Mentorship Program - 1

Stakeholders

We have identified four main groups of stakeholders in this mentorship project: mentees, mentors, the American Library Association (ALA), specifically the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), as well as an additional community of individuals who will indirectly benefit from the program.

Mentees

Mentees include Young Adult (YA) and School Librarians who have been in the field for less than five years. We have defined “librarian” as individuals who have earned a Master’s in Library and information Science (MLIS), accredited by the ALA, and/or the appropriate credential to be certified as a school media specialist in their state. While there are those who work as librarians without a master’s degree, this program strives to provide an added incentive for library workers to complete an accredited master’s program and to encourage libraries and school districts across the country to continue to hire only degreed librarians. However, these criteria do not aim to exclude those currently enrolled in library school program from participating. The project committee does agree, though, that participants already working, post-masters, provides a better context in which mentees can benefit from professional guidance.

Mentors

Mentors are defined as information professionals with experience as YA Librarians or School Media Specialists that have been in the profession for at least five years, are active within ALA and/or a state organization for at least three years, and hold the MLIS and/or school library media specialist certificate. The plan requires that the mentors play an active role in these respective organizations to ensure that they have the skills necessary to educate new librarians about the structure and benefits of professional organizations and offer advice on how to become involved.

American Library Association

While this program will focus on allowing mentees to play an active role in the profession, the Association will benefit as well. After mentees have completed the mentorship program and have increased their familiarity with both the profession and professional organizations, they are more likely to continue to be active within ALA and its various divisions.

Community At-Large

This segment of stakeholders includes future employers and library customers. In her article, “Integrating the New Librarian into Your Library,” Debbie Schachter states that new employees benefit tremendously from external mentorship programs (Schachter, 2006). External mentorship programs, such as we are proposing, offer professional guidance without placing an undue burden on current employers. While internal mentoring offers its benefits as well, having the opportunity to interact with those outside one’s own place of employment provides a greater sense of community and commitment to the library profession as a whole. Employers will benefit from employees who actively seek to improve their knowledge of the profession and will likely provide some form of support for the employee’s professional development.

Library customers will also benefit from having highly skilled librarians at their service. Librarians who do not seek continuing education opportunities miss out on honing and learning new skills that veteran librarians have developed over time, thus the public will, in turn, miss out on having the best trained librarians available.

History

The project team intends for this mentorship program to be adopted jointly by YALSA and AASL. The project committee has taken into consideration the fact that YALSA has previously made an effort to administer a mentorship program. According to an article in School Library Journal discussing YALSA’s prior program (Whalen, 2004), the division chose to aim its mentorship program towards librarians with less than three years of experience, offering career guidance, networking, outreach, and general advice to those with a focus on at-risk youth. Begun in 2005, and running for one year, YALSA’s Division and Mentorship Promotion Committee managed the program. The mentors and mentees met on only one occasion, at ALA Annual, after they had been working with each other virtually for several months.

YALSA’s Board requested that the Division and Mentorship Committee discontinue the program and evaluate it before continuing further. The Committee completed its evaluation in October 2006, and while overall deeming the program a success, their evaluations included the suggestion that the mentorship coordinator provide more direction throughout the course of the program. Participants also responded feeling a bit lost and unsure of how often they should communicate with one another and through what means. Additionally, mentors felt that their mentees were already too advanced in their careers to truly benefit from this particular program and that the program should be targeted towards graduate students. At this time, the YALSA mentoring program has not begun againfor a second term.

This proposal does target those who have already gotten a start in the library profession, because we hope to provide an opportunity to librarians who have not yet had the chance to be involved in a learning program, such as Emerging Leaders, or who did not choose to focus on children’s or young adult librarianship while in library school. Students often receive a significant amount of guidance while in graduate school, however, there are concerns about new librarians who feel lost when they begin on their own in the world of libraries.

The project committee has taken into account such conditions as matching participants by location, specific field of interest, and career aspirations when designing this new program. Overall, there is a precedent for a program of this type, and by offering a more structured program with specific goals and objectives, as well as specific requirements for participants, this plan will present a more stable and long-term option for YALSA and AASL.

Goals and Objectives

The purpose of creating a mentoring program is to provide guidance and resources to a new generation of professionals. While enrolled in a master’s degree program of Library and Information Science, aspiring librarians learn much theory and core practices of librarianship, yet many students miss out on the more practical, hands-on lessons of working in libraries. With a well-organized mentoring program students and recent graduates will have a platform for professional development in this regard. Additionally, a well administered mentoring program, sponsored by divisions of ALA, will serve as an excellent introduction into the world of professional organizations.

The key goals of this proposed mentoring program are as follows:

  • Participation in a formal, professional learning environment specializing in youth and school library services
  • Development of leadership and supervisory skills
  • Creation of new relationships and networks with youth services professionals
  • Continuing education opportunity
  • Involvement in professional organization(s)
  • Experienced professionals passing on their vast knowledge

Through achievement of the above goals, our proposed plan strives to provide a mutually beneficial professional development experience. Both mentors and mentees will reap the benefits of collaborative work and knowledge sharing. The plan will also include a framework for a solid management structure, to ensure consistent participation on the part of both mentor and mentee. Finally, participants of the mentoring program will be able to take back much of their learning to the libraries in which they work, thus sharing the wealth of knowledge they gain with co-workers.

Structure

There are many mentoring programs that exist. The efficacy of these programs, however, in creating a positive mentoring experience depends on taking certain provisions and actions to ensure that all parties involved are aware of and agree upon specific criteria. For example, Mentor/National Mentoring Partnership ( is an organization that matches children with mentors who will help them find the pathways to successful lives. The organization has researched and created a document titled Elements of Effective Practice which outlines best practices for forming and maintaining a mentoring program. With this and other resources in mind, the project committee recommends this new mentoring program incorporate the following elements.

Program Management

Whether there exists a single moderator or a moderating body, there must be a method for participants to redress grievances, receive counsel, and gain access to tools used for communication. The project committee strongly recommends that a governing body, rather than a single individual, administer this mentoring program. This management team should convene on a regular basis to review program operations.

The mentoring plan will be jointly implemented by YALSA and AASL. Representatives from both divisions should manage the program to make certain the respective viewpoints of each division are represented. In order to pair participants most successfully, at least one expert in each specialty should be present on the management team. The team should communicate regularly in order to maintain a high quality program.

Included in the governing body should be an expert in technology. Due to enhancements in modern technology there are several options for mentors and mentees to communicate with each other. A technology expert will be up to date with advances in technology, be able to create and manipulate communications technology, and troubleshoot communication modes that may be provided by the mentoring program. The technology expert should be included as part of the team that will manage the program. This individual will also be responsible for creating and maintaining a central Web presence for the program.

Other tasks to be required of the management teach are: matching mentors and mentees, protecting and maintaining records of participants, providing discussion topics, mediating conflict, distributing and compiling evaluations, planning and/or creating training workshops and orientation for mentors and mentees, organizing receptions at ALA Annual and Mid-Winter conferences, and finance management.

Cost Analysis

Prior to implementation of this program, the governing body should conduct a cost analysis to determine the financial feasibility of providing a national scale mentoring program. Areas of consideration include:

  • Length of mentoring program (i.e. how many years it will exist)
  • Resources provided by ALA
  • Advertising costs
  • Training workshops
  • Materials costs (i.e. program manuals)
  • Orientations and receptions for participants at ALA Annual and Mid-Winter
  • Future of Technology

The results of a cost analysis may affect the magnitude of, and the services provided, by this program. Also, a system of managing finances will be necessary if it is determined that a significant source of money will be required to carry out this program.

Recruitment

There are many places from which to recruit the program management team, mentors, and mentees. Methods of recruitment may be more selective for the initial year of the mentoring program. The program should not take on more than it can handle in its first couple of years.

Members of the management team should come from the division membership of YALSA and AASL. Membership in the sponsoring divisions will signify a desire to contribute to, as well as benefit from, activities within the fields of YA and school librarianship. The management team will provide the role of mediator and be asked to offer topics for discussion. Achievement of these tasks will require seasoned professionals.

The current leadership of YALSA and AASL should extend personal invitations to members they believe demonstrate extensive experience and a high level of commitment to co-chair the management team. The team member that serves as the technology expert may not require as many years in the library profession, but more importantly, bring lengthy experience and enthusiasm within technology. Additional team members should include up-and-coming professionals to create a team that has a balance of experience and represents the diversity of participants within the mentoring program.

Mentors may be discovered through personal invitation and/or advertising. Advertisements may be placed in library and education journals, state, regional, or national library and school conferences, and via listservs for library and school organizations.

Mentees may be recruited through institutions that provide ALA-accredited library and information programs. Many of these institutions use listservs and email to communicate with students. These institutions also tend to have ALA student chapters. Another valuable resource is a university career placement service that may direct aspiring librarians and recent graduates to the mentoring program. After the initial years of the program, a more rigorous recruitment process may be considered.

Application Process

Application packets for mentees will require a resume, letters of recommendation, a personal essay, and a questionnaire. Mentors will also be required to submit documented experience and accomplishments that prove their interest and commitment to providing quality youth services in libraries as well as the questionnaire. The application process will take into account personality, interests, experience, and career goals. Evaluations completed by participants in other mentoring programs have suggested that mentees be matched with mentors with similar goals and interests, and who live in the same geographic region. Below are sample questions to include in the questionnaires:

  • What do I expect from my mentor/mentee?
  • What do I expect to gain from the program?
  • What are my strengths/weaknesses?
  • What are my most significant career-related accomplishments? (Mentor)
  • What are my career goals? (Mentee)
  • What is my preferred method(s) of communication?
  • How much time do I have each month to invest in this relationship?

Examples of applications used in successful programs can be found in Appendix __.

Contract

To ensure that both mentors and mentees are aware of and agree upon the expectations and minimum requirements of the mentoring relationship, a contract will be signed by each party. The contract will specify the following elements:

  • Minimum requirements of the program
  • Grievance procedure
  • Goals and objectives of the program
  • Goals specific to each pairing
  • Time frame of the formal relationship
  • Frequency of communication
  • Description of the appropriate relationship between mentor and mentee

Suggested Modes of Communication and Program Length

Mentors and mentees will be expected to meet face-to-face at the beginning of the partnership. Additional face-to-face meeting may be arranged by the program management team at ALA Mid-Winter or as mentors and mentees deem appropriate.

With today’s social technology, participants and the program management team will be able to communicate remotely. It is reasonable to expect that all parties will have access to Internet-based communication tools. Other modes of communication may be provided by the program itself, such as a blog, discussion board, and/or wiki.

Participation in the program will last for one year, beginning at ALA Annual and ending at the following ALA Annual. Informal communication beyond this time frame is at the discretion of the participants.

Evaluation

The program should be evaluated at regular intervals to ensure that it is providing the best service possible. Evaluation forms should be submitted during the middle and at the expiration of a partnership. Participants will be encouraged to communicate with the management team as often as desired. Great efforts should be taken to adjust the program so that it will benefit the widest audience. Evaluation will focus on the general experience of the program, its processes, outcomes, and findings will be reported in an annual summary.

Protocol

Protocol is a direct subset of Structure, including the details about the methods in which mentors and mentees should interact and how the mentoring portion of the program will operate.

A review of the literature on mentoring programs finds definitions of mentors and mentees in a variety of terms. As a result, the project committee suggests that the management team define the appropriate relationship between the mentor and mentee. We should consider providing a suggested definition of the “relationship”; otherwise this statement doesn’t carry much weight nor provide much explanation. I agree..perhaps state something about it being a professional and collegial relationship, with no romantic involvement during the time of the mentorship, etc.Within this section we have compiled suggested roles and qualities mentors and mentees should hold. The literature also strongly suggests introspective questions be included in the application process to help determine the characteristics of applications, both mentors and mentees, so that better matches can be made.

The Mentor

A mentor is an expert in a profession who passes on his/her professional knowledge to new members of the field. Depending on the formality of the mentoring relationship, a mentor may have more intimate descriptions such as friend or confidante. Traditional roles of the mentor are: advisor, nurturer, counselor, coach, or friend.