GBE Workshop Report
On Thursday, August 22nd, close to 70 SCASL members participated in a first-of-its-kind GBE workshop to help take the “scary” out of writing an annual professional goal. Even for seasoned librarians, creating a GBE can often cause more stress than necessary when trying to create a viable goal or turning an idea into something actionable. This stress is often compounded for our librarians who work in very small school districts, those who are brand new to the profession, or those without a strong local library support system. There were tons of great ideas presented and questions asked, and I thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie and brainstorming of all the participants from around the state. I think one of the most important take-aways from the workshop is something Christy James shared - beyond making sure your goal is a SMART goal that ties to student achievement - be sure your goal is something you feel passionately about because you are going to have to sit with it, revisit it, and work on it all year. Hopefully for participants, the workshop served as another way for people to see the value of being part of our state organization - a reminder that we are all in the same boat; we know what you’re going through; and collectively, our ideas, advice, and experience can serve as a benefit to ourselves and others. For SCASL members, look for some successful past GBE’s as well as links to other helpful GBE resources under the “Professional Development” tab on the SCASL website. If you’d like to contribute an idea (or two) to our growing “database”, we’d love to have them!
