No Trace Requests

Please enter No Trace Requests on the No Trace Requests Sheet on the L: Drive:

L:\Templates & Forms\No Trace Request Sheet\ Not in Stock Item Request Sheet V3 Final.xlsx

Please pay attention to the different tabs on the sheet and put your requested items on the correct one e.g. Junior fiction on the Junior Fiction tab etc. Do not enter anything on the orange columns marked Library Support Only. Check it frequently for the progress of your requests.

Item Request Function

In order to keep track of where in stock item requests are and where they are going, we are going to trial using the Item Request function on Talis Alto from the 22nd May. This also acts as a Recalls function. Instructions are on the L: Drive:

L:\Staff Manual\Frontline Service Procedures\Stock\Item Request Function Instructions.docx

If this function works, we will be able to stop using the cards altogether.

CollectionHQ

Update 1

Previously I advised not to use Rebalance Push (in order to avoid situations with libraries pushing too much unwanted stock onto others) but it may be another way of processing excess stock. Before using it, check the Collection Use Summary report on CollectionHQ to see what libraries may be lacking in what areas. Notes on all CollectionHQ functions are on the L: Drive.

L:\Staff Manual\Frontline Service Procedures\Stock\CollectionHQ Notes

Update 2

Tasks have been revamped and standardised according to advised workflow patterns. We are also now using CollectionHQ for book withdrawal and disposal. First collection from them will happen next week (wb 29th June).

Excess stock

Relocating Stock

When relocating stock please make sure you are clear as to why it’s moving. We’ve been getting books arriving in Library Support with messages that mean nothing to us like ‘Seen’ which causes confusion for us processing items.

Last copies

This is currently being reviewed but when weeding, if the item is a last copy but the item can easily found to replace it if required (e.g. it’s a popular work or author e.g. Danielle Steel) then withdraw it. If you are not sure, pass it to Library Support to check. Reserve section should really be for works that are hard to get a hold of (rare or out of print) and still in demand.

Stock gaps

If you have gaps in your stock you are free to take what you need from Library Support either in person (as of 3rd May 2023) or just let us know you what need by sending an email to either myself and/or Paul Kennedy and Ted Collins. When taking things from Library Support, bear in mind the condition of the stock (if it looks grubby/shabby then leave it), then give them a quick issue and discharge on your library’s reservation shelf to reset the 4+ years Collection Check and 2+ year Dead Item Check on CollectionHQ.

CDs and DVDs

All CDs and DVDs should now have been withdrawn. CD and DVD Sale will take place on the 2nd-6th June at Elgin Library.

Art prints

These have now all been withdrawn. Currently working on pricing them with the aim of putting in a sale. I was working on the assumption that original works were donated to us. This is not the case and were in fact purchased by us.

ECALM

A new interest field on Talis Alto Borrower Records allows staff to note if the borrower has signed up with an ECALM card. Please ensure that his is ticked if required, this will be used for reporting the number of ECALM registrations that are processed on a monthly basis.

SPYDUS Update 1

We’ve signed the contract to move to Spydus by the end of the year. They’ve created a test system for us to get the feel of it. Please play around with it. Click on stuff!

https://trainmastermoray.spydus.co.uk/spydus#login

Login details were sent in the email with this update - email Kathryn if you cannot locate them.

SPYDUS Update 2

There is now a Spydus Focus Group on Teams for testing purposes and revising procedures. If you would like to join, please email Kathryn.

The addition of 2 new event types – “Library Event” and “Library Visit”:

• Library Event - covers any event that is put on by the library (not an Author talk – it has its own event category) – for example on Coronation Day Elgin had the coronation on the projector screen in the gallery/picnic tables/open to all as well as crafts (crafts were recorded as a seprate event). This didn’t fit into any of the existing categories and so Library Event has been created, anything that is done independently of partners or external organisations.
• Library Visit – covers any arranged or unarranged visit that takes place that is not a school/nursery – so for example Rainbows/Brownies/Scouts. If those groups are coming for a craft session or a storytime then it is recorded as that (Craft event/Storytime), but we do get visits from these groups that are not for a specific purpose and are not “library talk to group”.

The breakdown of 1 category into 3 – "Nursery/School Visit", has now become:

• - Nursery Visit
• - Primary School Visit
• - Secondary School Visit

As mentioned when theworkbooks were launched, they are evolving tools, so if you have any suggestions about how they could work better, any categories that you think would be useful, please let your Senior know.

Thanks, Gillian

Hi everyone

During Bookbug Week, many of the Bookbug sessions that are being delivered are for nurseries. There will often be no parents there and the question has been asked: is this classed as a "Bookbug session" or a "Nursery Visit" when recording it in the Branch Workbook as an event?

Our Bookbug Co-ordinator, Kathryn has clarified that all outreach visits to nurseries or visits to libraries by nurseries, when Bookbug content is delivered should recorded as a Bookbug session.

Please review your workbooks and ensure that all events are recorded correctly, i.e. if a nursery came to your library and Bookbug was there, then record it as a Bookbug session.

Thanks, Gillian

If staff would like to claim time for extra hours, please add this to your AL spreadsheet. If staff would like payment for the extra hours, please complete the P26a timesheet for contracted staff. The old TOIL sheet is now obsolete.

Thanks, Charlie

Hi everyone,

Please take note of the following in respect of NEC:

Other Local Authorities - Please be aware that we do NOT process new or renewal NEC applications for people who live outwith the Moray Council area. The only circumstances where we would be dealing with another local authority card is where the customer has moved to Moray and wishes to transfer the card to the Moray Council authority.

Acceptable NEC Proofs: As several utility bills and bank statements are now sent to customers online, it is OK to accept online versions as proofs, as well as the original posted paper ones.

Thank you, Belinda

Hi everyone,

Please monitor your shared inbox closely. It is the responsibility of all staff to check it regularly throughout the day and to action anything that comes in. If you are unable to resolve the email at that time, please mark it as Unread so that other staff know it still needs to be dealt with.

Could staff also please delete items as soon as they are resolved. There is a lot of information coming in, and inboxes full of unnecessary items make it very difficult for staff coming on shift, or reliefs who need to catch up quickly, to find the important items fast.

If you are scanning items such as bus pass photos or documents for Infohub enquiries, then it is good practice to delete items once resolved for privacy issues, as well as courtesy towards colleagues. Please also remember to give any bus pass photos etc emails your name as well as the customer name, so that if you have to hand over your enquiry other staff are able to find the relevant information.

Thanks, Charlie

Lost and Damaged

Please use the following updated guidance with customers if items are identified as lost or damanged.

• Under 5s stock - no charges for lost or damaged items - either on child or adult card
• Non-Fiction - in line with stock policy (EG generally no charge for books 10+ years old, (Exceptions apply Travel Books/Computer Books 5+ years, Local History Books 20+ years)
• Fiction Books - No charge for books 5+ years old (otherwise charge determined by age/amount of issues)
• Invoice customers where value of items is in excess of £100 (£15 currently) for items valued under £100 total add charge info to card, as currently do with under £15 items
• Exceptions may apply for high value/last copies
• Seek advice from your line manager if in doubt on any of the above points

Hi everyone,

I want to share some news that has been bubbling away under the surface for the last little while.

Over the last few months we have been reviewing our contract with Talis which as many of you will be aware has been in place for a considerable amount of time.

As of last week I am delighted to announce that we have taken the decision to move away from Talis and have formally signed a contract with Sypdus.

We are now looking at around a six to eight month implementation process, which will see us move to adopt Spydus as our new library management system towards the end of the calendar year.

This represents a massive and much needed opportunity for the service to review some of our policies and procedures that have been in place for a long time, and/or have been developed because of things Talis can and can’t do, and will give us a much more user friendly system that will open up new ways of working.

It also has provided us with an opportunity to make a significant budget saving on the Talis contract, which was a contributing factor, but not the primary motivator, as the new system is a significant upgrade on our existing version!

Spydus is also in use across much of the rest of Scotland so Moray users will be able to access library services in neighbouring authorities without needing to rejoin, and vice versa, visitors to Moray will be able to access library services here without needing to join anew, as long as they are resident and a member of an authority using Spydus.

I’m sure you will have a host of questions but I’m probably not in a position to answer anything too technical at the moment, if you look at the catalogue home pages for Aberdeenshire or Highland you will get a sense for the look and feel for the public interface, and the potential is there to integrate our e-content alongside our events, alongside our archives/heritage catalogue etc.. to provide a much more fluid customer experience.

We will share more details when the change process really kicks off after the Easter Holidays following an implementation meeting with Spydus, and as things develop I would like staff across the service involved as much as possible prior to going live, in designing and testing how the system will work for us, so watch this space for those opportunities!

Thanks, David

Recording Enquiries across Libraries, Learning Centres and Heritage

From today, we will stop using the old manual count for enquiry tracking.

We will now track all enquires through the online Library Enquiry form:

https://online.moray.gov.uk/site/interchange/intrequest/LibrariesEnq

Please note this is a new link – and should replace any previous link for this form you have bookmarked/saved etc!!

Open this form and complete it for each complex enquiry you complete:

• Information
• Tourist Information
• Digital
• InfoHub
• Local Heritage
• Services and Events
• Comments and Compliments

Depending on what you select under enquiry type, different options appear related to the context for the enquiry, so should be straightforward enough to use! For full details of the fields and guidance, there is a user guide on the L Drive (L:\Staff Manual\Frontline Service Procedures\Enquiries – recording) – as you are all familiar with the use of this type of form for InfoHub enquiries, it should be fairly intuitive – however what you need to think about is what you are recording as an enquiry.

What are we recording as an enquiry?

From now on we do not need to record the transactional enquiries that we get; i.e. the enquiries we used to categorise as “Reference” and “Lending” and recorded as a bar gate system on a weekly sheet. These are enquiries we do as day to day operations of the library service and although a number of these can tell us how busy we are, they do not offer us any real insight into what our customers need or want from our service that is not being recorded in other systems (TALIS, Collection HQ, Bookings, etc.).

The things that we will be recording are determined by enquiry types listed above, so basically anything that doesn’t relate to the lending/reader services and takes time and investigation.

The rule of thumb is that if it took you time, and it is not related to reader services, i.e. book related, then you should record it – not a couple of minutes to deal with the basic stuff done in all libraries, but 5-10 minutes of investigation or customer assistance.

Recording these types of enquiries lets us see where we are adding value to customers visits and see where we need to potentially develop services or resources to meet needs. This will be of real benefit to the service and so it is important to make this part of your working practice – completing the form as and when you are handling your enquiry.

Feedback and Comments

If you have any queries about this, please discuss with your Senior LIA/Librarian. If you have any queries about the operation of the form, please contact Gillian Heron, who has been working with IT to develop this tool.

We value your feedback, this tool and way of working will evolve as we get a better understanding of how we can use the data it delivers.

2022 Register of Electors are now on order from the Assessor Electoral Registration Office. They are currently being printed so should be with us very soon.

Message from David,

I just wanted to share some positive news with you, that at the Corporate Committee meeting this morning charging for services for the coming financial year were under review, and the decision was taken to remove library fines for the coming financial year!

This is a massive step forward for the service, removing a significant barrier to access, both real and perceived for a great many people.

We will work through the detail and more comms will follow, and we will look to take advantage of the positive PR this will generate to reconnect people with the service.

As things stand this applies to newly incurred debt from fines, not to historic debt or charges that have been accrued from other sources, (Hire charges, Print outs etc.. standard charges still apply)

While the decision technically applies to the new financial year, from the 1st April, we will lose more than we gain through enforcing fines over the next couple of months so would ask that you waive anything that fits the criteria until we come up with a more formal solution.

Any queries – contact David.