Director Briefing - May 27, 2024

Congratulations to all the Successful Library Votes

I was incredibly pleased to see all the successful votes last week. Congratualtions to you and your boards!

Evergreen & Aspen Updates

Dan let us know about some updates to the ILS that were approved at our last OWWLDAC meeting, and have now been implemented. As a refresher:

Grouped work permissions for Aspen administrators

Staff with Aspen administrative logins now have the ability to manually group and ungroup works. For more information, please see the Aspen Discovery Help Center page on Grouping and Ungrouping Records.

Kathryn will host a training on grouping works in the near future. Please keep an eye on OWWL Post for more details soon.

Hold limit applies to staff

Staff should now encounter an error if attempting to place more holds than the hold limit for patrons. Staff with Circ II or above can override the error.

Some item statistical categories no longer required

Four item statistical categories ("stat cats") no longer need to be selected when adding or updating items:

- Collection Development - Electronic File Format - Genre - Physical Format

Libraries may choose to continue to use these stat cats for collection development.

"In-person Loan" circulation modifier

A new circulation modifier, "In-person Loan," has been created. Items that use this circulation modifier will not be holdable. By default, items that use "In-person Loan" will circulate for one week with one renewal allowed, but libraries may request to change their library's circulation policy for this circulation modifier.

When the functionality is available, Aspen will not display the "Place Hold" button for items that use the "In-person Loan" or "Museum Pass" circulation modifiers. Additionally, Aspen will treat items that use the "Reference" circulation modifier as being available for "In-library use" only.

Hold sort order changed to prioritize owning library

The order in which holds are captured has been changed. Holds will be fulfilled in queue order. However, the holds targeter will now prioritize holds placed for pickup at the item's owning library.

Report processing schedule

A recommended schedule for processing critical reports is now available on OWWL Docs. EAC recommends following the report processing schedule and to take appropriate actions as indicated on the schedule to maintain accurate patron and item records and to provide good customer service.

Questions?

Please email evergreen@owwl.org if you have any questions.

Library Card Study

If you're interested, Brooklyn Public Library released a Library Card Study this April to establish an understanding of library cardholder signup policies and procedures across the United States. Although the entire Report is interesting to read through, an overview of all findings are summarized from page 4-12, and the PowerPoint summarizes these same findings in a more visual manner.

From the PowerPoint:

Key Takeaways

Policy Changes: Most libraries have made some type of change to their cardholder signup policies and/or procedures in the past five years; however, 30% have not.

Barriers to Access: Barriers can present themselves in the cardholder signup method (i.e. requiring in-person), proof of eligibility, the types of data collected, youth signup, and language access.

Source Prompting Change: For the majority of libraries, changes to cardholder signup policies and procedures are prompted by staff. Training and communication are essential.

Data for Decision-Making: Libraries expressed the value of having data available to support change ([for example,] patrons not able to provide ID or address not shown to have a higher materials loss rate).

If nothing else, it can be helpful to see what other libraries have or do not have in their policies, especially when considering what you have or do not have in your library's policies, and why.

A "best practices" policy framework based on the results of this study is expected Fall 2024.

HBR: Tip of the Day

When an Employee Isn’t Meeting Expectations

Reviewing the performance of an employee who isn’t meeting expectations is high stakes for both sides. But these challenging moments can also offer opportunities to strengthen the manager-employee relationship. Here’s how to make it a constructive conversation.

Set the stage for collaboration. Start by defining what success looks like and ensure it’s a shared goal. Begin with: “Let’s have an open dialogue. My goal is to give clear feedback, get on the same page, and support your development.”

Reflect on the past. Encourage your direct report to assess their past performance by asking: “How do you feel you’ve met your goals? What’s working well and what isn’t? What would you like to improve on or do differently?”

Provide constructive feedback. Be clear and specific with examples. Gather insights from multiple stakeholders to ensure fairness. Approach with empathy, avoid judgment, and create space for them to share their perspective.

Offer positive reinforcement. Highlight their strengths and show belief in their ability to improve and achieve their goals. Emphasize growth and development over criticism.

Set an actionable path forward and reset expectations. Ask forward-looking questions like, “How would you handle a situation if…?” to foster a mindset geared toward future improvement. And clearly reset expectations. Ask: “What actions are needed to meet our new standards? How can I support you as we work toward these goals?”

This tip is adapted from “How to Talk to an Employee Who Isn’t Meeting Expectations,” by Jenny Fernandez