Preparing and maintaining a personal icon library in graphical facilitation is essential for several reasons:

1. Consistency: Having a personal icon library allows you to maintain consistency in your visual representations. By using the same set of icons throughout your work, you create a cohesive and recognizable visual style. Consistency helps participants easily interpret and understand your visuals, enhancing their overall experience and comprehension.
   
2. Efficiency: Building a personal icon library saves time and effort in the long run. Instead of searching for or creating icons from scratch for each session, you can rely on your library of pre-made icons. This streamlines the graphical facilitation process, allowing you to quickly select and incorporate relevant icons into your visuals, increasing efficiency and productivity.
   
   
3. Personalisation: A personal icon library allows you to infuse your own style and personality into your graphical facilitation. You can customize and adapt icons to suit your specific needs and preferences, reflecting your unique facilitation approach. Personalisation adds a personal touch to your visuals and helps create a stronger connection with the participants.
   
   
4. Flexibility: Having a diverse range of icons in your library provides you with flexibility in representing various concepts, ideas, or objects. It enables you to visually communicate a wide range of topics and themes, making your visuals more versatile and adaptable to different contexts. With a well-curated icon library, you can quickly find the right visual representation for any given situation.
   
   
5. Continuous Improvement: As you prepare and maintain your personal icon library, you have the opportunity to expand and refine your collection over time. You can add new icons based on feedback, participant requests, or emerging trends. This continuous improvement ensures that your icon library stays relevant, up-to-date, and aligned with your evolving facilitation needs.

Overall, a personal icon library in graphical facilitation offers consistency, efficiency, personalisation, flexibility, and continuous improvement. It becomes a valuable resource that supports your facilitation practice, enhances communication, and enriches the visual experience for participants, ultimately contributing to more impactful and engaging sessions. You can see an example of an icon library below.