Librarian One Mentorship Program
Contra Costa County Library
Innovation Synopsis
The Librarian I Mentorship program is a 6-month long program that provides fundamental experience for Librarian I’s who may be in their first job as a librarian or come to their position with less experience. Librarian I’s are paired with more experienced Librarian II’s and participate in a formal mentorship program.
Challenge/Opportunity
The Library created a new librarian classification that allows the substitution of the educational requirement with work experience. The classification also includes a path to promotion through additional work experience. The mentorship program provides new opportunities for staff with less schooling and experience, offers professional development for the mentors and helps to promote staff who are more reflective of the communities they serve. It gives existing staff opportunities for promotion that may otherwise be unavailable to them and promoting from within also helps with staff retention. The program also offers opportunities for mentors who take the role very seriously. They have wisdom to share with the mentees and professional development opportunities have allowed them to share details of the program with other libraries across the country. The program is a first step for Librarian I’s who can eventually promote up to a Librarian II position and become mentors themselves.
Key Elements of Innovation
During the 6-month program, mentors help mentees to adopt an organizational perspective, connect their work to the Strategic Plan, learn planning skills and decision-making strategies, how to juggle work with lean staffing and how to build confidence and take initiative. Mentors follow a curriculum plan that includes lessons on customer service, time managements skills, outreach, partnership and relationship building, programming development, training and collections. Mentors and mentees meet once a month, but mentors are available for additional support throughout the program. Mentees have the option to participate in additional training through Library Juice Academy, Infopeople and other development programs.
Achieved Outcomes
In the first year of the program, six mentors and six mentees were paired together. Throughout the program, experienced mentors worked with mentees to tie conversations back to the core message of library values, perspective, and proactive planning. The second cohort is currently underway, and the success of the program has staff interested in creating additional mentorship opportunities for other classifications.
