Mentoring Librarians for Chartership
Abstract
This article summarises the basics of the mentoring concept, how it is now used by CILIP as part of their Framework of Qualifications, and how Chartership candidates can use mentoring to support them. It discusses the processes, experiences and benefits of being a mentor, mainly from a personal perspective.
What is mentoring?
Mentoring in practice has a long and varied history – the Wikipedia article (1) namechecks Aristotle, Socrates, Freddie Laker, Mel Gibson and Eminem.... However, the ‘trusted friend, counsellor or teacher’ definition here is less than helpful in its vagueness, though the mention of this person being ‘more experienced’ than the individual they are supporting gets to the heart of the mentoring relationship. The Wikipedia articles are not recommended as a good guide to the concept, though; there are many articles, books and websites which could be used instead! Mentors are found now in large workplaces, often as part of mandatory programmes for new staff, in schools to support troubled pupils, and as part of academic study programmes. Mentoring is a two-way process, and what the ‘mentee’ wants to get out of the relationship, and brings to it, is important. The relationship is not normally that of supervisor and worker, lecturer/teacher and student, or other formal authority structure, as usually the aim is to provide confidential and impartial support, advice, and guidance. The mentor will normally have more experience – in a job role, skill or simply of life – than the person being mentored, but is not there to ‘tell them what to do’.
Mentoring and the CILIP Framework of Qualifications
With the (probably few) exceptions of those who work in large organisations with a formal mentoring programme, or who are involved in mentor schemes through non-work activities, most library staff will not hitherto have regarded mentoring as particularly relevant to their work. However, anyone involved with the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), especially those who are thinking of trying to gain Chartered status, needs to be aware of how the concept will affect them. The Framework of Qualifications (2) brings together the existing Fellowship and Chartership qualifications with the new Certification (for those without library degrees) and Revalidation (for those already Chartered) qualifications. The requirements for Chartership in particular have changed, and for many new candidates (including those who always intended to Charter but never quite got round to it) the first worry is that the new regulations mean you have to find a mentor.
Getting Chartered with the help of a mentor
The CILIP website, while far from perfect, has the paperwork and instructions needed to get you started (2). The first thing is to make sure that you are a current CILIP member (a number of would-be candidates let their membership slip), and have completed your degree (if e.g. you are still writing up a dissertation but have a diploma you do not have to wait to finish that part). After registering with CILIP as a Chartership candidate you have 6 months to submit a personal professional development plan (PPDP) and the signed ‘contract’ with your mentor. Many, however, find it more helpful to contact a mentor before or very soon after registering. The ultimate aim is to submit a portfolio to CILIP (including a CV and covering statement) to show 12 month’s work of professional development and learning – the sooner you get sorted out with a mentor the sooner they can help you with this.
CILIP’s registered mentors are on the website as well. If you do have a formal mentoring scheme in your workplace a mentor from there could be used, but they will need to register on the CILIP scheme (although they do not need to take on anyone outside their workplace in future) and to be clear about the requirements of the Chartership qualification. The mentor list should enable you to choose one person at a time to approach. The information on the site regarding mentors, unfortunately, is not as full as it should be so be prepared to discuss and negotiate regarding how far the mentor will travel, if they are comfortable dealing with workers in sectors unfamiliar to them, and what you are expecting of them.
Before making contact it is important to read the Chartership Handbook and the information on the website relating to the Mentor Scheme to be clear what you can expect to get out of the relationship, and to give some thought on what you will need from the mentor. Importantly, mentors are not supervisors or trainers as the older Chartership Scheme utilised. A candidate who has not checked even the basics of what they are supposed to be doing is not an encouraging prospect! It is possible to engage in the mentoring relationship without regular face-to-face meetings but most people prefer at least some personal contact over the year. Have a think therefore about where and when you could meet (will your manager allow you time off work or would it have to be out of work time? Are you willing to travel to the mentor’s workplace, or do you expect them to come to you?). Again, it is more helpful to the mentor when a candidate has given some thought to practicalities.
Have some idea in advance as to what help you think the mentor could provide. Do you need ideas for analysing your development needs? Do you need help identifying activities that could meet your training needs? Do you need support in challenges at work? Mentors do not need to have the same work background as you, but remember that if they have absolutely no experience of your particular job role they may find it hard to suggest development needs or activities if you cannot think of any yourself! One way to approach this is to think of anything you would like to do or learn over the next 12 months that would be of use in your current job role, to your organisation, for possible jobs in the future, or for any CILIP or other professional groups or networks you are part of or interested in (remember that you may well be doing or about to do many things that count here – starting a homework club, producing a new current awareness bulletin, delivering user education, developing a website). The CILIP Body of Professional Knowledge (3) is worth a look as it covers (if rather abstractly) the areas an information professional would be expected to operate in and if you feel that any of these (e.g. legal issues) will definitely not come up ‘naturally’ in your job it is worth planning to do some reading, formal training or discussion with a colleague over the year to get a bit of insight into them.
Don’t be put off if you get a ‘no’ from the first mentor you approach, especially if they have too many people to take more. Don’t be offended, either, if they give you feedback – e.g. asking you to do first some of the things suggested above. If you know someone whom you think might be a good mentor, even if they are not on CILIP’s list you can ask them if they would be willing to register. However, immediate managers or close friends are not usually recommended. There are various formal and informal networks of CILIP mentors in Scotland and if you are having problems or are uncomfortable about approaching people out of the blue, get in touch with me.
After the initial agreement has been signed and you have agreed how often you will meet/make substantial contact, and discussed anything else either of you considers important (e.g. rules on mentioning personal problems or contacting your mentor outside work hours) you need to send in the PPDP and then get on with gathering evidence of your professional development! The mentor will not write you a training programme and you should not expect to be told what to do at every step. It is reasonable though to ask their advice on meeting an identified need (e.g. suggestions on how you could learn web design skills without an expensive course), to discuss worries and ideas, and to be gently reminded if you are not completing agreed parts of your PPDP or other activities. It is best to get into the habit of keeping a diary to record all courses, projects, key ‘learning experiences’ (including unpleasant ones) and reading, and to make notes on all meetings and conversations with your mentor. It’s much easier at the end of the 12 months to pick through this and choose material for the portfolio than to try to remember what happened months ago. You may have changed jobs or plans within the year and not covered the activities you expected, but none of this matters providing you can demonstrate your development and meet the criteria used in assessing the portfolios – these also are on the CILIP website and should be examined when compiling the portfolio, if not before (4).
The mentoring relationship is very individual and CILIP expects it to be reviewed after 3-6 months. If you are not happy with any aspect of the mentoring process you should say so to try to resolve things, and it is quite possible to change to another mentor. CILIP Qualifications staff randomly assess mentoring relationships (both parties are asked to send in reports on the process) and if you have any serious complaints you should alert the staff to your concerns.
You do not have to show your eventual submission to your mentor, although most people like to have them read at least parts to give suggestions. It’s important to remember that they are not examining
you and that you can get advice and ideas from the CILIP website’s resources, formal Chartership courses, mailing lists, other candidates’ submissions, and colleagues – you don’t have to follow the mentor’s advice if it does not seem to work for you!
Being a mentor
Many mentors currently operating were Route A supervisors under the old Chartership system. However, registering as a mentor is open to anyone who is a Chartered member of CILIP and in current membership. Some training is required first, whether from a programme you have already undergone (e.g. at work) or through CILIP. Support and additional training are also provided by the Personnel, Training and Education Group within CILIP. It is fair to say that initial experiences with some training have been mixed, partly due to mismatches of expectation, but problems seem now to be resolved.
Mentors under the CILIP scheme can be asked to support people through the processes of Certification, Revalidation, and Fellowship as well. My experience to date, however, is only with Chartership and, as this is the only qualification where a mentor is compulsory, this is probably true for most mentors at the moment. The ‘official’ qualities and benefits of being a mentor (or having one) are available in CILIP’s literature and in the many publications on mentoring – this article is very much from a personal perspective.
I became a mentor by accident (story of my life). My assistant librarian had asked me to help him achieve Chartership and I had, therefore, registered as a Route A Supervisor and was getting him through the required programme, in a slight spirit of experiment. I enjoyed this and, as there was no other formal Chartership programme in my organisation, I planned to offer variations on this programme to any colleagues who requested this in future. But then the Framework of Qualifications came along and the programme was filed away (though my assistant successfully got his Charter first). It seemed the obvious thing then to register as a mentor. I was soon approached by a former colleague to mentor her and now have 3 ‘mentees’ at various stages of their Chartership work.
There is no straightforward job description for a mentor, though a few things help. I Chartered in 1999, although my formal professional involvement has been hit and miss at times. I would not recommend registering as a mentor without a reasonable amount of job experience (not necessarily all in libraries), and I have found that a varied workplace experience assists in dealing with mentees in unfamiliar organisations, and in giving the necessary sense of proportion and detachment about workplace and professional issues. It helps to be reasonably aware (and able to direct people to relevant information) about topical professional issues (copyright, changes in public sector organisation, new technologies), and to be willing to find out more as necessary.
Somewhat controversially, I am not sure that lots of experience in formal staff training is always an advantage as the mentor is not meant to be delivering a training programme but supporting a fellow professional to devise their own. CILIP, I feel, are not entirely consistent in their advice and resources here. Some large libraries deliver a Chartership ‘package’ when they have a number of Chartership candidates and aspects of these can be useful to look at for ideas, but it is a mistake for mentor or candidate to become anxious that they are not doing the same.
You need to be able to listen and not automatically proffer ‘solutions’, and you do need time. The same issues apply here as for the candidates – can you get away from work in working hours, can you take a candidate to a private workspace to talk? Again, perhaps controversially, I recommend only dealing with candidates as individuals as needs and communication styles can vary so much. If you do meet as a group be very careful that quieter individuals are offered private talk space if they need it.
Why do it? I’ve found it very satisfying to feel you are helping colleagues, especially those without a formal workplace structure for their development, or who are feeling professionally isolated. It’s made me look properly at my own development and realise that for various reasons I have been drifting here, not properly recording or reflecting upon development activities and learning for a number of years – hence I have applied for Revalidation and, while I don’t think it will pass this time, I’m going to start looking after my career better. The formal and informal networks developing around CILIP mentoring in Scotland improve contacts with other sectors and provide more people with whom to discuss work and development issues. I think the new Chartership scheme can be particularly beneficial to both ‘sides’ when working in geographical or professional isolation, broadening experience and helping to put personal experiences into perspective. The ‘contract’ is only until the Chartership or other qualification is achieved, but it is up to the pairing if they wish to continue, to provide further career advice for example.
References
1. Wikipedia. Mentoring. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentoring. Accessed 8 February 2007.
2. CILIP. Framework of Qualifications. http://www.cilip.org.uk/qualificationschartership. Accessed 8 February 2007.
3. CILIP. Body of Professional Knowledge. http://www.cilip.org.uk/qualificationschartership/bpk. Accessed 8 February 2007.
4. CILIP. Assessment Forms. http://www.cilip.org.uk/qualificationschartership/FrameworkofQualifications/charteredmem/chartershipforms.htm. Accessed 8 February 2007.
Chloe Stewart
Library Manager
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Stobhill Hospital Library
133 Balornock Road
Glasgow
G21 3UW
0141 201 3357