CEO - Oshawa Public Libraries

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Oct 17, 2013 ... PS, Once I requested a Marsha Canham book, but was told it was out of print. I went to the Whitby Library and they ordered the books.
October 17, 2013 To:

Oshawa Public Library Board

From: Ian Heckford, Chief Executive Officer Re:

CEO – Report 07–13

CEO’s Summary September is always a transitional month as everyone returns to school after a great summer. Fall programming has begun and as you can see, library staff was out in the community participating in several major events. On the 28th of September, Northview Branch closed to the public and the much anticipated renovation of the branch began shortly after that. The first Staff Development Day was held in September and was a great success. Staff enjoyed the opportunity to hear great speakers and took advantage of the opportunity to spend the day with colleagues that they don’t often see. The reviews were great and another staff day will be planned for next year. Highlighted Programme – Community Engagement September was a notable month full of community engagement. Three partnerships stand out. Lakeview Harbourside – Lakeview Harbourside is a large subsidized housing complex with 173 townhouse units. The library has been offering programs in their newly constructed program room for the past 2 years, in partnership with Durham Region Housing Services Durham Region housing. There were 4 weeks of programming in the summer of 2012, and 8 weeks in the summer of 2013. Programs included movie nights, crafts, and games. Jess Hann staff were assisted by staff from all Library branches in running the programs. On average there were 10-25 children attending the programs while the end of summer program attracted 55 children. Many clients at Lakeview Harbourside indicated that they don’t go to the Library, so this is a way in which they can still benefit from Library services.

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Rose of Durham - A partnership was created with the Rose of Durham (ROD), which provides services to primarily teen mothers, from ages 16-26. The Library offers a story-time every Friday as of August 2nd. While the story-time was designed for all ages, most children are aged 2-3. After modest start, numbers have been growing. In addition to a weekly story-time, the Fibre Friends, a monthly drop-in program where the public can sew, crochet, or knit. Earlier this year, the Fibre Friends knitted a number of baby clothing items. The finished products were donated to the ROD in September, where they would be added to layettes that the ROD gives to teen mothers that have just given birth. Fall Harvest Big Drum Social – The Fall Harvest Big Drum Social was run by the Durham Region Aboriginal Advisory Circle at the Purple Woods Conservatory. Hundreds of people attended. There were two large circles with aboriginals drumming and chanting from 1-4 pm. Depending upon the song there was improvised dancing, with some dancers in full ceremonial attire. The Drum Circle is a spiritual event for the Aboriginal community. Oshawa Public Libraries was present. The Library had a craft table for children, where they made leaf animals, leaf rubbings and colouring. The Aboriginal community is becoming more empowered in Durham Region, and is an important partnership community for the Library. Highlighted Department – Staff Development Day The Library was closed to the public on September 18th, so that all staff could participate in our first Staff Development Day. The purpose of the day was to motivate and engage staff, and to cultivate enthusiasm and belief in our abilities, our colleagues and in Library services. Erin Howden of “A Step Ahead” was our day’s keynote speaker. Erin Howden delivered an entertaining and informative session on “Living in Intentional Excellence”. Erin was an exceptional speaker who discussed many concepts dealing with the “why’s” of an organization, the need to escape one’s comfort zone, personal growth through self-realization, and the difficulty (and importance) of personal and organizational change. The session was interactive with activities that helped to energize and focus staff on our contributions to Oshawa Public Libraries. Garth Johns provided two sessions in the afternoon covering Effective Leadership, its importance regardless of one’s title and a session on Conflict Resolution. Garth identified sources of conflict, the impact in a workplace as well as solutions to prevent and/or deal with conflict. Melissa Scott, Public Services Manager at the Clarington Public Library, gave an insightful session on “Why Libraries Should Emulate Apple Stores”. Much like Erin, Melissa reinforced the “why” an organization does what it does, as opposed to the “what”. This presentation was a feature session at the 2013 OLA Superconference. The day ended with a light-hearted yet informative look at “Personality through Colours”. Prior to the day, all Library staff filled in a questionnaire to determine their “colour”. Ellen (orange), Margaret (gold), Kim (green) and Joseph (blue) then presented on what the four colours had to say about a person’s personality, its strengths, challenges, and what to expect in others with a different colour. It was a day of personal and professional growth and the feedback from staff was positive and encouraging.

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Customer Comments Collections As an Oshawa resident, library member and a big fan of Indian movies, I would really like to see a bigger and better collection. I had requested a few Indian movies to be added a few months ago but still nothing now. The movies available are not really the best available either. The Whitby Library has hundreds of Indian movies available. The very latest and with all the real Indian superstars e.g. Shah Pukh Khan, Salman Khan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra to name a few. PS, Once I requested a Marsha Canham book, but was told it was out of print. I went to the Whitby Library and they ordered the books. McLaughlin, September 9, 2013. [The Library is acquiring multilingual materials by specific language group. East Indian movies are very popular for all customers, regardless of their ethnicity, and more are being purchased. – JS]

Facilities McLaughlin Room – angled tables look nice but harder to get through and no longer line up for laptop, McLaughlin, September 10, 2013 [Tables are still the same distance from power supply, and were moved to allow customers more to the biographies – JS] Thanks for the informative session on 11 Sep re: Northview’s renovations and thanks for the reassurance about the coffee machine. I remembered after I got home that I should have mentioned that the coffee machine requires a water line to it. Since the renovations include rearranging the washrooms, would it be possible to include the coffee machine waterline as part of the project, so that the machine can be up and running on Day 1 after the renovations, rather than months later? Please include this as part of the project so it can be done efficiently. I really enjoy that coffee as does the other patron who attended your meeting. Thanks. McLaughlin, September 15, 2013.

Staff The members of 420 Air Force Wing will enjoy these magnificent magazines as much as I do. May I thank you again. McLaughlin, September 27, 2013 [older magazines of Aeroplane donated to the th

local 420 Canadian Air Force Wing. In the mid-1990s, the 420 donated a scrapbook of newspaper articles dealing with air force personnel that came from Oshawa, as well as a book of letters and cards from that era. They are important works that reside beside the Book of Remembrance - JS]

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Projects in Progress Description VIP Night

Responsibility Margaret Wallace; Ellen Stroud Ellen Stroud; Joseph Sansalone; Country to City Programming Kim O'Reilly Margaret Wallace Santa Claus Parade Strategic Plan Implementation Management Team Consultant's Report Management Team Ellen Stroud Surveying At Risk Youth Human Library Program Joseph Sansalone Joseph Sansalone; Margaret Wallace 2014 Pass the Book Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR) - Joseph Sansalone, Wayne Johnson, Margaret Wallace Implementation and Staff Training Anne Donnellan, Kim O'Reilly, Joseph Sansalone Acquisitions RFP

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Launch Date 18-Oct-13 Oct-13 16-Nov-13 Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing Jan-14 February - May 2014 October November 2014 2014