SIRS meeting of October 8, 2003

Those present: R.Lagurre, B.Garber, D.Stefany, O.Chadley, B.Roberts, E.Yocco, M.Zellif, C.Todd, Y. Norris-Gonzalez

Adjustments to agenda: Add item from Ross re:procedure for
notifying desk staff when librarian is sick and has a desk time.

2) Welcome Desk- Michael Zeliff has raised the question regarding staffing
the Welcome Desk after 5pm and also on weekends. It was noted that basically M.Zeliff and the night crew respond to the alarm going off however other items were raised such as how welcoming the library is if no one is at the desk. We discussed the cost effectiveness of having a student sit at the desk
and the cost of stolen books. Also we discussed how patrons try to circumvent the alarm system. Sometimes however the staff at the desk are busy with patrons and cannot get to the welcome desk. It was decided the Sirs committtee will revisit the issue at a later date.

3)Breaks for Librarians on Saturday when it is only 1 librariran and a
student.
During the month of September when there is only 1 librarian scheduled
for Saturday and the only other person at the desk is a  student is it alright for the librarian to take a 15-20 minute break in the Sirs office? The
librarian will leave Debbi's phone number with the student so he/she is
on call. The break would be no longer than 15-20 min. and the student is
entitled to the same break. It was decided that this is acceptable as opposed to having another librarian be here early.

4)Librarian calling in sick. It was noted that there have been a couple
of times when a librarian has called in sick to the Team Leader who has
not filled the librarians desk shift. It is important for the desk staff
to know who will be filling in.

Please read the item from the Procedures Notes from the SIRS page:

Librarians are responsible for their chosen desk shifts. If you swap out
of your shift, it is your responsibility to correct the master schedule
out at the desk to indicate who will do your shift. If, you are not
coming in to the library due to an emergency and will not be able to do
your desk shift please call your team leader. You should also call the
McKeldin front desk 301-405-9075 (we open up at 8 AM), to alert
someone at the desk that you will not be coming in. The Team
is responsible for ensuring that the desk shift is appropriately covered. If you are unable to do your weekend shift due to an emergency, it is your responsibility to find a replacement. You should also call the McKeldin front desk (on Saturday we open up at 10, on Sunday we open up at noon) to notify that desk who will be subbing for you. Librarians missing desk shifts can expect to be called by colleagues.  Home telephone numbers are in the "Staff
Telephone #" binder above Evelyn's desk.

Round Robin: Otis  wanted to know what can be done about the parking
hassles on Saturdays when there is a game. We gave some suggestions and different routes to follow for those Saturdays. Cindy suggested that we check with Bill Hess to see if we can get some type of permit for these days so the
Police will let us pass and park.

Michael Zeliff asked when the color printer will be operational. The
general feeling is the first part of next week. We should have the
printer until January.

The meeting was the adjourned.