MAY
2019
| ISSUE
cover to cover
C. BLYTHE ANDREWS, JR. LIBRARY | RECOGNITION | COMMUNITY IMPACT
NO.
2
BY
ANDREW
BREIDENBAUGH
We all know that it is nice to get recognition for a job well done - for ourselves, for our team, or for the library. Recently our Library has been getting recognition for some of the ground-breaking innovations that you have worked so hard to implement: The Planning Commission recognized the John F. Germany Public Library for the preservation and education efforts with the Burgert Brothers photo collection; Library Journal recognized the innovative design of the Arthenia L. Joyner University Area Community Library; The Urban Libraries Council recognized the Library as a Top Innovator in 2018 for the modernization of our staffing model and workflows; The Florida Library Association has recognized the Library for our website, our partnership with WTTA, and as Florida's Library of the Year for 2019. As an organization - the library is working hard to make sure that you get the recognition that you deserve for a job well done. We have made major gains in engaging the community in our planning process. Now the Public Service team is creating a framework for ongoing employee engagement, input, and recognition as our community and our services evolve. You can expect to see additional opportunities for a wider variety of communication, training, conference attendance, organizational participation, and recognition for these efforts. Stay tuned…every day we are improving to be the most accessible library in Florida!
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A new C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library BY
DAVID
WULLSCHLEGER
The new C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library is the third library to serve the College Hill community since 1989 when library service began at the current site in a double-wide portable classroom that housed the library until a permanent structure was built in 1994. The library was originally called the College Hill Library and in 2010 was renamed after C. Blythe Andrews, Jr., who was the publisher of the Florida Sentinel Bulletin newspaper. The new two-story library is three times larger than the one it replaced and will house the archives of the Florida Sentinel Bulletin and a collection of Black Media in a dedicated space with a room for reading and research and a separate archive storage area on the first floor where there are meeting rooms that can be reserved for afterhours use, a Friends of the Library bookstore, and a lounge area with vending machines. Upstairs, there is a large reading room, an enclosed children’s room, makerspace, recording studio, four multi-purpose rooms, and an area for public computers. Three adjacent properties were purchased to provide additional parking space. The most striking feature of the new library is its contemporary design unlike any of our other libraries. In contrast to the old library that had very few windows, this library has a vast expanse of glass in both exterior and interior walls flooding the building with natural light and providing views of the century-old Grand Oak tree beside the library. The area surrounding the tree is fenced and will have a brick paved meandering pathway where a Public Art sculpture will be installed.
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LIBRARY ONLINE
INNOVATION BATTLE
OF
AWARD
THE
WINNER
BANDS
Outside of the Box BY
GIANCARLO
RENDINA
The Online Battle idea formed while I was finishing library school, sometime in late 2015. I wrote up the proposal as an exercise for one of my classes—it was more of a spitball reach-for-the-stars kind of thing. Honestly I just wanted to turn in a fun assignment. The inspiration came from the HIVE recording studios. Here was something concrete that was already built. I wanted to use the studios in a way that added to the existing usage framework. To increase the value of the investment in all of this space and hardware. After graduation, I continued to write proposals and elevator pitches. I talked to anyone who would listen about the idea. Which was fun, because I got to self-train in real time on delivering elevator speeches. It got to the point that I was actually surprised when I got the green light in 2018. I had just gotten used to the exercise of experimenting on people with the pitches. As we got underway in the first year an important question emerged: just how present is audio maker activity in our communities? We got a glimpse of an answer in 2018 and there was certain first-year success. I anticipate more growth in terms of interest and participation for 2019. People talk about thinking "outside of the box." That phrase kind of makes me freeze up. Where do you start if you’re getting outside of the things you know or are already established? I think more about what else the box can do.
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LIBRARY HCPLC
INNOVATION
OFFICIAL
AWARD
MUSIC
WINNER
VIDEO
Giving the Video the Energy BY
JARRELL
PULLIAM
Before the HCPLC song was created, I did not set out to make a rap song about the library. I’m still not really sure how it became that honestly. I wanted to do something fun and engaging that would showcase the myriad of things the library had to offer. At that time I had spent so much energy raving to my friends about the library and imploring them to get library cards. I quickly found out that people I was close to had no idea what I did at the library and had no idea that we had so many things to offer. (I was there once. I didn’t have a library card before I started working for THPL.). My initial thought was to make a video…not a music video…just a campy video that highlighted certain things. So I started writing down programs and different services and quickly it became too much to highlight just a few. As I looked at the list I saw a couple things that rhymed and thought jokingly, “I could actually make a song out of this.” Within fifteen minutes I had a verse and the chorus. I then recorded a scratch version on my phone and let a few people hear it and they seemed to genuinely enjoy it which honestly shocked me. This led to the process of recording the song at the studio at JFG and the collaboration with HTV to produce the video. Shelby Weaver at JFG helped during the recording of the song. He mixed and mastered the song and helped give it the liveliness it now has. Stemming from all of the positive feedback I have been getting, I have decided to spend more time creating music. I am currently working on a song to help promote the Online Battle of the Bands program. MAY
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LIBRARY ART
INNOVATION
TOUR
MOBILE
AWARD
WINNERS
APP
LATASHA
HARRISON
&
GABRIELLE
Thinking Beyond BY
LATASHA
HARRISON
Two emotions flowed over me when I saw my picture flash across the screen at Staff Day; Surprise and gratitude. Surprise because receiving this award was a total surprise to me and a sense of gratitude that I work in a library system that notices and applauds thinking beyond the box. So, I have to thank those who nominated me and supported my nomination. This recognition motivates me to continue my effort of making sure we are at the forefront of innovation and inspire and engage our community through technology. Technology is a powerful tool that provides us with freedom to use our imagination and kindle our creativity. Events like AfroCon and projects like the AR Art Tour encourage those who worked hard to make them happen as well as expands the imaginations of our community as to the types of innovation that can be produced right in their local libraries. Libraries are important cornerstones of our society and we should continue to strive to be a leading example of forward thinking and innovation. So, I encourage everyone to think beyond that comfortable box and make amazing things happen. We can only benefit from your ingenuity. Â
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THOMAS
HCPLC by the Numbers
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Employee Engagement Survey Results BY
ADAM
BERKOWITZ
Employee engagement is vital to the health and productivity of an organization. It is the status of how invested employees are in their work and the overall success of the organization, and vice-versa, how invested the organization is in the success of its employees. The Library recognizes how significant employee engagement is to its success, and more importantly values its employees as internal customers. In an attempt to engage its employees, the Library instituted a department-wide survey in order to gauge the condition of employee engagement. In addition, the Library has been gathering information from employees about various issues in the workplace in the form of comments at the end of the survey, and interviews conducted with employees in select branches. This has all been the first step in implementing a comprehensive employee engagement campaign. There is far too much information from the employee engagement survey results to be published in this article, but here are some highlights:
299
93
out of 344 HCPLC employees participated in the survey
72%
Employees left feedback which is being carefully considered by management.
33%
Of employees feel engaged which is on par with the national average for State Government employees.
68%
Of employees feel very satisfied with their jobs and working conditions which is better than the national average for State and Local Government employees.
Of employees believe that workload is properly distributed which is significantly higher than the national average for State and Local Government employees.
The Library understands and values all employees and their concerns, and it is heavily invested in helping employees acclimate to change, empowering employees to engage with managers, and solidifying the workforce so that it may operate as a cohesive unit. Â 8
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