AN ABBREVIATED VERSIONOF THE LUC 2008 PRESENTATION

ROB BREMERMIKE MATTHEWS

MEGAN LOWE

Starting a Mentorship Program for Academic

Librarians

Who We Are

Rob Bremer: LLA Academic Libraries Section Liaison with ACRL-LA User Services Librarian, Louisiana Tech University Library

Megan Lowe: Chair, Mentoring Committee Reference Librarian, University of Louisiana at Monroe

Mike Matthews: President, ACRL-LA Information Literacy/Online Learning Services Librarian,

Northwestern State University of Louisiana

What This PowerPoint Includes

The Working HypothesesThe Survey DataAdditional Data Compiled by Mike MatthewsThe Next Steps LLA’s Connection What Can You Do?

ACRL-LA’s Working Hypotheses

Older librarians will be retiring at an alarming rate; 79% will retire by 2024

Younger librarians need guidance in the cultures and philosophies of the academic librarian profession

Older librarians will want to share their knowledge with their younger colleagues

Younger librarians could (should?) learn how to perform complex tasks on the job; an older librarian’s guidance could be the solution

Librarians, regardless of age, are interested in improving their skills

WITH OBSERVATIONS

The Survey Data

Majority Do Not Have Mentoring Program

An Experienced Workforce

With a Strong Sense of Professionalism

Who Want to Help

And Who Need Skilled Colleagues

But who are too busy or feel they don’t know enough to be of assistance. (Huh?)

Librarians Know What They Need/Want

What the Survey Data Tells Us

66% of respondents have 5 or more years of experience Yet, 37% do not believe they are experienced enough

to be mentors And, 37% are simply “too busy” to be a mentor

50% of respondents want to be a mentor Only 15% (6) want to have a mentor Yet, 61% would like to participate in a continuing

education opportunity directed to mentees

COMPILED BY MIKE MATTHEWS

Additional Data

Kirkland, Janice. The Missing Women Library Directors: Deprivation versus Mentoring C&RL July

1997

Possible Long-term Benefits of a Mentoring Program

Possible Long-term Benefits of a Mentoring Program

The Next Steps

Revisit the Hypotheses

The graying of the profession is undeniable – but librarians retiring doesn’t mean that new librarians are taking the empty places

Seasoned librarians are moving into vacated positions – they are librarians in transition

The need for mentorship is not limited to new or young librarians – more seasoned librarians are looking for assistance as well

The traditional new professional-experienced professional model does not seem appropriate for the needs of Louisiana librarians

The Last Thing First

The traditional model won’t work – seasoned librarians in transition might chafe at the idea of someone telling them “the business”

Librarians willing to be mentors may only feel comfortable mentoring in certain areas

Librarians who want mentors may not need wholesale help

Peer assistance may be the answer

What Peer Mentoring Looks Like

Related Possible Options

Directory of experts Allows the person seeking assistance to seek help from

multiple professionals Allows librarians who may not feel comfortable mentoring

in all areas to mentor in areas where they do feel comfortable

Allows librarians who may not feel that they have the time to mentor one person one-on-one the opportunity to mentor in other ways

The peer-colleague model, as well as the directory of experts, is a more informal structure; a casual model is more flexible and adaptable

But to implement the model effectively…

…we need more informationWe’ve done one survey – but one was not

enough The survey did not affirm our hypotheses The survey opened our eyes to other issues

Other surveys we have in mind Mentorship Committee Inventory Demographics Career Information Expertise

Changes Based on the Survey

The target group, new librarians, has changed to librarians in transition

The structure is changing from mentor-mentee to peer-colleague

The purpose is even changing: in the beginning was pure mentorship, now we’re also looking at continuing education opportunities

Feedback from Pre-LUC and LUC

More immediate solution for SLIS studentsPost resources on the ACRL-LA websiteVolunteers to serve on the mentoring

committeeFocus groups

Definite Outcomes

Planning more workshops like our Pre-LUC workshop, “Publish & Flourish: Writing for Academic Librarians”

Focusing on technology-oriented workshops, covering such topics as Flash, Camtasia, and Moodle

Pursuing our vision of a mentorship program, but adapting as new information becomes available via follow-up surveys and focus groups

SHARING THE VISION

Louisiana Libraries Association

Sharing the Vision

LLA wanted to create a mentoring program to reach new librarians, which led…

…to the LLA Liaison to ACRL-LA, Rob Bremer, to meet with the ACRL-LA Executive Council and throw LLA’s hat into the ring, which led…

…to the joint presentation given at LUC 2008 by Rob Bremer (representing LLA), Mike Matthews (ACRL-LA president), and Megan Lowe (chair of the mentoring initiative) – our first step in collaboration!

Latest Work to Date Between ACRL-LA & LLA

On September 8, 2008, today’s presenters met, shared information … including ACRL-LA’s initial finding that two-thirds of its “new” librarians have no interest in a “mentor” … tossed around ideas, and concluded that more information and suggestions are needed to determine if the Louisiana library community in fact has a need

for a mentorship program and if there is such a need, what should be the nature and

scope of such a program.

What Has Been Gleaned from Sharing

A librarian’s need for a mentor arises when her/his library career is in transition as much as when the established librarian is learning a new skill, as when the newly minted librarian is entering the profession. 

A librarian may also on occasion need confidential, unbiased advice in dealing with a workplace issue/crisis not at all connected with any career transition.

The terms “mentoring” and “mentor” may be unnecessarily limiting and have a negative connotation for some “mentees,” who may chafe at the suggestion that, though professionals, they still need a “guide” … perhaps, “conferring” and “colleague” are better terms (“Conferring with a Colleague”).

What Has Been Gleaned from Sharing

To be successful, any mentoring/advising program must be:  Need-generated - what do our colleagues need, not

what do we think they need Well-planned - but not so over-planned the program

dies from inaction Realistic - the goal should be to have effective

mentoring/advising available when needed – not all mentors/advisors will be engaged all the time (not being busy is a good thing) and not all mentors/advisors will prove helpful (so assign another one)

HOW YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROCESS

What Can You Do?

What Can You Do?

Join ACRL-LA and LLA – after all, membership in professional organizations is a good way to meet peers and seek help

Take our surveys, when they come down the pipesParticipate in focus groupsVolunteer to serve on committees (like the

mentorship committee!)Serve as mentors/peer colleagues/whatever we

end up calling the participants in the mentorship program

Don’t be afraid to contact us with ideas, input, suggestions, etc. We want to hear from you!

Contacting Us

Rob Bremer: rbremer@library.latech.eduMike Matthews: matthewsm@nsula.eduMegan Lowe: lowe@ulm.edu

LLA: http://www.llaonline.orgACRL-LA: http://www.acrlla.org/

REMEMBER, WE THRIVE ON INPUT – DON’T HESITATE TO CONTACT US!

We hope this has been informative!