Library Faculty/Staff Scholarship and Research

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/11

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Author: search.filters.author.Cossard, Patricia Kosco

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    Mentor-mentee’s intellectual partnership: Planting and growing the seeds for professional success
    (Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), 2021-12) Tchangalova, Nedelina; Love, Johnnieque B. (Johnnie); Cossard, Patricia Kosco
    INTRODUCTION: University and college administrators for the academic libraries have often discussed the significant amount of the university budget invested in new faculty personnel salary, support, and professional development as they acquire or access tenure and permanent status in their profession or area of assignment. No monetary value can be placed on a mentoring program or relationship when there are effective and valuable opportunities for growth and renewal. This case study covers a mentoring relationship, from formal to informal stages of the process to what has become a very strong and endearing friendship. The three mentoring relationship team members developed and participated in organizational changes that perpetuated growth for not only themselves but for colleagues as well. The mentors and the mentee nurtured each other when the library organization at their institution was making significant changes in its structure as well as meeting institutional requirements for the faculty status process. LITERATURE REVIEW: A synthesis of the library literature is provided in this book chapter, focusing on the mentor-mentee relationship in academic libraries. The main themes discussed in the literature include various ways of implementing a mentoring relationship, challenges and successes along the way, and the benefits of mentoring for the mentors and the mentee. Areas that we feel are critical to the case study but not addressed in the literature, are presented as well. ON THE MENTEE-MENTOR JOURNEY - HOW DID IT BEGIN AND WHY? - The United States is among the most diverse countries in the world. However, this is still not true for the library profession. There is a growing need for diversifying the library pool and for training future librarians in the work of research libraries. Back in 2005, the Chesapeake Information and Research Library Alliance (CIRLA), a group of nine research libraries, embarked on this challenge and developed unique recruitment and professional training program designed to solve both problems: recruiting for diversity and developing expertise within the functional areas of research librarianship. Library school students living in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia areas were recruited and paired with experienced librarians into a formal mentor-mentee relationship. Together, they went through a variety of activities such as training, mentoring, and professional development over a two-year period. The program concluded with a one-year post-degree professional position at the mentor’s institution. ON THE MENTEE-MENTOR JOURNEY - WHAT HAPPENED OVER THE YEARS? - Over a span of fifteen years, the mentee transitioned from library school, contract faculty status to full-time library faculty. The two mentors participated in organizational changes and repositioned to a variety of job responsibilities requiring them to learn new skills and gain expertise in other library operations. Tips for maintaining a joyful mentoring relationship are shared in this section. ON THE MENTEE-MENTOR JOURNEY - WHAT WERE THE BENEFITS? - This mentoring relationship has had significant value where the mentors and mentee have worked together in the same institution for many years. However, the recommendations outlined in this book section are applicable to other scenarios. The mentee and the mentors have agreed that their experience improved growth, quality, and speed of learning as well as opportunities that have increased the value of their relationships. They have gained a valuable perspective from other experienced colleagues and library professional organizations. CONCLUSION: This case study demonstrates and/or defines what is necessary for a successful mentoring relationship. It began with participants’ believing in the value of recognizing the human spirit and its potential to thrive. This mentor relationship moved from a formal to an informal relationship as the relationship was transformed. The main outcomes are (1) building a supportive relationship where both parties serve as advocates for each other, (2) understanding the importance of acceptance of other cultures in the workplace and embracing them, and (3) supporting the desire to continue working in the field even after reaching professional milestones.
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    Innovation: Serving the Studio
    (ARLIS/NA, 2014-05) Cossard, Patricia Kosco
    This Presentation delineates the origins of the University of Maryland Libraries' Kiosk and Pop-up Library services that were created by Patricia Kosco Cossard in response to the 2012 Architecture Library Needs Assessment Report & Recommendations.
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    Architecture Library Needs Assessment Report & Recommendations
    (2012) Cossard, Patricia Kosco; Howland, Marie; Simon, Madlen; Cohen, Jim; Linebaugh, Donald; McFarland, Margaret; Otis, Lara; McElrath, Douglas; Larimer, Cynthia; Kaur, Amrita
    The University Libraries and the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation both face pressures on limited space and budgets, the need to plan for new technologies, and to provide innovative educational experiences. There is a need to survey library patrons, examine models of cutting edge information gathering and sharing environments, as well as anticipate the needs of current and future patrons. This report looks at what technologies are available, usage trends, collections, and funding in order to remain vibrant, dynamic, and attract top students.
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    Sustainable Data Management for the Solar Decathlon
    (2019-02-08) Cossard, Patricia Kosco; Durden, David; Molyneaux-Francis, Michael
    University of Maryland Libraries are taking the lead in archiving and curating data sets for the UMD Solar Decathlon Team Maryland (2002, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2017 and Solar Decathlon Europe 2019). A 2017 report from the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), Insights on Technology Innovation - A Review of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Competition Entries 2002-2015 (Simon, 2017) found that over time, the technologies developed, demonstrated and perfected for the competition series have become more commonplace in industry. While more than 500 books, thesis, reports and articles have been written about the individual competitions in its sixteen years of existence, to date there has been no systematic archiving of the research, scholarly and creative work created by these competitions. Patricia Cossard and David Durden (DSS) are working with the U.S. Department of Energy (all competition deliverables/documents have recently been transferred from NREL to DOE with no developed maintenance plan), the OECD's International Energy Agency (the Solar Decathlon Knowledge Base (SDKB), and Team Maryland to develop a data management standard and best practices for international dissemination to all teams and agencies, past, present and future.
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    Curated Commons: The Maryland Model
    (CAPAL, 2016) Cossard, Patricia Kosco; Hamidzadeh, Babak
    The curated commons is a model in which a flexible library building shell and its infrastructure can respond to the specific time-sensitive needs of differing clients. It applies to faculty research, in particular small science activities (as opposed to big science activities that have major support which includes proprietary laboratories and facilities). It provides for sustained transformation of library facilities as well as its utilitarian and cyber-infrastructures to become a flexible reconfigurable space with cutting edge technology and sustained funding streams.
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    Library Award for Undergraduate Research: Increasing the Library Profile
    (Practical Academic Librarianship, 2014) Tchangalova, Nedelina; Cossard, Patricia Kosco
    Offering a library award program is an effective way of strengthening the ties between subject librarians and teaching faculty, while providing a mechanism to preserve undergraduate student research. This program not only increases the perceived value of library services but also promotes librarians’ expertise as educators and instructors. This case study of implementing such a program at the University of Maryland College Park reviews library award models across the United States and Canada identifying best practices so that others may draw success from the authors’ experience and effective promotional efforts. The authors also hope to provide ideas for improvement and further award development for those with an award program in place.