This session will describe the perspective of both a mentor and mentee involved in a mentoring relationship. As Minnesota Library Association Institute for Leadership Excellence (MILE) participants from 2007 and 2013, the mentor and mentee were matched via an application process and have been in a mentoring relationship for almost 2 years. We will discuss how mentoring can be beneficial and reciprocal, how building a mentee/mentor relationship will help develop leadership characteristics that can be used throughout a library career, and how utilizing various digital tools can make committing to this kind of relationship easier. Many mentor/mentee relationships struggle when both parties do not have time to dedicate to one another. However, digital tools make staying connected easy as meetings can be scheduled through shareable calendars and conveniently conducted online via video chat (e.g. Google Hangout, FaceTime, and Skype). Although having occasional face-to-face meetings is beneficial for both librarians, we will illustrate how we created a sustainable mentor/mentee relationship primarily using digital tools.
