In the fall 2005, when two faculty librarians
at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s
(UAA) Consortium Library realized that three
people on the library staff were enrolled in
library school, they saw the perfect opportunity
to start a discussion group that would
benefit both currently employed librarians
and students entering the information field.
The original three students were enrolled
in the MLIS distance program at the University
of Washington, working in the Consortium
Library, and taking classes part-time. The
two faculty librarians had been out of library
school for more than ten years by then, so
the intent was to organize a forum with an
informal, relaxed atmosphere that would
be an engaging way to keep up with current
curricula, to learn about class projects
the students were working on, and to hear
about their experiences. While the librarians
learned from the students, the students could,
in turn, share their new expertise with the
library faculty.
That was the beginning of what came
to be known as FLIP: Future Library and
Information Science People.1 Now, nearly
seven years later, FLIP is still going strong.
What the name stands for has changed
slightly—to Future Librarians and Information
Professionals—and the membership has
expanded to include anyone considering a
career as a librarian or enrolling in an MLS
or MLIS program. Characterizing FLIP as a
“mentoring” program misses the mark, since
so much more than just mentoring is happening.
Because the benefits go both ways, we
prefer the term “un-mentoring” to describe
FLIP. Regardless of its definition or description,
however, the original purpose remains
the same: to provide an informal discussion
forum that enriches library school studies
with librarian expertise, advice, and insight
