September 16, 2020 – Mt. Laurel, NJ – The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) is pleased to announce our latest professional development and mentoring resource for scholarly publishing professionals, Quick Connect. Quick Connect—a type of micro-mentoring—allows SSP members to learn and connect on an ad-hoc basis for short-term, focused interactions.
Fueled by the belief that multiple and diverse viewpoints lead to better outcomes and understanding, this innovative mentoring program allows professionals to reach out to others for advice or perspective on a specific challenge or area of interest. Quick Connect aims to provide these valuable, personal, direct connections year-round from anywhere in the world.
Participants, or Knowledge Seekers, can get targeted help and receive a greater variety of feedback from multiple sources by searching the profiles of Advisors who have the experience, background, and knowledge their question requires.
Individuals who wish to enroll as Advisors can set up a profile to share who they are and their areas of expertise, enabling them to give precise, applicable feedback, leading to more significant impacts in the field with fewer demands on their time.
“The SSP Mentorship Program has been growing since its inception in 2017 and helped us recruit new members and engage our existing members at a whole new level. However, not every scholarly communications professional is looking for a long-term mentorship commitment,” said Melanie Dolechek, SSP Executive Director. “Sometimes, what is really needed is getting a short bit of advice from people we respect and think we could learn from. We hope Quick Connect can reduce some of the hurdles of knowing who to reach out to and the uncomfortableness of cold-calling/emailing a stranger for advice.”
Enrollment is ongoing, and self-directed connections are made within C3, SSP’s members-only community. With a few clicks, individuals can create or update their sspnet.org profile with a photo, biographic information, and a few details of their job history and enroll to become a Knowledge Seeker, Advisor, or both. After enrollment, participants can search others’ profiles to locate a suitable connection and click on the “Request” button in their profile to initiate contact.
Interactions might range from a one-hour phone call to exchanging several emails over a couple of weeks. The program is open to all SSP members and all employees of SSP Organizational Members in good standing.
Sponsorship packages are available for interested organizations. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Christina DeRose at parnterships@sspnet.org.
About the Society for Scholarly Publishing The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP), founded in 1978, is a nonprofit organization formed to promote and advance communication among all sectors of the scholarly publication community through networking, information dissemination, and facilitation of new developments in the field. SSP members represent all aspects of scholarly publishing—including publishers, printers, e-products developers, technical service providers, librarians, and editors. SSP members come from a wide range of large and small commercial and nonprofit organizations. They meet at SSP’s annual meetings, educational seminars, and regional events to hear the latest trends from respected colleagues and discuss common and mutual (and sometimes divergent) goals and viewpoints.
Contact Melanie Dolechek, Executive Director | info@sspnet.org | 303-422-3914
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