2007 Awards for Excellence

Citation

(2007), "2007 Awards for Excellence", Library Management, Vol. 28 No. 6/7. https://doi.org/10.1108/lm.2007.01528faa.001

2007 Awards for Excellence

The following article was selected for this year’s Outstanding Paper Award for Library Management

The Alexander Wilson Award Named after Alexander Wilson, Director-General of the British Library Reference Division from 1980 until his retirement in 1986. Before that he was Director of Cheshire Libraries and Museums, and Director of Libraries and Cultural Services in Dudley and Coventry.

‘‘Evaluation of transitional mentoring for new library and information professionals: what are the professional and personal outcomes for the participants?’’

Gillian Hallam School of Information Systems, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, AustraliaCarol Newton-SmithUniversity of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

Purpose – To present the findings of the comparative evaluation of two transitional mentoring programs developed for new library and information professionals in Australia, one as a group program and the other with pairs of mentors/mentees.Design/methodology/approach – The research project involved an initial review of the literature. A comparative study was undertaken, with a survey approach to collect data from the participants in the transitional mentoring programs. The study obtained data about three key areas: career-related, learning-related, and professional development.Findings – It was found that participants had a high level of satisfaction with both the programs and both mentor and mentee reported positive career, learning and personal development outcomes.Research limitations/implications – The study was limited to one year of transitional mentoring activity for one professional field in Australia. It would be beneficial to continue the study over a longer period of time to collect further data from other participants.Practical implications – The research project highlights evaluation of mentoring programs. The project has helped develop an initial understanding of benefits to be gained through mentoring relationships to support new professionals. The study is likely to have wider application across other professional disciplines and may encourage professionals to consider mentoring as a valuable part of career development.Originality/value – The paper provides information about two different models of transitional mentoring programs, together with one possible approach for the evaluation of mentoring programs.

Keywords: Australia; Career development; Information management; Library management; Mentoring

www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/01435120610652905

This article originally appeared in Library Management, Volume 27 Number 3, 2006, pp. 154-67.www.emeraldinsight.com/authors