{"id":71075,"date":"2014-05-08T11:30:18","date_gmt":"2014-05-08T16:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=71075"},"modified":"2014-05-08T10:19:34","modified_gmt":"2014-05-08T15:19:34","slug":"sponsorship-is-the-new-black","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=71075","title":{"rendered":"Sponsorship is the New Black"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Amanda Viana, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Massachusetts<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Sponsorship is the New Black<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"amandaviana\"<\/a>I was in elementary school when I met my mentor. She was the warm and welcoming\u00a0presence in my local public library and she was the knowledgeable and resourceful go-to\u00a0Reference Librarian when I had a school report or just a curiosity. I have always been an\u00a0avid reader but what my mentor showed me was that librarianship was about so much\u00a0more than books. She greeted everyone with a smile and her patience never seemed to\u00a0wane. With her as an example librarianship became my goal.<\/p>\n

Over the years I got to know her better, had more opportunities to speak with her about\u00a0libraries and librarianship, and look to her for guidance and advice. I wrote my college\u00a0entrance essays about how she had inspired me and influenced my career goals. When I\u00a0was a paraprofessional she gave me enormous freedom and encouragement to try new\u00a0things, take on new duties, experiment, learn, and grow. When I earned my degree and it\u00a0was clear that there weren\u2019t going to be any professional positions opening at our library,\u00a0she was the first to tell me to put my career first and she encouraged and supported me\u00a0every step of the way.<\/p>\n

She has continued to be a mentor to me.<\/strong> She always finds time to answer my questions and\u00a0give me advice. Now that I\u2019m on the Board of Trustees at the library I get to see her in a\u00a0whole new way, observe her from a different perspective and I find that I am still learning\u00a0from her. I would not be half the librarian I am today if it wasn\u2019t for her.<\/p>\n

So, having had such an incredible and influential mentor, imagine my surprise when I\u00a0began to stumble upon career articles extolling the values of sponsorship. What was a\u00a0sponsor? How was a sponsor different from mentor?<\/strong> And if it was so great\u2014how could I\u00a0get myself one? Lucky for me I\u2019m a reference librarian, so I dug in and started to do some\u00a0research.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I learned:<\/p>\n