Abstract:
Currently, mentoring is a topic of vigorous discussion in higher education. This is particularly true among academic librarians. Leaders within the profession, such as Maggie Farrell (2019), actively publish in this area. Conference proceedings of the Association of College and Research Libraries also reflect pervasive interest in researching and discussing this subject. Because the concept of mentoring is ill-defined (Dawson, 2014), few answers have come out of these discussions–rather, more questions are raised. Dawson (2014) finds that “definitional differences of mentoring have been the subject of three decades of mentoring research” (p. 137). Far from resolving the issue, research in this area actually added to the problem by increasing the number of definitions significantly (Dawson, 2014). This study contributes to the conversation around mentoring in academic libraries by describing current practices regarding formal and informal mentoring. Additionally, the potential relationship between mentoring experiences and both career satisfaction and advancement into academic library leadership is considered....[excerpt from introduction].