Director Briefing - November 14, 2022

System Satisfaction Survey

Please complete by December 1, 2022

Each year, Library Systems in New York are required to file a Satisfaction Survey with the Division of Library Development on the progress of their five-year plan. This is different than our Strategic Plan. The goals in our 2022-2026 Plan of Service are more general with a broad view of System work.

This will be the first year for the Plan of Service filed in 2021, however, I can already see that we will need to approve some amendments in 2023 due to changes in aid programs, System activities, and System goals.

Please consider everything the System has done for this survey over the past 12 months. Activities like the Small Libraries Summer Symposium, Trustee Book Club, Traveling Summer Storywalks, email transition to owwl.org, the System name change, and other specific items are not necessarily directly referenced. Your responses will help us evaluate our activities as well as consider amendments to the Plan of Service.

The survey will be open until December 1, 2022.

Click Here for System Satisfaction Survey

Printer Hard Drives and Data Retention from Kelsy

After the member library email breach in August, Ron sent a memo to directors stating that multifunction printers (printers that can print, scan, copy, fax, etc.) “have hard drives that may retain images of scanned documents.” Many directors reached out wondering if there is anything they need to do about this.

We recommend that you review your vendor's printer lease agreement or contract. Check to see if there is anything in your contract that states what happens to the hard drive when you return the printer.

If you don’t see anything about what happens to the hard drive, reach out to your vendor to see about having this added to your contract. Keep in mind that there may be a fee to have the vendor wipe the hard drive, but this usually occurs only once, when you return the printer. The likelihood of a printer’s hard drive being hacked into or stolen while the printer is in your possession is very low. Therefore, we believe that having the hard drive wiped by the vendor at the end of the lease should be sufficient to protect your employees’ and patrons’ data.

If you have printers that you purchased outright that do not have a contract/lease agreement, performing a factory reset before sending the printer to electronic recycling should wipe the hard drive. To find out how to do a factory reset, do a Google search for the model of the printer and “factory reset.”

If you have any questions or need assistance figuring out how to do a factory reset on your printer, please open a ticket by emailing support@pls-net.org

Reminder about Opening Support Tickets

Just a friendly reminder to open tickets when there are issues. There has been an uptick in the number of direct emails and phone calls to the CANS and Evergreen departments. These departments receive hundreds of inquiries a day, and if a library bypasses the ticketing System, there is a good chance the request will become lost.

When you open a ticket, it is more than an email. The request is added to a specific piece of software here at the System where Bob, Matthew, Kelsy, Dan, and Kathryn can track the status of the question, discuss the issue, and respond with the best solution.

Email support@pls-net.org when there is an IT-related issue or evergreen@pls-net.org with Evergreen issues.

RSVP for the 3rd Annual OWWLie Awards

It's time to celebrate Directors, Staff, and Trustees from across the OWWL Library System at the 3rd Annual OWWLie Awards! Join us for good people, big laughs, and (if you attend in person) donuts. This year we are giving out a record-setting 40 awards!

Click here to RSVP.

Once again, the OWWLie Awards presentation will be offered as a hybrid event in lieu of a regular System Meeting. Please indicate how you will attend on the registration form. Online attendees will be emailed a Zoom link the morning of the event.

OWWL Library System-Aunt Flow Partnership Program

On November 15 at 2 pm we are hosting an informational call with a representative from Aunt Flow. The mission of Aunt Flow is "to ensure businesses and schools can sustainably provide quality period products for free in public bathrooms." We invite you to learn more about why access to free period products in public spaces is important. Click here to register.

To help jump-start a sustainable period product program in member libraries, the OWWL Library System's Coordinated Outreach Services will partner with twelve member libraries to provide easily accessible period products to the library community free of charge. Libraries will each receive an Aunt Flow Model E Wall-Mounted Tampon & Pad Dispenser. For the one-year duration of the program, Coordinated Outreach Services will supply product stock of pads and tampons, to the libraries.

Click here to learn more about the OWWL Library System-Aunt Flow Partnership Program.

System Board Meeting and PLSDAC Follow-Up

Here is a recap for those who missed the System Board Meeting and PLSDAC Meetings last week.

1. PLDAC Agenda from November 10, 2022
   1. There are quite a few updates under the EAC and Administrative sections of the Agenda to take a look at.
2. System Board Meeting (November 9, 2022 Agenda)
   1. Discussed proposed changes to Trustee Representation (one representative from each county, one Central Library representative, and four at-large members from anywhere in our Service area). This will hopefully help us recruit trustees for vacant positions.
   2. Discussed our proposed 2023 budget.
   3. Approved the Executive Director's Evaluation Process (Kelly will be emailing Directors).
   4. Discussed Minimum Standard Situations for member libraries.
   5. Approved Construction Aid Reallocations for FY 2022 and 2023 projects.
   6. Discussed next year's Committees and officers.
3. System Annual Meeting (Annual Meeting Agenda)
   1. Subrata Paul (Wayne County) was elected to serve a three-year term from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025.
   2. Judith McKinney (Ontario County) was elected to serve a three-year term from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025.
   3. Ron delivered the State of the System presentation.

OWWL Website, Calendar, and Name Change

Over the next month or so we will continue to shift things over to OWWL Library System and update websites, calendars, accounts, etc. I appreciate your patience while we try to move through this transition as smoothly as possible.

Our plan is to have the new OWWL.org website up and running by early December. I will keep you posted here if the timeline changes.

MCLS Emerging Leaders Program Development

The Director of the Monroe County Library System through a partnership with RRLC is developing a leadership program for library leaders. If you would be interested in being on the development team, let me know and I will pass your name along.