[Asis-l] ALA Conference Mentoring Opportunity

[Louise Ratliff]

For ALA Annual Conference Attendees:

Are you interested in the Library and Information Technology 
Association (LITA)? Would you like to have a mentor at the ALA 
conference, someone to talk to about LITA and the offered programs or 
to help you acclimate? Are you a seasoned conference attendee and 
LITA member who would like to share your experience with a student or 
a new member? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, the Conference Mentor 
Program is for you! The Mentoring Committee of NMRT is sponsoring 
this project to help make new attendees feel at ease at a conference 
whose size can often be overwhelming and intimidating.   They are 
working with the LITA Leadership Development Committee to match 
experienced LITA members with applicants who are new to LITA or 
interested in the division. 

What is a mentor? A mentor is an experienced and trusted advisor. 
Within the context of ALA conferences, it is someone who can help a 
new librarian or a library science student negotiate a path among the 
numerous meetings, programs, exhibits and acronyms. The mentor can 
also answer questions about LITA.

Mentees, or protégés, (those being mentored) may be library 
science students, new librarians, first-time conference attendees, or 
anyone who would like to feel more comfortable attending the annual 
conference.   If you have an interest in LITA, you will be matched 
with an experienced LITA member.

The only qualification for being a mentor is to have a sincere 
interest in helping someone get the most out of the conference. This 
involves being a good listener, a thoughtful advisor and a role 
model. Mentors should expect to meet at least once with their 
protégés during the conference to answer questions, give guidance or 
just to listen. More contact during the conference or, even 
afterwards, is encouraged. Mentors can be from any ALA division or 
affiliate group in order to show protégés the many opportunities for 
involvement in ALA. 

In order to participate, just complete the application form 
<http://www.ala.org/nmrt/mentoring_application.html>. In the box, 
"Please specify position type", please indicate your affiliation with 
or interest in LITA.  If your browser does not support forms or you 
would like more information, please contact NMRT Mentoring Committee 
Chair Vicky Schmarr at schmarrv at aol.com <mailto:schmarrv at aol.com> 
Mentors and mentees (protégés) will be matched based on the 
information provided. Mentors will be responsible for contacting 
mentees before the conference to arrange a meeting.

__________________________________________________________________________________
Louise Ratliff                                  Office:  (310)825-4019
Social Sciences Cataloger/Automation Support    Pager/VoiceMail: (818)629-2984
UCLA Library Cataloging Dept.                   Fax: (310)206-4974
Charles E. Young Research Library