An Update on the AISL Mentor Program

“The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.”

Plutarch

cauldron

The Board is thrilled to announce that the Mentor Program is here! In the AISL Membership Survey conducted earlier this year, almost 50% of our membership expressed interest in an AISL Mentor Program. Now, there are 30 participants in the program’s inaugural year. Those 30 mentors and mentees will soon be introduced to their mentor partners to begin a journey together towards some specific goals. Along the way we hope they form professional bonds that will last into the future, beyond this year’s first mentor program.

There is a lot of literature that speaks to the importance of mentoring to help professionals grow in their fields. In a 2011 Harvard Business Review article titled DeMystifying Mentoring, Amy Gallo turns old perspectives of mentoring upside down through case studies. She describes a long-term mentor relationship that started with the question “So what’s your next step?” Sometimes a trigger like that is all we need to push us to work towards addressing the challenges in our libraries.

The AISL Board hopes that our mentor-mentee partnerships will help all participants grow as librarians. In addition, we feel fortunate that all members of AISL can connect and mentor one another through the list-serv, social media, the Annual Conference, and the Summer Institute.

Visit this site to ignite the mentor fire.  For inspiration during the school year, check in with the Independent Ideas blog for updates on how the Mentor Program is progressing.

Allison Peters Jensen, AISL Board Member-at-Large, 2014-2017

Director of Libraries, Lower School Librarian, Colorado Academy, Denver, CO.

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