Steering the ‘Ship: Navigating a Cross-Departmental, Cross-Status Mentorship in an Academic Library

As two BIWOC (Black, Indigenous, Women of Color) library workers - Jasmine, a Reference and Instruction Faculty Librarian, and Joe, an Interlibrary Loan Specialist - at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, we started our mentoring relationship organically through a recently founded Mentoring Collective group. Joe is a full-time staff and graduate student working towards her MLIS. What made this collaboration unique was the fact that a cross-status, cross-departmental mentorship had never been established at this institution previously.

Our presentation will discuss the beginnings of this working relationship, including shared research interests and core values, along with the collaborative projects that followed. The first major project we tackled involved a legal research database trial that the faculty librarian had already undertaken. Joe showed a strong interest in legal research, which allowed a seamless partnership to grow between us. We’d like to highlight what we’ve gained from this mutually-beneficial experience, including ideas for the future; networking opportunities for Joe; continuing to foster a safe, trusting space to communicate; and working to improve the library as a space for our diverse community of users.