Thing 11 Mentoring

Mentoring is a wonderful thing. I haven't done this in a formal way, but was on the receiving end whilst qualifying for my chartership way back in the 80's. As a school librarian I have found it one of the most important aspects of my work to share with other school librarians locally. This I consider a form of mentoring. In addition, I have two younger Library Assistants, one of whom is trying to qualify for associate membership of CILIP and one engaged in distance learning for her MSc. Whilst I can't be the official mentor for either as their line manager, I do have discussions about where the profession is going and try to come up with practical solutions to their study problems. In broader terms, by working in a school library I am constantly bombarded with problems from our students be it boyfriend issues, bullying etc. Of course there is a pastoral chain of command which I adhere to, but sometimes students just want a friendly ear who doesn't sit in judgement. Just goes to show you what a multi-facteted and skilled job a Librarian does. What I'd really like is a listening ear to my problems amongst senior management! A common problem I suspect. Thanks for the links CPD23. I will certainly investigate.