Volume 16, Number 2, July 2006

ILA/ACRL Spring Conference 2007

The 2007 ILA/ACRL Spring Conference will be held at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa on March 23.  As in past years, we will be sending out a call for papers.  Mark your calendars now and await for details in the November ILA/ACRL Newsletter!

ILA/ACRL Program at ILA Annual Conference 2006:  Creating the Library-Faculty Connection: Crossing a Cultural Divide to Cultivate Pedagogical Parnerships

 ABSTRACT: Changes in higher education increasingly call on academic librarians to promote themselves as key partners in collaborative student-centered teaching and learning. School librarians have also faced this challenge. How can the library's commitment to teaching be viewed as central to the institution's academic program? In what way is our expertise an ideal complement to that of faculty in other departments? How do we see ourselves and how are we seen?

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Elizabeth O. Hutchins is a library consultant and educator who currently teaches as an Adjunct Professor with Dominican University's Graduate School of Library and Information Science.   Previously, she was an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Library Instruction at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN.  With a strong interest in teaching and curriculum development, she has also served as the library director at several independent schools in Massachusetts, the head of a small progressive K-5 school in Minnesota, and a library consultant to the Ministry of Education in Singapore. She has published articles/book chapters and offered workshops on library-faculty collaboration, information literacy, teaching/learning styles, and peer coaching.  Submitted by Barb Robb.

ILA/ACRL Conference Scholarship for ILA AnnualConference 2006 

The Awards Committee of ILA/ACRL announces the availability of a scholarship to attend the ILA Annual Conference, October 11-13, 2006 in Council Bluffs. The scholarship will cover the registration fee and up to $150 in travel, hotel, and meal expenses.

Applicants must be paid members of ILA/ACRL, working fulltime in an Iowa academic or research library, and either:

• Attending their first ILA Annual Conference.

OR

• Have worked in an Iowa academic or research library for fewer than three years.

Support personnel working in an Iowa academic library may also apply for the scholarship.  Support personnel applicants do not have to be paid members of ILA/ACRL.  Previous scholarship recipients are not eligible to receive the award.

August 28, 2006 is the deadline for scholarship applications. The winner will be announced September 11, 2006.

To apply, complete the application form (see below) including the 500 word essay and send by mail, e-mail, or fax to:

Kathy A. Parsons

295 Parks Library

Iowa State University

Ames, IA  50011-2140

Phone: 515-294-9630

Fax: 515-294-5525

Email:kap@iastate.edu

ILA/ACRL ANNUAL CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

 

Name:	___________________________________________________
Address:	___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________
Telephone:	___________________________________________________
FAX:	___________________________________________________
E-mail:	___________________________________________________
Current position:	___________________________________________________
Previous position(s):	___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________
Education:	___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________

Please submit a 500 word essay describing your interest in the scholarship and how you believe the scholarship will benefit your professional development. Scholarship winners are selected by the Awards Committee on the quality of the essay.

Deadline for the application and supporting essay is August 28, 2006. Submit to:

Kathy A. Parsons

295 Parks Library

Iowa State University

Ames, IA  50011-2140

Phone: 515-294-9630

Fax: 515-294-5525

Email:kap@iastate.edu

ILA/ACRL Committee Reports

Leadership Opportunities: A Message from the Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee of Iowa-ACRL is at work creating the slate of candidates for leadership positions and filling in committees for the coming year.  We would like to hear from members who are interested in serving on committees for the coming year.  If you have not already submitted a volunteer form, do it today!  http://www.iowaacrl.org/organization/volunteer.html .

For further information, please contact Jean Donham, 319.895.4260 or jdonham@cornellcollege.edu

-submitted by Jean Donham

Treasurer's Report

Balance in account as of 12/31/2005: $1,758.55.

Report Submitted by Randy Roeder, 2006 Treasurer

Ad Hoc Advocacy Committee 

Mentoring/Professional Development subcommittee

Developing a Mentoring Program      

The Ad Hoc Advocacy Subcommittee on Mentoring/Professional Development reviewed selected resources on mentor programs in academic libraries to explore developing a state-wide mentoring program.  The following includes (1) the principal themes that appeared in the literature; (2) two websites of model programs; and (3) a four-question survey gauging interest in developing a mentoring program for Iowa academic librarians.

Principal Themes in the Library Literature on Mentoring

Recruiting mentors and protégés.  While various modes of recruiting were described (e.g., listservs, newsletters, websites, direct solicitation, etc.), much of the literature noted the importance of stressing the benefits that the mentor as well as the protégé would gain from a mentoring partnership when recruiting (Henderson, 1996; Ritchie & McSwiney, 1999; Brice et al., 2002)-see the model program websites listed below for more specifics. 

Establishing communication practices.  Establishing who should initiate communication between the mentor and protégé(s), how often the mentor and protégé(s) will communicate, what will be the most effective mode(s) of communication (face-to-face, phone, email, discussion boards, etc.) were mentioned in the literature as important first steps (Earl, et al., 2004). 

Matching of mentors and protégés.  Generally, mentors and protégés are matched according to common interests and/or a protégés expressing a desire to work with a particular person (Hale, 1992; Echavarria, et al., 1995; Ritchie & McSwiney 1999).  Some advised not matching protégés with mentors that also served as direct supervisors, as this might hinder open communication (Hale, 1992).  

Choosing a mentoring model.  The literature discussed various mentoring program models.  Some models were more informal in structure, including a "protégé-initiated" model described by Fiegen (2002), wherein the "protégé" personally designs his/her own mentoring program that delineates goals/areas where s/he may benefit from mentorship, identifies potential mentors, and establishes an action plan.  Some more formal models included a series of mentoring sessions discussed by Martorana et al. (2004), the content of which is available at http://www.library.ucsb.edu/lauc/mentorseries.html, group mentoring (Echavarria et al., 1995; Keyse et al., 2003; Ritchie & McSwiney, 1999) and peer mentoring models (Ritchie & McSwiney, 1999; Mavrinac, 2005).  A key advantage presented of a cross-institutional mentoring program was that this model allowed discussion of problems that might be taboo or politically problematic to voice to an on-site mentor (Echavarria et al., 1995).

Setting the goals/objectives of program and training/orientation of mentors/protégés.  Much of the literature stressed the importance of adequate training/orientation for mentors and protégés, wherein guidelines, expectations, roles, and goals of mentoring partnership, level of time commitment, a plan of action for meeting those goals, and a system of monitoring/evaluating whether goals were met are clearly delineated (Earl et al., 2004; Jones-Quartey, 2000; Echavarria et al., 1995; Brice et al., 2002; Kuyper-Rushing, 2001; Ritchie & McSwiney, 1999).  Of particular interest is Kuyper-Rushing's (2001) description of the guidelines for the program and the mentoring workshop led by the Program Manager for the Association of Research Libraries' Office of Leadership and Management Services. 

Model Mentor Programs sponsored by Professional Associations:

The following programs might serve as models for developing a state-wide mentoring program for Iowa academic librarians:

Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Information Kit for Mentoring Partnerships: http://alia.org.au/groups/mentoringwa/information.kit.html

This "information kit" includes the following: (1) the program's vision and mission (2) guidelines for mentoring relationships; (3) benefits and outcomes of mentoring; (4) a description of the seven-stage mentoring process; (5) NICE (needs, interests, concerns, expectations) analysis completed by "mentorees" for matching with mentors; (6) FAQ's about mentoring; (7) an essay extolling the benefit of the mentoring partnership; and (8) an annotated reading list on mentoring.

Minnesota Library Association Mentorship Program: http://www.mnlibraryassociation.org/Mentorship/Mentorship%20Program%20Home.htm

The MLA program is open to new librarians, library science students, and those contemplating entering the field of library science.  The site describes the roles and responsibilities of mentor/"mentee", the benefits both gain from the mentoring relationship, and provides web applications for the program.   

What Do You Think?

Please complete the following four-question survey aimed at gauging interest in developing a mentoring program.

• Are you currently participating or have you participated in the past in either a formal or informal mentoring program?

• Yes (Please briefly describe the program)

• No

• Of the following mentoring program models, which are you most interested in?

• In-house mentoring program

• Inter-institutional mentoring program

• Both are of equal interest to me

• What benefits and/or drawbacks do you see in establishing a state-wide mentoring program?

•  Are you interested in being either a mentor or a protégé, if a mentoring program were implemented?

•  Yes
•  No

References

Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). (2005, January). Information kit for mentoring partnerships. Retrieved June 26, 2006, from http://alia.org.au/groups/mentoringwa/information.kit.html

Brice, A., Brown, C., Hickman, M., & Thorburn, L. (2002). HeLIN pilot mentoring scheme. Library Trends, 50(4), 651-663.

Earl, M. F., Mack, T., & Southern, J. (2004). Mentoring at a distance: Successful matching of experienced librarians with school of information sciences students via electronic and traditional means. Technical Services Quarterly, 21(3), 53-63.

Echavarria, T., Newsome, K. L., Peters, T. A., & Wentz, D. (1995). Encouraging research through electronic mentoring. A case study. College & Research Libraries, 56(4), 352-361.

Fiegen, A. M. (2002). Mentoring and academic librarians: Personally designed for results. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 9(1), 23-32.

Hale, C. E. (1992). A mentoring network for librarians: A statewide collaborative model. Illinois Libraries, 74(6), 485-487.

Henderson, K. L. (1996). Electronic `keyboard pals': Mentoring the electronic way. Serials Librarian, 29(3/4), 141-164.

Jones-Quartey, T. (2000). Mentoring-personal reflections of a special librarian. Information Outlook, 4(7), 26-51.

Keyse, D., Kraemer, E. W., & Voelck, J. (2003). Mentoring untenured librarians. College & Research Libraries News, 64(6), 378-380.

Kuyper-Rushing, L. (2001). A formal mentoring program in a university library: Components of a successful experiment. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 27(6), 440-446.

Martorana, J., Schoeder, E., Snowhill, L., & Duda, A. L. (2004). A focus on mentorship in career development. Library Administration & Management, 18(4), 198-202.

Mavrinac, M. (2005). Transformational Leadership: Peer Mentoring as a Values-Based Learning Process. portal: Libraries & the Academy, 5(3), 391-404.

Minnesota Library Association (MLA). (n.d.). MN LAMP.Minnesota Library Association Mentorship Program. Retrieved June 26, 2006, from http://www.mnlibraryassociation.org/Mentorship/Mentorship%20Program%20Home.htm

Ritchie, A., & McSwiney, C. (1999). Professionalism through ALIA: Outcomes from group mentoring programs. Australian Library Journal, 48(2), 160-176.

Members
Jan Dellinger
Kate Hess
Mary Iber
Mandy Swygart-Hobaugh

Serials/Open Access subcommittee

The open access subcommittee has collected and annotated a range of web resources designed to introduce Iowa academic librarians to the issues involved with the open access movement and to provide librarians with strategies for dealing with the rising prices of serials. The toolkit is available at http://www.iowaacrl.org/advocacy/.

Members
Mary Iber (chair)
Mandy Swygart-Hobaugh
Ellen Neuhaus
Michelle Holschuh Simmons

Intellectual Freedom/Equity of Access subcommittee

In conclusion of this subcommittee's work, the intellectual freedom members presented on Who's Watching:  USA PATRIOT Act in Iowa Academic Libraries. See the ILA/ACRL Spotlight page for further details!

Members
Amy Paulus (chair)
Kate Hess
Ryan Gjerde
Michelle Holschuh Simmons

ACRL Chapters Council Representative

The ACRL Chapters Council met in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the ALA Annual Conference. The most exciting news is that Kathy Parsons was elected Chair Elect of the Chapters Council!  Congratulations to Kathy!

Other items of interest include the work of the University Libraries Section's Advocacy Toolkit.  This will be available via the web soon and chapters are invited to submit a grant proposal for up to $500 to fund a speaker dealing with this subject.

ACRL also offers opportunities for the ACRL Board to visit chapters.  This is an option that can only be taken advantage of every three years.  Since a visit to Iowa was last made in 2002, we are again eligible to invite on the the ACRL Board members to visit Iowa and speak at a conference.  Submitted by Amy Paulus.

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