Short Term Goals. . . so far

I touched base with the administration this morning and gave a brief outline of my short-term goals for the library. The reception was very positive and there was some interest in a display of Saint Mary's History. I have a lot of energy and excitement right now for this project and for beginning my career as librarian. I'm sure there will be disappointment and tedium as there is in any job/career but this feels right.

Short Term Library Goals (Goals that can be achieved immediately or within the year)

I. Physical Space of the Library
A. clean and organize
B. take old artwork down and put student art work up
C. new furniture
D. panther mural (see attached)
E. If possible move the books out of the “caves” and onto shelves in the main space
II. The Web Page
A. Create a blog for the library and show its transformation over time:
http://pantherlibraryproject.blogspot.com/
III. The Collection
A. Get rid of the paper issues of National Geographic
B. Move the reference books into the stacks
C. Get rid of the vinyl records and trade for CD’s (consult with others who might be interested)
D. Buy an irecord ($200) http://www.irecord.com to convert 782 video analogue to digital MP4 files.
IV. Collaboration with teachers
A. Give a presentation to teachers at the beginning of the year on techniques for searching on Google and Web 2.0. I need to overcome resistance to ipods, movies, cds, websites, etc.
B. Create a web calendar for teachers to sign up for time in the library online or on the network.
C. Have each teacher write down a keyword or two that they would like research on
D. Create a four year plan to incorporate information literacy into the curriculum map. Begin with Freshman English and History.
E. Have students create movie posters of their independent reading. (English Classes) http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/poster.php. They have to list and site quotes from the book to show where they got the physical descriptions that they will use to set up the digital photo (Art Classes) that they will take and upload to the site.
V. Activities for students
A. Media discussions on Visual Art, Books, Music, Poetry, Movies open to students and faculty.
B. Have a computer or network space dedicated to storing podcasts and digital videos that students can download and contribute to (only materials in the public domain)
C. Play “Media Idol” once a month. Two students and I read, listen, or watch a piece of media then debate and judge it in front of an audience who will finally vote (on the website?) to decide if it passes the final round. The piece of media that wins could be included in the collection, or the next summer reading etc. To get copies for the judges, students could write letters to publishers explaining what they are doing.


So I have a fair start on some of these. I want to finish the physical space changes in the next three weeks before I go on vacation. We'll see how it goes. . .