Gathering Knowledge in Your Library: Community Mentoring for Academic Librarians

There are many mentoring definitions in the literature; however, the one that best describes the spirit of mentoring for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries (University Libraries) comes from the Dictionary of Business. It defines mentoring as “a form of training or employee development in which a trusted and respected person with a lot [of] experience—the mentor—offers special guidance, encouragement and support to a less experienced employee.”1 Mentoring at the University Libraries is designed to provide guidance and encouragement to incoming tenure-track librarians who must navigate the tenure process and organizational culture in higher education. The purpose of this case study is to describe the systematic effort to improve the mentoring program at the UNLV University Libraries. The Faculty Mentoring Committee mobilized the collective experience and knowledge of the library faculty by surveying them about their perceptions and attitudes about mentoring at the University Libraries. The thirty-item survey is appended; the survey results formed the basis of a mentoring action plan