Chris has served OC Public Libraries for many years, working at many different branches. He is a dependable and reliable employee. He especially deserves to be recognized because of an outstanding demonstration of public service. Recently, while Chris was the in-charge librarian at his branch, a person experienced a medical emergency. Chris' quick action, calm demeanor, and chest compressions saved someone's life. Saving lives is an extreme example of Chris' customer service, but each day he performs more routine acts of service. He helps our patrons access library resources, as well serves his colleagues by helping create a safe and comfortable workplace. You can find Chris happily meeting with his long running book club or chatting about health, skateboarding, or hiking with his colleagues.
Kim pours so much energy into her work, endlessly striving to improve the branch and offer engaging activities for the community. She is one of the most cheerful and friendly colleagues I've ever known, always seeking to connect with her coworkers and bring laughter to every occasion. She is highly knowledgeable and receptive to all questions, so she is often the first person I turn to for insights about how to handle a situation. Most notably, she is skilled at managing conflicts with grace and patience, standing strong against any difficulty thrown her way. Kim is an admirable librarian through and through and it's a pleasure to work with her!
Maria has been a part of OC Public Libraries for only one year. In that short amount of time, she has demonstrated a positive attitude and flexibility. She is dependable and can always be counted on her for anything program-related on a system wide level, but also supporting at the branch level.
Recently, Maria has helped with the Summer Reading Program. She assisted with all of the virtual programs including sign-ups, introduction scripts, setting up Zoom meetings, communicating with Community Relations, and setting up a statistics page to facilitate the reporting process.
Additionally, she assisted with the OC Read Back to School events. For these events she happily assisted where needed to help ensure the success of the events. To prepare for the Back-to-School events she supported the department in ordering of the supplies and materials. She tracked the items to ensure that they would arrive on time for the events.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (August 31, 2022) – OC Public Libraries joins libraries nationwide and the American Library Association (ALA) in September to celebrate Library Card Sign-up Month. The initiative reminds parents, caregivers, and students that signing up for a library card is the first step on the path to academic achievement and lifelong learning.
Libraries play a crucial role in the education and development of children, offering a variety of programs to spark creativity and stimulate an interest in reading and learning. Through access to technology, media resources and educational programs, a library card gives students the tools to succeed in the classroom and provides people of all ages opportunities to pursue their dreams, explore new passions and interests, and find their voice.
At OC Public Libraries,patrons of all ages can find a variety of educational resources and activities, including storytimes, author talks, book clubs, eResources, and many other literacy and enrichment programs.
During September, OC Public Libraries will celebrate Library Card Sign-up with a monthlong photo campaign. New and existing OC Public Libraries card holders can share a photo with their library card, tag @ocpubliclibraries, and be featured on the library’s social media platforms. Library patrons can also have their photo taken at any local OC Public Libraries branch. Those who participate in the campaign will be entered to win a prize at the end of the month.
To culminate the month, OC Public Libraries card holders are invited to take a photo with special guest ‘Froggy’ at any of the following locations:
Tuesday, September 27 from 4pm-6pm at Westminster Library, 8180 13th Street, Westminster, CA 92683
Wednesday, September 28 from 4pm-6pm at Fountain Valley Library, 17635 Los Alamos, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Thursday, September 29 from 4pm-6pm at Aliso Viejo Library, 1 Journey, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
During Library Card Sign-up Month, libraries everywhere also observe Banned Books Week from September 18-24, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. This year’s theme “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.” is reminder to support the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. For more information on Banned Books Week, visit bannedbooksweek.org.
OC Public Libraries, along with libraries everywhere, continues to adapt and expand services to meet evolving community needs. Let your imagination sing at OC Public Libraries during Library Card Sign-up Month. To sign up for a library card or to learn more about the library’s resources and programs, visit ocpl.org.
Lindsay is dedicated to building a positive profile for the branch as well as for the library system! She does not miss an opportunity to tell parents and children about ongoing programs at our library and within the system. She is always cheerful and enthusiastic.
Lindsay brings the library assistants into the planning activities for programs. She welcomes working together with team members on projects. She mentors new employees and is generous with her learned wisdom.
Lindsay created a series of virtual storytimes during the pandemic, "Flannel Fun Fridays", for which she designed her flannels and custom made them. Also, she designs fascinating passive programs for the library, for family participation, which teach ancillary skills such as map reading and plant identification.
Lindsay’s focus is on compassionately providing value to the community. She enthusiastically participates in committee work. This year she was on the Summer Reading development team for 2022 and she was a very active participant on the Centennial Committee.
Congratulations to Employee of the Month, Kristin!
Kristin consistently uses customer service as the main driver to accomplish tasks and activities. Kristin is friendly, positive, effective, efficient, creative and a very hard worker. She will assist with any and all duties to accomplish the job. Kristin goes above and beyond to make sure end results are met. Kristin is always helpful, strategic, organized, proactive, intuitive, resourceful, and inquisitive. She always looks for solutions, maintains business relationships and networks with multiple agencies to gather best practices and efficiencies.
Congratulations to the employee of the month, Briana!
Briana displays exceptional service to the public by actively listening to patrons’ needs, so she can find the best services and resource for them. She is great at helping patrons with library technology and shows patience no matter their level. She stepped up and took on two book groups from the planning stages through facilitating the meetings. When book groups moved from in person to virtual zoom meetings, she provided exceptional support to the members to make sure they could continue to participate in the monthly meetings.
Briana shows exemplary teamwork and collaboration with colleagues through her willingness to always pitch in where needed and share her knowledge with other staff members. She is great with technology and steps up to help other staff learn new processes. One of our branch librarians said this about Briana's exemplary teamwork, "Briana was very helpful in my transition into an adult librarian. She helped me with book group and showed me how to conduct it and what to do and everything behind the scenes of it."
She has shown innovation and creativity in many areas from finding the best way to offer hybrid book groups to frequently reassessing the branch displays and flyers to ensure they are engaging and relevant to our patrons and highlight all of the great programs and services the system offers. Finally, she has used her creativity and innovation to make instructional aids for staff that are accurate and appealing to learn from.
Briana’s coworkers say she takes initiative and does a lot of extra work without seeking credit for it. She is quick to help without hesitation and shares her library related knowledge with others.
Congratulations to the employee of the month – Minh!
Minh's customer service can be considered the Gold Standard. Every patron is greeted with a smile, every patron query is met with a 'we can do that' attitude. He is never too busy to stop what he is doing and assist a patron. Many patrons know Minh by name and specifically request to be helped by him. He builds a personal rapport with all the patrons he works with, and it is reflected in how many of them know him and want to work with him. Circulation questions, tech questions, any question, Minh can help with it, and does so with a smile and a sincere desire to help. His sincerity and deep dedication to helping others shines through in is interactions with the public and have earned him a dedicated fan base among our patrons.
Just as Minh is never too busy to help a patron, he is never too busy to assist a fellow staff member. Minh is the first to volunteer to take on a task, the first to step up if a staff member needs someone to cover a shift for them, the first to take on a task that he sees needs to be done, but that no one else has noticed yet. Minh's constant good cheer, his joy in helping others, and his ready smile can brighten anyone's day. He is constantly working to keep up staff morale. Minh is an exemplary example of what OCPL hopes for in an employee.
Prior to the pandemic, Minh was involved in supplying tech help to many of the Seniors at the Garden Grove Senior Center. Minh continues to offer tech assistance to our Seniors, in person at the branch, and over the phone. Minh never shows frustration or impatience with any patron's tech questions or skill level. He works with the patron until they have accomplished what the patron needs. Many patrons needing tech help, ask for Minh specifically.
Congratulations to the employee of the month – Kayla!
Kayla was the chair for the Centennial committee, overseeing all the programming and campaigns that celebrated OCPL's 100th anniversary. She organized the committee and guided them in the creation of the 100 Book Challenge, 100 Voices, 100 Books social media campaign, 100 Things posts, scavenger hunts, and the limited edition Centennial Library Card. She also completed the 100 Book Challenge herself! With Kayla's leadership and optimism, the Centennial was a success during a year that was out of the ordinary. Her enthusiasm and passion for this milestone in the library's history made the yearlong observance a smooth process that also brought joy to thousands of library patrons.
As part of her duties at the branch, Kayla has strong marketing skills. She has created and submitted multiple posts that were shared on social media, including literary tropes for InstaStories and Bookface Friday posts. Kayla is a great proofreader! She is frequently asked to review flyers and documents prior to sending. She has a great eye for detail. Additionally, Kayla is very data oriented. She takes care of all entering all the MAR (Monthly Activity Report) data as well as the information for the AWE stations. Kayla enjoys statistics and is genuinely interested in data, she is great with Excel and can be counted on to fix excel formula errors. Kayla is Tustin’s go to person for budget tracker help! Kayla is creative and intelligent. She is an avid reader, and she brings her love of reading to collection development.
