Two Months & Counting

I was thinking I hadn't yet accomplished much in my new job, when I stopped to consider it's only been 2 months since I started! Sitting in meetings where others had great progress reports on various projects led me to think I wasn't stepping up, but a reality check reminded me it takes time to settle in - it's been a long time since I've been the "newbie" anywhere. It's not like I've just been sitting home, waiting for something to happen (although the possible October government shut-down did cause a little concern!). I've traveled to at least 10 libraries, participated in a few board and director trainings, met a lot of new folks and dealt with some interesting issues, all while becoming familiar with standards, laws and other procedures I wasn't familiar with. The holidays, when things seem to slow down a bit, are a good time to regroup and make some definite plans. I've attended webinars and trainings, including the ContentDM series for the Montana Memory Project - I'd seen some of that in action but going through the complete set really helped in understanding the process of creating a collection. There has been new grant money allocated to that so I'm looking forward to helping libraries with their preservation plans. Another project is a Lifelong Learning and Community Outreach idea - it could be 2 separate goals or we could find a way to combine things. An early idea involved the creation of traveling kits libraries could borrow for recording patron stories and experiences; this might involve training in the use of the equipment and how to share what was collected. Partnering with community groups would also be a big part of this. That's a discussion we'll have next month. So I will remind myself to be patient and see what new challenges and opportunities come along in the next few months!