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Mentor Program for School Library Certification/Masters Overview

To encourage a community of practice that provides an opportunity for the Library and Information Sciences (LIS) Students to communicate with experienced practitioners and to observe and learn professional standards and behavior. It provides the practical application of theory studied in school library classes.

Every School Library Certification (SLC) and/or Masters student must spend time in a school library under the mentorship of a qualified school librarian. It is the student’s responsibility to locate a mentor and reach an agreement with the mentor to provide guidance over the time the student spends on school library program coursework. It is important to begin the process of locating a mentor as soon as the student BEGINS the school library program of coursework. The amount of time spent depends on the Mentor’s assessment of the particular needs of the student. A student with no background working in school libraries should expect to spend 120 clock hours or more in the mentor’s library. A student already employed as his/her school’s librarian of record may be able to spend less time in the mentor’s library.

Regardless of the amount of time spent in the mentor’s library, the mentor is responsible for signing off on each item of the official Proficiency Checklist. The mentor is stating the student is proficient in each objective and area of the list.

The checklist MUST be completed, initialed and submitted to the LIS department. When the checklist is received, we email your mentor to confirm their endorsement of your work.

If you are working through a district contact to locate a mentor, the district contact is responsible for signing the checklist after the mentor has initialed all items.

Completed checklists may be submitted by U.S. Postal Mail or by Fax. For more information on how to do this, please see the Contact Information page.  The completed Proficiency Checklist must be submitted and approved to pass SLIS 5090.999/8.

What are the requirements to be a mentor?

Unless assignment is through one of the district or regional contacts below, the following requirements must be met to be considered for approval as a mentor:

1. 3+ years as a school library professional.
2. Certification as a school librarian through an ALA or NCATE approved university school library program.
3. Currently working as a school librarian in a school library.

There are several Districts and Regions in Texas where the student is placed with a mentor ONLY by going through one designated contact person. That person determines which librarians in the area can best serve as mentors to students for the completion of the practical requirement of this certification/masters.

Independent School District - Contact Information

In these Districts you will be assigned to the District Library Directory only.  The Director will then place you with a building level librarian.  Contact information for the Directors is in our database of Mentors.

Educational Service Center - Contact Information

Although it is not required to go through the Regional contact, these Regional Library Directors are willing to serve as your official Mentor.  They will assign you to an acceptable building level librarian who may not qualify for addition to our database of Mentors.

 Detailed contact information on the above plus additional mentors outside the above areas can be found in our database of mentors by viewing either the Approved Mentor List or the Districts and/or Regions with Only One Approved Mentor List.

Is the mentor you want not on the list?

Ask your mentor to submit an application and wait for him/her to be approved. When you see your mentor in the mentor database, submit your registration request form. Remember, the mentor you choose will be with you for your ENTIRE program.

When/how does the student register their mentor?

1. Must be officially enrolled and in good standing in the School Library Certification/Masters program.
2. Register your mentor as soon as possible, preferably in your first semester of coursework.
3. Often required to get a background check from the school district unless you are already working in the same district as your mentor. Typically, the mentee can contact their mentor about who in the school district handles the background checks.
4. Must complete the online application registration form.
5. Only one mentor can sign off on the Proficiency Checklist. To change the mentor, a new application is required.