Matt McCollow proposed something like this a while back. We have a page 
up and everything! But, it never got much traction.

[log in to unmask]" target="_blank">http:[log in to unmask]
http://wiki.code4lib.org/index.php/Mentorship

-nruest
On 12-11-27 07:30 PM, Bess Sadler wrote:
> +1 to this idea. I have benefited tremendously over the years from kind people taking me under their wings. Many of us try to do this one-on-one, but some kind of introduction service would be a huge benefit for the community, I would think.
>
> Mentorship is a great example of a robust solution - a solution that addresses more than one problem at once. I suspect that this would not only improve our diversity as a community, it might also solve some tech leadership / succession planning problems and maybe expose some training needs.
>
> Bess
>
> On Nov 27, 2012, at 4:20 PM, Nathan Tallman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> This is a slightly different topic, but relates to Kelley's post: Does
>> code4lib have a mentor program where more inexperienced geeks can pair up
>> with someone to guide their development? I don't have anyone like that in
>> my network, but would really like to. I don't mean to discount the existing
>> resources on code4lib or this list, which both have been very useful. I'm
>> sure I could just start by attending some of the conferences, but for more
>> inexperienced people they can be a bit intimidating, albeit inspiring.
>>
>> It would also be a way to directly engage minorities.
>>
>> Just a thought.
>>
>> Nathan
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 6:20 PM, Kelley McGrath <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> I'll second the idea of approaching people individually and explicitly
>>> asking them to participate. It worked on me. I never would have written my
>>> first article for the Code4Lib Journal or become a member of the editorial
>>> committee if someone hadn't encouraged me individually (Thanks Jonathan!).
>>>
>>> It would also be good to find a way to somehow target the pool of lurkers
>>> who maybe aren't already connected to someone and get them more involved.
>>>
>>> As far as anonymous proposals go, we recently had a very good workshop on
>>> implicit bias here. Someone brought up that found significant changes in
>>> the gender proportions in symphony orchestras after candidates started
>>> auditioning behind screens. There are also lots of studies about the
>>> different responses to the same resume/application depending on whether a
>>> stereotypically male/female or white/black name was used. Probably it's
>>> impossible to make proposals completely anonymous, but it would be an
>>> interesting experiment to leave off the names.
>>>
>>> Kelley
>>>
>>> PS Interestingly, I wouldn't instinctively self-identify as a member of
>>> the Code4Lib community, although my first thought is that that has more to
>>> do with not being a coder than with being a woman.
>>>
>>>
>>> **************************
>>> Kelley McGrath
>>> Metadata Management Librarian
>>> University of Oregon Libraries
>>> 1299 University of Oregon
>>> Eugene, OR 97403
>>>
>>> 541-346-8232
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>>

-- 
-nruest