The most wonderful time of the year

Tis' the season to be jolly . . . . well, I have to be honest and say I am not jolly all the time at this time. I tend to get overwhelmed with the many holiday tasks I need to accomplish. I always stress, but everything magically seems to get done.

I do like this time of the year, however, because I get a chance to let those folks who are close to me, my colleagues who are great to know, my staff who put up with me all year and those folks who have somehow done something to make my life a little more manageable in the past year know just how much I have enjoyed working with them, how I appreciate their service, or how glad I am that they are my friends. Special fudge, holiday parties, creating my annual library Christmas card for the campus and finding ways to reward my staff and co-workers on campus are just some of the things that remind me that the year really wasn't all that bad. I am getting ready to have a thank-you pizza party for our maintenance and IT staff (I pay for it myself); we bug them endlessly and I truly appreciate how responsive they always are. My own staff will be enjoying our staff party and gift exchange soon; I like to let my student staff and regular staff know how great it is to work in the library and how I appreciate them working to present a great image of the library throughout the year. I am especially proud of my regular staff; we are small but we do accomplish a lot.

I actually do some baking at this time of the year; I make these chocolate pretzel O's that are very addictive. Just ask Diane!! I like to pass them out as gifts of appreciation so lots of folks get to enjoy them and it lets them know much they mean to me or how I appreciated them allowing me to work with them on instruction projects or other campus events.

I do wish for each and every one of you to be acknowledged for all your hard work and to let someone else know how much they mean to you or how much you appreciate them. After all, the reason for the season is joy and blessings and we can all certainly use more of both in our lives. May you all have a special holiday season and I look forward to talking and working with you all in 2008!