May 2023 Minutes

APLE General Membership Meeting

    May 19, 2023, 6:30 p.m Sanger Branch

Agenda

1. Officer Roll Call

• Teresa Alvarado

• Steve Nichols

• Carlye Seybold

• Sally Sherman-Weckerlin

• Kim Fisher

• Morgan Rinckey

Meeting start: 6:31

2. Officer Reports

   1. Chairs

      1. Denise Barber – region 2B rep. 

         1. VASE committee – women’s group liaison, committee meets at Main Library

         2. “Talk about it” group meets on Zoom on Wednesdays at 6pm (see attachment)

         3. Online Academy classes

         4. Family Scholarship program

      2. There have been many bird strikes at multiple locations. Please let chairs know if your branch is having an issue. 

   2. Treasurer 

      1. $75.67

      2. Please turn in APLE mentor lunch receipts. 

         1. 2 hours working time. 

         2. If a last resort, deliver lunch and do a Zoom meeting.

   3. Trustees/Negotiators

3. Old Business 

   1. Safety

      1. Orbeez discussion-any gel blasters are considered weapons.

         1. First tell them to take it home, they can come back when they return without it. 

         2. After first warning, they can be banned at the discretion of the branch. 

      2. Safety video reviews- a 20 minute video of trends, issues, ect. 

      3. May 3rd was the last safety meeting.

      4. Appreciate safety reports at Main.

         1. We need to know who is banned.

         2. Big issues that happen, so we know what is going on in the building. 

      5. Don’t use guest passes as often. 

         1. We need to check if they are banned, ect.

         2. Sign up for internet only card if necessary.

         3. Cathy Bartel will be sending out notification soon. 

      6. Zero-tolerance policy for patrons who cross boundaries with staff

         1. Crossed boundaries is anything that makes you uncomfortable, verbal abuse, touching.

         2. Training on High Youth Population is a great training video. (link)

         3. What if manager didn’t agree with the boundary issue?

            1. Put in PITTS

            2. Talk with APLE chairs, Irene in HR. 

         4. Tell manager/supervisor right away if there is an issue.

         5. Animals in the library. 

            1. Language on how they can be handled needs to be updated.

            2. What is an ADA service animal?

            3. What isn’t?

            4. If an animal gets in your building, what do you do?

            5. If it is a mini-horse or dog, as long as they are behaving, we don’t ask questions.

            6. We need clarification on rules.

         6. SAME cafe staff 

            1. They can use freight elevator at Main. 

            2. They can be in the back area, use staff restrooms. 

         7. Emergency closings

            1. More information for everyone to clarify the situation.

            2. Everbridge may take over notification. 

         8. New employees

            1. What can we do to help them when they deal with these situations?

            2. Role play training would be a good iea. 

         9. New Safety and Health coordinator

            1. His job is to make sure we are compliant.

            2. In charge of staff training for safety issues. 

            3. Under Mike G., working in coordination with Jeff S.

         10. Mott issue

             1. We need a procedure when large gathering is happening near branch. 

             2. More communication with the city of Toledo about safety. 

   2. Open Positions/Subs

      1. We have 92 APLE people. 

      2. Several new subs hired.

      3. PT positions still open at Birmingham, Sylvania open.

   3. Sunday scheduling resolution

      1. Putting together language.

      2. Will meet with the library on a yearly basis to go over Sunday scheduling. 

      3. You will not be punished for calling off on a Sunday. 

   4. Return Time

      1. Managers were told to encourage employees to use RT in the same pay period. 

      2. That is not required, you can bank RT to taken whenever you want. 

      3. No continuing issues. 

      4. Hours show up on a “report.”

4. New Business

   1. Upcoming staff policies 

      1. Two policies

         1. Jury duty policy – aligns with our contract language.

         2. Whistle blower policy – protection for whistle blowers, repercussions for people who lie.

   2. Sick Leave Usage

      1. MOU expired – SL levels no longer in effect.

      2. Excessive SL usage – punitive for using too much.. 

      3. Sick appointment – scheduled 7 days out. 

      4. Be mindful of your SL levels. 

   3. Discussion of potential MOUs

      1. Internship MOUs – can’t do work, not part of regular schedule.

         1. Language for site supervisors

      2. Non-MLIS 8s

         1. Specialists who don’t have an MLIS are 7s and not 8s

            1. Masters or PhD equivalent to specialist position should be 8s even if they don’t have MLIS. 

         2. Changing language for 8s to have this opportunity.

   4. New Weeding Process Feedback

      1. Developing new weeding process

         1. Pushing responsibility to people who are looking at the collections.

         2. How is the workflow?

            1. Working well.

            2. More support if we want to keep something on the shelf.

         3. Weeding 101 training is coming. 

      2. Clerks used to pull and withdraw without librarians looking at them.

      3. Keep what looks good, informative, up to date. 

      4. If we need newer books, put it in suggestion list. 

      5. Main checks to see if the books are in the system. 

      6. Let Amy and Cindy know what works and what doesn’t for the new weeding lists. 

      7. Weeding lists should have reminder about looking at local materials. 

5. Open Floor

   1. Richard Gosser scholarship luncheon – $10,000 scholarship for applicants, 3 local seniors won. 

      1. Any high school seniors can apply.

   2. Exempt have gone to merit based wage increases. 

   3. All regions should be in the same area. 

6. Adjourn 8:02