Circulation Services Group Meeting of March 5, 2019

Agenda

  1. Introduction of Attendees - Jenifer Carter - MRC (Co-Chair), Fedora gertzman - AHC (Co-Chair), Ellen Dario -NRLF, Jenna Jackson - Access Services, Molly Rose - Envi, Peter Soriano - EPS, Vaughn Egge - SSEA/ISD, Neda Salem - ESL, Francis Francisce - LHS/Bios, Michele Buchman - LHS, Agustin Ramirez - ITSL, Nancy Tran - Doe/Moffitt, Sheehan Grant - AHD, Mark Marrow - Access Services, Michael Bolden - LBNL, Peter Basmarjian - SSD, Kristen Van Vliet - ILL, Agnes Concepcion - EPS, Lillian Lee - Anth, Sophie Rainer - Access Services, Jen Osgood - AHD, Phylicia Mossiah - LHS, Blake Lindsey - Math/EPS, Erika Lindensmith - Cons, Beth Shipply - EPS, Jenny Schuelke - EPS, Eileen Pinto - Library IT, Bonita Dyess - EPS, Brian Light - SSD, Michael Villarreal - Engi
  2. Announcements -
    1. Mark Marrow - New Circulation Passwords will start Tuesday 3/12, get the new passwords from him before that day.
    2. Mark - Starting soon, UC Path will mean Millennium records will have 4 ID #'s per patron record. New staff onboarded after UC Path launches should only have 2
    3. Eileen Pinto - Refresh of the Millennium Training Server will kick off in late March, just before UC Path goes fully online. The system needs to get some new information from the UC Path system.
  3. Circulation procedures - Nancy
    1. The group was asked about the general policies regarding the renewal of material over the phone. Some patrons have complained that they are getting inconsistent service on this issue.
    2. Many Libraries do renew materials over the phone (with some exceptions), however Main does not, and has no intention of changing this any time soon. Mark stated that Doe/Moffitt has looked into this, and found that it is currently not feasible.
    3. The general consensus among the group was that it is ideal for patrons to renew their own materials via Oskicat, and we should push them that way whenever possible. However, most of the subject specialty libraries report that they do renew over the phone and generally plan to continue this practice.
    4. One suggestion was that a central number for all phone renewals might be implemented.
    5. This issue was marked as a topic that should be followed up on by Access Services.
  1. Books returned to the Philosophy and Berkeley Public Libraries

There have been problems with UC Berkeley Library items returned to both of these libraries.

  1. For Berkeley Public, they now call Mark when they get some of our books and we pick them up.
  2. Regarding Philosophy, it gets a little more complicated. As they are on campus and technically in Millennium, it is understandable why patrons might return them there, however PHIL does not use Millennium for circulation, so items returned there do not get checked in, do not get transit notes, and sometimes are placed on their shelves with no way for us to track those items to that library.
  3. Ryan Barnette has talked to the administrator for PHIL and they try to keep a look out for items that are not theirs, however a few circulation staff have either gone to PHIL or sent an SLE to PHIL to look on their shelves when a patron has reported that an item listed as overdue in Millennium was returned there.
  4. A plan was made to has some staff do a review of the PHIL shelves and look for items from the rest of the library locations. In addition, if anyone finds items that are “In Transit to PHIL”, you can send an SLE to confirm the item is on the shelves and than file a Millennium help ticket to have the status changed.
  5. Interlibrary Borrowing mentioned that if your unit gets an item returned to you from a non-UC Berkeley location, route that item to IBS and they will forward it on to the appropriate library.
  • Takeaways from the Access Service Conference - Nancy
    1. Session 1: “In Search of A Data-Driven Desk Model and Scheduling Template”
      1. Data were collected over 9 weeks - 3 service points were reduced to 2 service points with phone taking voicemails and a bell button for staff to come out to help as needed
      2. Goal of staffing: Want staff to be comfortable with workload but not so busy that they are stressed out.
        1. Absence data was also observed during busy/seasonal times - What if you can plan to take a day to prevent taking a day off? Intent of this is to help staff's wellbeing.
      3. Commonly used schedule tools are When to Work, Springshare schedule, Google calendar/sheets.
      4. OneNote was used to pass notes to the next person throughout the day.
    2. Session 2: “Changing the Profile of Library Space Use: Theory, Practice, and Policy Implications”
      1. Role of space
        1. cafe/collaboration/quiet/reflective spaces
        2. staff/service spaces
        3. Community building/event spaces
        4. Active learning teaching spaces
      2. Food for thought: Who are the users that we don't know yet - present versus future
        1. What does this mean to our spaces?
      3. Openness but remaining inclusive and safe (security)
      4. Warehouse for collection and bodies, printers/copier, support community
      5. To take theory and integrate it into our everyday service, we should use our mission/vision as guidance
    3. Session 3: “Investing in a Comprehensive Student Staff Development Program”
      1. We all have checklists but are they sufficient?
      2. Online training program (Desire2Learn Platform) → Create a comprehensive staff through training students consistently by having resources in one place; Combined online training with in-person training sessions
      3. Student recognition program - formal and individual, nominate each month, give them snack or gift card
      4. Proposed Recommendations:
        1. Bell button for students to use when they need extra back up
        2. Consolidate training program
      5. Some examples:
        1. EPS's site is very comprehensive
        2. Doe/Moffitt Circ Website
      6. Student Recognition Program
        1. Shout outs
        2. One nomination is drawn randomly on monthly basis for a prize