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Completed Projects

Mentoring in Library and Information Services: An Approach to Staff Support
British Library Research and Innovation Report 20 - 1996

This report contains the findings and conclusions of a fourteen-month investigation into mentoring as a staff development tool in Library and Information Services. The project was conceived by the Personnel, Training and Education Group (PTEG) of the Library Association (LA) and conducted by the Centre for Information Research and Training (CIRT) in the Faculty of Computing and Information Studies, University of Central England.

The project was successful in meeting its two main aims of:

  1. Investigating the current situation of formal and informal mentoring schemes within the LIS field.
  2. Establishing guidelines for practical initiatives in mentoring.

The report contains details of the investigation (conducted using questionnaires and interviews), conclusions, recommendations and guidelines. It also includes a discussion of the findings and how they relate to the literature on mentoring, and examples of good practice in mentoring.

The project concluded that mentoring can be an extremely valuable tool for change and development of both individuals within the LIS profession and of the profession as a whole. The project found considerable demand for mentoring in LIS and suggested that this demand could be met by employing organisations or through professional initiatives, for example through LA groups or chartership supervisors.

The project also concluded that there are four essential elements of a successful mentoring relationship:

  1. The partners must get on well together.
  2. Mutual respect between partners.
  3. Commitment of time and energy from both partners.
  4. It is evolutionary in nature and may continue or develop beyond the original scope and parameters.

The report makes recommendations for three groups: Research funders, Professional bodies and organisations employing LIS professionals. Guidelines are included in the form of key questions to be addressed when considering establishing a mentoring scheme or embarking on a mentoring relationship. Guidelines are split into three sections; overall, those for organisational schemes and those for informal mentoring relationships. It is planned to produce a leaflet for separate publication of guidelines for the profession.

Authors: Clare Nankivell and Michael Shoolbred