My Thoughts And Comments After Attending PLMI 2013

I am glad to say that I enjoyed my overall experience at the first year of the three year Public Library Management Institute.  Our fearless leader certainly knew her material,  articulated  it in a manner that everyone could understand, chose motivational speakers, and definitely kept our attention and tried to keep us on our toes!  Generally speaking, I learned that safety should be a main concern of a library and that the second most important thing is having a vision for your library.  The fire department will soon visit our library to implement a plan in case of an emergency.  As far as vision, I have had a vision to expand our library since I was first asked to take this position.  I believe my personal decision-making skills, time-management skills, customer-service skills, and leadership skills are the things that help me be a good librarian.  The empathy I try to  have for others is a real necessity in my position.  If I didn't have that, if I didn't care about people, I would not be inclined to continue in the library.  To me the library is about people.  Attending the PLMP is giving me encouragement and specific information that I need to be the best I can be and although I was way out of my comfort zone - I survived!

Of course I do want to learn new skills, but social media is not my primary interest.  Learning to work with my city board of commissioners to achieve what is best for the citizens and for the town is my primary interest.  I want to see this library expand in order to help meet more needs of more people, and have space for better programing.  I have attended every County Library Board Meeting since I have accepted this position, with the exception of one meeting.  I have given my Library Report at every meeting.  I have attended Ocoee River Regional meetings and have tried to learn all that I can.  One thing I learned at Public Library Management Institute, however, is that I should also be attending our city meetings, which I have never done.  I guess I thought it was not necessary as long as my commissioner gave my report (I do turn in a library report to the city).  I have made a decision to attend at least one city meeting per quarter - if not every month!  I have realized that my presence will be important and that I will be gifting my city with my presence, after all, they give me my check, they hired me, and they are the elected officials in this town!  I also have been challenged to have more of a marketing presence in the community, although we are a small community - there are places I need to be, meetings, etc., businesses, and people I need to be talking to.  Just today,  (my good news is that I am effecting change) I have set up one day per month which happens to be the first Tuesday, for a dependable volunteer to run the library!  This will free me up to catch up on reports, shop for supplies, or just take a break away from the front desk.  I do not have a staff (yet) so I do it all!  I have been motivated to try to delegate a little better instead of thinking I am indispensable!  I am not!  Another bit of news is that, as of today, I have a Tech Planning Committee in place, a first for this library.  I also received an email from our County Library Board Chairman letting me know that our allocation of money from the county has almost tripled due to the board changing the formula!  I am so excited!  Could all this be a direct result of PLMI?  It amazes me at the timing of all this.  At any rate, I'm glad I attended, and yes, I am encouraged to be the best library director I can be - after all - that's why I chose to apply for the Public Library Management Program.

My Visit To A Restaurant Last Evening

I often eat out and most definitely prefer dining at a restaurant where professional people are employed. Last evening we ate at a local restaurant in our small town and noticed how friendly the environment was. They greeted us as we came in, promptly seated us, took our order, prepared it wonderfully, and the food at this particular restaurant is always an excellent quality! However, the waitress was very talkative. I viewed her actions as overly friendly to customers whose privacy should be respected while they are dining. On several occasions, my family has chosen not to patronize this place of business because of their waitresses. We tend to eat at restaurants that we enjoy the most, and the way we are treated does make an important impact on our decisions. The quality and taste of the food is always our number one consideration, yet we most often enjoying selecting the restaurant that is best all round, and that does include professionalism in the staff. The entire staff. In conclusion, the waitress was nice enough, but she wasn't professional enough. Waitresses in our town could probably do well with more training on how to respect the dining privacy of their customers. At least, my husband and I prefer a restaurant that is best all round.

Organization Planning Teaching Topic

Our team effort presentations today were interesting! Together we can always do more than just one person could do alone, and still be as effective. We all contributed to the research. It saved a lot of time this way. We experienced the fact that "delegation" helps. Everyone did a part and it was rewarding to see it come together to form the whole presentation. What I learned from our group and the other groups will be most helpful when I go home and begin to organize my Niota Library Technology Planning Committee. I enjoyed working with our team, May, Kim, Lelani, and Carol.

Dr. Cathy's Share Time

Personally, I thought Dr. Cathy's visit was awesome! It definitely did not turn out the way I expected it to. After just a minute of being asked to "close our eyes", truthfully, I was already wondering why we had been asked to get into pairs just to sit there and close our eyes. So yes, I was surprised by the wonderful outcome of the experiment. I was also surprised that I was actually able to relax somewhat, and that did help me to recall a library story that I felt great about sharing! I was touched by the difference in the last five words I felt compelled to write down, compared to those first five words like telephones, computers, and vacum cleaners!!! After I shared the story of a 10 year old using a library computer, told me he was writing a book and asked me to spell Tennessee, then in a few minutes said "Ms. Sandra, can you please look at this?" I was so proud of him, what could I do other than encourage him? I felt almost like I was a participant in his dream. At least I was able to offer encouragement, which I think he was asking me for. I was touched by the fact that my "attitude" quickly changed as I though back to this day and shared this story. I hope someday Tyler will get his book printed. I was so inspired by the story I was told about a little autistic boy 6-7 years old who read an entire children's book to a golden retriever visiting the library. His mother sat there "crying" as she listened to her son actually reading to a dog, when he could never, ever read an entire book to a person. So, yes it was a worthwhile experiment. I loved it!

I Am Statement

I want to motivate others to do the most they can do in order to change their world, make their circumstances better, while enjoying their life! I plan to do all I can do help others, but I want to love what I do. Changes I will make to improve the professional image of myself, and my library involves having a little more confidence in myself, especially as I learn more and more about computers and feel more like I am really in the loop. I really believe that PLMI will give me that extra boost and encouragement that I have desired to have! Thank you for encouraging me!

Interview with Crystal at Fall Creek Falls

My new friend Crystal is a librarian who has enjoyed an absolute love for libraries all her life. Her parents probably helped instill her interest in libraries and for reading at a young age. Crystal was a joy to her parents when she was born because they finally got their little girl. Her brother was 10 years old when Crystal was born so she had it made with everyone making over her, careful not to spoil her! She felt like an only child in her teen years since her brother grew up and went off to college, and then got married. Crystal seemed to enjoy such an ideal childhood! When Crystal was in the first grade she loved to go into the school library. She repaired her first book by taping it before returning it to the school library. Even the school librarian always noticed and commented on her big smile. She was always happy to visit the library, and quickly won the librarian's heart. Crystal's favorite subjects in high school were history and english. She was a member of the FFA only because she was asked and was very active in the Beta Club and President of the Career Club. Crystal always excelled in her academics and by the time she graduated from her high school, of course she was in the Top Ten of her graduating class - what an accomplishment! Crystal's college education, however, was delayed because her mother got breast cancer, so being the devoted daughter she is, she stayed home to take care of her mother, who is a breast cancer survivor! When Crystal was able to begin her college studies, she studied Business Systems while working at her local library. During college Crystal continued working at the library and she received her Bachelors Degree in Organizational Leadership in 2010. In 2011 Crystal married Gary and now they are expecting their first baby! They have names picked out and if it is a boy, he will be either James or Jacob. However, their baby girl will be Elizabeth! Crystal enjoys geneology research. She also enjoys attending church with her husband, driving through the country, and visiting historical places. Crystal's favorite board games are Clue, Rummy, and she loves Jenga! Spending time with family is a must, enjoying a good movie is a favorite pastime and she also loves going fishing with her husband. I have enjoyed interviewing this interesting young lady and find it amazing that she is now employed as a full-time Library Director at the very same library she first worked at while she was still in school in 2003!

First Day @ PLMI

I especially appreciated the suggestion of the word usage, in Don's presentation, to refer to the library patrons as "customers".  People don't seem to know what a patron is where I live, so I find this very helpful plus the other terms he shared with us that he prefers to use.

Lynette is such a nice lady and I really enjoyed hearing her although I am not a big person on history.  I sure enjoyed all the older pictures she had to share with us!

Friday, August 2, 2013

I am going to ride my own bus!  Some people may not want to ride with me, but that's o.k.  I would rather wait until the right people come along who want to get on board with my ideas.  The main thing is that we enjoy doing what we are doing.  Our work is important, but enjoying our work means everything to me.  These are encouraging ideas from an email I recently received!  So, be courageous and take a chance.  Ask people if they want to get on your bus.  The worst they can say is no.  The more people you pick up along the way, the more energy you will create during your ride.