The Mentoring Network is open to all library staff within the West Midlands region.  The mentoring network is a self-sustaining network supported by the Regional Library Unit and Learning & Development Group.

What is mentoring?
“Mentoring is a relationship between two people where one helps the other to improve skills, knowledge and professional development.”   Museums Association

Mentoring can support individuals through a career transition such as wanting or moving into a new role, studying a qualification or taking on new responsibilities.

If you are looking to Charter or revalidate with CILIP then your mentor will need to be a Chartered member of CILIP and undergone CILIP mentor training.  CILIP have a list of mentors to support those wanting to Charter or revalidate, go to their website for more details. 

Benefits of mentoring

For the mentor:
Demonstrate transferable skills – managing people, communication skills.
Professional development opportunity.
Share experience and learn from your mentee.

For the mentee:
Opportunity to discuss professional issues.
Getting support and advice on working more effectively.

How do I become a mentor?
You will need to contact Alison Pope or Sharon Stevens of the RLU.  We will ask you to write a profile about yourself which will then be included in the list of mentors.  You can specifiy the the number of mentees you are able to mentor. 
The RLU have developed a mentor toolkit which includes more information about mentoring and the WM network and updating your mentor profile.  The toolkit can be found in (Documents - Learning & Development - Mentoring)  
There is also a Wish L&D topic on Mentoring which provides lnks to some useful resources on mentoring.

How do I find a mentor? 
The list of mentors witin the network can be found in the list of mentors documents (Documents - Learning & Development - Mentoring). The RLU have developed a guide for mentees which includes an introduction to the mentoring network, tips on choosing a mentor and some uesful links.  The guide can be found in (Documents - Learning & Development - Mentoring)
If you would like help and advice in finding a mentor you can also contact Alison Pope or Sharon Stevens.