Mentorship Program for Visible Minority Librarians in Canada

The following announcement was distributed on the listserv of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries.

It is reproduced here with permission:

The Visible Minority Librarians of Canada (ViMLoC) Mentorship Program is now accepting applications for the 2022 session! This mentoring session will run from May 2nd to July 1st, 2022. To apply as a mentor or mentee, please fill out the mentor application form or mentee application form. 

*** Applications will close on March 31, 2022 ***

About this program

The Visible Minority Librarians of Canada (ViMLoC) recognizes the need to help visible minority librarians, especially early career and new immigrant librarians, develop their professional careers, as well as the need to encourage and guide visible minority library students with career planning. Lack of mentorship is often cited as a challenge among visible minority librarians, and through our mentorship program, we found that small acts of mentorship were able to make an impact on our mentees. Applying for this program will help create a larger network of visible minority librarians and increase our representation in the library profession. The 2022 ViMLoC mentoring program will recruit experienced visible minority librarians as potential mentors, as well as facilitate the matching of potential mentors to mentees. ViMLoC membership is NOT required to participate in this program, however, you are encouraged to sign up for ViMLoC membership. Please visit our mentorship program page for more information.  

Should I apply?

This program is open to visible minority librarians at all stages of their career, and visible minority library students. In Canada, the visible minority population consists mainly of the following groups: Chinese, South Asian, Black, Arab, West Asian, Filipino, Southeast Asian, Latin American, Japanese and Korean. Participants with the intersectionality of these backgrounds are welcome to apply. We need mentors with all kinds of experience and skills. In recognition of your contribution to the mentorship program, we would be happy to provide mentors with a reference letter. 

Expectations

Applicants to the program are expected:

• To commit to the full term of the session;
• To keep in touch with their mentorship partner a minimum of twice per month (by email, phone, Zoom or other means of communication upon mutual agreement);
• To complete an exit survey (online) at the close of the session.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at vimloc@gmail.com .