JGRLS Director's Report for June, 2010
Submitted by Carol C. Hewlett, JGRLS Director

Grants:
Both Yvonne Parton and Leanna Simpkins received scholarship grants to work on their masters degrees in library science at USM. Rex Bridges' grant application for energy use monitors we can check out to the public was awarded by Singing River Electric. Nine JGRLS staff members applied and were recommended by me for participation in the MLC Librarianship 101 Institute. I believe this is the most interest we've seen shown in this one of a kind training opportunity. We don't expect all nine will be selected from one system, but we hope several of our staff members are chosen for participation this year.

Branch /Department Visits:
I visited Ocean Springs, St. Martin, East Central, Moss Point and Lucedale branches this month. Most of the branches I visited were decked out for our Summer Reading Program, looking festive and very inviting. Alisa St. Amant continued to manage the daily workings of the Pascagoula Branch, with Cindy Winters continuing to work on the schedule for that branch. As I write this we all eagerly await the arrival of Lori Ward Smith on Monday, June 21st. Her orientation schedule is set for her first full week and involves meeting the JGRLS Regional Board, all PG and JGRLS administrative staff, visits to all of the branches, a visit to Pascagoula City Hall and a tour of Pascagoula.

Other Meetings:
JGRLS (in addition to any scheduled Regional Board meetings) Met with Karen Wells in budget preparation session, attended managers meeting in Lucedale, and met with Bethany Carlisle regarding Youth Services programs. Meetings later in the month include meeting with Bruce Grimes, Dennis Cowart, Rex Bridges and Alisa St. Amant on the preliminary drawings for capital improvement projects, branch managers meeting, Tech Team meeting and orientation of Lori Ward Smith June 21-25.

Community Meetings:
Weekly Rotary Club meetings.

Miscellaneous Other Activities:
Attended the flag pole dedication ceremony at the Moss Point branch. The new pole, flag and mounting site were dedicated to Charlie and Eva Roithmayr, long time Friends and supporters of the library. They spearheaded the effort to get a new flag pole and Charlie searched for an American flag made in America to fly. The Friends and Gabe Giovannitti planned this event which was well attended, especially since it was outside on a day when heat advisories were out. We hosted a visit from four librarians and technology staff from Harrison County, MS. The major exchange was concerning our new self check and print system for the public computers. They also took a copy of our new Rules of Conduct for the patrons and agreed to share with us the policy they are working on regarding public access to their records.

We had to close PG/HQ on Monday, June 14th due to HVAC issues. The problem was corrected and then came up again briefly the next day. I met with the owner of the company that services the system and explained that when temperatures go over 85 and remain for several hours we not only have to close this branch and send all branch and administrative staff home, we also have to take down our servers. This means none of the other seven branches in two counties have access to the Internet or our circulation system. This results in no access to public computers and staff have to go to a back-up circulation system. He asked for and received extra keys to our HVAC room. These keys do not let them into the building. By contract they have four hours to respond and he indicated that we would likely not get any company to promise in writing they will provide a quicker response. But, I do think he has a better understanding now of the ripple effects to a slower than usual response here. Alisa is checking with Mississippi Power about the power outages he said caused the HVAC problems. I alerted Bruce Grimes and Marjorie Albrycht, our board chair and vice chair, of the closing, as well as board member Jo Anne Anderson because she is a frequent visitor working on a project in the Genealogy and Local History Department.

---

JGRLS Director's Report for May, 2010
Submitted by Carol C. Hewlett, JGRLS Director

Grants:

We should hear in June about the grant program entitled Bridging Sustainable Communities – Increasing Community Access to Broadband. This is the grant we were asked to be a partner on with MGCCC and other local library systems. Leanna Simpkins and Yvonne Parton both interviewed at MLC for LSTA grants to support their pursuit of master's degrees in library science. Becky Wheeler plans to pursue the USDA Community Facilities Loans and Grants for Rural Libraries for collection development purposes. Rex has submitted a grant that would allow us to loan out energy use monitoring devices for patrons interested in finding problems in energy consumption at their homes and businesses. Other LSTA grant applications are being considered at this time.

Branch /Department Visits:

Alisa St. Amant has temporarily moved her office downstairs to better manage the daily work at the Pascagoula library. Cindy Winters continues to do the schedule for that branch and Yvonne is doing their monthly reports. All will gladly hand over these duties to Lori Ward Smith when she arrives to take the position as Pascagoula Manager on June 21, 2010.

Other Meetings:

JGRLS (in addition to any scheduled Regional Board meetings) Met with Helen Barlow, Dana Woods and Janis Zuleeg on the revised floor plans developed by Dennis Cowart for these branches. Met with Bethany Carlisle to discuss ongoing YS projects and issues and address the system-wide YS meeting to outline Bethany's role for the other YS staff. Held budget meetings with Karen Wells. Met with the Collection Development Committee, and the Tech Team. The Volunteer Reception set for May 27th is always a highlight of our year and another event that is planned by a staff committee. Held regular branch managers and all managers meetings. With Stacie Zorn, several of us planned for and gathered for a hearing regarding an unemployment appeal but the judge dismissed it when the former employee could not be contacted for the meeting.
Community Meetings: Weekly Rotary Club meetings, monthly Women's Club meeting and the monthly CANDY board meeting.

Miscellaneous Other Activities:

Worked on blending the various plans worked on by groups of staff members into one system-wide strategic plan. Worked on the annual Mississippi Public Library System Accreditation Program report due in to MLC on May 31, 2010. Helped plan a celebratory brunch in honor of Dana Woods receiving her master's degree in library science. Our chosen candidate for the Technical Services Manager position withdrew, after she had accepted the position. So we are re-advertising that position and hope to fill it quickly.

Special Note:

The JGRLS administrative staff members are to be commended for carrying on and filling in the gaps caused by a vacancy in the Technical Services Manager and Pascagoula Public Library Manager positions. They have done this at a time when I was out more than usual for doctor appointments and treatments as well. Alisa St. Amant, Cindy Winters, Yvonne Parton and the Technical Services Department staff have been particularly impacted, but all of the administrative managers and staff have had to carry a bit of an extra load lately and have done it well and with little to no complaint. The branch managers and staff have carried on as well, with no noticeable dip in programming or services.

And I appreciate the personal support I have received from the staff and the board.

Thank you, all of you.