That the Hamilton Public Library Board approves the allocation of up to $65,000 from the Redeployment, Training, & Restructuring Reserve #106011 for the Event Management and Room Booking project, and

That the Hamilton Public Library Board approves the allocation of up to $65,000 from the Redeployment, Training, & Restructuring Reserve #106011 to carry out the Staff Scheduling Project.

The project would allocate up to $65,000.00 from Reserve #106011 to cover the cost of the Event and Room Booking solution for a period of 2-years including implementation. The annual subscription cost is USD $26,000 for unlimited events, room bookings and broadcast services. The setup costs and migration of the current data will be included with the two year license.

The project would allocate a further $65,000.00 from Reserve #106011 to cover the cost of the Staff scheduling solution for a 2-year period, part of 2018 and 2019, including implementation.  Synerion's cost is $3.70/employee/month, to an estimated maximum $30,000 for the period for 500 licenses. Additional one-time cost of $35,000 is required to cover professional services for configuration, setup and implementation of HPL rules and process.

The Redeployment, Training, & Restructuring Reserve currently has an unallocated balance of $513,292. Two new capital projects would be set up and funded by the reserve contributions.

Hamilton Public Library is in the process of implementing two software solutions to provide better customer service while increasing internal staff efficiencies.

Event Management, Room Booking and Broadcasting

Hamilton Public Library has selected Communico Suite of Applications to provide integrated Events Management, Room Booking and Digital Signage broadcasting.  The modules are flexible, easy to use for staff and customers, and has a proven track record in libraries across North America. The solution will provide library customers with improved online access to HPL events, programs, spaces, and equipment.  It will enable customers to use multiple search features to find resources, register online for programs and receive automatic notification. At the same time, the system will eliminate duplicate entries and information, automate back office processes and create efficiencies for staff by utilizing a centralized application with consistent events definition system-wide.  

"The library will ensure that its privacy policy is enforced by all library staff and any organization that may have legitimate access to this information to provide service" as noted in HPL's Privacy Policy for Library Customers.   While the servers are hosted in the US, the solution integrates with HPL's ILS servers in the library to validate customer data, only when program registration is required. Customers can access events, rooms and program information without logging-in or providing any personal information. Customers have the option to create their own accounts for a better user experience to receive notifications on programs of interest. This will be kept to a minimum amount of personal information, such as email and password for example, to reduce potential risks or breaches.  Staff will be reviewing the security architecture as part of the project implementation and will flag any identified risks as needed.

Staff Scheduling and Attendance

Hamilton Public Library has selected Synerion Time & Attendance Software that provides a flexible and simple solution to manage the library's scheduling rules and process. Its rich features and centralized consistent system  will reduce the complexity of the work for staff, schedulers, management and human resources. The solution is easy to use and has built-in Collective Agreement and Ministry of Labour rules and template-based schedules with automated procedures, and online and mobile access. The system integrates with email and the employee payroll system . Even though Synerion is hosted in Canada, the security and confidentiality of personal information is a high priority in the system design. Any personal information to be collected will be minimized to least information needed to achieve the purpose.