Five Things on a Friday - 2012 Goals

As a general rule, I dislike resolutions on New Year's. I believe any day is a good day to start something better. Why wait until that one day? Make a decision and follow through. However there is a certain psychological thrill for big round numbers (hence why the 38th birthday isn't a big deal but the 40th is). And a new year appeals to that same sense that appeals to round numbers. It's a good benchmark and a pretty decent time to make goals. So here are my Friday Five professional goals. (For the record I was tempted to write in my official goals "continue to be awesome and don't burn the library down" but I resisted.)

1. Be on the Newbery Committee
   Did I blog about this? I can't recall. I was elected to the 2013 Newbery committee. My term of service is now through next January. I'll read (almost) all the books eligible in 2012 and we will vote and announce the winner at Midwinter conference in January 2013. It's a huge time commitment (bye-bye knitting time) for this year in terms of reading and library conference trips (ALA Midwinter in January 2012 in Dallas, ALA Annual in June 2012 in Anaheim, ALA Midwinter in January 2013 in Seattle). It's not a goal so much as a plan, but it is my first time on an award committee and I'm really excited about it. I'll be blogging in moderation about it.
   
   
2. Teach a class on Craigslist
   Last year's email class was fun and definitely served a great purpose. One of the things I do most is help people navigate Craigslist. I used it to sell my old phone this week and I got confused (and I'm good at this type of stuff). I think it would be a really great and helpful program for our patrons. When I do it, I will require that people have a valid email account BEFORE they come to learn about Craigslist. That always seems to surprise people.
   
   
3. Expand our library's community partnerships
   Currently our two most valuable partnerships are with the Food Bank of Alaska and Let's Talk Anchorage. The Food Bank provides (as part of a federal program) full meals for some of our youth programming. We're hoping to present on it at the PNLA Conference in August. It's a great partnership but we can always flush it out more. I'd also like to see our library staff explore more partnerships as well.
   
   
4. More audiobooks!
   I've been the graphic novel selector for our system for a couple of years now. (I do a bit of additional selecting, managing our leased book plan for best sellers, and spending grant money.) In 2011 I had the chance to place an audiobook order for the standalone audiobook players known as Playaways. This year I will be making all the playaway orders. As an audiobook addict, I'm quite excited!
   
   
5. Take advantage of opportunities. Try something new.
   Too often we get comfortable in a routine and we stick to that. I love this library and the work we're doing. I want that to continue. But I also know that we have been open now for a year and a half, long enough to get routines established. When you first open, with a brand new staff, everything is a first, is new, is experimental. I want to keep that feeling as much as possible. We should keep the enthusiasm for the good things strong, toss the stuff that isn't working, always be willing to try something new. Everyday should have as much enthusiasm as that first week. And when an opportunity arrives, find more reasons to say yes than no.