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Written by Asante Cain, 2014-2015 MLA President   

President's Update - October 9, 2014

"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible".- Tony Robbins

It’s been approximately 358 days, or for those who prefer smaller increments, 30,931,200 seconds since our last conference. What’s your goal in attending conference? I teach part time at the Grand Rapids Community College as an instructor for CLS 100: First Year Experience. The class is presented as “designed to assist you with the knowledge, skills and abilities you need to be successful in college and life.” A portion of the class deals with setting goals. The text advocates to write goals that fit the S.M.A.R.T acronym. S.M.A.R.T stands for:

S - specific

M - measurable

A - attainable

R - realistic

T - time-based

Before you arrive in Grand Rapids think about what your S.M.A.R.T goal could be. Do you want to meet three new professionals by the end of the first day? Do you want to find five ways to connect at new levels with your patrons? Take some time and write out a S.M.A.R.T goal. Here is one of my S.M.A.R.T goals.

I will attend the conference presentation titled “Taming the Change Monster: Surviving and Thriving Through Change” on Thursday, October 16 at 10:15. By the end of the program I will understand three methods to help my staff deal better with change.

Tangentially, at the end of the conference, I would encourage you to send out an email reporting back to your institution what you learned by attending. At least send something to your supervisors so they can understand how allowing you to go to MLA’s Annual Conference has helped you and in turn will help your library. For those of you who are not able to attend the conference in person, fear not. You can follow along with our MLAgents through social media.

Many positive and productive things have occurred since our last conference. State funding for public libraries is on the rise, resulting in libraries being able to sustain new and exciting initiatives. Libraries will receive full reimbursement of lost revenue from the repeal of PPT. MLA’s new offices reduce costs (saving your dues dollars) while upgrading technology and work spaces. There is even more to share and I am excited for our collective future!

Make it an outstanding day!

Asante

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