Mentoring Program

About

The NASIG Mentoring & Student Outreach Committee offers a Mentoring Program for LIS students and new professionals. This lightweight mentoring program is designed to provide a yearlong opportunity for networking and professional development between NASIG regular members, student members, and people new to the profession. Monthly facilitated discussion questions (via email/chat/video call/etc.) between mentor/mentee are sent out each month by the committee, and are designed to get the conversation started. Mentors & mentees will discuss their expectations and needs for the program. The amount of contact between mentors and mentees are left for them to determine.

Benefits for Mentors:

• Learn about the latest trends and practices 

• Demonstrate leadership skills

• Provide opportunities for self-reflection

• Develop communication skills

Benefits for Mentees:

• Explore your career options.

• Grow your professional network

• Ask questions and advice from an active professional

• Get feedback and encouragement on goals and projects

What do I need to be a good mentor or mentee?

Mentors and mentees must comply with the NASIG Code of Conduct throughout the duration of the program and they must be NASIG members in good standing at the start of the program, and must be willing to commit to participating in the program for the duration of the program. 

For mentors, we invite library professionals at all levels and in all types of libraries to participate and that you approach the mentoring relationship with strong interpersonal and communication skills and desire to support and encourage a less experienced member of the community.

For mentees, we invite library school graduate students and early career professionals  to participate. We aim to match all prospective mentees but if we cannot, priority will be given to those individuals who are interested in the areas of librarianship that NASIG members have expertise in such as cataloging, metadata, acquisitions, e-resource management, scholarly communication, and digital preservation, or those students and professionals who do not know yet what they are interested in. 

For more information, see the Guidelines for Mentors and Mentees

Timeline

Early to mid-summer -- Call for mentees/mentors

Late summer to early fall  -- Mentor/mentee matches announced

Early fall -- Mentoring program begins

May -- Mentoring program officially ends

Program Applications

2024-2025 applications will be accepted until August 9, 2024. 

Mentor application

Mentee application

If you have questions, contact us at mentoring@nasig.org

Please remember to become a member of NASIG

to participate in this program. Student membership is free.

Credits:  Thank you to the BCLA Mentorship Program Webpage for inspiring our redesign.