Mentorship for All: Creating a Statewide Program

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This session will describe the steps taken to create a statewide mentorship program for interested and motivated library staff. The panelists will share a pilot project in Colorado that was founded with a commitment to increasing diversity in library leadership, and fostering equity, diversity and inclusion by empowering library workers, library administrators, and information professionals from underserved groups to connect with each other and share professional knowledge and experience for career growth.

Learning Outcomes: 

At the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:
  • distinguish between and describe various mentoring options;
  • evaluate the utility of specific mentoring options;
  • apply principles to their local conditions;
  • create a plan of action to implement in their state or organization; and
  • explain the benefits of a statewide mentorship program.
Who Should Attend: This webinar is geared toward any library organization interested in developing a mentoring program for library staff.

Presenters:

Christine Kreger is the Colorado State Library’s first full-time Professional Development Consultant, bringing over 25 years of training and continuing education experience to the table. Christine graduated with her Master of Library Science from Emporia State University in 2003. She is passionate about providing quality learning opportunities for Colorado library staff in a variety of formats.

Rose Nelson has worked at the Alliance since 2005. She started out as a Systems Librarian and was appointed Assistant Director in 2012. Rose manages Prospector, a statewide union catalog, and she is also project manager of Gold Rush. She serves on the Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL) Mentorship Interest Group committee and the CAL Leadership Board.

Bailey Wallace (she/her) is the Access & Public Services, Department Head at Auraria Library in Denver, Colorado. Bailey graduated with her Master’s in Library and Information Science in 2015 from the University of Denver and has since worked in public, correctional, and academic libraries. She is passionate about library management and enriching communities through library services and resources. Her interests include alternative forms of mentoring, strategic foresight, and sustainability practices. Bailey is an organic gardener, proud book floozy, avid card/board/video gamer, and believes that manners and kindness make the world a better place.

Donna Walker is executive director for Jefferson County Public Library (JCPL), a ten-branch system serving over 583,000 residents. In her tenure, she is creating libraries for the future through innovations in services, staffing, programs, and outreach. Her experience in public library management and administration extends from running rural and jail libraries to building large suburban branches to creating urban outposts to envisioning alternative, digital, offsite, and outreach services. Walker has presented at local, state, national and international conferences on library and outreach services and taught at the graduate and undergraduate levels. She is published in library literature and been named a “Mover and Shaker” by Library Journal. Walker earned her Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington, Master of Arts in English from the University of Denver, and Bachelor of Arts in English from Elmhurst College.

Padma Polepeddi, Ph.D., Assistant Director of Library Experience at Jefferson County Public Library. Padma started her journey in the world of public libraries as a library volunteer when she arrived as an immigrant from India to the United States, thirty years ago. Padma has 25 years of cumulative experience working in public libraries in various roles. In her current role of Assistant Director of Public Services, Community Outreach, she is responsible for strategies for services, operational details, direct implementation of strategic initiatives related to diversity and inclusion, services geared towards serving children and families, teens, adults, seniors, and underserved populations and assists the Director of Libraries in the administration and operation of services of multiple libraries, Bookmobile, Home Services, Mail-delivery services and alternative services delivery. Padma is passionate about empowering underserved and underrepresented community groups through her professional and personal endeavors. Padma has a Masters in English from India, and doctorate degree in Library and Information Science from Emporia State University.

Core Code of Conduct:

Please review our Statement of Conduct before registering.

Tech Requirements:

Core Webinars are held in Zoom. Speakers or a headset for listening to the presentation are required. You may interact with the presenter and ask questions through text-based chat. Closed captioning is available in the Zoom platform. The webcast will be recorded and the link to the recording shared with registrants shortly after the live event.

Registration:

Online: Click the "Register" button on the top or bottom of this page to register online.

By phone: 1-800-545-2433 (press 1 to reach our customer service representatives)

By mail: Register by mail using the print registration form. Tip: If you’re unable to open this “register by mail” link, right-click the link and save the form to your computer. To register by check or purchase order, please email registration@ala.org. Our registration department will send you an invoice or registration form.

Contact:

If you have a question or need to make arrangements for special assistance or additional accessibility, please contact Mia Blixt-Shehan (mblixtshehan@ala.org).


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