Submitted by Tricia Syler
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)
The 2% COLA increase will be on your next pay stub (January
15, 2021). This pay increase is
available to all employees no matter when you were hired.
COVID Vaccine
We are monitoring the (little) information we have regarding
the vaccine and will do our best to push for library staff to have access to
the vaccine as soon as possible. If you
do become eligible to receive the vaccine, we encourage you to get it as soon
as you can.
Curbside Pickup
Hall County Public Libraries have recently returned to
curbside pickup only at the request of Hall County Government. This request was made, in part, because the
hospital in Gainesville, Northeast Georgia Medical Center, is reaching capacity
and the County is taking extra precautions to try and slow the spread of
COVID. Appointments can still be made at
the branches for computer needs and to conduct other business.
Usage of the FCPL curbside service has dramatically
decreased since its peak in June. We are no longer able to isolate
curbside circulation totals using automated reports, as the service takes place
throughout various hours that we are open. But the number of curbside
service patrons per month tells the story of its decreased usage:
|
May |
5,189 |
|
June |
6,180 |
|
July |
2,742 |
|
August |
1,090 |
|
September |
859 |
|
October |
681 |
|
November |
534 |
|
December |
572 |
Library use for tutors has increased but numbers are still
down. Some tutors now work exclusively
online. All branches report that they
have a consistent group of tutors that come in regularly although their time
working at a branch seems to be limited.
Each branch also has patrons who come and use the library for extended
periods or sometimes multiple times a day.
We have slimmed down the seating options that are available at the
branches and this seems to help keep the number of extended visitors down.
Virtual Author
Visit
Tracy Walker announced that FCPL will have youth author,
Aisha Saeed, with us for a special author talk on Saturday, March 6th
at 11:00 a.m. We will keep you posted as
more details of this exciting event are made available.
Writers group
Holly Raus was excited to share her recent virtual visit
with her writing group! They had a
wonderful meeting and it was a great time for the participants to connect and
touch base with other youth writers.
Loanie the Bookmobile
Anna gave a shout out to Joanie Goforth who recently gave an
impromptu tour of our Bookmobile to Chris Grimes, Director of the Forsyth
County Emergency Management Agency. Her
willingness to step up with no notice was greatly appreciated!
Bookmobile trips to the mobile home and apartment
communities have proved to be hugely successful! When the kids of the neighborhood spot Loanie
pulling in they run home to grab their books and can’t wait for their turn to
browse the shelves and make their new selections!
Finance Updates
Nikki announced that finance is wrapping up their
preparations of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget that will be presented to the
Library Board at the next meeting scheduled for January 20, 2021.
Support Services will also be jumping back into preparations
for the new Finance & HR software. The process is complex and will take
considerable time before the switch can happen.
Anna and Nikki are in the process of providing additional
information to the consultants regarding the salary study. When communications on the findings is
complete, an update will be available.
Political Discussion
We recognize the challenges that you have faced in serving
the public during this hot political climate.
We know that some patrons wish to discuss these topics and we encourage
you to do your best to avoid these conversations. Knowing that everyone will not agree on
political matters, it’s best to keep these discussions to a minimum with fellow
staff as well.
Kudos to HP and SF on your successful hosting of polling
places for the recent elections. We know
that it takes time to coordinate all that is needed to make this happen.
Reading Challenge
Registration for #WeKnowBooks
2021 is under way with 25 staff members already registered! Staff will be challenged to complete 6 of the
12 reading tasks. Patrons will be
invited to participate as well. A new
task to complete will be released to patrons each month via social media. If you haven’t already registered head over
to SharePoint and sign up now!
Also, don’t forget about our next Whatcha Reading? meeting that will be held next Thursday, January
14th at 11:00 a.m. This is
such a great opportunity to (virtually) meet up with fellow employees and
discuss your latest read!
Lastly, thank you for all of your continued hard work! Please continue to read the FCPL Staff Blog
and keep your questions coming!
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