Call for Mentees – 2023-2024

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

Mentees can be library school students, newly-minted professionals, or more experienced librarians. The program will help you connect with someone who can provide professional support, career advice, and help you identify and set goals. ALAO membership is encouraged but not required for mentees.

Program Overview

The ALAO PDC reviews registration information and matches mentoring pairs. The annual program runs through October 2024.  

We invite prospective mentees to complete the application by October 6, 2023:

Matching Process 

• Abbreviated mentor bios are available on the ALAO web page.  
• Prospective mentees review the list of available mentors and identifies three mentors they would like to work with. 
• Prospective mentees complete the online Mentee Application and rank the top three mentor choices.
• ALAO PDC will then work to create a match. When a match is confirmed, both parties will be notified. 
• Prior to the first mentoring meeting, ALAO PDC will provide guidelines and suggestions to help get the mentoring relationship off to a good start.
• If you and your mentor plan to attend the 2023 ALAO Conference, there will be an opportunity to meet there. 
• Typically, most mentoring relationships meet for at least four sessions spread out over a few months based on mentor/mentee availability and scheduling preferences.
• At the end of the mentoring relationship, a program evaluation will go out to both parties. 

Questions? Please contact Melissa Hill: mkhill@owu.edu, Tracey Overbey: overbey.13@osu.edu, or Jaclyn Spraetz: spraetj@miamioh.edu.

Message from the Interest Group Coordinator

Greetings! I hope everyone’s semesters have been off to a good start. I am now in my second year as the IG Coordinator and I look forward to continuing working with ALAO’s interest groups this year. 

ALAO has 12 active special interest groups that have formed to discuss concerns, issues, and new trends related to academic librarianship in Ohio. Joining an interest group is a great way to participate in leadership events and network with fellow librarians and library staff. 

For more information visit the ALAO website or contact Abi Morgan, Interest Group Coordinator at morgan55@miamioh.edu

–Abi Morgan, Interest Group Coordinator, Miami University

Instruction Interest Group (IIG) News

The Instruction Interest Group (IIG) is pleased to welcome Brea McQueen, Student Success Librarian at Miami University as the new Co-Chair for the 2023-2025 term. She will serve with Jaclyn Spraetz, Information Literacy Librarian, also at Miami University, whose term will end in July 2024. 

We always welcome ideas for how this interest group can best serve our members! Please reach out if you have ideas you would like to see or lead. 

We also welcome new members to the group! If you have questions about IIG, webinar topic proposals, or you are interested in joining our workshop planning committee, please contact iig-chairs@alaoweb.org. 

–Brea McQueen, IIG Co-Chair, Miami University
–Jaclyn Spraetz, IIG Co-Chair, Miami University

Special Collections and Archives (SCAig) Interest Group News

The Special Collections and Archives Interest Group (SCAig) is pleased to welcome Candace Pine as incoming co-chair for the 2023-2025 term. She currently works as the Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarian at Miami University. Candace will serve as co-chair of SCAig alongside Miriam Intrator, Special Collections Librarian for Rare Books at Ohio University, whose term will conclude at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.

The SCAig co-chairs plan to virtually attend this year’s ALAO annual conference on Finding Balance (November 2-3). We hope SCAig members can join as well, either virtually or in person. We would also love to hear from any of you at any time regarding any ideas/suggestions you may have for future SCAig workshops and meetings!

For more information on SCAig, contact the co-chairs at scaig-chairs@alaoweb.org.

–Miriam Intrator, SCAig Co-Chair, Ohio University
-Candace Pine, SCAig Co-Chair, Miami University

Support Staff Interest Group (SSIG) News

ALAO’s Support Staff Interest Group held its spring workshop “The Only Constant is Change: How Libraries and Support Staff are Responding to / Preparing for Changes,” on Friday, May 26, 2023. This ZOOM event was led by SSIG Co-Chair, Rob Withers, MA, MLS, Access Services Librarian, Miami University. Everyone enjoyed the lively conversation generated by the topic. 

You are always welcome to join our group. If you have questions about the SSIG, webinar topic proposals, or you are interested in joining our workshop planning committee, please contact ssig-chairs@alaoweb.org.

We are seeking two co-chairs, one for the current term (Summer 2022 – Summer 2024) and one for the following term (Summer 2023 – Summer 2025). If you’re interested in programming by or for support staff in Ohio libraries, please submit a brief statement of interest. We would love to hear from you! If you have questions about the Interest Group for Support Staff, I would love to talk with you. 

–Peggy Rector, SSIG Chair, Denison University