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[Year]

ALA Emerging Leadership 2008: Group K

Reference & User Services Association Mentoring Program ProposalRecommendations for Creating a Sustainable Program for Mentoring Members of RUSA

A Report Submitted to the Reference & User Services Association at the 2008 American Library Association

Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA

June 26-July 2nd, 2008

Derik BadmanLatanya N. JenkinsCrystal RenfroPatrick Sweeney

Group Mentors:William McHughDiane M. Zabel

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Reference & User Services Association Mentoring Program ProposalRecommendations for Creating a Sustainable Program for Mentoring Members of RUSA

Introduction

This report serves as a preliminary planning tool to assist the Reference

and User Services Association (RUSA) of the American Library Association

(ALA) in the establishment of a sustainable mentoring program. The

members of the 2008 Emerging Leaders program (Group K) consisting of

Derik Badman, Latanya N. Jenkins, Crystal Renfro, and Patrick Sweeney

outline important guidelines, procedures, and practices that will facilitate

in the creation of a successful RUSA mentoring program.

In this document, mentoring terms will be defined, and a short historical

background of the conceptualization of Group K's project will illustrate the

need for a mentoring program for RUSA. Mentoring activities will be clearly

defined via the stated goals and objectives for the program, and the

research practices to assess the needs of the association for the mentoring

program will be described in the methods section. Results of a survey sent

to all RUSA members will culminate in the project team's recommendations

Emerging Leaders: Group K Mentoring

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for RUSA to ensure that this program will have enduring value for all

participants as well as the association.

HISTORY

The 2007 Emerging Leaders Group A was assigned the project of working

with the newly formed RUSA Task Force on Membership Recruitment to

identify strategies for marketing the division to its new members. Group A

was to provide input and evaluate strategies already identified by the

organization, as well as to develop new initiatives to more effectively

market the division to young professionals. This group identified mentoring

as an essential focus for RUSA and their recommendation to explore

establishing a mentoring program became the charge to the 2008 Emerging

Leaders (Group K).

Programming Goals & Objectives

GOALS FOR GROUP PROJECT

1. To gather input from a wide cross-section of RUSA membership regarding their

interest in a mentoring program and what such a program should entail

2. To provide RUSA with information about what mentorship is and what it offers to

both the organization and the participants

3. To propose one way such a program could operate within RUSA

GOALS FOR PROPOSED MENTORING PROGRAM

1. To provide additional networking opportunities for RUSA members


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2. To encourage and to develop increased participation within RUSA, not only for this

program but also within other committees

3. To facilitate the exchange of expertise between RUSA members with differing areas

of knowledge and experience

4. To support the development of library professionals in their careers

5. To provide an enriching professional experience

6. To re-energize professionals and to spark increased enthusiasm in their work

through the process of building a relationship with another librarian


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DEFINITIONS

A mentor is defined by Merriam Webster as a "trusted counselor or guide".

Within the context of the proposed RUSA mentoring program, a mentor is a

RUSA member who is motivated to provide guidance and support as a

resource not only to a new librarian or library science student in the early

years of his or her professional development, but also as a support

resource for seasoned professional librarians. In this regard, a mentee is a

library science student and/or librarian who seeks to establish a

professional relationship with an experienced RUSA member who can help

the mentee negotiate many of the challenges encountered during the early

years of their professional life. Mentees are ALA members and preferably

RUSA members who have an interest in becoming actively involved in their

professional organizations.

The benefits of such a program include the potential for reverse/ mutual

mentoring, where those new to librarianship can share their experiences

with seasoned librarians. One vital objective of the program is to ensure

that both mentor and mentee find the relationship beneficial for

themselves and can form lasting networks beneficial to RUSA.


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Methods

The primary steps in investigating mentoring activities entailed seeking past

and current programs in order to ascertain what positive attributes of past

successes in mentoring programs were. The group began by investigating

library professional and state associations with mentoring programs then

moved on to library school mentoring programs and academic library

mentoring programs. Next, a literature search in each respective area was

completed. Finally, Emerging Leaders Group K identified the membership

attributes for involvement with mentoring activities through the distribution of a

survey.

Review of Library Mentoring Programs

While some of the library mentor programs hosted by national associations

appeared to be inactive, the programs that have strong participation (like the

American Library Association’s New Member Round Table) have a mentoring

committee devoted to its visibility through their dedication to creating and

maintaining information packets, websites, booths, and distributing magazine

articles and mailers to new librarians as well as new members of the of the

association. There is a great deal of information available via their website; for

instance, there are mentoring guidelines available and the organization also

plans and hosts a number activities; like, online discussions, conference

mentoring, and career mentoring. Additionally, there is an online application for

both mentors and mentees. The committee within the organization ensures that


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the program is maintained and marketed. On the state association level

mentoring programs appear to be less formal with very limited amounts of

information about their mentoring programs.

Both formal and informal library school mentoring programs, on the other

hand, work collaboratively through their regions1, utilize the strength of their

alumni and faculty in mentoring, and/or partner with local chapters of national

associations to keep their mentoring programs active. These groups also have a

web presence with program information. Some of the informal programs had a

contact person, who could provide further information on programming

availability. Some of the academic library mentor programs’ websites provide

the mission of their programs and provide guidelines with additional readings. 2

SURVEY FINDINGS

A survey was taken of current RUSA members to ascertain the interest in a

mentoring program and to obtain feedback on the possible structure and content

such a program might offer. While respondents were predominately from academic

libraries (66%) they were also from a wide range of experience levels from 0-2 year

(26%) up to 20+ years (24%).

Of the 98 respondents, an overwhelming 72% expressed an interest in participating

in a RUSA mentoring program. The respondents were split (53% yes, 47% no) on 1 LIS Access Midwest Program: http://www.lisaccess.org/index.html 2 Penn State University Libraries Faculty Mentoring Program: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/admin/mentoring/


http://www.libraries.psu.edu/admin/mentoring/

http://www.lisaccess.org/index.html

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whether participation should be limited to RUSA members, and, while 39%

considered matching participants within sections (i.e., BRASS to BRASS, MARS to

MARS) to be important, over half (53%) felt that a match need not be limited by

section. The majority (69%) wanted a long-term (or a formal, one year) program

and 76% welcomed the idea of mentoring an unemployed library school student.

The concept of mutual/reverse mentoring--where the mentoring relationship

would be bi-directional--was embraced by 71% of respondents, making it clear that

both mentor and mentee participants would be eager to learn from each other.

Several potential mentors referred to gaining increased enthusiasm in their career

after participating in similar programs and saw the mentoring relationship as an

opportunity to share "strategies for surviving as a professional."

Mentoring program

The proposed Mentoring Program for RUSA members would provide a structured

venue for library professionals to partner with experienced RUSA members for a

one year period during which support, guidance, and professional networking

would take place. The relationship would offer the opportunity for collaborative

mentoring where mentor and mentee could share with each other the insights and


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expertise that each bring to the experience. At best, the program would produce

meaningful professional connections between members that will help keep RUSA

vital in the coming years.

MENTORING PROGRAM STRUCTURE

Based on survey feedback, we recommend that pairs are allowed to match

themselves by utilization of a database of informative applications from mentors

and mentees interested in participating in the program.

We recommend that the program open with an orientation meeting and reception

for pairs at the annual meeting. This would allow both parties to meet and to

discuss with the larger group of participants how to make this new partnership the

most effective for all involved. Graduates from the previous year's program would

also be invited back for a wrap-up event and could be available to provide feedback

on their successful Mentoring Program experiences.

Mentors and mentees agree to engage in conversation at least once a month, and

the pairs would receive monthly emails from the RUSA Mentoring committee with

a new suggested discussion topic to help spark interactions.

PROGRAM MARKETING PLAN

With the understanding that the financial and personal resources of RUSA are

limited the program must be marketed to ensure that enough mentors and

mentees apply to participate in the program. This means that RUSA must be

creative in its marketing attempts. Luckily, due to the structure of RUSA as well as


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the ALA, there are a number of low cost (in time, money, and effort) ways to

market such a program. We will outline a number of possibilities. These

recommendations are merely for use by RUSA. Those suggestions that are deemed

manageable by the RUSA organization should be utilized and anything else can be

used when the resources are available. Many of these suggestions could be

possible projects for next year's emerging leaders, thus saving costs while

promoting RUSA's new program.

1) Utilize the listservs. There are a number of listservs both within RUSA and throughout the ALA, as well as some school, professional, and independent listservs. While not all of them reflect the RUSA organization they may still be utilized to inform people of new programs such as mentorship opportunities. It is therefore important that the Mentoring committee take the time to review the opportunities here.

2) Articles in professional publications. As the program begins to gear up, it is possible that RUSA could designate an issue of "Reference and User Services Quarterly" to the articles pertaining to the importance of mentorship. For example, articles written by RUSA members who have participated in mentorship programs in the past, or research articles that present the benefits of mentorship programs to the mentors as well as the mentees.

3) Flyers and handouts. Well designed flyers, posters, and handouts can begin to solidify the idea of a mentorship program within RUSA. These flyers can be sent to MLIS schools and major library systems. A logo for branding purposes would be advantageous in creating an identity for the program.

4) Mentorship videos and podcasts. Videos can be argued to be the new online medium and RUSA should take advantage of this marketing media. New RUSA members are inundated with text based information as they begin to learn and understand the professional environment. Also, more experienced RUSA members could suffer from text-information overload and video commercials could help to alleviate the problem of listserv and email presentations going unread.

5) Word of mouth and buy-in. Conferences, meetings, and various gatherings of professionals can be important opportunities to present the newest RUSA program. As such, it is especially important that RUSA officers take the time to mention the programs and services of RUSA at every opportunity presented to them. This


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means that RUSA officers must have buy-in in the program and that they must consciously make the decision to speak about it whenever they get the chance.

6) Exhibits, presentations. While possibly difficult to do the first year, it might be possible to present a panel discussion at a conference related to the mentorship program. Also, while "gearing up" for the first year of the program RUSA could hold a panel discussion concerning the benefits of professional mentorships and its relation to better user services from library professionals with more resources at their fingertips due to their experiences in a mentoring program.

7) Websites and social networking. There are a number of websites and web 2.0 sites that encourage the grouping of likeminded individuals. In fact, there are groups of reference librarians on almost all of the larger ones; such as, Facebook, Myspace, Friendster, etc... Therefore, it would be possible to utilize these groupings to send out information about the mentorship program directly to reference librarians who might not yet be members of RUSA.

This list is in no way meant to be a complete record of marketing ideas for the

RUSA mentoring program, but it is expected that the best ideas for program

sustainability should be used. The RUSA Mentoring committee can determine what

techniques are best and most economical at the time.

MENTORING PROGRAM COSTS

Funding requirements for this program could be limited to the cost of the reception

and possible associated orientation/training session. This reception is envisioned to

be of a casual nature with modest food choices such as cheese and fruit or a desert

tray. A small incidental budget for items such as name tags, promotional flyers and

perhaps a door prize is also suggested.


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Recommendations to RUSA

We propose a Mentoring program for RUSA that could be administered on a

perpetual basis. The program would be widely advertised each spring on

appropriate listservs and RUSA publications with directions on how to begin the

application process. Mentors and mentees would then be matched. Many other

successful mentoring programs achieve this matching by committee members who

carefully review each application and match mentors and mentees based on

common interests and availability. Results from our survey, however, indicate that

RUSA members would prefer to match themselves by means of a database of

informative applications from mentors and mentees interested in participating in

the program. A description of one such application, the Ning social network is

described in more detail later in this report.

An onsite orientation meeting and reception for matched pairs would be planned

for the ALA Annual meeting. This would allow mentor and mentee to meet face-to-

face and to discuss with the larger group of participants how to make this new

partnership the most effective for all involved. Graduates from the previous year's

program would also be invited back for a wrap-up event and could be available to

provide feedback on their successful Mentoring Program experiences.

Recognizing the travel limitations that some participants may experience, we

recommend that the mentoring committee explore the possibility of an additional

online orientation meeting offered via virtual meeting/training software as well as


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providing written guidelines to each participant as a reinforcement of the

orientation sessions.

Such orientations would discuss the roles and responsibilities that mentors and

mentees have in the program. Each Mentor and Mentee pair agrees to engage in

conversation at least once a month, and the pairs would receive monthly discussion

topics from the RUSA Mentoring committee to help spark interactions. A list of

possible topics and the interest of survey participants in each topic is included as an

appendix to this document.

In addition to the monthly topics suggested, we encourage the RUSA mentoring

committee to explore additional creative suggestions for mentors and mentees to

interact. Ideas such as pairs writing an article together, or creating a poster for

some future professional meeting could provide the pairs with additional

opportunities to interact and encounter new areas of guidance and support for one

another.

Since the ultimate goal for the RUSA Mentoring program is to be a

sustainable program with enduring value for all individuals involved, the

group suggests additional steps in the process:

1. Program Management

a. Creation of a database for matching program participants

b. Review/ reevaluate expectations

2. Program Evaluations

a. Complete after 1 year


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b. Track participant objective completion

Feedback would ensure that corrective measures could be taken to better

programs and participation in sessions and events. These programming

components to sustaining it would ensure that participants are meeting their

own goals and expectations and that their experiences lends to the promotion

of leadership in RUSA.

LEVERAGING SOCIAL NETWORKING

To enable program participants to more easily match themselves and to work

within the confines of budget and time constraints, the use of a social network for

the program also is recommended. One possibility is the free service Ning, which

allows users to create their own private social networks. A RUSA Mentoring Social

Network on Ning could be used to enable matching and communication of

mentor/mentee pairs. The profile data for the network could be designed to

provide sufficient data for mentors and mentees to find appropriate matches.

Forums on the Ning could be used for monthly topics and would allow participants

to interact with each and share ideas about mentoring. The network could also

serve as an organizational tool for annual and/or regional meet-ups.

Conclusions

Mentoring has been shown to be a valuable enrichment to the lives of mentors and

mentees alike. A mentoring program for RUSA has been identified as a highly

desired enhancement to the RUSA membership benefits. The suggestions and


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vision offered by this report provide a useful platform for subsequent discussions

and plans by RUSA. Emerging Leaders' Group K looks forward to seeing RUSA

launch such a program in the near future.


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BibliographyDragovich, Pamela, and Stephen Margton. "Alma Mater Mentoring: Library Science Alumni Promote School and Profession." Journal of Education for Library and Information Science 36, no. 4 (Fall 1995): 346-50.Jurkowski, Odin, Patricia Antrim, and Jennifer Robins. "Building Bridges between Students and Practicioners." Journal of Education for Library and Information Science 46, no. 3 (2005): 198-209.Kaplowitz, Joan. "Mentoring Library School Students: A Survey of Participants in the UCLA/GSLIS Mentor Program." Special Libraries 83, no. 4 (Fall 1992): 219-233.Kyuper-Rushing, Lois. "A Formal Mentoring Program in a University Library: Components of a Successful Experiment." The Journal of Academic Librarianship 27, no. 6 (November 2001): 440-446.Munde, Gail. "Beyond Mentoring: Toward the Rejuvenation of Academic Llibraries." The Journal of Acdemic Librarianship 26, no. 3 (May 2000): 171-175.Osif, Bonnie A. “Successful Mentoring Programs: Examples from Within and Without the Academy” Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship 13, no. 3 (2008) In production.Pollack, Miriam, Amy Healey, and Mary Jane Kepner. Recruiting for the Library Profession: A Mentoring Process: A Project Description and Handbook. Wheeling: North Suburban Library System (distributed by the American Library Association), 1992.Rice-Lively, Mary Lynn. "A Model for an Academic Library and Library School Mentor/ Protege Program [at the University of Texas at Austin]." College & Research Libraries news 3 (1991): 163-164.Special Library Association. The Mentorship Handbook: A Guide for SLA. Program Guide, South Park, VA: Special Libraries Association, 1999.Tolson, Stephanie D. "Mentoring up the Career Ladder." Information Outlook 2, no. 6 (1998): 37-38.Zabel, Diane M. “The Mentoring Role of Professional Associations.” Journal of Business & Finance Librarianship 13, no. 3 (2008) In production.


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Appendix ISurvey Questions

What type of library do you work in?

How many years have you been a librarian?

How many years have you been a member of RUSA?

Have you ever been a mentor?

Have you ever been a mentee?

Who organized the mentoring program(s)?

Would you care to be specific about the above answer (i.e. name the association,

school, etc.)? If so, please share:

What did you like best from your mentor/mentee experience:

What did you like least from your mentor/mentee experience:

Would you be interested in participating in a RUSA mentoring program?

If RUSA were to create a formal mentoring program, would you prefer for Mentor

or Mentee:

What type of mentoring would you prefer?

Would you like the mentoring to be:

Should all participants be RUSA members?

How important do you feel it is to match participants only within their specific

sections? (ie, BRASS to BRASS, MARS TO MARS, etc)

If you are a mentor, would you be open to mentoring library school students

before they have employment, or would you prefer to limit your mentoring to

librarians actively employed in the field?


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If you are an experienced librarian, would you be interested in "mutual/reverse"

mentoring, where the mentoring relationship would be bidirectional (i.e. you

share with the mentee and the mentee shares with you, each according to your

respective strengths)?

Rank the following list of possible discussion topics according to the scale: Not

interested (NI), Least Interested (LI), Neutral (N), Interested (I), Very Interested

(VI):

____ "What I wish I had learned in Library School--But Didn't"

____ "When I became a librarian... or accepted this latest job.. what I wasn't expecting

was..."

____ "Getting involved (committees, organizations, etc)/networking."

____ "What are your professional goals for the year, and how will you meet them?"

____ "How to stay updated in the ever changing profession of librarianship"

____ "Learning the organizational culture: Got politics @ your library?"

____ "Planning for Promotions/ Tenure"

____ "Dealing with Difficult Situations at Work (ex. differences in generations, work

styles, personalities, difficult patrons, etc.)"

____ "Becoming a Leader (even when you are not a manager)"

____ "Discussing the current hot topics in your specialty."

____ "Learning new skills."


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Appendix II


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