Bridging the Research Gap: A Pilot Mentorship Program

Abstract

This poster presentation introduces the Research Mentorship Program, a newly launched pilot initiative developed under the Visible Minority Librarians of Canada Network (ViMLoC) to support Canadian BPOC (Black and People of Color) librarians seeking mentorship in research, scholarship, and publication. The program helps to address a longstanding inequity in access to research support by pairing mentees with experienced librarian-researchers who may offer guidance at any stage of the research lifecycle including research design and methodology, writing for peer-reviewed journals, grant applications, or development of data management plans. As an on-demand mentorship model, the program connects librarians who are preparing to undertake clearly defined research projects with mentors whose expertise aligns with the mentee’s topic or methodological approach.

The poster will describe the program details and the guiding values upon which it was built, while also highlighting how the pilot serves as a space to assess mentorship needs, and refine program structures. The poster presentation will also highlight how the program intends to emphasize relational and culturally responsive mentorship, professional networking, and confidence-building. It will demonstrate how matching BPOC participants with BPOC librarians with advanced knowledge of research supports tenure and promotion pathways, strengthens research capacity, and contributes to more inclusive and sustainable research cultures...