Engage
“In order to be a mentor, and an effective one, one must care. You must care. You don’t have to know how many square miles are in Idaho, you don’t need to know what is the chemical makeup of chemistry, or of blood or water. Know what you know and care about the person, care about what you know and care about the person you’re sharing with.” — Maya Angelou
AMIA seeks to build a mentorship program to help guide professionals in navigating the complexities of career advancement, intentionality in choices of career path, professional development, professional profile, skills in communication and connection and advice on how to get involved in the community.
We believe that the mentor/mentee relationship is mutually enriching. A successful mentor supports the growth and the goals of the mentee – sharing knowledge, experience, resources, and providing guidance, without necessarily prescribing a set course of action. A successful mentee communicates proactively and effectively, shares goals and concerns, and gives feedback to their mentor.
We aspire to a mentorship culture that is based on shared commitment to cultural competency and sensitivity, bottom up mentorship, a culture of care, respect, and reciprocity, awareness of power and privilege, emotional intelligence, personal and professional accountability, deep listening and understanding, an awareness of implicit bias and a commitment to interrupting personal and group biases, and mutual learning.
The 2022 Mentorship Program Pilot paired six mentees with mentors. The Mentorship Task Force served as mentor advisors during the term of mentorship (July – December, 2022).
We are planning for our second Mentorship cohort in 2024.
The Mentorship Pilot is made possible through a contract with the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), with funds provided by the National Film Preservation Board.