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Are You My Mentor?. New Perspectives and Research on Informal Mentorship. Julie James, Ashley Rayner, and Jeannette Bruno. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Telemachus_and_Mentor1.JPG. Agenda. Personal Introductions Research Introduction Formal Mentorship Informal Mentorship
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Are You My Mentor? New Perspectives and Research on Informal Mentorship Julie James, Ashley Rayner, and Jeannette Bruno http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Telemachus_and_Mentor1.JPG
Agenda • Personal Introductions • Research Introduction • Formal Mentorship • Informal Mentorship • Why Mentorship? • Quick Survey • Survey Discussion • Conclusions
Formal Mentorship: A Definition A mandated senior-junior dyad with the purpose of the senior employee imparting wisdom about operational procedures in the institution to prepare the junior employee for promotion.
Examples of Formal Mentorship • College and university tenure-track programs • ACRL Dr. E. J. Josey Spectrum Scholar Mentor Program • YALSA’s Virtual Mentoring Program
Informal Mentorship: A Definition “Informal mentoring has minimal to no structure and oversight and may or may not have a clear and specific goal.” Best Practices: Mentoring. United States Office of Personnel Management. September 2008.
What Makes a Good Mentorship? • Goal-Setting • Reciprocity • Challenging • Education • Je ne sais quoi http://flickr.com/photos/99287245@N00/3451297089
Why is Mentorship Important? • Recruitment • Retention • Inclusion • Development • Understanding • Technological literacy
Especially for Librarians of Color • Increased challenges • Pipeline development • Reflecting campus diversity
Any Drawbacks/Concerns? • Initiative • Lack of Confidence • Too Much Structure • No Connection
We know mentorship is valuable, but is informal mentorship just as legitimate as formal mentorship?
Short Survey/Audience Participation • Have you had a formal mentorship? • Have you had an informal mentorship? • Have had no type of mentor relationship?
Our Survey • 2707 possible participants • 223 respondents completed the survey • 153 held MLIS degrees
“This survey is completely useless because the definition of informal mentorship is inadequate. What is the difference between informal mentorship and simply having colleagues who, in an ongoing fashion, give you good advice or listen to your complaints? It is misleading to try to force "mentoring" into a box with boundaries around it, except for formal things -- which I would prefer to call internships or the like.” -Respondent
Questions? Contact us at jamejuli@my.dom.edu, ashley.rayner@elmhurst.edu, and jeannette.bruno@elmhurst.edu. Mentoring Opportunities ALA and its divisions offers opportunities for mentees and mentors, discussion groups, and affiliate mentoring programs. http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/mentoring-opportunities http://www.ala.org/educationcareers/mentoring/mentoring_and_recruitment_efforts