Reserve Phone Numbers, City Christmas Pary, Sue Morrell, & More

Text Reserve Notices?  Yes, We Can!

Please let patrons know that we can indeed text reserve notifications to them!  Some very clever people have put their heads together and come up with a way that we can indeed do this, but for it to work we need help.  The phone number and note to text MUST be in Telephone Field 2. Do NOT write anything at all in Telephone Field 1-- numbers only.  Really.  Do not write "home" or "cell" or anything else in Telephone 1.This gums up the process.  If you need to add some sort of message, please do it in the Notes or Message fields.  You CAN write in Telephone 2; use it for a second number or if patron wants text messages.  Use "txt" before number.

So do let patrons know that texting is indeed an option and if they want to receive notifications that way, enter "txt" and the number in Telephone 2. Telephone 1 is the automatic reserve number; if they don't want reserves called at that number, then put that number in line 2 and the reseve number in line 1.

If you have any questions, please see Don or Nicki.

 

City Christmas Party

The City Employee Christmas Reception will be Wednesday, December 18, from 10 am to 5 pm at the Waldo Miles Pavillion at Sugar Hollow.  It's a drop-in open house, with hors d'oeuvres.  You can also register for prizes.  The drawings will take place on Thursday, and no, you do not have to be present to win!

 Sue M. Retires

Avoca's "Granny Sue" will be retiring at the end of this month.She will be dearly missed!  There will be a reception for her at Avoca on Wednesday, December 18, from 2:00 pm -4:00 pm .  If you'd like to leave a favorite memory of Sue, there are sheets posted on the employee bulletin board.

Thanks, Michelle!

The Staff Christmas party was quite the soiree! There was a good turn out, and thanks to our fabulous cooks, the food was incredibly delicious: sweet potato casserole, meatballs, macaroni salad, pea salad, peanut butter squares, cookies, and much more.  Most of all, thanks to Michelle for not only doing a lot of the cooking but for opening her home to all of her coworkers. We really appreciate it!

 

Happy Birthday!

Harrison    December 17 

  

Last and Least.... Alexander McCall Smith Display

We plan to take the photos of the display on Thursday, so if you have any African or Scottish items you'd like to contribute, please bring them by that day by noon.  If you don't want to risk them to the sometimes not so tender mercies of our patrons, we can just use them for the photo and return the same day.  Thanks!

 

Calling Reserves, Party, Birthdays & More!

Reserves

From Jud:

Library assistants in Circulation and Reference: Remember that calling for reserves is now a top priority. Even if you are by yourself at the desk, you can call for reserves if things are not busy. There is no one standing over you to make you do this, so I want each of you to be responsible for being sure that you follow through. If reminders are needed, you can remind each other. Many hands make light work. If everybody contributes, I’m convinced that notifications will be made quicker and service will improve.

Party!!

Remember that the staff Christmas Party is this Saturday night at Michelle's place.  If you haven't signed up, the sheet is on the refrigerator in the staff lounge.  She needs a head count and to know what folks are bringing.  Should be very festive!!

Happy Birthday!

Joan H.       December 6

Happy Birthday. . . and Happy Retirement!

Sue M. at Avoca celebrated a birthday on December 2 and will soon be celebrating a well-deserved retirement!  She's done a sterling job at Avoca, helping patrons and charming earger storytime groups as Granny Sue. We'll miss her, but wish her all the best-- and we still expect frequent visits!

Alexander McCall Smith Display

We're still working on the AMS display in hopes of winning a visit from the author.  (I'm also hoping to win the lottery, but it seems that one is supposed to buy a ticket first.   But I digress.) Brenda has contributed an elephant table, Don contributed a tea box even though he didn't know it, Jeanne brought plaid fleece throws, plaid bows, and an African necklace. If anyone else has anything to contribute, we'd greatly appreciate it!

Reminders, Flamingos, A Cow, and Scotland!

Friendly Reminders!

• Remember to give your United Way forms to Jud or leave them in his mailbox.  This is a great cause, and it would be nice to show the libray's support.

• Remember to sign up for the Staff Christmas party! Michelle needs to know how many are coming and who's bringing what.

"Eat Mor Turkee!"

And Speaking of Birds...

Courtesy of Doris:  There is evidently a "bolo" out for a strange Flamingo that appeared to be the first runner across the finish line in last Saturday's Turkey Trot Race.  This flamingo did indeed cross the line first, but it would appear it "cut short" the race route! The wily bird did stay around to cheer on the other runners and to party with the winners.

Does this rare bird look familiar?

 

 

 

Scottish & African Items Needed for Display!

 A publisher is having a contest for library displays promoting the books of Alexander McCall Smith, author of the Number One Ladies Detective Agency books as well as the 44 Scotland Street and Elizabeth Dalhousie series, both set in Scotland. We need

•  something plaid, like a tablecloth, blanket, throw, etca

• teapot and cups (NOT fancy, just plain cups or pot)

• anything else that would evoke the UK (especially Scotland) or Africa (especially Botswana)

These are things that will be out on display on top of a bookshelf, so do NOT volunteer anything that it would upset you to lose or have damaged. Thanks!!

(PS The winner of the contest gets a visit from Alexander McCall Smith!)

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

"Very funny!  Where's dinner??"

 

Flex Spending Alert!

 From Brenda:

The City of Bristol, Virginiais pleased to offer the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) pre-tax benefit for all eligible employees for 2014.  You can set aside money through payroll deductions, (up to $2,500 max) to pay for uncovered, qualified medical/dental or dependent care expenses.  As a result, you can save taxes on money spent for such purposes. 

Eligible new hires or employees who wish to participate for the first time, are required to meet with Flex Spending service providers to get details regarding enrollment or to decline enrollment.   Enrollment in a Flex Spending Account is strictly voluntary.

The City’s service provider for Flexible Spending Accounts in 2014 will be LD & B through AFLAC.  Representatives from AFLAC, Boyd Glover, Jr., and Fran Justice, with LD & B, are scheduled to be at City Hall, first floor, City Council Chambers executive room.

Monday, November 18, 2013                               Noon – 5:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013                             8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

If you currently have a flex card, now is a good time to check the current balance of your card. Contact Boyd Glover, Jr., at boyd_gloverjr@us.aflac.com (540) 294-0323 to get details on the grace period for submitting medical costs for 2013.

NOTE:  If you currently have the Flexible Spending Account and do not wish to continue in the plan, you need to do nothing as the plan will automatically stop the last payroll of 2013.

Vacations, Privacy, Get Well, & Party!

 Vacation Leave

From Jud:

"Library assistants at Main Reference and Circulation who get vacation leave: I’d like to work out a way to distribute vacation leave among you so that the opportunity to attach vacation time to holidays will be distributed fairly. That being the case, if you’d like to try to “nail down” any vacation time for next year, please let me know by sending me a “vacation” email message or putting a note in my box. I can’t make any guarantees other than to say the distribution method will be fair, and I’ll let you know what method I decide to use. Also, this will be your best way of reserving any particular dates for extended periods of a week or longer, so I encourage you to ask for those as well."

Patron Record Privacy 

From Jud:

"We are obligated by law and by policy to protect the confidentiality of our patrons. For this reason, any card-related activities (checkouts, computer passes, etc.) must be verified with a valid i.d. if the patron doesn’t present a card."

Note:  Be sure that parents are aware of this policy for their children who don't have identification.  The child must have his or her card to get on the computer or to check out, unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian who does has identification.

Get Well Wishes

Susan reports that Gary's surgery went "perfectly" and he is on the mend.  Susan, meanwhile, has been a bit under the weather but remains her cheery self.  

We've had a number of people either off sick or trying to fight off colds lately.    It's great that our patrons love books so much that they can't do without them even when they're sick, but unfortunately they bring in their germs with them. Remember to wash your hands and use hand santizer or else stock up on tissues and chicken soup!

Par-TAY!!

The annual staff Christmas party will be on Saturday, December 7, at Michelle's house on Highland Avenue.  The festivities will start at 6 pm.  We hope to already have ham, turkey, green beans, and mashed potatoes, but the rest will be covered dish provided by staff.  There is a sign-up sheet in the staff area so we'll know what everyone plans to bring and we won't end up with six cherry pies-- which I would not think a bad thing, but others' enjoyment may vary.

United Way

United Way contibution materials are being distributed.  If you have not gotten one, please see Jud. If you have any funds to spare, this is a worthy cause.  They have helped support the Adult Learning Lab in the past, as well as any  number of worthy causes. It would be wonderful if there was a good response from the library staff to this request.  You can turn your contibutions in to Jud or just leave them in his mailbox.  

 

Living Wills, Do Not Call, Happy BIrthday!

Health Series Program: Living Will

 Main's Health Series continues in November with a presentation on Advanced Medical Directives (aka Living Wills) and other end of life issues.  This is a topic people don't want to talk about or even think about, but odds are that all of us will come face to face with such questions at some point.  Hospitals have been encouraging people to make their wishes known early but only a small percentage of the population has any sort of legal statement of what measures they want taken in case of serious injury or illness. Dr. Tom  Townsend and Erin Downs will be the presenters.  The program will be on Thursday, November 14, at 7 pm. Please pass the word along to anyone who might be interested-- and if you yourself do not have a living will, do consider attending.

Doors & Gallery

Please do NOT ask Joyce to open or lock doors.  If you need a locked door open, call security.  Also, do not call Joyce with questions about Meeting Rooms or the Gallery.  Those questions need to go to Doris.

Happy Birthday!

Laurie  November 13

Happy (VERY Belated!)
Katie  (ALL) October 23

(Note:  I am working up the birthday list for the library.  If you do NOT want your birthday mentioned, please let me know.) 

 

Meeting Rooms, Bristol Questions, Holiday stuff & birthdays

Bristol Questions Sheets

If you haven't already, please turn in the stats on questions about Bristol to Jud.

 

Meeting Room Reservations

If someone calls to reserve a meeting room, do NOT transfer the call to Joyce. Joyce cannot make reservations.  The calls need to go to Doris, 276-821-6148.  (Inside the building, just dial 6148.) If Doris is not here, the caller can leave a message on voice mail. Thanks!

Staff Home Numbers

Do not give out staff home phone numbers to patrons.  This has happened at least twice recently.  If someone needs to contact a staff person, take down the requester's number and contact the staff person to give him or her the number.  The staffer can decide to contact or not.  Thank you!

Festive Stuff

• Yes, we will be putting out a box for the Holiday Mail For Heroes program
• Downtown Christmas tree lighting will be Monday, December 2, at 6:15 pm.  Hot chocolate and cider will be served, and music will be provided by local high schools. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be on Tuesday, December 3, at 6:15 pm.
• Downtown Christmas Parade will be on Thursday, December 5, starting at 7:00 pm.
•  The Paramount Christmas Show will feature Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver.  It will be on Saturday, December 7, at 7:30 pm.

 

Happy Belated Birthday

Ashley  October 25

Judy October 27

(Yes, I blew it again!  Sorry ladies... hope your days were happy ones with lots of noms!)