Mentorship Program

The CALL/ACBD Mentorship Program is an initiative intended to connect law library professionals by fostering positive relationships between members that will promote growth, leadership, and commitment to the profession. The program is open to all CALL/ACBD Members and all types of library professionals including library technicians and library assistants.  

Mentees can come from any background in legal librarianship or even straight from school. There is no maximum number of years in the profession for mentees. If you feel that you would like to grow as a professional in your job or taking on new projects or tasks, and would benefit from the guidance and support of another professional, then being a mentee could be for you.  

Mentors can come from any area or role of legal librarianship with no set minimum number of years in the profession. Mentors have the opportunity to help the professional growth of a colleague and, by extension, strengthen legal librarianship as a profession.  

CALL/ACBD members may also participate in the program, in Peer-to-Peer matching, to connect with their colleagues of similar career experience. This would be less a typical experienced mentor being matched with a mentee looking for guidance and support, but an opportunity to learn from a member who is either in a similar role or place in their career and provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and peer support. 
  
It is important for each pair to develop goals for their mentoring partnership and establish how often they will communicate, and by which means. A mentor and mentee training session will take place after applications are received to help members of the mentorship program think about how to begin their mentorship relationship and develop a relationship that works for each member. 

Program Details:

Participation in the program is a one-year minimum commitment. In 2024, the program will run October to September, on an annual basis. The timing may be adjusted to correspond with the CALL/ACBD Conference so newly matched mentors and mentees can meet at the conference.

All participants must be active members of CALL/ACBD. 

History of the Mentorship Program

At the 2008 CALL Annual Conference in Saskatoon, the idea of introducing a mentorship program was expressed at the CALL Annual General Meeting, at the Law Library Leadership Institute, and at the Education Committee meeting. Throughout, newer and mid-career librarians indicated an interest in developing their potential through mentorship. 

As a result, Beth Millard and Jennifer Walker, of the Education Committee, were charged with the task of exploring the idea of a mentorship program. A new Mentorship Program Sub-Committee of the Education Committee was created and co-chaired by Jennifer Walker and Annette Demers. A proposal was created by Beth, Jennifer and Annette, and it was approved by the CALL Executive at its meeting in November 2008. The Mentorship Program was rolled out on March 1, 2009.