One of the areas I am most excited about it finding new ways to help people transform their lives through library resources. My enthusiasm stems from my own story.
I graduated from college almost a decade ago. My degree is arts-centric and at the time there weren’t many local opportunities in that field. Luckily, while still in school I had spent some of my free time teaching myself graphic design and web development. Improving on those skills consumed many many hours, but it didn’t cost me a thing because I used library resources. The time was well spent: I leveraged those skills to make good money even while the economy was still in recovery.
That type of story is possible for anyone, and it isn’t just limited to web development. There are plenty of well-paying careers that don’t require a four-year degree, but are instead skill-based. The library has the materials for a person to self-train in these fields, but tracking down all of the resources and putting them together can be an insurmountable challenge.
My plan is to work with businesses and schools to pinpoint what the library already has that can get someone started in a new career. Together, we can provide miniature curricula for new skills. By focusing on existing library resources, this initiative can be low cost but has the potential to make a huge difference.