Trying to Stay Relevant

Last week was a bit of a come back to earth week for me after being pretty charged up from the FLA Conference. Being in an entry level position at my library does not afford me a lot of opportunity to change things too much at my library. I accept the position I am in, and am appreciative of having my job, and I am learning to be a leader regardless of my rank. I have managed to stay positive (mostly, since we are all human) and productive in a profession that needs some change to stay relevant. I try not to think of all of the issues in my library since I am not in a position to fix most of them. This is not easy for someone like me who can at times see areas of improvement and then want to find solutions. Not that I invent issues, but that I can't help noticing how things could be improved at times to make my library more ideal. My goal is to have positive energy and patience, since those traits are more desirable than being overly critical and undermining.

I try to stay active with projects that I create for my library, like my SSLLI project the Empowerment Zone. Today we had a photographer from the Sun Sentinel in to take pictures for an upcoming feature story in the Delray Forum (more on this when the article gets published). We are also getting more patrons using the room consistently which is boosting my confidence that my project was a good idea. SSLLI has regular assignments too, which keep me busy.

On top of my current SSLLI project I try to stay involved with library associations for professional development and to give back to the profession. I have recently been selected (after submitting an online application) for the Florida Library Association's Public Relations Committee, and we are working on a new public awareness campaign for Florida libraries. I am on the City of Lake Worth's Library Board as an alternate (I hope to find out more on this at my first meeting in June) and I help with the Palm Beach County Library Association's web site by posting news items, and other association related items on the web site. My goal in all of this is to stay as active as possible in my profession so that I can move towards a position of authority and leadership. I am also trying to stay focused and keep my head down in order to avoid getting bogged down in negativity. Here's hoping my formula is a success.