The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) Professional Development Committee (PDC) is excited to announce a call for participation in the 2020-21 Mentoring Program.

New this year: The mentor application contains a few fields that will be posted on the ALAO web page as a prospective mentor bio.  Mentees will select three potential mentors from the bios and the PDC will match participants and reach out to new mentor-mentee pairs.

Program Overview

The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) Professional Development Committee (PDC) reviews registration information and matches mentoring pairs over the summer months. The annual program typically runs from August through early May.

We invite people interested in being mentors to complete the application: https://forms.gle/z2MrX26agXrAdjMb8 

Applications are due July 10, 2020

1. Mentor bios will be posted to the ALAO web page
2. The prospective mentee looks over the list of available mentors and identifies three mentors they would like to work with
3. In August we will invite prospective mentees to complete an online mentoring application listing their three mentor choices in order
4. Once the completed application is received, PDC will contact the mentees to go over the program, answer any questions, and confirm their mentor choice(s)
5. We will then work to create a match. When a match is confirmed, both parties will be notified
6. Prior to your first mentoring meeting, we will provide some guidelines and suggestions to help get your mentoring relationship off to a good start
7. Because each mentoring relationship is different, we’d rather not mandate how many times to meet. Typically, most mentoring relationships meet for at least four sessions spread out over a few months
8. At the end of the mentoring relationship, a program evaluation will go out to both parties

Who Can Be a Mentor?

We welcome mentors from all levels of professional experience in academic libraries. Mentoring offers a meaningful way to engage with a colleague, be a supportive listener, and help them identify and achieve their professional goals.

Questions? Please contact Amanda Black ablack2@udayton.edu or Jen Starkey jms565@case.edu

–Amanda Black, Board Member at Large, University of Dayton
–Jen Starkey, Board Member at Large, Case Western Reserve University