"Two Black and Queer Archivists Practicing Mentorship"

Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz, New York University    
Vita Kurland, Long Island University

Two black, queer librarian-archivists share their experience in a mentor and mentee relationship in year two of their 2-year ARL Kaleidoscope mentorship program. The impact of having a black and queer identified mentor/mentee in the same city has allowed for a successful mentor-mentee dynamic and relationship. The lightning talk will overview components of the mentorship program that led to its value and efficacy, with 50% of the talk anchored in conversation between the mentor and mentee, relaying to the audience anecdotal points of connection that being both black and queer has afforded in this relationship together. Examples of this include meetings over burgers, minor academic advising, archival visits, guest speaker invitations, and support for professional development to name a few examples. Each person being both black and queer allows for unspoken and fixed points of connection that would lead to a sense of comfort and understanding, thereby opening doors for expanded mentorship possibilities. We hope that sharing this experience will be valuable to anyone preparing to lead a mentorship program, or interested in becoming a mentor or mentee. The highly beneficial characteristics of this pairing could stand as a model for what mentorships could offer across various library mentorship initiatives. We aim to say, “you want to be a mentor or mentee? No matter your standpoint, here’s how good it could be. Here’s how our experiences can be adopted!”

"Mentoring of BIPOC Librarians in Academic Libraries: Why it’s Important for Retention and How to Get Started"

Ayiana Crabtree, University at Buffalo

While the recruitment of librarians who identify as Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) is a topic with a lot of traction, the total percentage of BIPOC librarians hasn’t experienced a significant increase in the past ten years. With all the attention on recruitment, BIPOC librarians are often forgotten about after they’ve been brought into the field, as a majority of support is often dropped after the first few years. BIPOC in Academic libraries are often left feeling ostracized due to the predominantly white environment, and sometimes forced to conform to the idea of white professionality, leaving them to be targeted for aspects of their identity. Mentoring has been identified as a method with the potential to increase retention numbers, as mentoring helps foster a feeling of belonging and allows for their voices to be heard. By working to help make BIPOC staff feel welcomed and supported in their workplace, there is hope to increase retention numbers in current and future generations of librarians. This session presents an annotated bibliography providing context on the history of the recruitment and retention of BIPOC librarians to highlight the importance of taking steps to try to solve this continuing problem, then gives an overview of some mentoring tips and methods that may benefit the BIPOC at your institution. Introducing a mentoring program for BIPOC librarians at your institution could be the next step to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce.