Plans for 2024 - fall

At the library

• Collection Development
• I am about half way through weeding the juvenile nonfiction collection. I'm taking a break and switching to picture books, as I want to update the neighborhoods and the books are piling up. Then I'll go back to finish NFJ and go on to parenting  and juvenile fiction/JPOP. Not sure I will complete all of that this fall though!
• I want to spend some more time doing displays and focused recommendation lists/collections in conjunction with weeding as I see areas that need to be promoted.
• I am still trying to get to an overhaul of the Library of Things collection, making an improved inventory and updating the collection.
• Programming
• The updated summer reading programs were hugely popular and successful. I will definitely make some changes for next year, but they will be tweaks and minor fixes. I don't like to be too definite, but we may have finally hit on a summer reading program that will be successful for a long, long time. The low-key and drop-in programs went very well and I will probably do something very similar next year.
• We are going fairly low-key with programs this fall. My main focus is arranging the schedule so my part-time associate, Andrea, can cover when our school partner, Esther, is unavailable. The goal is two morning storytimes a week as consistently as possible. I'm expanding our monthly homeschool hangout with a general age separation that will hopefully include teens and older kids without discouraging families from attending as a group. I've cancelled or put on hiatus nearly all our after school programs, due to low attendance, and am sharing the Project Explore drop-in programs with my teen services associate, Jess. She's also going to change Pokemon Club to a drop-in and offer it more frequently. Esther is bringing her family preschool fun nights to the library, which should bump up our numbers as well.
• General plans
•  Staffing the youth desk from 9-5 in June-July was successful, and we are continuing it into August, but it's definitely a once-a-year thing. Next year we'll change the shifts a little. We definitely didn't have time to get to any projects and I am rather doubtful that we will manage it in August, even though we are taking the last week completely off of all programming and desk coverage. I did some work on grants this summer, but I am still struggling with the software/system of one and it's been very disheartening to work on something for TWO MONTHS and be RIGHT BACK WHERE I STARTED. Mind you, this isn't even the grant software itself, it's the third party verification system and payment apps. I am still unable to actually put in any grant requests! Our summer intern got a job after only a couple weeks, so that was great for them and they didn't need us after all! 
• I am still waiting to schedule outreach - school here does not resume until after Labor Day. I have several new outreach ventures that I am working on, just waiting to hear back from potential partners.
• I am very excited to be attending the ALSC Institute in Denver. I really enjoyed it the one time I went, but circumstances intervened every other time I attempted it, so I am looking forward to this, even though I don't enjoy traveling.
• A big grant was written this summer that we will hear back from in mid-fall. If we are awarded the grant, it will mean fairly big changes to the library, so I'm keeping things as flexible as possible. Regardless, we are facing some potential budget cuts next year, so I am also preparing for that.

Blogging

• This year I am planning to wrap up reviews by the end of November and take December for writing collection development and year-end posts.

Personally, I am continuing my goal of being more active. I am hitting my (very modest) step goals more regularly and have been very diligent about doing some simple stretches every day. I am usually too hot and tired to do much in the summer, but I'd like to get back to working on my sewing projects in the fall. I have bulbs on order and will be shifting things around a little to plant those. I am making some vague efforts to be more social, but so far this has mostly consisted of me thinking that I should, at least occasionally, go and do something and then thinking "but what would I actually do?" and "but who would I do something with?" and "how the heck do people have energy to do stuff after working, and laundry, and dishes, and cooking, and exercising?"