Update: 3 to 7 October

In this post I will share information regarding:

·         The central filing system

·         Children’s reading material

·         Moving of books on level 4

·         The new Library Executive Director

·         International presentations

Central Filing system (on level 3)

The central filing system on level 3 has been changed from print to an electronic shared and support drive (Admin Hub).  In future there will be no more paper copies of any documents unless as requested by line managers.

Children’s reading material

I refer to my e-mail send to you on 10 October: Should have any reading material appropriate for primary school children, please drop it off at Vivian’s office. This material will be used for primary school libraries.

Moving of books on level four
The shelving staff will start this week to move the books on level four to the right in order to create space for books in the 400 class. Book recently re-labelled in this class is currently placed on the right of this level. Once the moving of books has been completed, it will be interfiled with the rest of the 400’s on the left of this level.

New Executive Director for the Library

I suppose you all received the e-mail that Dr R Bawa has been appointed as Executive Director for the library. She will start in her new position on 1 January 2012. Below a picture of our new ED.

International presentations

Pavlinka has been selected to do two international presentations at the IAMSLIC (International Association of Aquatic & Marine Science Librarians and information Centre) Conference in Zanzibar, Tanzania and the other at the International Annual Internet Librarian Conference in London, UK. Both presentations will be done in October. Good luck, Pavlinka, we know it will go well.

Final Performance Reviews

Final performance reviews should be completed for all staff by the end of the month. I would like to refer you to Circular 2011-626.

The process will be as follows:

-          Your manager will make an appointment with you during the course of this month.
-          You will be requested to complete the ‘self-rating’ before the meeting with your line manager and to collect your evidence.
-          During the meeting with your line manager, your self-rating will be discussed and he/she will give you his/her impression of your performance and evidence.
-          It is important to note that your ratings will be finalized during the consistency meeting, taking into context your performance against that of the rest of the group.
-          All reviews should be completed by 26 October, the consistency meeting for APK will be held on 28 October.

According to the circular, the following scale will be used:

5	Excellent	-          Exceeds all objectives and standards by constantly delivering exceptional performance.  -          Functions as a role model setting standards of excellence. -          Excellent feedback from both internal and external stakeholders, where relevant, whilst high levels of expertise and initiatives are demonstrated. -          Contribute constructively to the team through taking a leadership position.
4.5	Superior	-          Performance in most areas noticeably ahead of expectation. -          Skills are highly developed.  -          Contributes constructively to the team at all times.
4	Very Good	-          Performance in many areas noticeably ahead of expectation. -          Skills are highly developed.  -          Contributes constructively to the team at all times.
3.5	Achieved more than contracted	-          Performs above the required level of competence.
3	Competent	-          Performs at required level of competence. -          Has achieved the requirements and standards as agreed to.
2	Moderate	-          Performance in some areas well below expectations.  -          Remedial action plan to be agreed and implemented for development area(s).  -          Inconsistent in meeting standards.  -          Requires supervision to ensure performance.  -          May not have all the required skills or may not apply skills.  -          May be unsuitable for the position.
1	Poor	-          Unacceptably poor performance.  -          Significant underachievement against objectives where the employee performs at a consistently low level. -          Poor levels of achievement impact on the team, internal and external clients.

In order to prepare for your review, have a look at the following articles:

http://www.halogensoftware.com/resources/reference-library/preparing-for-your-appraisal.php

http://www.career-change-mentor.com/get-ready-for-performance-review.html

Good luck to all of you!

Update: 26 to 30 September

In this post the following information will be shared:

·         Faculty Librarians

·         Feedback from Campus Librarians meeting

·         Feedback from the Mancom meeting

·         Unisa postal collection

·         Security issues

Update: 19 to 23 September

In this post I will provide feedback on the Collection Management and Development Task Team (CDMTT) meeting as well UJ Diversity week and Heritage day.

Weekly update: 12 to 19 September

I would like to start this post by congratulating the following people on their permanent appointments:

Dawie Jacobs as Humanities Subject Librarian,

Tyson Mabunda as General Information Librarian,

Zelda Geldenhuys as Humanities Subject Librarian.

(Information regarding the appointments of Faculty Librarians will follow as soon as discussions with all relevant stakeholders have been finalized).

The industrial action of Elite Cleaners is something of the past now. The strike ended on Tuesday and permanent staff has returned to work. All posters in this regard have been removed.

April supplied me with a list of billed items that have been outstanding since 2007. We are busy re-ordering relevant items form this list. This process should be finished by the end of the week. Note that these items are currently marked as ‘Withdrawn’ on the catalogue.

UJ Protection Services has created a Facebook page as well (see the link below). This page contains valuable information regarding security issues and crime trends on all UJ campuses. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/University-of-Johannesburg-Protection-Services/168172809928163

Have a look at the article below - a person in America was arrested for outstanding library books: http://www.komonews.com/news/archive/4145856.html

Weekly update: 5 to 9 September

With the students enjoying the spring recess, the library was much less busy this week and this created a much needed opportunity for us to come to the surface and take a deep breath before we start with the final leg towards the end of the year.

On Monday I had a meeting with Ursula Smit and the Library Protection Services staff. Ursula mentioned that theft in the library has increased due to negligence of students. Valuable items are often left unattended and that creates perfect opportunities for “thieves". Some of the cases have been resolved by using the security cameras in the library and these cases and evidence have been forwarded to Student Affairs for action and disciplinary measures. From my side, I would like to request you to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour immediately to Protection Services. On a more personal note: I would like you to spare a thought for Pearl’s grandson. He was born prematurely after both his parents were involved in a car accident. Unfortunately his father did not survive the crash and the little boy is struggling to cope with injuries he sustained due to the impact of the accident. Though is mom was also hurt, she has healed well and is trying to spend as much time possible with her little son who is still in hospital.

This week we had two training sessions arranged for staff to gain additional knowledge on UJLink /Opac and Dewey. On Monday morning Ronel conducted a training session on UJLink and today’s session on Dewey was presented by Ester. The feedback that I received is that staff found both sessions extremely valuable and well presented. I cannot wait to see your new knowledge being translated into better service to our clients. To Ronel and Ester: thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with your colleagues and for the excellent way in which you presented the training. This is for you:

I am sure that you will all be pleased to know that all the books on level four has been re-labelled. You will no longer receive your trolley-a-day for the pasting of labels. I would like to thank everyone who assisted with the printing and pasting of labels for finding the time to do it in between other tasks. As always we proved again that we are a wonderful team!

Don't forget to support the Springboks on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!

Weekly update: 29 August to 2 September

Topics included in this post:

·         Structure meeting with Mrs Sander

·         One Book One Library

·         Mancom

·         Congrats to Annelize

·         Opening of the Internet