Both Sides Now: Growth Through Shared Learning in Mentoring Relationships

Abstract

There is a broad recognition of the importance and value of mentoring to the library profession, especially for early career professionals (Freedman, 2009; Irwin, 2021). In Canada many new LIS graduates often work in limited-time contract positions at the beginning of their careers, moving through different roles, different work cultures and environments, and have to navigate strategic positioning to develop a skill set that will ultimately get them permanent roles. Strong mentorship takes time - mentors trade away hours that could be used to pursue their own goals and spend them supporting someone else's, with the ultimate goal of growing the profession and supporting diverse voices and experiences. Mentors often cite strong mentorship they received and how it positively shaped not only their careers, but their professional experiences as a reason for becoming mentors themselves (Bell & Rosowsky, 2021). Over the course of a librarian's career there are many opportunities to both become a mentor, and find opportunities to be mentored. The best mentorship situations have mutual respect, trust, strong communication, shared values, and a desire to mutually learn and grow as mentor and mentee. There is generally little formal guidance on how to be a good mentor, and what does exist is largely developed outside of the library world. This said, the best of mentoring is discipline-agnostic (Havrilla, 2020). This presentation examines ideas and best practices for effective mentoring relationships, rooted in the lived experiences of the presenters with this work.