Mentoring in the Viikki Science Library: case veterinary librarianship Raisa Iivonen, Sinikka Suckcharoen and Heli Myllys 10th European Conference for Medical and Health Libraries, Cluj, Romania, 11-16 September 2006 Raisa Iivonen 14.9.2006

Outline Introduction University of Helsinki, Finland Viikki Science Library Veterinary information services in Finland Aim Definitions Methods Results Discussion Conclusions Suggestions References

University of Helsinki 11 faculties 10 libraries almost 4 000 new students per year 38 000 undergraduate students Campuses in Helsinki Helsinki

Viikki Campus The Viikki campus is today the second largest of the University of Helsinki's four campuses. The old cultivated landscape now houses an active academic community. It is located in a culturally and historically valuable landscape, cultivated since the Middle Ages. The area has developed into a university campus and science park from 1946, when it became a research farm of the University of Helsinki.

Iivonen, Raisa, Uusitalo, Anne & Hopeakoski-Nurminen, Maarit Viikki Science Library, University of Helsinki, Finland Viikki Science Library is one of the four campus libraries at the University of Helsinki. The Science library's primary target groups are students and staff on Viikki campus and the library also functions as the national information centre of its subject fields. The library focuses on the following subject areas: Biosciences and biotechnology, Ecology, systematics and environmental science, Food science Pharmacy Home economics and consumer research, Agriculture, Forestry Economics and social sciences Veterinary medicine The Viikki Science Library offers a comprehensive collection of electronic material as well as about 12 600 shelf meters multidisciplinary printed collections. The collection information is in Helka database. See homepage: http://www.tiedekirjasto.helsinki.fi/english

Veterinary information services in Finland 1893-1945-1962 Finnish Veterinary Association, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 1962-1995 College of Veterinary Medicine Library 1995-2004 University of Helsinki, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Library 2004- Viikki Science Library, University of Helsinki veterinary medicine is one of the nine subject fields information services to the veterinary field

Aim retiring people’s tacit knowledge know how of librarians of the University of Helsinki special librarians’ special professional knowledge collect and transfer tacit knowledge to younger generations

Definitions “mentoring is the process whereby a senior employee takes an active role in developing a junior colleague. Typically this occurs at managerial level or amongst professions. The mentor provides advice on how the mentee can develop his or her skills, competencies, knowledge, and experience in order to progress along a successful career path. As well as giving advice, the mentor might also prove useful in providing contacts that help the mentee to engage in the process of networking” Oxford Reference Online A Dictionary of Human Resource Management

Mentoring project of the Helsinki University Libraries 2004-2005 promote occupational health and support ageing workers’ continuance in working life Started 2004: several occasions to inform library staff, speakers outside of the University December 2004: 24 librarians started the program, which formed 12 couples Production of brochure: ”Valued knowledge : mentoring project for the University of Helsinki Libraries 2004-2005

Methods The couples had topics as managing, special collections, work habits, cataloguing, indexing, customer services, Methods were: working as couples, work supervision, excursions, diary My case: co-mentoring with a colleague from Undergraduate Library Challenge: collect tacit knowledge

Methods The method was to be interview The problem was how to find the right questions! Our plan of the project: first create a formula for interviewing live interactive interview based on a paper and/or net-based formula the formula should be created for the international network of veterinary libraries perform the interviews : start from the librarians who possess tacit knowledge

Results It became difficult to perform the interviews, therefore there is no data gathered and analyzed, so far Results of the program in general: Networking Trust: the connections are alive after the end of the project Understand the value of one’s own work and framing it to a larger entirety Historic point of view to one’s own work, and continuity The mentoring program was really important in supporting the activity; volunteering would not have worked out

Discussion The experience of mentoring process could be shared in the whole community of veterinary librarians Gathering the information concerning the working habits and sharing the results would help future veterinary librarians in their profession Veterinary libraries form a group of very special libraries with two ends of extremes – their collections, their clientele are wide with scientific training and an interesting practice oriented occupation. The literature is medical, its applications aim to make better life for humans and animals

Conclusions How to transfer the speciality of our profession to the future generations of librarians? What is our profession? Is there any special ‘veterinary librarianship’? Are we veterinary librarians – vetlibbers – or animal health information specialists so different from the other librarians? What makes the difference?

Conclusions Veterinary librarians have skills and know how from a variety of scientific specializations They can provide up to date information for the most demanding urban small animal practitioners, as well brief the EU administrators.

Suggestions : Groupmentoring New method of learning takes advantage of the expertise inside the organization The learning process is deepened in small groups Experts outside the organization help learning In group mentoring the age relations between mentors and actors may turn upside down: the younger couches the older!

Pilot idea of group mentoring The idea was born at the assessment of the pilot of the mentoring program of the Helsinki University Libraries : ”I suggest that one mentor supervises two or three mentees. We could try so called group mentoring in cases where things are very practical. Participants could better share experiences and even practical advice in a group; there is more diversity and possibilities to network. Group learning leaves a larger resource of learning to the use of the libraries, when mentors will be retired and mentees stay in working life”

Suggestions: This idea of group mentoring could be modified to global veterinary librarianship virtual mentoring Maybe a worldwide mentoring program could be worked out that way: we have our network organizations among EAHIL like sub-groups, virtual possibilities in all kinds of common projects

References: Iivonen, R, Haglund, S. Mentoring in a veterinary library (poster). 5th International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists University of Pretoria , Onderstepoort, South Africa 4 - 7 July 2005. Available from : http://www.ais.up.ac.za/vet/icahis/5postabs.htm#livonen Triple Creeks: Reframing questioning for deeper learning http://www.3creek.com/om/webap.htm

Conclusion and suggestion Welcome to Helsinki in 2008!