{"id":760,"date":"2019-01-04T12:34:06","date_gmt":"2019-01-04T17:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/assessment\/?p=760"},"modified":"2019-01-04T12:38:49","modified_gmt":"2019-01-04T17:38:49","slug":"avoiding-new-years-resolutions-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/assessment\/2019\/01\/04\/avoiding-new-years-resolutions-or-not\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding New Year\u2019s Resolutions, or Not"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image from en.wikipedia.org<\/p><\/div>\n

I may be turning cynical, but I\u2019ve stopped making personal New Year\u2019s resolutions.\u00a0<\/span>The U.S. News & World Report<\/a> says that 80% of resolutions fail by February. That\u2019s depressing!<\/p>\n

While there may be a rational, statistically valid reason for not making resolutions, that is probably not the whole reason. I think we resist making resolutions for emotional reasons as well. \u00a0We fear we won\u2019t keep them, and that will feel like a failure. If we don’t succeed in those goals, we just don’t \u201cmeasure up.”<\/span><\/p>\n

How does this relate to library assessment? Good assessment, or continuous improvement, is grounded in setting a goal or benchmark of some sort. Goals help us to imagine a vision of the future that is better. \u00a0And if we set that goal, with a measure, then we may not make it.\u00a0 <\/span>So why articulate what success looks like when we may not measure up? <\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes I \u00a0fear that when I talk enthusiastically about creating a culture of assessment here at the libraries\/press, about setting departmental goals and developing assessment plans, I don\u2019t feel much love. We hear assessment and that equates to evaluation – to good and bad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

No one wants to be judged. Or to set a goal that isn\u2019t attainable. Perhaps we set those goals low, somewhat timidly, and we certainly don\u2019t shout about them in a public space. <\/span><\/p>\n

So this year I will do what I ask others to do – I set, and publicized (on Confluence), goals for <\/span>Organizational Research & Strategy Alignment for the upcoming year.\u00a0 They look like this right now:<\/span><\/p>\n