HCPLC Cover to Cover Dec. 2019

DECEMBER 2019 |Â ISSUE NO. 4

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FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN COLLECTION | NEW DIGITAL LANDSCAPE | INDUSTRY COMMENDATION

ANDREW

S.

DIRECTOR

BREIDENBAUGH OF

LIBRARY

SERVICES

Thanks to your hard work we were recognized as the 2019 Florida Library Association Library of the Year. Your efforts in providing excellent customer service kept us at a 98% approval rate and helped build community prosperity. This year we celebrated the grand re-opening of the C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library, launched a new catalog with HCPLC Connect, and welcomed 3.3 million customers through our doors.

We have increased passport acceptance services by 136%. The funds generated through passport acceptance support the maintenance and growth of this service.

In addition, passport revenue will support a collection of Go Pro cameras that will be available for our customers to checkout and enjoy in 2020.

As we look forward to a new year and focus on our professional and organizational development, I want to thank you for all that you do. Your dedication to our customers and our community is the reason why we are the best library in the state of Florida. I would like to wish each of you Happy Holidays – enjoy and be safe!

Florida Sentinel Bulletin Collection BY

GLYNNIS

G.

The dedication for the newly renovated C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library in East Tampa occurred on Sunday, May 26, 2019.

On that exciting day, state and local dignitaries, the Andrews family, Library Administration, and members of the public toured the branch and attended the ribboncutting ceremony.

The 25,000 sq. foot contemporary building houses a recording studio with Adobe Creative Cloud software, generous meeting room spaces, library area for children, an art gallery, and the Florida Sentinel Bulletin Collection.

The new state-of-the art building is a far cry from the original College Hill Public Library, which opened in 1989 in a temporary 800 sq. foot double-wide trailer. In 1994, a permanent building replaced the trailer and in 2010 the branch was renamed in honor of C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Mr. Andrews was a businessman, community leader, and the owner-publisher of the African-American newspaper, the Florida Sentinel Bulletin.

GILBERT,

LIBRARIAN

The Florida Sentinel Bulletin is one of the most influential African American newspapers in Florida. In 1945, C. Blythe Andrews, Sr. began the Florida Sentinel newspaper in Tampa. In 1959, the newspaper merged with another African American newspaper, the Tampa Bulletin, to form the Florida Sentinel Bulletin. The Florida Sentinel Bulletin became the primary Tampa newspaper that published news articles, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, and photographs related to the African American community.

Consequently, the Florida Sentinel Bulletin newspaper is often the only surviving record of events that occurred in Tampa’s African American neighborhoods. Our community told the Library through the 2020 Vision plan that local history digitization and preservation is a high priority. Therefore, the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library is committed to providing digital access to the local history resources of our community.

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Florida Sentinel Bulletin Collection - continued

Brochure Preview

In May 2019, the C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library received 118 bound volumes of the Florida Sentinel Bulletin newspaper (1945-2010) and microfilm (1947-2008). The newspaper volumes are the centerpiece of the C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library’s Florida Sentinel Bulletin Collection. Our special collections library is located on the first floor of the C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library. The materials consist of a reference collection of books related to the history of African Americans in media, a small circulating collection of books donated by the Andrews family, microfilm reels of Jet magazine, and bound and microfilm reels of Ebony.

The next phase of the project will be to increase both staff and public awareness of HCPLC’s African American resources. For example, through our recently acquired ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Black Newspapers Collection, customers can view photographs and engage in full-text searching of many of the nation's most well-known African American newspapers, including the Chicago Defender, Atlanta Daily World, New York Amsterdam News, and The Baltimore Afro-American. Professionally designed brochures and new library webpages will also be created to increase community outreach. Ultimately, the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library plans to digitize the Florida Sentinel Bulletin and create an online obituary index for the newspaper.

Library Traffic = Facilities Managementt BY

DUSTIN

KIRBY,

LIBRARY

I am excited to be a part of the Hillsborough County Libraries as the new Library Facilities Manager. A healthy, growing library system attracts foot traffic, and the more foot traffic, the more maintenance that needs to be completed at our facilities on a regular basis in order to keep our buildings welcoming and functional.

I bring over 15 years of experience in Facilities Management. I have worked as a Maintenance Technician, a Licensed Builder, and a Facilities Manager, most recently with YMCAs in Louisville, KY. From coordinating preventive and corrective maintenance, to managing capital improvement projects, to gathering data to be used in lifecycle and business plans, my expertise is taking the information about a facility and using it to create predictive maintenance plans and lifecycle replacement plans.

I received my Bachelors in Business Administration from Florida International University and I became a Certified Facility Manager through the International Facility Management Association. I strive for continuous improvement and am always looking to improve my skills. In my previous Facility Management roles and as a former owner of a Facility Service business, I have been able to see what works in facilities and how buildings are not simply a space for people to gather in, but a place

FACILITIES

MANAGER

to learn, visit, and relax. Facilities need to be well maintained, safe, appealing, and have an eye toward energy efficiency. My goal is to help facilitate an already working process.

For preventive and corrective maintenance, the County Facilities Team takes care of our buildings, and I will act as the follow up to large, complex, or time-sensitive issues. I will also work with the R3M department on Repair, Renovation, and Replacement projects. Along with other involved staff, I will work to ensure that projects are completed quickly and with as minimal disruption as possible.

I will spend much of my time in the field visiting you and monitoring the library facilities. I will use the data that I will be gathering to help create 1, 3, and 5 year replacement plans. My goal is to have building systems, components, and rooms remodeled in a planned, consistent, and timely manner. With the Libraries serving the public, we want to provide safe, functional, and visually appealing facilities.

I look forward to helping you continue to provide welcoming libraries for the public to enjoy.

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New Digital Landscapet BY

JENNY

TOLBERT,

LIBRARIAN

I am the new Digital Librarian for Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library. I received both my BA in Humanities and MLIS from the University of South Florida. Before joining HCPLC, I worked as a project manager with Nelson Poynter Memorial Library’s digital and special collections at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg (USFSP), and as a reference librarian with PascoHernando State College. Prior to these positions, I actually began my library career here at HCPLC, working on the (former) Bookmobile with the fantastic MTS crew. I am very happy to return to HCPLC to use my background to grow and develop the unique digital collections here in our region.

During my work with USFSP, I had the chance to build the library’s digital repository for local and university history. Working with these digital collections can often include quirky technical considerations or particular restrictions. No two collections are ever the same. From copyright permissions to metadata best practices to preservation plans, it is important to consider each project for its current and future uses. Thankfully, these are the details that I love working through.

Like so much of what we do generally in the library, our goal is to create collections that are meaningful and accessible to all of our patrons.

Over the last few months, we have begun the process of reaching out to branch staff and patrons who are excited to display their local projects. They include voices from our community, resources for historical and genealogical research, or important items that can currently only be accessed in person. As my position evolves, I aim to develop and offer staff a simple workflow for submitting collection proposals. If a patron approaches you with an idea, or if you see an opportunity to highlight a community connection digitally, I want you to have clear procedures that give you tools to assess, and if applicable, move forward with a collection plan. You may already be working on a project that seems right for our digital collections. If you are, some initial questions to consider are: · Is it relevant and interesting to our local or regional community? · Is the creator historically or culturally significant, either locally or broadly? · Does it support a current collection or fill a weakness in our collections? · Is the material suitable for online use? Is it already or easily digitized? · Is it available online anywhere else? · Are there any copyright restrictions?

More information will be shared as these processes are established, and I’m very excited to work with you and our vibrant communities. If you have questions about projects or digital collections, please feel free to email or call.

Meet Seant BY

SEAN

DIVISION

MCGARVEY MANAGER,

LIBRARY

My family came to Florida when I was a preteen and lived in Palm Harbor. My first job in a library setting was as an Assistant IT Technician for the Palm Harbor Library, whereupon I was surprised to discover that my boss Dana Dockery had issued my first Palm Harbor Library card to me at 13 years old. I spent four years working for Palm Harbor and enjoyed it so much that I went to school during that time for my master’s in library science.

When I graduated, I spent another year with Palm Harbor before accepting a position as the IT Librarian for Hernando County Library System. While there I spent my time helping to update the county infrastructure, WiFi, and computers. I also spent an afternoon helping to wrangle goats in a small town called Istachata, feel free to ask me about it when you see me.

SUPPORT

SERVICES

When I was asked to become Division Manager of Library Support Services for the TampaHillsborough County Public Library, I jumped at the chance to work with such a dynamic library system. We have the resources, talent, and commitment to truly make a difference in our patrons’ lives, and it’s those factors that made me so happy to become part of this team!

My door is always open to anyone with a good idea or improvements we can make, and the alien on my desk is full of candy, so stop on by or shoot me an email.

After two years in Hernando I was offered the chance to become Library Administrator for Pasco County Library System. I spent seven wonderful years helping the library grow and evolve. I oversaw the IT, support, and training departments, as well as supervised four branches. There are many things I'm proud of there, but one of the most important was helping to create and pass the county's first library bonds in 30 years. The bond will allow that county to remodel all seven of its libraries for the first time since the system’s creation. I helped create the first FIRST Robotics competition team housed in a library in the nation. I also helped create the system’s first library wood shop makerspace in Land ‘O Lakes and a test kitchen.

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Incentivizing Digital BY

RENELDA

MANAGER

SELLS

OF

TECHNOLOGY

&

COLLECTIONS

Efforts to incentivize digital in FY19 spanned all areas of service from purchasing, marketing, programming, staff training, and spending a considerable amount of time helping customers learn more about our digital resources and the devices they use to access them. Staff rose to the occasion and the results are in!

100% DIGITAL

SUMMER READING including promotional materials and the library’s Summer Reading incentive programs for all ages.

BEANSTACK Active promotion of Beanstack, our online reading tracker, led to 4,325 readers logging 2,245,483 minutes read.

A significant increase over FY18 with 13% increase in readers and 28% increase in minutes read.

TECH INSTRUCTION Attendance was up 3% over FY18 with 8,281 attendees.

Libraries held 2,145 technology sessions (7% increase over FY18) One on one tech instruction spiked from 181 sessions in FY18 to an amazing 698 in FY19.

SOCIAL

MEDIA

There wer e 418 soc ial media incentivizin posts g digital a c r o s s Facebook (main and branch pages), In stagram, a nd Twitter more than to 16,682 fo llowers.

Incentivizing Digital - continued OUTREACH COMMUNITY EVENTS Staff talked to 51,980 customers about our digital resources at more than 712 outreach events.

LIBRARY CONNECTION OFFSITE Hoopla Engage was installed at Citrus Park Mall and the Edgecomb County Courthouse in the jury duty waiting room to offer limited free access to eBooks.

Stickers were added to DVDs informing the public when the items were also available on Hoopla.

BECAUSE OF YOU! All staff working together with a common goal helped lead to a 19% increase in the circulation of eBooks and all downloadable materials in FY19.

We now have over a quarter million unique users of Overdrive, and Hoopla saw an average of 610 new users added each month for a total of 7,935 new users this past year.

Thank you for all that you do!

Congratulations to all of our staff whose commitment to the organizational goal of incentivizing digital content has made the difference.

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Save the Date STAFF DAY FEBRUARY 17, 2020 8:30 A.M. - 5:30 P.M.

Love exchanging community and after school ideas

2020 Location: HB Plant High School, 2415 S. Himes Ave. Tampa, FL 33629 2020 Theme: Staff development and team building.

There will be networking opportunities, exhibits, awards, contests, and more!

HCPLC in the Community Thank you to everyone for participating in outreaches this year. As part of the goal to incentivize digital, you were able to share the library’s digital resources and services with over 51,980 people at outreach events this year.

The outreaches that reached the most amount of people were the Gasparilla Children’s Parade in January, the MetroCon convention in July, and the Tampa Riverwalk Trick or Treat event in October.

Because of you, the library participated in over 712 outreach events this year throughout Hillsborough County, which is substantially more outreach events compared to last year. See which spots you have visited and enjoy a brief photo recap.

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7.2019 The Hundred Dresses @ Henry & Ola Park

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8.2019 Back to School Info Fair @ MacDill Air Force Base

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9.2019 Family Fall Fest @ Water Works Park

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10.2019 YES! F.A.I.R. @ All People's Life Center

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Industry Commendation

t s r u H e i r r a C “Please join us in congratulating our very own Carrie Hurst who is the University of South Florida School of Information's 2020 Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumni Award winner. The award is presented annually to an alumnus whose outstanding professional career achievements serve as a role model for all information science graduates.

Carrie was nominated due to her dedication to the profession, the compassion she shows towards patrons, and her commitment to improving the lives of those she serves.

Carrie’s accomplishments have been many and varied and we are fortunate to have her as a member of staff.

We thank her for her many contributions and years of work on behalf of our library and community. Congratulations Carrie!”

Jacquelyn Zebos Division Manager, Public Services

2019 A Year in Review Please enjoy a look back at how the community used the library in 2019.

We will be featuring this on our website so that the community can see the most popular items and take a fun look at some of their library achievements this year.

Looking forward to a great 2020!

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