Report highlights
The Library has implemented one recommendation and is in the process of implementing another.
What we found
The Auditor's Office follows up on audit recommendations to support county government's accountability. For this report, we only evaluated the two recommendations that were due in January 2024. We will evaluate and report on the remaining recommendations in a separate report.
We found that the Library has implemented one of those recommendations and is in the process of implementing the other.
What the statuses mean
- Implemented - Auditee has fully implemented, or auditee has resolved the issue to meet the recommendation's intent.
- In Process - Auditee has started implementation.
- Not Implemented - Auditee has not implemented, or does not intend to implement.
Implemented
Recommendation #2: Coordinate with the County Security Program to complete a Workplace Violence Threat Assessment and Workplace Violence Prevention Plan and communicate the results to all employees.
Auditor's Note: Library staff have completed threat assessments for 20 locations and workplace violence prevention plans for 19 locations. As of April, 2024, all currently open locations have threat assessments and prevention plans. There are also threat assessments and prevention plans for some locations that are temporarily closed for construction. As additional buildings reopen from construction, Library leaders will need to make sure there are completed threat assessments and preventions plans for those buildings.
Library leaders posted links to the threat assessments and prevention plans on a page on the employee intranet that tracks audit recommendations. Library leaders report that they have shared the plans with location leaders and directed them to share the plans with employees. They also notified employees about the threat assessments and preventions plans in an email newsletter sent to the all Library employee email list.
In process
Recommendation #1: Implement corrective actions and processes to ensure safety committees are meeting OSHA standards and champion them as a place to address security issues.
Auditor's Note: Library leaders have put into place new structures and processes to promote compliance with OSHA requirements. However, we think that more time is needed to see these processes at work, in order to confidently say that this recommendation is implemented. Additionally, Library leaders have not yet implemented the part of the recommendation about championing safety committees as places to address security issues.
Leaders reorganized the safety committees for neighborhood libraries into regions, with regional managers participating in and supporting those committees. The safety committee charter template describes roles and responsibilities. According to the charter, lead managers have an oversight responsibility to ensure OR-OSHA rules are followed. The safety committee sites on the intranet and the structure for storing documents were also reorganized.
Library leaders also reported that an executive specialist checks documentation periodically and a new safety committee coordination team will check documentation quarterly. The organizational learning team has started assigning required trainings to committee members in Workday, and plans to run reports to check if trainings were completed.
When we reviewed documentation, we found that the completeness and accessibility of documentation has improved. However, some documentation of inspections and meetings was still missing. Additionally, over a third of safety committee members had not yet completed all the required trainings. Committee membership may still change, especially with some locations closed for construction.
Given these factors we are considering this recommendation in process. We will evaluate this recommendation again when we evaluate the remaining recommendations to see how the processes are working and whether Library leaders are championing safety committees as a place to address security issues.
Objectives, scope, & methodology
The objectives of this evaluation were to determine the status of recommendations from Library Audit that had the following due date:
- January 1, 2024
Auditors evaluated the status of recommendations based on interviews, documentation, and other available evidence. Auditors will evaluate the remaining recommendations after those recommendations become due.
Updating the status of a recommendation
During each audit our office conducts, we develop recommendations intended to improve government operations, particularly with regard to effectiveness, transparency, accountability, and equity. Our goal for evaluating the status of recommendations is to help ensure management implements these recommendations for improvement.
We recognize that after we publish an evaluation on the status of recommendations, management may fully implement a recommendation that we reported was in process or not implemented. Management can then provide evidence to the Auditor's Office demonstrating why the recommendation's status should be changed in the Auditor's Office's future reporting. The final decision on whether to change any recommendation's status rests with the Auditor's Office.
Staff
Caroline Zavitvoski, Audit Director