Monday Briefing - December 6, 2021

System Staff Changes

As announced at the November System Meeting, Andrea Snyder has left Pioneer Library System as of December 3, 2021 for a position at the Skaneateles Library. We're excited about her new position and wish her all the best.

This change results in us needing to hire another degreed librarian to be in accordance with New York State standards. Currently, we're evaluating what we need at the System before posting any positions.

We will keep the System Staff Directory updated with who to contact for various services.

Omicron in New York State

Yesterday, five cases of the omicron variant were discovered in New York State. As I said last night with Mayor de Blasio and New York City public health experts, we knew the variant was coming and we are ready to handle it.

We are not defenseless. We have the tools, let's use them: Get vaccinated, get your booster, and wear a mask. To quote our new Health Commissioner, Dr. Mary T. Bassett: “I have enormous hope about our ability to tackle this big picture.” And I couldn’t agree with Dr. Bassett more. From Govenor Hochul email regarding her recent briefing.

Outside of the provisions already in place, there haven't been any new developments in terms of Executive Orders from NYS government. Since so many libraries continue to operate with caution, we should be in good shape for any potential changes that we need to adapt to. I'll keep everyone posted as the governor's office releases information.

Library Policy Reminder

As part of the Minimum Standards for New York's Public and Association Libraries policies must be reviewed every five years and posted on the library’s website. We recommend Boards establish a regular review schedule so the process isn't as daunting.

We have a Sample Policy Library on OWWL Docs as a resource for Boards and Directors who are reviewing, revising, and drafting policies. These are basic templates that you can use as a guide/starting point. There are additional links at the bottom of the Docs page that you may also find helpful. You and your Policy Committee can contact Ron for support.

Trustee Handbooks for New Trustees

Let me know how many Trustee Handbooks you need for the new Trustees on your board. I can send them in delivery or you can access the online version by visiting https://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/trustees/handbook/handbook.pdf.

Update Your Google Listing

Now that libraries are back operating at (at least) the number of hours required by Minimum Standards, you'll want to make sure to update your Google listing. Your library may still be listed as Temporarily Closed or your old operating hours (if they changed post-shutdown) may be listed. To check this information, just Google your library's name, your listing will pop up on the right side of the search results. Click here to learn more about managing your library's Google listing

Annual Update Document (AUD) Requirement

To put this on your radar, all public libraries are required to submit an Annual Update Document (AUD) to the Office of the State Comptroller and all association libraries registered as a 501©(3) with the IRS should submit Form 990 to the Internal Revenue Service. This isn't due quite yet, but I wanted to make sure you all had the information so you could add it to your calendars.

Local governments are required to file an Annual Update Document (AUD) with the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) after the close of their fiscal year (General Municipal Law §30). This reporting serves as an important source of financial information for the public, our staff and other data users and stakeholders.

The software, tools and prior-year data file that you will need to prepare your AUD will be available on our website after your December 31, 2021 fiscal-year end. The filing is due within 60-120 days. Our website has your local government’s filing deadline – Please submit your information accordingly.

Getting started

• Visit OSC’s Annual Update Document (AUD) Filing website.
• Log in using the User ID and PIN/Password provided above. You will also need this PIN/Password to complete your certification later in the process.
• In the Reporting Options section, click on Annual Financial Reporting. Review the instructions on the steps involved.

If you need assistance with filing, contact our Help Desk at 866-321-8503.

For questions relating to accounting or financial reporting issues, contact your OSC Regional Office. Source: Office of the State Comptroller

Question of the Week: Posting Meeting Minutes

Question: How does the recent updates to Open Meetings Law, requiring minutes to be posted online within two weeks of the meeting, work when we approve our minutes at the next scheduled meeting?

Answer: It's a good idea to approve minutes locally so you have an opportunity to check for accuracy, however, with the provision updates to Open Meetings Law, you are required to post minutes (approved or not) within two weeks of your meetings to your website. You are welcome to call them "draft minutes" then replace them with "approved minutes" after the board takes action on them if you would like. The Committee on Open Government does not distinguish between "draft" and "approved." To them, the minutes of a meeting are produced at the meeting and need to be available.

Also, keep in mind that documents to be discussed at the board meeting must be made available upon request at least 24 hours before the meeting.

Evergreen Updates

Deactivation of shared libcirc & libtech Evergreen accounts

Now that we've issued individual Evergreen logins to most libraries in the system, the next step in this project is to deactivate the shared libcirc and libtech Evergreen accounts.

We're planning to deactivate the shared Evergreen accounts on Monday, December 20. Please note that these changes will not affect your libcirc@pls-net.org email address.

There are a few steps you can take to prepare:

Holdings Templates

Make sure you have exported a copy of your holdings templates while logged on as your libtech account. Even if your holdings templates appear to be working on your and your staff's individual logins, it is always a good idea to have a backup!

Please note that you only need to press the Export button once, not individually for each template. The exported file will contain the data for all of your templates.

Buckets

Item buckets and record buckets are tied to an account rather than to a workstation. Therefore, you may want to have the primary user of the buckets assume ownership of the buckets from your libcirc and libtech accounts if you will need to continue to access the buckets.

The best approach is to copy these buckets. To do so, you should first make the buckets shareable from your libtech account and note the bucket ID numbers. Then, log on to your individual account to copy over the shared bucket. Review the OWWL Docs pages for item buckets and record buckets for detailed instructions and video walkthroughs on how to copy a bucket.

If you have a cumbersome number of buckets to copy (several dozen!), please email us (evergreen@pls-net.org) for help by Monday, December 13.

ICYMI: Please enter your 2022 closed dates

Final reminder: If you haven't done so already, please add your 2022 closed dates in Evergreen as soon as possible to make sure that future checkouts aren't impacted.

Your closed dates are mostly holidays when your library won't be open. If applicable, you may also have to add closed dates for Summer Saturdays (if you are typically open on Saturdays during most of the year but not during the summer). Adding closed dates affects future checkouts' due dates and overdue fine accruals.

Please review this OWWL Docs page before adding any closed dates. Please email evergreen@pls-net.org if you have any questions or if you would like a walkthrough on how to add your 2022 closed dates.

Have you checked your pending patrons recently?

Please remember to check your pending patrons list in Evergreen. Click here for more information on processing pending patrons.

If you will not be issuing a card to a pending patron, please make sure to delete the pending patron from the queue.

This email was sent to…

This email has been sent to directors (d-all) and system staff. This information will also be communicated to pls-l next week. If you have any questions or concerns or if you anticipate any undue hardships, please email evergreen@pls-net.org.