So even though I’m down to the wire with this post (4 hours and 32 minutes of 2016 left!) I wanted to do some brief reflecting on my first year blogging, my words for 2016, and what 2017 holds. Hoping this post will be quick and to the point; we’ll see if it actually happens!

My first year blogging has been amazing. At first I didn’t think I had anything to say and that it would be really difficult to keep finding things to write about. This year taught me that I absolutely love blogging! I have so many ideas for what to write about that I don’t feel like I have enough time to write about everything I want to tackle (more about this in the third section). I’m so grateful for the encouragement to start a blog because it has allowed me to reflect on professional topics and aspects of my library that I may not have gotten a chance to reflect on anywhere else. If you’re considering it, try it out! You may find it addictive, too. 🙂

My words for 2016 were Create & Share. I couldn’t decide on which word to choose and I’m so glad I chose both of these, since they pretty much go hand in hand. Looking back at my posts, I feel like I stayed on course for those words; I shared about experiences as well as things I’ve created – usually bulletin boards! These were my first words I chose to outline a year and I think for a first try I did well, but I think I could have put more effort into it. There were some topics I didn’t get around to blogging about and they would have fit perfectly into the Create & Share theme. I like having words to guide me; I feel like it gives me direction and guidance for what to include and how to approach topic. For 2017, I’m going to try to stay even more focused and center not only my blog but my professional life around the word I choose (stay tuned for later this week!).

What does 2017 hold? The good news is that this blog isn’t going anywhere. One of my big goals for 2017 is to blog more often, hopefully twice a month or so, about more topics, including my library’s makerspace, book reviews & recommendations, as well as events going on in my library and professional life. I suppose the two words to end 2016 are…

There’s much more ahead!

Thanks for being a reader of this blog. If anything, I hope at least one idea, perspective, or resource will help you somehow in your library life.

Happy New Year! Here’s to a rockin’ 2017.

– Rachel