A few weeks back The Shifted Librarian wrote a post about her first job out of library school and how lucky she was to have a mentor to really set her on her way… That’s really been sticking in my mind.
Are we really seeing enough mentorship in libraries? I’ve been training for my first Capital L Librarian job since I started working in a library 8 or so odd years ago, long before I ever considered diving into a graduate school program. On that road I’ve had lots of opportunities where I should have been mentored and just wasn’t. Not that these were bad people, bad coworkers, bosses, librarians. Quite the opposite really. I’ve had generally good work experiences… but they weren’t shepherding me. They weren’t trying to empower me.
I’ve been quite lucky too. Other curves in the road really did. Their support and encouragement and interest in me really got me to take those big steps that put me where I am. I couldn’t be more thankful for that. That’s what’s gotten me excited about what I do. That’s what’s gotten me excited about wanting to do things. New things. Different things.
I really believe in creating these opportunities for fresh librarians. There’s so many things that we don’t learn going through these graduate school programs. Practical Library Experience. Trial By Fire. I want any place I end up working to help us through these moments. I want them to encourage me to break things and help me learn beyond my degree. I’m really lucky to have been given a lot of this sort of guidance over the years from a lot of different people. It’s never been official, which has made it all the more special. Why isn’t it official though?
Why don’t we see more mentorship of paraprofessionals? We love our profession, right? Don’t we want to encourage more people into taking these steps we have? Paraprofessionasl are huge resources that we should be tapping more. Trust me I was one. I am one. The more we guide them, listen to them, empower them, encourage them to try things…
Granted not all of them will want to take advantage of it, but those that do, the benefits will be tremendous. For them. For you. For us. Our libraries will be richer. Our culture will be more inviting and invigorated. Our future will be in better hands.
image: http://flickr.com/photos/kimonomania/474758933/ by rachel a.k.
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