GIS Mentoring

The implementation and development of effective mentoring is crucial to the growth and success of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) librarianship and staffi ng. Mentoring is necessary to fi ll the gaps for all staff members, especially students. I propose that mentoring can assuage many of the staffi ng obstacles to successful GIS programs. Effective mentoring will create a healthy and productive work environment as well as nurture future GIS librarians and staff members. Although mentoring within librarianship has been discussed in library literature, unfortunately work on the area of GIS mentoring is lacking. This article discusses the benefi ts of mentoring and demonstrates how the need for GIS mentoring is different from other library mentoring, specifi cally because of staffi ng. It also offers strategies for effective GIS mentoring. Introduction “To teach is to learn.” This Chinese proverb embraces the cyclical nature of mentoring, in which knowledge is gained by everyone in the mentoring relationship—student and teacher, protégé and mentor. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to know how to teach and mentor effectively. While literature exists about mentoring in relation to libraries, this is not the case for mentoring in relation to Geographic Information Systems (GIS). As GIS is a relatively new discipline, circumstances regarding staffi ng, fi nancial obligations, time obligations, and isolation set it apart from other areas of library mentoring. This article discusses these differences and offers practical strategies for implementing an effective GIS mentoring program. GIS Mentoring