom recording. Passcode: owwlug#202502

Policy Changes, New Report, and Aspen Upgrade on 3/11 | OWWLDAC Follow-Up

A few items came out of OWWLDAC on Friday that I would like to highlight.

Public Hold Shelf Policy Approved

If your library has a hold shelf that is accessible to the public, the slips used must not contain patron PII, such as full names, library card numbers, phone numbers, or email addresses. Instead, libraries must use an anonymized identifier, such as a portion of a patron's name and library card number, to facilitate easy access to materials while maintaining patron confidentiality.

Dan shared this example of a receipt printer template that truncates patron names when printing receipts: https://docs.owwl.org/pub/Evergreen/EvergreenConfigurationPrintTemplates/HoldShelfSlip_TruncatedNameBlock_Text.txt

If you're in need of assistance getting this set up, feel free to submit a ticket.

Use of Other Libraries' Items and Internal Library Usage Checkouts Policies Approved

The conclusion of our ongoing discussion around borrowing other libraries' items for internal use is that libraries should adhere to the established Holds not picked up policy and the Editing due dates when a patron needs extra time policy . Any accommodations or other borrowing circumstances need to be determined by a discussion between the borrowing and owning libraries.

Similarly, when library staff borrow materials that aren't being checked out directly to a patron account, they must be checked out on a staff account or another account marked with a Patron Type statistical category of Administration.

Default Item Price Will Be Changed to $0.01

If an item is missing a price, and that item is later lost, the charge added to a patron's account will be $0.01 instead of $25.57. This change will take effect at the end of the month.

If you would like to check if your library has any items that are missing prices, the "Items Without Prices" report is available on reports.owwl.org under Ad Hoc Reports.

New Hold and Circulation Exception Report

At EAC's and OWWLDAC's request, we've put together a new scheduled report that will detail hold and circulation exceptions. The first version of this report should be released later this week.

The hold exceptions tab details holds that have been available on hold shelves for more than two weeks. The report will include items that fit these criteria that are either:

• On your hold shelf, or
• Owned by you and on another library's hold shelf

The circulation exceptions tab details open circulations that have had a due date extension of at least seven days or that have had renewal limit overrides. The report will include items that fit these criteria that have either:

• Been checked out from your library, or
• That are owned by you and have been checked out at another library

If you have any questions, please email evergreen @ owwl.org.

Aspen Upgrade on Tuesday, March 11

Our next Aspen upgrade is scheduled for the morning of Tuesday, 3/11. There may be some minimal downtime, so we have put up a banner on Aspen.

Aspen upgrades are a little more lowkey than Evergreen upgrades and are mostly added integrations, small bug fixes, and slight tweaks. We do have a few new features to look forward to with this upgrade, though. More details are available on the Evergreen & Aspen changelog on OWWL Docs.

We discussed the upgrade in-depth at February's OWWLUG meeting. If you missed it, you can catch up with the Zoom recording. Passcode: owwlug#202502

Central Library Hotspots Lending Instructions

There was a bit of confusion over where to find the lending instructions for the Central Library Hotspots. We're looking into more options, but for now, this information is available:

• on LibGuides: https://genevapubliclibrary.libguides.com/CLHotspots
• on OWWL Docs: https://docs.owwl.org/Members/CentralLibrary
• on GPL's Policy Page, under Collections > "Hotspot Policy": https://gplny.org/library-policies-regulations/

Voice Message Phishing Notice

Kelsy let us all know about a new scam going around.

As you can see from the second image, the "Listen to message" link looks like an owwl.org address, but clicking on it would take you to the random website beginning with "pub." Also, the "From" section says "Zimbra" but it's actually coming from a domain in Austria (.at).

If you receive a similar message, please mark it as spam.

If you have any concerns about whether a message is legitimate or not, feel free to forward the message to support @ owwl .org and the CANS team will look at it.

990 Filing Status Search Tool from IRS

I have previously mentioned the AFR Non-Filers Search Tool from the OSC, so for our Association Libraries, you may look up your 990 status here: https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/

As a general reminder, Association Libraries file the 990 with the IRS, School District Public Libraries file the Annual Financial Report (AFR) to the Office of the State Comptroller, and Municipal Public Libraries either file their own AFR or file a blended AFR with their municipality. Let me know if you have any questions on this.

HBR: Tip of the Day

Take Time to Pause Throughout Your Workday

Your workday is a blur of meetings, emails, and endless to-do lists. You’re constantly moving, constantly responding—but are you actually present? Without taking time to reflect, you risk missing big opportunities, making poor decisions, and ultimately burning out. Here’s how to step back without falling behind.

Give yourself permission. Being busy isn’t the same as being effective. Productivity culture rewards constant time commitments—but the most important insights often come from moments of reflection. Recognize that slowing down isn’t necessarily slacking off.

Train your mind. A few moments of mindfulness can have a huge impact on your workday. Try pausing before meetings to focus on your breath or notice the sensation of your feet on the floor. These tiny pauses create space between impulse and action, taking your mind off autopilot.

Make it safer. If your workplace values efficiency above all else, don’t announce that you’re slowing down—just do it strategically. Shorten your meetings, take walking calls, or start asking broader questions that shift conversations toward big-picture thinking (without disrupting the flow).

Keep good company. The people you spend time with shape how you think. Seek out colleagues who bring fresh perspectives and encourage deeper conversations that leave you feeling refreshed—and cut back on interactions that drain your energy.

This tip is adapted from “How to Give Yourself More Space to Think,” by Megan Reitz and John Higgins.