Title: Mentoring Patterns and Perceptions among Nigerian Librarians
Author(s): Shabi, Iwok N.; Oyedapo, Rachael O.; Awominure, Awodele J.; Adeagbo, Omobolade O.
Publication Year: 2022; Volume 17, Issue 1, pages 248-260

Mentoring addresses the disparities in professional competencies experiences qualificationsrnbeliefs and perceptions between novices and experienced professionals. Mentoring hasrnhowever been a neglected area in librarianship hence this study. The study set out to determinernthe socio-demographic characteristics perceptions and mentoring patterns of Nigerianrnlibrarians and to identify existing inter relationships among study variables. The study was arndescriptive cross-sectional survey involving 200 randomly selected librarians from 18 librariesrnspread across six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Questionnaire 0.84 was the datarncollection instrument with 69.5 response rate. All data were analysed using SPSS version 17.rnThe findings of the study revealed that majority 60.4 of the respondents were in the middlernage bracket 41-60. There was a greater preponderance of males. The findings of the studyrnrevealed that mentoring was perceived to be a development opportunity by the studyrnrespondents. Mentoring patterns identified included: helping mentees identify their strengthsrnand weaknesses sharing from personal experiences and providing tutelage. Significantrnrelationships were identified between perceptions and patterns of mentoring and library type.rnAdoption of More Knowledgeable Others MKO theory. MKO approach to mentoring wasrnrecommended with regular feedback mechanism. The study concludes that most new librariansrndo not possess the necessary skills on employment mentoring is a good way of helping newrnlibrarians in the profession irrespective of the type of library.