I agree that mentoring often takes place without involved parties noticing, nevertheless providing a great guidance for mentees. Looking back, I realize most of my ex-bosses were terrific mentors in generously sharing their knowledge and being open to questions and discussions. However, often this is not something that can be sought and formed by a mentee, and more depends on the initiative of a mentor. So having some mentoring programs to participate in when such an informal relationship is not easy to come by is great for new librarians in particular.

The formal program I did was anonymous meaning that mentee/mentor were paired up and communicated through a system where neither knew the other’s identity. This had some serious benefits but in the end left me wondering who the person on the other end was.

I think it is helpful to have a mentor from within your library as well as from outside your library. An internal mentor can help with the politics. An outside mentor can see a much bigger picture and give you greater perspective. In the end I think this is where social networking comes in to play. Find someone you connect with and develop an informal mentoring or coaching relationship. I’m glad to see ALA establish these formal channels but I think people often overlook the value in the informal routes. Great post!