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569 THE CHRONICLE of MENTORING & COACHING The Chronicle of Mentoring & Coaching, Vol. 6, December 2022, Special Issue 15 Mentoring Health Science Library Students: Practices and Perceptions From the NNLM Region 4 Brown, D., & Abbey, D. University of Wyoming, Network of the National Library of Medicine Abstract This paper showcases the approach the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Region 4 used to mentor future health science librarians. The NNLM Region 4 used a combination of formal and informal methods to mentor protégées on projects related to health science librarianship. Some of these projects included proximity mapping and enhancing diversity equity and inclusion in the health science librarian fields. The NNLM is an organization concerned about access to health information for all populations in the United States. The Network is a subsidiary of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) one of the 27 institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Region 4 of the NNLM is comprised of 9 states (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming). All protégées were expected to engage with their mentors and work on creating a scholarly work product that could either be published in a professional journal or presented at a professional conference. As an organization, the NNLM has been successful in completing these goals while the protégées were actively enrolled in their graduate library science programs. We further describe the processes we use and demonstrate some of the mentorship practices we undertake to make the program rewarding both to the mentors and protégées. Formal evaluation is accomplished through channels both at the students’ universities and the NNLM. Literature Review Developing the skills, knowledge, and abilities to be successful in health sciences librarianship can be challenging. Baseline competencies have been identified by library associations, employers, and those working in health care. Lawton et al. (2014) found ten common areas of competence: communication, systematic review, critical appraisal, managing and organizing health information, managing and organizational skills, training and education, legal, leadership, technology, and understanding the healthcare environment. Mentorship programs can address professional pathway gaps and professional competencies for those seeking advanced degrees or continuing education in any field. This is especially true in health sciences librarianship and can help dispel misconceptions that a background in science is necessary, or that employment is only in academic or hospital settings. Ennis et al. (2010) found over a decade ago, that the majority of health sciences librarians ended up in their career accidentally. This is still the case with many library science undergraduate and graduate programs lacking a health sciences track. Koos et al. (2020) found that only 40% of health sciences librarians in the U.S. and Canada responding to a survey were interested in health sciences librarianship when starting their graduate programs. Mentors can help protégées address challenges and barriers to a subspeciality that is under-represented in the curriculum and misunderstood in the workplace. Bartley et al. (2021) noted that building or improving core professional skills in health sciences librarianship could be accomplished with a mentorship. A 2017 survey found that one in seven health sciences librarians experienced imposter phenomenon (Barr-Walker et al., 2019). This phenomenon can cause feelings of inflated perceptions of one’s abilities and a fear of being evaluated (Mak et al., 2019). A successful mentorship can help build skills and address any self-doubts or insecurities a protégée might harbor. Laynor et al. (2022) found additional benefits to creating a pathway by making the professional subspeciality more equitable, diverse, and inclusive.
