[OYAN] Sharing about our mentors

[MCMAHAN Caitlin A]

Hey OYAN humans!

With the recent call for OYEA! nominations, it got me thinking about all the people who have been mentors in our professional lives.

For this OYAN email topic, I was wondering if folks were willing to share a time where they felt they had a positive mentoring experience. This can be from your time working in libraries, or from other pivotal moments in your life outside of library land. Feel free to keep a level of anonymity if that makes you feel more comfortable when it comes to sharing names and locations, or name drop all the humans! I'd love to hear about some of the wonderful folks who have had a positive impact on your life!

For me, I think one of the most impactful interactions I've had with folks I admire in the library world is when I was encouraged to ask questions. Last year, when I stepped into the role of OYAN Chair, I asked Sonja Somerville and Mark Richardson about one million questions. I had never served as part of OLA division leadership before and was relatively new to OYAN, so I had not a clue about how anything worked. But Sonja and Mark were always so kind and gracious (and quick to respond to my emails), never making me feel that it was a bad thing to be learning about my new role.

Similarly, when I was new to the Youth Services role, my colleagues that worked in various libraries throughout Lane County were hugely impactful and were amazing about making themselves available if I felt I needed someone to ask questions of or bounce ideas off of. Nick Caum, Taylor Worley, and Alec Chunn are just a few of the wonderful humans who helped me become a more confident Youth Services Librarian just by having conversations with me and being willing to point me towards doorways and opportunities to learn and grow. So, if you're reading this, thanks y'all!

If you would like to share a story from someone who mentored you, intentionally or not, please do! We'd love to hear about how wonderful these humans are and give them all the gold stars for being awesome!

Best,
Caitlin McMahan (she/her)
Teen Librarian | Eugene Public Library
Unpacking (discussion group) Organizer | Oregon Young Adult Network (OYAN) Outgoing-Chair
eugene-or.gov/library | cmcmahan at eugene-or.gov<mailto:cmcmahan at eugene-or.gov>

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