ALCTS Mentoring Program: Overview

The ALCTS Mentoring Program facilitates and encourages professional development of ALCTS members at any stage in their career and in any of the areas related to our work.

Goals:

• Develop strong leadership in areas of librarianship covered by ALCTS
• Develop and enhance general leadership skills that are relevant for all stages of a member’s career
• Support ALCTS members in developing an array of professional skills relevant to the functional areas of ALCTS
• Cultivate leadership and involvement in the ALCTS organization
• Increase the value of an ALCTS membership and be a potential draw for new members and for retaining members (especially student members)
• Provide networking opportunities for participants and a venue to expand professional circles, learning networks, and in which to initiate and cultivate long-term professional relationships

• Open to ALCTS members only
• All participants must submit an application to participate in the program
• Participant can either be a mentor, mentee or both
• Mentors and mentees will be matched by the Mentoring Subcommittee and other members of the ALCTS Leadership Development Committee both
• Participants commit to one year in the program
• Formal mentoring begins June 1, 2018 and ends April 30, 2019 (10 months)
• Mentor and mentees will have a virtual orientation and training in May prior to the start of the mentoring relationship
• Mentors and mentees will have flexibility in deciding how often they communicate and their method of communication (virtually, telephone, e-mail, or face-to-face) but a minimum commitment of two hours is expected (more contact is encouraged as individual circumstances permit)
• Mentors and mentees have the option to meet up at the ALA Midwinter or Annual conferences
• Mentor and mentee pairings may change based on mutual consent and agreement from both parties
• Participants can continue their mentoring relationship even after the formal mentoring program ends (this will be on their own and not part of the ALCTS Mentoring program anymore)
• Mentors and mentees assist in the assessment of the program at the end of mentoring period

Mentee: career planning, job assistance, shaping careers, and succession planning with an eye on sustainability, legacy, realism, structure, & expectations and an emphasis on professional career – especially at the entry level.

Mentor: Exposure to new ideas and interests, new opportunities for professional challenges, personal satisfaction in sharing your career experience, knowledge and skills, opportunity to reflect on your own practices, opportunity to practice developmental behaviors outside own direct line responsibilities, learning from the shared interactions with mentees.

• Program is administered by the Mentoring Subcommittee of the ALCTS Leadership Development Committee
• Subcommittee members provide support to mentor and mentee pairs as needed
• Chair of the Mentoring Subcommittee acts as coordinator of the program providing quarterly check in (via email) to see how the mentor relationship is doing
• Subcommittee will coordinate an assessment of the program to ensure that the goals have been met (mid-way through the program as well as a final evaluation survey of mentors and mentees)
• Confidentiality is critical