Mentoring and Managing Students in the Academic Library

by Michelle Reale

Most academic libraries could not operate without a host of part-time student workers. But employing students is different from filling a professional position with an experienced worker; often their library employment will be their first job experience. Since many student positions make them the public face of the library, effective mentoring of such student employees is vital. In this book Reale explores the challenges and opportunities involved in recruitment. Her guideShows how a library job can be more than just employment, teaching students important responsibilities and life-skillsCovers the entire scope of a student’s tenure at an academic library, from bringing new hires on board and training them to disciplining student employees and the unpleasant but sometimes necessary task of firingOffers mentoring advice for helping students navigate the cultural contrasts, irregular hours, and other day-to-day issues faced by young people away from home for the first timeWith Reale’s guidance, supervising academic librarians can effectively mentor students while maintaining an enjoyable, productive workplace that functions efficiently in support of the institution.

Genres: Nonfiction, Professional Development, Librarianship

120 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I would finish this in a week; it's less than a hundred pages. After the first few chapters though, I kind of thought Reale was maybe too uptight and, for lack of a better word, corporate. So it migrated from my commute read to my commode read. As I got further into it, there were bits that seemed helpful. It is anyway interesting to contrast one's own supervisory style with another's, and it's clear that Reale is dealing with a much larger library than me and with very different student assistants, so maybe it's not her as much as where she works that makes her come across so stuffy to me. I really don't like the phrase "tough love" and I hate when people act like universities aren't "real world" places to work, but I appreciate Reale's advice about how to communicate and model professional behavior. The anecdotal examples are probably the best part. In the end, though, it seems like you'd get more out of straight up business books about HR, organizational behavior and mentoring then from Reale's reminiscences. Still, glad I persevered.

[Jude Morrissey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended for those just beginning to supervise student workers, or who find some friction in their relationships with student workers. Some really great advice in a very short book!

[Danielle Notz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t think I would like working with Michelle.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short volume on working with students in a college library was fairly useful and an interesting take on the role of a supervisor. Reale concentrates more on the mentoring than the managing, and provides some nice guideposts for the kind of mentoring a librarian can do with her student workers. I wish there had been a little more real-life examples and concrete advice based on those examples, but the advice and direction she did give was helpful. Reale's prose is on the chatty side, but clear and easy to grasp.

[Jonah Schmucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of good guidelines and things to keep in mind that are still relevant despite the epitomic milennial pictured on the cover. I'd be curious to know if nearly all of Reale's students end up crashing out, hating her, and getting fired or just the ones she chose to write about. I'd hope other supervisors would show their students more compassion than she does, like firing a 4-year student 3 weeks from graduation for one outburst.

[Viathenavy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found a few helpful tidbits.

[Marina Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

good information, though I wouldn't want the author as my mentor since she seems quite harsh in her teaching strategies.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read. As a supervisor in a college library, I found so many invaluable tidbits in this book. Definitely will be encouraging others at my library and at other academic libraries to read this. It was a quick read, and I really wish this book had been available when I first started my job three years ago.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read with lots of general information, but not the specifics that I was hoping for. The author offered lots of personal experience scenarios making the book easy to read.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read, though I'm not sure if any of the information stayed.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book, but I don't think I learned anything new. Good overview and reminder of practical lessons.