How to Thrive as a Library Professional: A Book Launch Celebration

Join us at METRO on Thursday, January 16, for a fun and engaging event centered around the recently published book, How to Thrive as a Library Professional: Achieving Success and Satisfaction, by local authors, Susanne Markgren and Linda Miles.

The term professional practice holds many meanings. At a base level, it refers to practice in the sense of repetition—the tasks and actions we do over and over to accomplish our work and support our patrons. These actions are built upon skills we have developed through formal training and experience. We enact them repeatedly. We practice (v.) them. And as we develop these skills, our practice (n.) evolves and develops as well—it unfolds.

Sometimes it seems as if the work we do just happens; the skills, tasks, and relationships to which we have become accustomed carry us along almost without our needing to think about practice, in any sense of the word. But what if we took a more deliberative approach to cultivating a practice? What if we hit the pause button, and really examined our own individual careers and aspirations, the paths we’ve taken to get to where we are, and the direction in which we are headed?

This event will offer a discussion and exploration of these questions, and provide opportunities to delve deeper into specific ways to build and sustain a successful professional practice, including breakout sessions on the following strategies (or chapters) of the book:

• Telling Our Stories: Using Narrative for Self-Promotion, Professional Development, and Influence with Jill Cirasella
• Getting Your Bearings: Understanding Organizational Culture with Haruko Yamauchi
• The Choices We Make: Creating Habits for Professional Growth with Susan Wengler

We hope you will join us for this hybrid event — part exploration and part book launch celebration!

5:00 pm – Registration, Networking

5:30 – 6:00 pm – Brief Reading and Moderated Q & A with the Authors

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Breakout Sessions, Discussion, Feedback on the Project

7:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Networking, Refreshments, Book Signing

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at a discounted rate.