Long-time lurker here. Just chiming in to say that I think the idea of
mentorship is great.

Currently, I'm in a position (content editor for a database aggregator)
somewhat outside my education and previous experience, and one that
unfortunately, does not offer any opportunities for the kind of coding and
back-end database work that I would like to do. In the past, I've worked in
archives and libraries, most recently in a digital collections department,
so I was able to get my feet wet in some tech-y stuff and developed a
curiosity about what else was out there. Because it has zero to do with my
current job, and I don't really have the discretionary cash, I won't be
able to attend the conference, but the pre-conference lineup really piqued
my interest. Hopefully, I'll be able to re-enter the library world soon and
be a little more active in this community. At that time, the possibility of
having someone to go to for a little guidance would be very appealing. In
the meantime, I lurk, gather ideas, and do some self-directed study. :)

On Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 10:33 AM, Jason Ronallo <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 4:23 PM, Bess Sadler <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > On Nov 28, 2012, at 1:04 PM, Shaun Ellis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > > In that respect, I would suggest the preconference hackfests/workshops
> > that involve some kind of pair programming with experienced/inexperienced
> > hackers, which could follow up into a mentor relationship outside of the
> > conference.  I do like the idea of mentor/mentee speed-dating to align
> > interests, but in this sense, the workshop/hackfest you sign up for kind
> of
> > does that for you (assuming all the preconference proposals[1] are
> actually
> > going to happen).
> > >
> > > [1] http://wiki.code4lib.org/index.php/2013_preconference_proposals
> > >
> > > -Shaun
> >
> > My understanding is that all of the pre-conference proposals are going to
> > happen (note to self: ask Erik Hatcher whether the evening solr session
> > could happen at a bar somewhere). The RailsBridge workshop in particular
> is
> > aimed at folks who are new to Rails and perhaps new to programming in
> > general, and RailsBridge as a thing was started as a way to bring more
> > women into tech. If anyone is interested in helping out at the
> RailsBridge
> > session, or at the Blacklight-tailored-for-RailsBridge session in the
> > afternoon, please join us! Workshops like this can never have too many
> > people walking the room to help out, and if we had enough experienced
> > folks, this would be a great opportunity for pair programming and meeting
> > potential mentors.
> >
> > Bess
> >
>
> I'll just echo what Shaun and Bess have said. This is part of the reason I
> made the pre-conference proposal. Yes, I think the Ruby and Rails
> pre-conference using the RailsBridge curriculum is an excellent opportunity
> to make mentoring connections, grow the community, and encourage
> diversity. I'd love it if there was a low ratio of helpers to attendees. If
> you want to help grow the Code4Lib community, please add your name to the
> wiki as a helper and let me know. All that I'll ask of you to help is that
> you go through the curriculum in advance and come prepared to help folks.
> If you're new to programming or Ruby/Rails, please sign up to attend. I'm
> very excited to get a chance to offer this, especially in light of the
> recent threads on the list.
>
> Jason
>