Mentoring Programs in MLA Chapters
October 2002
Hawaii-Pacific Chapter
- No official mentoring program
Medical Library Group of Southern California and Arizona
- Mentoring is in the domain of the Professional Issues Committee
- Awards Committee provides three scholarships every year to library school students seeking to become health sciences librarians
- Professional Issues Committee members visit library school campuses, career days, guest lectures, etc.
- Within MLGSCA, recruitment activities remain a bit unfocused and uncoordinated, thus a task force was created to explore recruitment as an aspect of mentoring
- Low participation rate in mentoring program, but those who do participate are pleased with the program
- Free student membership
- MLGSCA Mentor Program
- Long-term and short-term mentoring opportunities
- Mentees may be librarians, assistants, or students; membership is not required
- Mentors should have expertise in one or more of the health sciences librarian competencies listed in the MLA Platform for Change
- Mentors should be members of MLGSCA and/or MLA
- Program started January 1999; as of mid-2001, only two mentor/mentee pairs have participated
Mid-Atlantic Chapter
- New Members Reception prior to the Welcome Reception at the annual meeting
- Members may request "conference buddies" for the annual meeting
- Counselors are available throughout the year to answer questions about AHIP membership
- MAC Student Internship Program for current library school student with an interest in health sciences librarianship or medical informatics
- Targeting library school students for membership in 2002
- Reduced membership dues for students
Midcontinental Chapter
- ICON (a consortium within the MCMLA geographic region) has had a buddy program for newly-joined libraries, but now inactive since most everyone has joined
- No official mentoring as a chapter
- Working on devising a way to recognize the informal mentoring that is already occurring
- Health Sciences Library Network of Kansas City has a Mentoring Committee
Midwest Chapter
- No formal mentoring program
- Executive Board is discussing how they might mentor others, specifically those with a desire to work on research projects and members working on AHIP certification
- Information about the annual meeting is sent to library schools within the chapter’s geographic area along with information about the chapter’s scholarships available to new librarians or library students
New York – New Jersey Chapter
- No formal mentoring program
- Some individual/personal mentoring is occurring in/out of Chapter, but nothing organized or official
- Specific AHIP mentoring ongoing
- Chapter occasionally offers a student rate for its activities
- Offering free annual meeting registration to a first-time attendee
North Atlantic Health Sciences Libraries Chapter
- First Time Attendee reception at annual meeting
- First Time Attendees asked to wear ribbon on their badge at conference
- No formal mentoring program
Northern California and Nevada Medical Library Group
- Maintains a Mentor Task Force which identifies ways NCNMLG can support new members in health information careers, including outreach to library schools within the chapter’s geographic area
- Membership application includes option to be listed/identified as a mentor or mentee
- Reduced membership dues for students
Pacific Northwest Chapter
- No formal mentoring program
Philadelphia Regional Chapter
- Working on recruitment of student members
- No formal mentoring program in place
- Informal mentoring occurring on an individual basis between chapter members and students and nonprofessional library staff
- Beatrice Davis Education Award offered every other year to a library school student interested in medical librarianship
- Reduced membership dues for students
Pittsburgh Chapter
- Works closely with library school students
- Chapter members are encouraged to offer internship opportunities for students
- Offer student membership and access to continuing education at reduced costs
- Chapter members are available to students for career counseling and mentoring
- A formal mentoring program is under consideration
- Offers student discounts for chapter activities
South Central Chapter
- Credentialing Committee promotes the AHIP program and provides mentors
- Mayo Drake Student Scholarship to fund one or two library sciences students to attend the annual chapter meeting
- Chapter members are active in working with the graduate schools of library and information sciences and in promoting chapter and MLA membership by the students
- Chapter members serve as guest-lecturers at the various library sciences schools in the region
- 2002 Annual Conference includes sessions covering the topic of mentoring
Southern Chapter
- Specific AHIP mentoring ongoing
- Unofficial mentoring ongoing
- Several members have guest-lectured on the topic of medical librarianship at regional library schools
- Many larger libraries frequently host student interns
- First Time Attendee Scholarship to Annual Meeting
- Recently revised mentor and mentee application forms. Forms are available on the website
- Mentoring program is currently under revision, with plans to add guidelines/handbook for mentors
- Specific activities for mentors and mentees may be planned for the 2003 Annual Meeting
- Web site link: http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/biolib/scmla/mentprog.htm
Upstate New York and Ontario Chapter
- Reduced membership dues for students
-- Compiled by Marian Morris
