January 2025 Minutes

APLE General Membership Meeting

    January 17, 2025, 6:30 p.m.

Agenda

1. Officer Roll Call

• Teresa Alvarado

• Steve Nichols

• Amy Hartman

• Juliette Hebert

• Morgan Rinckey

• Renee Sarra

Call to order: 6:34

Motion to accept minutes

1. Officer Reports

   1. Chairs

      1. If you have anything to add to APLE Matters please send to Steve, Teresa or Carlye.

      2. If you would like to point out anything awesome a coworker has done, please send it in to us.

   2. Treasurer : $187.69

      1. Please send in receipts for APLE mentor lunches.

   3. Trustees/Negotiators

2. Old Business 

   1. Safety

      1. Locke is having trouble with behavior.

         1. The physical layout is conducive to misbehavior.

         2. Need additional staff, especially in the afternoon.

      2. If there are any other safety issues at your branch or Main area, please let us know.

      3. APLE is invited to attend quarterly safety meetings.

         1. Sent questions to Public Safety about having eye wash kits in the branches.

            1. None of the branches have them, but we could use them for staff and patrons.

            2. Main may have them?

         2. If you are interested in serving on the quarterly safety committee, let Steve and Teresa know.

   2. Professional membership dues 

      1. We will check if you need to be off probation.

      2. This covers $400 for membership to professional library organizations like ALA, OLC or others approved by administration. 

      3. Remember to fill out the Professional Membership Request form by the end of January. Please remember to attach this form if you are renewing your membership for anything other than ALA, PLA and OLC memberships.

      4. Please take advantage of it! We negotiated for it.

3. New Business

   1. Volunteers

      1. Adult volunteers

         1. There has been some criticism of Galaxy Digital.

            1. The software makes it hard at times to figure out who is coming to cover a shift.

            2. Is there a list of things volunteers can and can’t do?

               1. There is an approved task list for Teens.

               2. There is also an approved task list for Adults.

                  1. Can shelve items that aren’t in order.

                  2. Can play games with kids.

                  3. Should not be doing any librarian work.

                  4. They can clean toys.

      2. Sometimes they show up without us knowing they are coming. 

         1. They can schedule themselves just before the scheduled volunteer time.

         2. Staff have to check software multiple times a day to stay current.

         3. When people use the app to sign up it doesn’t send notifications to librarians. 

         4. Maybe we should take away the same day signup. This has been brought up with HR.

   2. Upcoming Policies

      1. 6 policies to the board

         1. Disciplinary Action Policy

         2. TLCPL Attendance Policy 

         3. Asset Management Policy

         4. Drug Free Workplace Policy

         5. Employment of Relatives Policy

         6. Surveillance and Recording Policy

   3. 1-on-1 tech help & YS Librarians

      1. Typically supposed to be taught by adult services librarians/managers.

      2. Is there a standard for who does the training?

         1. Whatever works for the agency.

         2. Feedback is welcome.

         3. If it is putting too much work on YS Librarians, we should reassess what works for the system.

         4. Public Services said it is reference work, so it is the responsibility of all librarians. 

         5. Digital Navigator requirements were only added to the Adult Services librarian job description.

         6. Maybe more adult services positions are need to prioritize the work

         7. YS librarians doing this training shouldn’t be the norm.

      3. Jotform is working well. 

   4. Veyon

      1. How do people feel about it going away?

         1. We were told it’s a bandwidth issue.

         2. Makes fast computer help tasks easier and able to stay at the Ref desk to help others.

            1. Quickly logging in kids with their Library cards.

            2. Getting kids on game sites.

      2. Do people use it alot?

         1. Some utilize a lot, some occasionally.

         2. Good to use for kids who need fast help or people who are typing in personal information.

      3. Could we put it on one computer at each agency?

      4. Can we take it from the branches that don’t use it to cut down on usage?

4. Open Floor

   1. RC is piloting the Tier I tech support call center.

      1. Steve called about a tech issue. It  was resolved successfully and efficiently.

   2. Order has been submitted for APLE merch.

   3. Merchandising workgroup

      1. Communication needs improvement, more dialogue on decisions with agency staff. Some decisions are made in the moment and often when not all librarians are present to give input.

      2. Allison and Kristie need to be sent feedback.

         1. Ask managers to raise your concerns with the Merch Team.

         2. Alot of measuring of total shelf space at each agency and the entire system, along with redistribution of items, goes into decision making about merchandising. 

         3. Can we create a Jotform to review how things are going with merchandising that goes back to Kristie and Allison?

      3. Faceout books take up a lot of room. Fine balance with shelf space at a premium.

      4. Steve and Teresa discussed the need for communication and collaboration.

   4. No branch specific manager positions are being posted in employment announcements.

      1. It’s offered to all managers, then posted if no managers are interested.

   5. Staff development day

      1. There will be 10 min breaks between sessions and a paid lunch.

5. Adjourn 8:04