Professional Value 4: Mentorship

"Guide and teach current and future clients and information  professionals to ensure the continued growth of the field."

What does "Mentorship" in the Information Professions mean to me...

Over the course of my career in libraries, I have had the distinct pleasure of working with some amazing people. When I first started out at the University of Missouri-Columbia in the Frank Lee Martin Journalism Library & Reynolds Journalism Institute, I worked with a fanastic team who were supervised by Sue Schuermann and Dorothy Carner. At the time, I didn't know that I would continue in Library and Information Science, but the way Sue interacted with me while working at the library was one of the reasons I chose to pursue my MLS. Both Sue and Dorothy realized that we--as student workers--were trying to balance our time between work/school/social, and they made sure that we were supported in any way they could.

After I left the University of Missouri, I started working at a small public library in Missouri. The Branch Manager of the library I worked at was a man by the name of Kyle Constant. While Kyle and I definitely had our differences, he allowed me the freedom to be creative and innotative. He utilized my skillset, pushed me to challenge myself, and when I decided to apply for graduate school, he fully supported my decision. When Kyle left the branch, he took with him a lot of the innovation we had cultivated together, but he has since applied that same level of innovation in his new position and continues to use his skills to modernize the library.

At the University of Kansas Medical Center A.R. Dykes Health Science Library, the information resources team I worked with was full of potential mentors. Two stepped forward, though. Both Sarah Kartsonis and Anne Huffman took the time to get to know me as person, and helped to acclimate me to the KUMC community. I still look to both of them for guidance, as they have shown me true mentorship during even the most difficult times.