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Mike’s New Year’s
Resolutions: Make 2005 the Best It Can Be!
(January 2005) By
Michael
Saint-Onge,
Senior Librarian Relations Consultant
It is true: there is something about a new year that makes each one of
us want to turn over a new leaf – to leave behind bad habits and
take up good ones. In that spirit, I can’t resist creating my own
list of New Year’s resolutions:
1) Promise not to wish ill on the next person who says: “A
librarian? What a great job! I love to read!”
I know they mean well, but just what do they think a librarian’s job
is like? (If any of you come across a job where they pay you to read
all day long, please let me know. I’m there!)
2) Stay informed.
The world is changing fast, and I am determined to keep up. One of the
best ways to keep “in the loop” on all things Lexis is to subscribe
to LexisNexis This Week. I know it is a tough sell getting
librarians to sign up for any more email, but this should make it
easier: we’ll only send you one email a week. Promise. And we won’t
sell your address to anyone offering to enlarge any of your body
parts. Just one focused email. Sign up at:
http://www.lexisnexis.com/trial/signup_thisweek.asp.
3) Do at least one thing a month that advances my continuing
education.
I promise to take my continuing education seriously. There are a
number of ways to sharpen my research skills: The LexisNexis
Librarian Relations Group offers the Librarian Certificate of
Mastery course. New modules are being offered all the time. [Watch
for the Patents Module to be released in March of 2005.] To
sign up for the program, go to:
http://www.lexisnexis.com/mastery/.
In addition to the Certificate of Mastery Program, the LexisNexis
Librarian Relations Group will continue to offer Web Seminars in
2005. These wonderful educational opportunities happen right at your
desk – you simply phone in and sign on with your computer. Watch for
more information about the dates and topics. It isn’t hard,
with all the opportunities we offer!
4) Volunteer for my professional association, either on the
National level or on the local level.
Volunteering keeps me from being completely self-absorbed, helps me
meet new people, gets me excited about my profession again. [To
volunteer for AALL, watch for your next opportunity in the early
fall.] To volunteer for the Private Law Libraries Special Interest
Section, go to
http://www.aallnet.org/sis/pllsis/volunteer.asp. Check with your
local AALL or SLA chapter for additional volunteer opportunities.
2005 will be a much better year for having volunteered!
5) Do a better job of marketing myself.
Marketing needs to become a priority for each and every one of us in
2005. I know I should have paid more attention to all those
marketing classes in library school. (Oh wait, there weren’t any
classes about marketing in library school! That makes it even
more important to educate myself on marketing basics!) The good news
is that our professional association understands the challenges
involved. The Academic SIS of AALL has created a marketing toolkit,
available on the ALL-SIS website at
http://www.aallnet.org/sis/allsis/Toolkit/index.html.
The Private Law Libraries SIS is also working on a marketing toolkit.
Jane McMahon of Thelen Reid & Priest in Los Angeles is handling the
updating of the documents from the original AALL-produced Law
Librarians: Making Information Work Toolkit. Jane is also
coordinating the gathering of sample documents such as Newsletters,
Marketing Plans, Annual Reports. Watch for more information about
how you can help with this important project.
I am coordinating the PLL Marketing Handbook, which, hopefully,
will be available for all PLL members prior to the 2005 AALL Annual
Meeting. (The production and mailing of this Marketing Handbook
is made possible by a generous contribution by the LexisNexis
Librarian Relations Group to the PLL-SIS.) In addition, we hope to
have at least two listserv discussions on best marketing practices
prior to the AALL Annual Meeting. Watch for more information about
that!
6) Work smarter, not harder!
I’m determined to follow the advice of Brian Tracy – and eat the frog
first. [Brian Tracy, Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop
Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time.] His premise is
that, as humans facing a long list of “to-do’s”, we always tend to
start with the thing we most enjoy doing. While this is pleasant, we
should really be tackling the most unattractive task first. He calls
this “eating the frog.” I plan on eating a lot of frogs in 2005. How
about you?
7) Find balance in my life.
In fact, “balance” is my word of the year. I want to find a healthy
balance of work and play. I want to enjoy the passing of time. I
want to simplify my life – discard clutter, spend more time in my
garden. Of course, this has been on my list of New Year’s
resolutions since I was old enough to hold a pencil in my hand, but
this time I really mean it!
Wishing you a 2005 filled with many good things!
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