On Nov 27, 2012, at 9:33 PM, Cynthia Ng <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Getting traction for mentoring online is always difficult, but what
> about starting that mentorship at code4libcon?
> 
+1 - being face-to-face might help ease the tension.

Having a sort of "speed dating" setup might help make better fits between mentors and mentees, as well.

That is, a roomful of nerds deferring passively to one another might not get us very far :)  Something more structured about what people want to learn and what mentors know and how they get along together would probably make for a more productive outcome.

-Ross.

> Maybe almost like a buddy system, so that the first meeting between a
> mentor and mentee is at a code4libcon (national, regional, or
> otherwise) if possible.
> 
> This might simply be a good idea for first timers who are not going
> with colleagues too.
> 
> Just throwing out some ideas here...
> 
> On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 7:49 PM, Nick Ruest <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 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