How I set goals

Goal-setting is undoubtedly part of your new school year, right?  Mine too.  The thing is, sometimes it's hard to know what needs to be done, or how one might improve, or what is even possible.  I've set unrealistic goals in the past that just left me feeling frustrated, like a failure.  No more!  Now I just look at the facts and think about what they tell me.  This helps me set goals that I can reach.  I can plan steps to reach them, and then work to stick to that plan.  
So, what are the facts?  Every year at orientation I give our new students a little survey.  These results help me think about what the Library program needs.  Let's take a look.

First, I'm interested in how students use other libraries.  After all, ours is small.  Sometimes you need resources that we just don't have, right?  Plus other libraries offer different databases, events, and services.  So I simply asked, "Do you use a public library?"

Do you use a public library?

So what does this tell me in terms of my own goal-setting process? (I looked at last year's survey and the results were almost identical!) Well, I'd like to increase the number of people who answered 'frequently', and decrease the number of people who answered 'never'.  That seems reasonable.  How can I do it?  Let's see.  I can:

• plan outings to cool/beautiful/interesting public libraries
• like this one in Pasadena
• or these in Los Angeles
• talk to students about the database subscriptions they'd have access to with a public library card (especially useful for the JRP and SRP)

Ok, I can do that.  What else?

I also want to know what we need to teach our new students about libraries.  So I asked if they had ever used a Library catalog?  Here's what they said:

Have you ever used a library catalog?

Again, the responses are almost identical to the year before.  So a third of our new students have never heard of a library catalog, and almost half may have heard of one, but never used one.  That's REALLY significant.  That tells me they probably didn't have much of a middle school library program.  It tells me that they need a lot of instruction when it comes time to find materials in the library.  It tells me that I shouldn't wait until their first research project to give the chance to practice.  So, what can I do?  I can:

• make sure students are using the catalog when the come to find books for Ms. Hunnewell's class (instead of just grabbing the book off the shelf FOR them, which I often do)
• work with a few teachers to demonstrate catalog use in class, perhaps when a topic comes up and the class wants to know what's available in our library

Ok, I can do that.  What else?  

Finally (because if I set TOO many goals I will feel overwhelmed), I need to think about how we use the library space.  We always get comments on the year-end survey that the library is too loud.  I know that's my fault; I'm just not a shusher!  Still, this library isn't for me, it's for you, so I need to think about this.  Here's how the new students feel about it:

 

What is your preferred environment for serious studying/reading?

Almost HALF say they prefer complete silence for reading and studying.  Half!  Ok then, here's what I need to do:

• get serious about the back room of the library being for silent work only
• ask students in the front to use headphones when viewing video content necessary for class
• limit group work to the 4 chairs at each table 

This will keep things mellow and calm, if not completely silent.  I think it's a fair compromise.

So, there you have it.  My goal-setting process.  Look at the facts, think about what they are telling me, make a plan, and be realistic.

How do you set goals?  What are your goals for this year?  Add them to the comments on this blog post so we can all encourage you to keep up the good work!