Time To Reflect & Set New Goals

Well, it's that time again. After all the stress & hubbub of the holidays, it's time for a little relaxation and introspection as we reflect on the previous year, and think about the year to come. 

After looking back at the resolutions I made last year, I didn't do so well with the personal goal of a healthier lifestyle and losing weight. Right after I made that resolution, a continuing family crisis developed that has made this a very stressful year, sending my resolve to eat right and exercise more right out the window! 

But I did much better on a professional level, and I'm pretty happy with all I managed to accomplish; this was a big year in terms of professional development. Here are the major accomplishments & developments of 2017:

1. I completed 3 more classes towards my MLIS (management, multicultural kid lit, & cataloging), with a 4.0 GPA. I still have a ways to go, but I'm about 1/3 there!
   
   
2. I've also worked on professional development by participating in several webinars and I got to go to my first conference, albeit a small local one. But it's a start!
   
   
3. I had the opportunity to greatly expand my programming repertoire by doing several school-aged STEAM programs this summer, as well as presenting early-literacy training for childcare workers at two different conferences, in addition to all the storytimes I already do.
   
   
4. My collection development goal changed a bit. Rather than developing new kits, I decided that first all the existing kits needed a major evaluation. So during our winter break from doing storytime, I completed a major inventory and weeding project, going through every single one of the existing 41 themed kits to inventory and evaluate the contents, eliminate duplication, and note what was needed.
   
   This was a big project not only in terms of time, but psychologically as well. Up to this point, I had only added things, not removed anything, out of respect to the person who started the program and developed them. But, after almost 3 years and having used most of them at least twice, I am confident in my judgment of what works and what doesn't, and the need for some updating. So, in order to add new materials, I had to first make some room!
   
   
5. I am still working on Reader's Advisory, but while I'm in school I just don't have much time for reading and putting together bibliographies. I do read and review as much as I can, as well as putting various lists together and looking at lists put together by others. 

Now it's time to look ahead! What are my goals/resolutions for 2018? Basically more of the same:

1. Continue working towards my MLIS, hopefully completing at least 4 classes.
   
   
2. Continue professional development through webinars, workshops, and conferences. I am hoping for my first big conference, the national ALSC summit, in the Fall since it will be relatively close by. I'd also like to present at a small one, if I can come up with a good idea.
   
   
3. Continue to expand my repertoire by doing school-aged programs in the summer and presenting sessions on various aspects of literacy for different age groups and audiences. Experience with other types of storytime would be nice, too.
   
   
4. Continue to work on collection development by adding new materials to existing kits, and developing (or at least starting development of) 1 or 2 new ones.
   
   
5. Keep working on RA by reading as many books as possible, and paying more attention to reviews and lists published by others.

I think these are all pretty attainable, though time is always the limiting factor! School really eats up the time I used to devote to reading books and reviews, as well as writing my own reviews and bibliographies, plus I don't have as much time for planning at work as I used to!

I'd love to hear how your year went, and/or what your goals for the next one are! Or just feel free to commiserate about the lack of time to do what you'd like 😉.