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MENTORS

Mentoring Process

The Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute includes a formal, organized mentoring program. All participants are required to choose a career mentor. Applicants who are accepted into the Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute will receive a Mentor Selection Form that will be used to identify two potential mentors. Applicants are encouraged to begin considering potential mentors after submitting their application packet.

A mentor may include someone in the library field - or not. The primary responsibility of the mentor is to assist the mentee in setting leadership career goals and mastering the competencies necessary to achieve them. This individual should not be the mentee's direct line supervisor, nor work in the same building as the mentee.

Mentors

If you are interested in becoming a Sunshine State Library Leadership mentor, it is important that you:

1. Only assume the role if you want to be a mentor and are willing to make the necessary time available.
2. Conduct regularly scheduled discussions either online, by phone, or face to face (a minimum of once per month) with your mentee.
3. Work with your mentee to design, implement, and evaluate a library leadership project.
4. Commit to a minimum of 10 months (October through July) of giving encouragement, inspiration, advice, and corrective feedback; providing possible introductions to people that can help your mentee; and providing opportunities for your mentee to develop their leadership skills.
5. Attend the first day of the Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute in October and plan on attending your mentee's graduation in July.

As a mentor, you will:

1. Receive training at the first Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute session.
2. Receive ongoing mentor role support from the Institute Coordinator at the State Library and Archives.
3. Use electronic resources such as Institute wikis and listserv to share information and build professional networks.
4. Have an opportunity through this process to "make a difference" - particularly relative to leadership development within Florida libraries.
5. Receive recognition from colleagues, peers, and managers for active participation and leadership talent management support.
6. Possibly acquire new knowledge and skills from the mentee.

Mentor Criteria

• Has served or currently serves as a director, assistant director, branch manager, or other comparable position within an organization, agency, or business for five or more years
• Past or current member of a local, state, or national board, task force, or committee
• Experience working with city or county commissioners; state legislators; university deans, provosts, or presidents; or other high level decision makers

Mentor Letter of Interest

Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute mentors work one-on-one with their mentees to identify their professional development goals; provide guidance on the design, implementation, and evaluation of a library leadership project; and master the Institute's leadership competencies.

If you are interested in serving as a mentor, please submit a letter of interest that includes the following:

1. Contact information - name, title, organization, telephone number, e-mail address
2. Brief outline of your area of expertise based on the Institute's competencies
3. Reason(s) you would like to mentor a Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute participant

We recommend that your letter be no longer than two pages. The letter will be available for program participants to review. It should provide basic information to help them decide whether they would like to explore the opportunity of forming a mentoring relationship with you based on their professional development needs.

Please submit your letter of interest to Jill Canono at jbcanono@dos.state.fl.us. In the subject line of the e-mail, please write "Mentor Letter of Interest."

For additional information, please feel free to contact Dr. Canono by e-mail or telephone at (850) 245-6648.