MENTORING: An annotated bibliography
By Abby DeShane and Michael Mahaley
September 1999, rev. Jan. 2001 A.S.
2nd Ed.
This bibliography has been created in conjunction with the SLA Business & Finance Division's Mentoring Initiative. We have selected sources of information on mentoring and the closely-related activity of coaching. These sources target anybody who is interested in being a mentor (official or otherwise), a mentee (protégé), or individuals looking to establish a mentoring program within their organization.
This is a selective bibliography comprised of monographs published in the last ten years in the U.S. and the U.K.; articles from the last five years, and several mentoring websites. The first objective was to compile sources on mentoring within the library and information sciences; the second objective was to select the most pertinent and thought-provoking works that discuss cross-disciplinary mentoring and coaching. Thirdly, I have annotated as many of the works that I could obtain, or which I felt were worthy of special mention. This is a working bibliography, one that will be continually updated. It is my hope that those interesting in mentoring will select several sources from this bibliography to explore more in-depth.
Library & Information Science
Boers, G.G.A. "Mentorship and Motivation: Librarians and General Staff Working Together." Georgia Librarian 34, no. 4 (winter 1997): 9-15.
Burrington, Gill. "Mentors - a Source of Skill, Strength and Enthusiasm." Library Association Record (April 1993): 226-227.
Brief but informative overview of the benefits of mentoring. This is a good introductory article written by a management training consultant from the U.K. Her most appealing point: "…it is important that the mentors do their job properly: if they don't, the …staff may be unable to cope with making decisions on their own, and so find their success either transitory or unnecessarily stressful."
Dragovich, Pamela and Stephen Margeton. "Alma Mater Mentoring: Library Science Alumni Promote School and Profession." Journal of Education for Library and Information Science (Fall 1995): 346-350.
The assessment of a newly-implemented alumni mentoring program at Catholic University indicates that the program "….holds great promise to launch library science students on
successful careers." The authors, members of the Alumni Board, also discuss reasons why
they feel library science students need mentors, and how mentors can help. Includes
references and notes.
Farmer, J. and F. Campbell. "Identifying the Transferable Skills of Information Professionals Through Mentoring." Education for Information 16, no. 2 (June 1998): 95-106.
Fisher, B. et al. "Mentoring: Do As I Do." Library Association Record 99, no.10 (October 1997): 544-6.
Golian, L.M. and M.W. Galbraith. "Effective Mentoring Programs for Professional Library Development." In Advances in Library Administration and Organization. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1996.
Hardesty, Larry. "College Library Directors Mentor Program: 'Passing It On:' a Personal Reflection." The Journal of Academic Librarianship, (July 1997): 281-90.
Hardesty is the Director of the College Library Directors Mentor Program which is overseen by the Association of College and Research Libraries. In this lengthy and informative paper, Hardesty takes the reader through the history of this successful mentoring
program: as an idea generated at an ALA conference in the mid-1980s through the program's
inception and funding in 1992. The article also includes a description of the elements of
the program, including the author's own technique for matching mentors with proteges, and
costs. Details the benefits of the program for the first-year library directors, the mentors, and the institutions themselves. This paper should be read by anyone who is interested
in establishing an executive mentoring program. Includes a list of program participants;
notes and references.
Henderson, K.L. "Electronic 'Keyboard Pals': Mentoring the Electronic Way." Serials Librarian 29, nos. 3-4 (1996): 141-64.
Students in the author's Technical Services Functions source at the University of Illinois were matched electronically with mentors. These "virtual" mentors served as resource
persons for a major course paper. This article is one of the few available in our industry
literature which addresses the issues and challenges of virtual mentoring. Includes
references and participant lists.
Hernandez, Mary N. "Mentoring, Networking and Supervision: Parallelogram, Vortex, or Merging Point?" The Reference Librarian, 45/46 (1994): 15-22.
The author, a librarian, makes an argument that just as in business and industry, mentoring in academia, especially for minority groups is one of the best ways for members of these groups to achieve long term success. The author cites successful networking, supervision and retention as the "data points" which contribute to a successful mentoring program.
Houdek, F. G. " 'Meet My Mentor': A Collection of Personal Reminiscences." Law Library Journal 91, no. 1 (winter 1999): 177-255.
"Judith J. Field: Information Educator, President of the Special Libraries Association, and Mentoring Advocate." InfoManage 5, no. 4 (March 1998): 1-5.
Jones-Quartey, Theo. "Mentoring -- personal reflections of a special librarian," Information Outlook, (July 1, 2000): 24.
Kaplowitz, Joan. "Mentoring Library School Students - A Survey of Participants in the UCLA/GSLIS Mentor Program." Special Libraries, (September 22, 1992): 219.
This excellent article discusses a mentoring program at UCLA and outlines, step by step, the process of establishing a successful mentoring program in an academic environment. Kaplowitz' jargon-free article answers questions any one could have before embarking on their own mentoring program, and the Q&A format makes numerous references to the literature written on academic mentoring. The author also uses UCLA's program as an example of how a mentoring program should work, how successful it can be and lessons learned for improvement.
Kochoff, Steve. "The Division's Mentoring Initiative: Sharing Knowledge to Advance Your Career." Business & Finance Division Bulletin 111 (spring 1999): 9.
Kochoff discusses the initiative started by this particular SLA division. The program uses videotapes that discuss mentoring as a tool for shared knowledge. The first tape in the series focuses on participants who are involved in mentor-mentee relationships and their experiences and opinions about the merits of such relationships. It is through this shared knowledge that the initiative's promoters hope to have a lasting impact on students and professionals. The promoters hope to produce more tapes that will tackle more questions on mentoring and professional development.
Lary, M.S. "Mentoring: A Gift for Professional Growth." Southeastern Librarian 47, no. 4 (1998): 23-6.
Logsdon, Janis. "Need Help?…Ask Your Mentor." Journal of Library Administration 17 no. 3 (1992): 87.
The mentor as Teacher, Coach and Trainer foremost; then Positive Role Model, Developer of Talent, Opener of Doors, Protector, Sponsor and Example of a Successful Leader. A tall order for any mentor maybe, but these are all aspects of mentoring that the author discusses as being crucial to the successful careers of women. Includes references.
Nankivell, C. and M. Shoolbred. "Mentoring in Library and Information Services: A Literature Review and Report on Recent Research." New Review of Academic Librarianship 3 (1997): 91-114.
Nankivell and Shoolbred's review mostly of U.K. literature on mentoring is recommended for the mentoring novice and for the experienced mentor wanting to stay current on trends and writings in the field. This article also describes primary research produced for the British Library Research & Innovation Centre, and then compares those findings with those in the whole of mentoring literature. The research portion contains useful charts and data, and the article concludes with extensive references.
Taylor, V. "Mentoring: A Key Resource to Develop Professional and Personal Competencies." Information Outlook 3 no. 2 (February 1999): 12.
A brief Q&A article on the role of the mentor. Addresses questions such as "Would I make an effective mentor?" and "Do I have to live in the same geographic region as my mentor?"
Tolson, Stephanie D. "Mentoring Up the Career Ladder (Vocational Guidance for Librarians.) Information Outlook (June 1, 1998): 37.
Following a brief discussion on "What are mentors and why do I need one?" the author addresses both questions by describing her experiences as a mentee within SLA's Diversity Leadership Development Program, and the National Institute for Leadership Development Leader Program. Both are excellent examples of the positive effects of mentoring within our field.
General
Allen, Tammy D., Joyce E.A. Russell and Sabine B. Maetzke. "Formal Peer Mentoring: Factors Related to Protoges' Satisfaction and Willingness to Mentor Others." Group & Organization Management (Dec. 1, 1997): 448.
This highly technical article was written by three academicians who attempt to measure mentor-mentee satisfaction and a willingness to mentor by applying systematic and statistical principals. The authors used a mentor program set within a college MBA program as a benchmark. The article includes a description of how the study was conducted, measures used, results and a recommendation for setting up mentor-mentee programs.
Arnold, John and Karen Johnson. "Mentoring in Early Career." Human Resource Management Journal (January 1, 1997): 61.
Two British researchers discuss the results of their study on the benefits of mentoring in early career. The proteges in this study were recent hires by two larger private-sector organizations. The results concluded that the benefits of mentoring for these proteges were low. A discussion of the reasons for this, as well as comparisons to previous research on
mentoring, can provide good advice to those involved in current or planned mentor programs.
This is a scholarly piece that includes tables and references.
Baron, Talila. "The New Workplace: IT talent shortage renews interest in mentoring; Companies find links between age-old practice and employee retention," Information Week, (April 24, 2000): 166.
This article provides valuable descriptions of how some of the world's major IT firms--Intel, IBM and Lucent to name a few--are using mentoring not just to develop and maintain their high-performance, high-potential employees, but also ways to recruit new talent with pre-employment mentoring programs. At a time when many of these companies are having difficulty finding new people, the pairing of new employees with veteran workers is the extra step needed to attract top candidates.
Bell, Chip R. Managers As Mentors: Building Partnerships for Learning. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1998.
Consultant Chip Bell has written an accessible, motivating guide that is arguably required reading for anybody in a management position, regardless the field or industry. His message to management is loud and clear: that which helps their career (mentees, proteges) also helps yours. This book is two-to-three hours of reading that has the potential to change the way you work with all your colleagues, but especially those you mentor. Includes a scale for measuring your potential mentoring skills; references, notes and index. This book received the 1997 Athena Award for Excellence in Mentoring from the Mentor Newsletter.
Biehl, Bobb. Mentoring - Confidence in Finding a Mentor and Becoming One. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 1997.
Bluestein, Jane. Mentoring, Masters and Mrs. MacGregor: Stories of Teachers Making a Difference. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, 1995.
"Build Deal-Closing Ability with Mentoring," CPA Personnel Report (June 1, 1999): 1,7.
Caldwell, Brian J. The Return of the Mentor : Strategies for Workplace Learning. Washington, DC: Falmer Press, 1993.
Chandrasekhar, R. "Case study: The case of mentoring management," Business Today, (March 22, 2000): 141.
This article provides good guidelines, measures and success factors for mentoring programs. It is recommended for organizations that are considering starting a mentoring initiative, and especially for those that may be experiencing problems with a current mentoring program.
Cope, Nigel. "Sparks Fly Both Ways as Mentors Plug into Start-ups." Management Today, (06/01/1999): 86.
The author discusses the necessity of mentoring in order to establish networks for successful business relationships. By using the example of a successful entrepreneur and his relationship with a mentor, the author demonstrates that networking with a mentor can lead to not only emotional support for a new start up, but also to greater financial gain by drawing on the experience of a more successful "captain of business".
Douglas, Christina. Formal Mentoring Programs in Organizations: An Annotated Bibliography. 1997. Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership, 1997.
Doyle, James S. The Business Coach : A Game Plan for the New Work Environment. New York: Wiley & Sons, 1999.
Duff, Carolyn. Learning From Other Women: How to Benefit from the Knowledge,
Wisdom, and Experience of Female Mentors. New York, Amacom, 1999.
In the introduction of this book, the author discusses how gender differences
often effect mentoring relationships. Her thesis - that women benefit more
from female mentors - is given strong credibility by the over 200 case studies,
interviews and mentor relationships that resulted in this book. It is an
informative, helpful book that can help women to better recognize and develop
female-to-female mentoring relationships in the workplace. Indexed; each chapter
includes a bibliography of recommended texts.
Fellman, Michelle Wirth. "A Little Mentoring Can Go a Long, Long Way." Marketing News, (June 7, 1999): 13.
Q&A with a marketing CEO describes his commitment to professional development
through the firm's mentoring program, which matches senior and junior level staff.
The mentoring program is part of a larger, continuing education program which
is geared toward teaching marketing skills.
Flavelle, Dana. "Program Guides Unemployed on Entrepreneurial Journey - Mentoring Plays a Big Role in Success Stories." The Toronto Star (June 3, 1999): 1.
The objective of an unusual program in Toronto is to set up the unemployed with a mentor. Through interviews with successful job seekers, the article uses examples to show that the job search is easier with a mentor who has experience and connections to the business world.
Fortgang, Laura Berman. Take Yourself to the Top : The Secrets of America's #1 Career Coach. New York: Warner Books, 1998,
Foster, Bill and Karen R. Seeker. Coaching for Peak Employee Performance: A Practical Guide to Supporting Employee Development. Irvine, CA: Richard Chang Assoc. Inc., 1997.
Fritts, Patricia J. The New Managerial Mentor : Becoming a Learning Leader to Build Communities of Purpose. Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black Publications, 1998.
This may be one of the best sources for examining a new concept of mentoring. Aimed at "companies committed to the continual development of individuals and groups to meeting changing business needs," the book suggests that such "a learning organizations" view mentoring as a way to develop flexible and adaptable employees at a relatively low cost. Most of Fritts' examples come from her experience as a consultant. She incorporates checklists, guidelines and inventories into her text and allows readers to build their own concrete plans for becoming learning leaders. Includes references, index.
Godshalk, Veronica M. and John J. Sosik. "Does mentor-protege agreement on mentor/leadership behavior influence the quality of a mentoring relationship?" Group & Organization Management, (September 1, 2000): 291-317.
The authors have completed an excellent study on mentor effectiveness focusing on the self-perceptions of the mentor and his or her transformation leadership skills. Highlighted are good checkpoints for mentors to evaluate themselves. A thorough pie ce containing research methodology, hypothesis and discussion, this article will be especially useful to experienced mentors, some of whom may never have taken a close look at their own mentor effectiveness.
Hendricks, William, ed. Coaching, Mentoring and Managing. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press, 1996.
Hilpern, Kate. "The Office Godfather: When You Start a New Job, It's Good to Have a Mentor to Show You the Ropes, says Kate Hilpern." The Guardian, (May 17, 1999): 57.
If this article were in a lesser-known source than a reputable national newspaper from the UK, it might have been read as tongue-and-cheek. Especially intriguing was the final paragraph, which describes women in Corporate America mentoring senior male executives because "…nobody understands better than a good secretary what makes an organisation tick." This brief off-take on mentoring in the U.S. from a British perspectives makes this an interesting read, but doesn't offer much else that is new.
Huang, A. and Lynch, J. Mentoring: The Tao of Giving and Receiving Wisdom. New York: HarperCollins, 1995.
Jackson, Maggie. "Report: Minority Women Managers Lack Mentors, Report Stereotyping". Associated Press Newswires, (07/13/1999).
This articles tackles the issue of a lack of mentors for successful minority women in a business environment. Using survey results, the article reports that minority women do not have access to influential mentors and are thus denied access to networks for greater movement in their careers. the article makes a correlation between the small number of minority women managers and a absence of role models for peer mentoring. The article concludes with the recommendations of the survey authors to help improve this disparity of minority women mentors.
Jeruchim, Joan and Patricia Gottlieb Shapiro. Women, Mentors and Success. New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1992.
The authors developed a research project based on the premise that the traditional, male-dominated mentoring model was not only ineffective but also unattractive to women in the workplace. After extensive interviews and study, they are offering mentoring models that they say are more effective and more likely for women to embrace. The book includes a self-test for measuring one's mentoring abilities, a description of the survey and its results. It has a glossary and an extensive bibliography.
Johnson, Harold. Mentoring for Exceptional Performance. Glendale, CA: Griffin Publishing, 1997.
Kennedy, Marilyn Moats. "Will You Be My Mentor?" Across the Board (May, 1999): 55.
The author discusses what makes a successful mentor-mentee relationship. She indicates that certain criteria such as honesty and mutual respect must be in place to make the relationship work and the relationship falls apart when these criteria are missing. She also makes the point that often when mentoring programs are discussed two of the most important elements are missing from the talk: mentor and mentee.
Motsett, C.B. If It Wasn't for the People…This Job Would be Fun! : Coaching for Buy-In and Results. Boca Raton, FL: St. Lucie Press, 1998.
Murray, Margo. Beyond the Myths and Magic of Mentoring: How to Facilitate an Effective Mentoring Program. Jossey-Bass Management Series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.
The author has been working with and researching mentoring since the 1960s and is the developer of the "facilitated mentoring model." Her book not only defines this model, but also compares it to other, less-formal approaches to mentoring. Her book provides a framework and guidelines for implementing such a program in a workplace and has a needs and readiness assessment that will allow one to decide whether an organization needs or is ready for a her facilitated mentoring process. The book includes chapters on negotiating sound mentoring agreements, evaluating program effectiveness and structuring the mentor role. It is written in an accessible, "let's get started" style that will take a reader from idea to success. Includes references and an index.
Pandya, Nick. "Management: Mentors for Black and Asian Managers." The Guardian (June 26, 1999).
In this brief article on a conference held in Britain, the author touches on a central issue in mentoring: the lack of minority executives to serve as mentors for other minority members in business. The conference participants, which included many white business executives addressed how retention levels for minority business people is low because of the need for more mentors and networks. Examples of successful mentor partnering were used to show that mentoring programs can work with fiscal support and long-term commitment.
Parsloe, Eric. Coaching, Mentoring and Assessing: A Practical Guide to Developing Competence. New York: Nichols Pub. Co., 1992.
Peddy, Shirley. The Art of Mentoring: Lead, Follow and Get Out of the Way. Houston, TX: Bullion Books, 1998.
This guide to mentoring is an anecdotal work in which key lessons and mentoring advice are presented to the reader via the story of one woman working as a consultant within two companies. The book is fun to read, easy to relate to and the messages are clear. This book vividly shows how one person can make a big difference in the interpersonal workplace relationships of many people.
Reingold, Jennifer, "Why Your Workers Might Jump Ship." Business Week (March 1, 1999): 8.
Looking for statistics on why mentoring might be a good idea in your organization? Look no further; if these three paragraphs can't sell your management, nothing can.
Shea, Gordon. Making the Most of Being Mentored: How to Grow from a Mentoring Partnership. Menlo Park, CA: Crisp, 1999.
Shea, Gordon. Mentoring: Helping Employees Reach Their Full Potential. New York: AMA Membership Publications Division, American Management Association, 1994.
Shea, Gordon. Mentoring: A Practical Guide. Menlo Park, CA: Crisp, 1997.
Shula, Don and Ken Blanchard. Everyone's a Coach : You Can Inspire Anyone to Be a Winner. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publications, 1995.
Sinetar, Marsha. The Mentor's Spirit: Life Lessons on Leadership and the Art of Encouragement. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998.
Slater, Pam. "Careers Can Be Made or Derailed Over Choice or Absence of a Mentor." The Sacramento Bee (Aug. 9, 1999).
This lengthy news piece focuses on several Hewlett-Packard employees and their involvement in an informal mentoring environment. Also includes guidelines to assist mentees in establishing informal mentoring relationships within their organizations and includes key quotes from author Shirley Peddy, whose book The Art of Mentoring also appears in this bibliography.
Sochar, Scott. "Mentors Help Disabled Workers Find, Keep Jobs." San Jose Mercury News, (June 8, 1999).
This article is written to show that mentoring on many levels is necessary for successful career moves and focuses on DPI (Disabled Programmers Inc.) which helps to set up mentor relationships between successful talented, disabled people and clients of the program. These mentor relationships can lead to jobs and foster improved self esteem.
Stone, Florence M. Coaching, Counseling and Mentoring: How to Choose and Use the Right Tool to Boost Employee Performance. New York: AMACOM, 1999.
This book focuses on the three managerial topics in the title and uses very good case studies and scenarios to illustrate best practices for each. Stone says coaching is for "continually developing employees so that they do their jobs well." Counseling is directed at employees who do not respond well in a given work situation. She says mentoring is to be directed at top performers. She points out common mistakes that are often made in all three processes and makes fine suggestions for undoing the damage. Published by the American Management Association, a quick, enjoyable yet effective read. Indexed.
Sullivan, Cheryl Granade. How to Mentor in the Midst of Change. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1992.
Van Dusen, Christine. "Companies View Mentoring as Tool to Diversity Workplace." Gannett News Service, (May 13, 1999).
This is an article that discusses the broader implications of mentoring in order to diversify a workplace. The article uses the results of survey data to show the value of mentoring for minority groups. The author uses examples and interviews from corporate America and emphasizes that while diversification through mentoring is good for the bottom line, companies still have difficulties setting up successful mentoring programs.
Whitmire, Richard. "Study: Mentoring New Teachers Reduces Attrition." Gannett News Service, (July 28, 1999).
Whitmire discusses the need for mentoring in teacher programs and the importance of pairing new teachers with more experienced professionals. Many new teachers leave because they have no assistance in making the transition to the profession, and they lack access to a support network. High attrition rates indicate that in order to keep good teachers, mentoring programs should be pursued. The article concludes by reporting the survey's findings for keeping and mentoring teachers.
Wickman, Floyd. Mentoring : The Most Obvious Yet Overlooked Key to Achieving More in Life Than You Ever Dreamed Possible : A Success Guide for Mentors and Proteges. Chicago: Irwin Professional Publications, 1997.
Willis, David P. "New Jersey University Launches Online Mentoring Program." Asbury Park Press, (July 30, 1999).
This article is a brief description of MentorNet, an electronic or virtual mentoring program designed to connect female engineering students in the U.S. with volunteer mentors already working in the industry. MentorNet is offered through San Jose State University at www.mentornet.net.
Internet Websites:
http://www.ala.org/nmrt/
The American Library Association's New Members Round Table has a Conference Mentoring Program in place for the 1999 New Orleans ALA conference. For more information on being a mentor or mentee at the conference, register at this website.
http://www.mentoringgroup.com/company.html
The Mentoring Group is a division of the not-for-profit corporation CCC: The Coalition of Counseling Centers, which was founded in 1980 in the San Francisco Bay area. The Mentoring Group provides consulting, skill-based training, skill assessment, research and publications related to mentoring.
http://www.coachingandmentoring.com/ccment.htm
A very informative website for the Center for Coaching and Mentoring, a company founded in 1979. Website includes links to documents such as free leadership quizzes ("How In Step Are You With Generation X?" and "What's Your Commitment To Yourself?") and a Mentoring Contract. A good place to visit for anybody who is beginning a new mentoring relationship, or starting a mentoring program.
http://www.mentornet.net
There is a wealth of information on this website for mentors, mentees, and organizations who are investigating setting up their own mentoring programs. Includes everything from recruiting posters and marketing materials to assessment documents and FAQs.
