PLL Mentoring Committee
Report for 1999-2000

Submitted by

Jane McMahon, Chair
Brobeck Phleger & Harrison LLP

Our committee, which consists of active members including Christine Graeser, Riva Laughlin, Sally Crowley, Sara Zagorski, Lisa Harrington, Lynn Conner Merring and Glen Gustafson.

This was the first year we sponsored two $100.00 grants to attend CONELL. A grant form was developed, the grants were posted on Law-Lib and submitted to PLL Perspectives. The grant was publicized for approximately three months. Two applicants applied for the grants and they were awarded to Melanie Harshman and Snow Zhu. Both candidates agreed to attend the PLL Business meeting and submit an article to PLL Perspectives on their CONELL experience.

If this program is to be continued, the two grants need to be added to the 2000-2001 budget.

Contact was made with Anne Ellis, Westgroup and Holly Thompson, Lexis Law Publishing in regard to broadening our mentoring outreach. Both are quite willing to work with the committee to develop a mentor/mentees network at the local chapter level. Gayle Lynn Nelson is the liaison to Holly Thompson. Connecting on the local level through the Westlaw and Lexis representatives would lead to some grassroots recruiting of newer librarians and those professionals who are not yet members of AALL.

The AALL Committee on Mentoring and Retention actively recruited mentors and mentees this year. This was lead by Richard Vaughn and Charles Marlor. They coordinated matching up nearly fifty mentors and mentees this year. I would like to recommend that the committee look at ways to promote working with the AALL committee which utilizes the AALL web site which includes the application forms. The PLL committee should work closely with the AALL committee to assist in linking the private librarians in mentor, mentees relationships.

This committee needs to take a proactive role in working with the AALL Mentoring Committee, promoting mentoring within the Chapters and through the PLL Perspectives. Without an active group promoting these activities, I would recommend that one or two PLL members ask to be appointed to the AALL Mentoring & Retention Committee and report back to PLL.