2014 Goals

Well, 2013 was a wild ride!  The cats are exhausted.  Time to strap in for the new year and set a few goals down in writing ... just to keep me honest.  So for 2014 I'd like to ...


Read 50 books cover to cover, according to Shelfari I made it 36 this year.  I know there were a few I didn't post there, so for 2013 I'll give myself 40. Fifty should be doable.

Create a file of annotations to use for Reader's Advisory and bibliographies. 

Be more consistent about posting book reviews on the blog every Friday.

Post something every Tuesday: tech tips, interesting articles, observations, who knows.  And yes, I realize today is Wednesday, this is a goal to strive for, and I've got some work to do in the organization department, too.

Read more industry literature: Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, books from our professional development collection, etc.  I've been a little sporadic about that sort of thing.  The only thing I read consistently every month is AudioFile, but then I do order the audio books for the adult department at my library.

Rack up at least 20 hours of professional development: Webinars, MOOCs, conferences, in-service training, etc.  I've recorded 29.5 for 2013.

Keep working on the ARRT Popular Fiction List.  I've found it is a valuable tool for helping me become more familiar with authors and genres I don't always read.  Reading something from the list every month gets me out of my comfort zone and makes me a better reader's adviser.  

So that's the plan for 2014.  We'll see how it goes.
Happy New Year!

The Digital Shift Experience

 

 I attended an online conference on Wednesday hosted by Library Journal and School Library Journal.  The Digital Shift: Reinventing Libraries.  It was great!  Perhaps a slight misnomer, though 'cause no one was talking about reinventing the library, just helping it continue its evolution.

The keynote panel spoke about the changes they envision libraries and librarians need to make to stay viable.  They talked about makerspaces, production, learning and creation.  They suggested that libraries become platforms for life-long learning.  Places where patrons of all ages and stations in life can come to learn and connect.

In a discussion of critical skills librarians should be learning the panel suggested: problem solving, critical thinking, a willingness to fail, organizational and creative thinking, leadership, relationship building, grit, perseverance, flexibility, and a deep knowledge of how people learn.  There was a lot of emphasis on the role of librarians as educators and teachers.

Other presentations I attended included makerspaces, testing & workforce development (badging), and connected learning.

I came away with lots of ideas and plenty of handouts and brochures from vendors to browse through.  All in all a great experience.