January 2, 1991 - New Year's Resolutions

On January 1 lots of people make grandiose promises to themselves and others. Come December 31, all they have to show for it is bitterness and cold despair.

Let's face it: if you're over 18 and a man, or over 35 and a woman, the only thing you can really be sure of is that twelve months from now, you're going to feel and look a little worse than you do right now.

So why fight it? Make it something you can feel good about. Make it a GOAL.

Another approach is to vow not to do something you have no intention of doing anyhow, or better yet, couldn't do if your life depended on it. Tell your friends: "No way am I going to wrestle Hulk Hogan. Not this year."

Or vow to yourself: "I don't care what happens, over the next twelve months I absolutely will not win the lottery." And stick to it. (You can still buy the tickets if you want.)

Personally, I'm a firm believer that if you set yourself low standards, you can achieve them.

Professionally, of course, my philosophy is a little different. The Board of Trustees of the new Douglas Public Library District has hitched its wagon to the stars. And so far, we're doing considerably better than, say, the Hubble Telescope.

In 1990, the survival of Douglas County's libraries depended upon its conversion to a library district. Thanks to the commanding support of the voters, we achieved that.

But what do we resolve to do in 1991?

- By March, 1991, we plan to open the Castle Rock, Parker, and Oakes Mill branch libraries seven days a week. (In the meantime, we'll define the new organization chart, then hire and train the new employees we'll need.) If we can find the right people and schedules, we'll add another day to our Louviers schedule.

- By June, 1991, we will install a new computer system, independent from the county. This will allow us to add over 20 new public terminals, and greatly expand the number of telephone connections we can support.

- By July, 1991, we plan to open a storefront library in Highlands Ranch. (For now, we're concentrating on getting the extra library books, shelving, and so on.) It too will be open seven days a week.

- By October, 1991, the library district should have a bookmobile. It will serve the residents of Douglas County's more rural areas, and the homebound. As a part of this goal, we'll investigate "satellite" libraries -- opportunities to share space with other organizations in existing buildings.

We had hoped that we'd be able to address some of our current buildings' needs in 1991. But although the residents of the County voted to give us more money, we probably won't see much of it until April or May. And the list of 1991 resolutions should keep us hopping until at least December.

But just so you know we haven't forgotten: In 1992 we'll start remodeling the space at the Castle Rock Library. Then we'll try to append another 5,000 square feet to the Parker Library, and a meeting room to the Oakes Mill Library.

Can we do all this? Of course we can!

As for me, this year I've sworn to lose a little more hair and maybe gain some weight. It won't be easy, but darn it, a man has to have something to shoot for.