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Faculty Professional Development Toolkit: Mentoring

Mentoring from a Distance

Like everyone else, Mentors and Mentees are now having to learn to work successfully with each other at a distance.  The following article has several concrete recommendations for making this practice successful. 

Responsibilities Checklist for Tenure Track Faculty:

  • Schedule an initial meeting with your mentor (This can be lunch, breakfast, or a coffee break).
    • Group lunches with other mentor/mentee pairs may be useful.
  • Schedule regular meetings with your mentee.
  • Offer to look over your mentee’s vita and provide feedback.
  • Thoroughly familiarize yourself with the current RTP policies, both at the Library and University levels. Ask for clarification. Offer your advice from personal experiences and observations.
  • Learn about the current portfolio system and offer asstance to your mentee with his or her files. Encourage your mentee to attend AAUP workshop on current portfolio system.
  • Discuss your mentee’s line of inquiry for research.
  • Keep your eyes open for possible collaborations. Introduce your mentee to potential collaborators.
  • Discuss possible venues for publications and presentations.
  • Offer to proofread papers before submission.
  • Travel to a conference with your mentee. Introduce them to colleagues you know at other institutions. Encourage them to become involved.
  • Take your mentor to a Faculty Club and attend other important campus programs together.
  • Discuss strengths and weaknesses. Ask your mentee about challenges he or she is facing.
  • Be there to provide support in case of upsetting events or conflicts. Keep your eye out for available campus and community resources.
  • Maintain confidentiality.
  • Feel free to reevaluate the mentor/mentee relationship and make changes if need be.


Use tabs above to view checklist for TT mentees.

  • Schedule an initial meeting with your mentor (This can be lunch, breakfast, or a coffee break).
  • Schedule regular meetings with your mentor.
    • Talk to your mentor. You may like to meet monthly or bi-monthly, but each mentor/mentee pair should schedule what works for them.
  • Have your mentor look over your vita and get feedback.
  • Thoroughly familiarize yourself with the RTP policies.
    • Be sure to ask for clarification in areas in which you have concerns or questions.
  • Ask questions regarding priorities for research, job performance, and service, as well as expectations of each component.
  • Brainstorm goals and priorities for professional development. Where do you want to be in ten years? Dream big!
  • Ask about realistic timelines for assignments, as well as time management strategies.
  • Attend an AAUP workshop on using the current portfolio system.
  • Ask your mentor to proofread or look over your file in the current portfolio system.
  • Discuss strengths and weaknesses. Keep your mentor informed about your progress as well as any hurdles you encounter.
  • Be open to suggestions and constructive criticism.
  • Attend campus programs and events together.
  • Ask about campus and community resources for your needs.
    • Ideas: Office of Research, Grant opportunities, Writing/Research help, Webinars
  • Ask for help when you need it.
  • Maintain confidentiality.
  • Feel free to reevaluate the mentor/mentee relationship. You can always ask for a different mentor.


Use tabs above to view checklist for TT mentors.

Responsibilities Checklist for Non-Tenure Track Faculty:

  • Schedule an initial meeting with your mentee (This can be lunch, breakfast, or a coffee break).
    • Group lunches with other mentor/mentee pairs may be useful.
  • Schedule regular meetings with your mentee.
    • Talk to your mentee. You may like to meet monthly or bi-monthly, but each mentor/mentee pair should schedule what works for them.
  • Offer to look over your mentee’s vita and provide feedback.
  • Thoroughly familiarize yourself with the current NTT review and promotion policies, both at the Library and University levels. Ask for clarification. Offer your advice from personal experiences and observations.
  • Learn about the current portfolio system, and offer help to your mentee with his or her files. 
    • Encourage your mentee to attend an AAUP workshop on current portfolio system.
  • Travel to a conference with your mentee.
    • Introduce them to colleagues you know at other institutions.
    • Encourage them to become involved.
  • Take your mentee to a Faculty Club and attend other important campus programs together.
  • Discuss strengths and weaknesses. Ask your mentee about challenges he/she is facing.
  • Be there to provide support in case of upsetting events or conflicts.
    • Keep your eye out for available campus and community resources.
  • Maintain confidentiality.
  • Feel free to reevaluate the mentor/mentee relationship and make changes if need be.


Use tabs above to view checklist for NTT mentees.

  • Schedule an initial meeting with your mentor (This can be lunch, breakfast, or a coffee break).
  • Schedule regular meetings with your mentor.
    • Talk to your mentor. You may like to meet monthly or bi-monthly, but each mentor/mentee pair should schedule what works for them.
  • Have your mentor look over your vita and get feedback.
  • Thoroughly familiarize yourself with the UL Faculty Handbook review and promotion policies for NTT Faculty.
    • Be sure to ask for clarification in areas in which you have concerns or questions.
  • Ask questions regarding priorities for job performance, professional development and service, as well as expectations of each component.
  • Brainstorm goals and priorities for professional development. Where do you want to be in ten years? Dream big!
  • Ask about realistic timelines for assignments, as well as time management strategies.
  • Attend an AAUP workshop on using the current portfolio system.
  • Ask your mentor proofread or look over your annual narrative or your file in the current portfolio system.
  • Discuss strengths and weaknesses. Keep your mentor informed about your progress as well as any hurdles you encounter.
  • Be open to suggestions and constructive criticism.
  • Attend campus programs and events together.
  • Ask about campus and community resources for your needs.
    • Ideas: HR workshops, ALA Webinars, conferences, etc.
  • Ask for help when you need it.
  • Maintain confidentiality.
  • Feel free to reevaluate the mentor/mentee relationship. You can always ask for a different mentor.


Use tabs above to view checklist for NTT mentors.

Additional Resources

  1. Ambrose, Larry. Common Sense Mentoring. Chicago: Perrone-Ambrose, 2008.
  2. Donovan, Georgie L and Miguel A Figueroa. Staff Development Strategies That Work! New York : Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2009..
  3. Lee, Marta K. Mentoring in the Library: Building for the Future. Chicago: American Library Association, 2011.
  4. Mavrinac, Mary Ann and Kim Stymest. Pay it Forward: Mentoring New Information Professionals (ACRL Active Guide #4). Chicago: ACRL, 2013.
  5. Maxwell, John C. Mentoring 101: What every leader needs to know. Nashville, Tenn: T. Nelson. 2008 and 2010.
  6. Metz, Ruth F. Coaching in the Library: A Management Strategy for Achieving Excellence, Chicago : American Library Association, 2001 and 2011.
  7. Shea, Gordon F. Making the Most of Being Mentored: How to Grow from a Mentoring Relationship.
  8. Smallwood, Carole and Rebecca Tolley-Stokes. Mentoring in Librarianship: Essays on Working with Adults and Students to Further the Profession. Jefferson City, NC: McFarland & Co., Inc., 2012.
  9. Stoddard, David and Robert J. Tamasy. The Heart of Mentoring: Ten Proven Principles for Developing People to Their Fullest Potential. Colorado Springs, Colo: NavPress, 2003.
  10. Stueart, Robert D. and Maureen Sullivan. Developing library leaders: a how-to-do-it manual for coaching, team building, and mentoring library staff. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2010.
  11. Tucker, Cory and Reeta Sinha, editors. New Librarian, New Job: Practical Advice for Managing the Transition. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2006.
  12. Zachary, Lois J. and Lory A. Fischler. The Mentee's Guide: making mentoring work for you. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

More Articles

  1. Fyn, A. (2013). Peer Group Mentoring Relationships and the Role of Narrative. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 39(4), 330-334.
  2. Gallo, A. (2011, February 1). Demystifying Mentoring. Harvard Business Review, HBR Blog Network.
  3. Lacy, M. & Copeland. A. (2013, Spring). The Role of Mentorship Programs in LIS Education and in Professional Development. Journal of Education for Library & Information Science, 54(1), 135-146.
  4. Moore, A. A., Miller, M. J., Pitchford, V. J., & Ling, H. J. (2008). Mentoring in the Millennium: New Views, Climate, and Action. New Library World, 109(1/2), 75-86.
  5. Neyer, L., & Yelinek, K. (2011, May). Beyond Boomer Meets NextGen: Examining Mentoring Practices among Pennsylvania Academic Librarians. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 37(3), 215-221.
  6. Nguyen, Annie and Rhodes, Scott (2019) "Strategies for Successful Long-Distance Mentoring," Health Behavior Research: Vol. 2: No. 4. https://doi.org/10.4148/2572-1836.1064
  7. Olivas, A., & Ma, R. (2009, Winter). Increasing Retention Rates in Minority Librarians through Mentoring. Electronic Journal of Academic & Special Librarianship, 10(3), 1-5.
  8. Robbeloth, A., Eng, A., & Weiss, S. (2013, March). Disconnect Between Literature and Libraries: The Availability of Mentoring Programs for Academic Librarians. Endnotes, 4(1), 1-19.
  9. Smith, J. How to Be A Great Mentor. Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/05/17/how-to-become-a-great-mentor
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