There Are Some Things Just Not Worth Doing Alone: A Reflection on Peer Mentorship among Librarians That Centers the Whole Person

In this reflexive essay, we assert that truly collaborative work is built from supportive peer networks that are about more than professional development or successfully navigating the field, particularly in academic librarianship. Academic support departments and services like the library, tutoring, and the writing center have long encouraged students to develop supportive, collaborative relationships as part of their success. We now seek to consider how we can encourage similar structures for professionals that extend beyond the demands of professional growth to an ethos of professional care. This reflexive essay will present our experiences creating and sustaining such supportive peer networks at several levels of our careers. We will discuss what has and has not worked for each of us in both staff and faculty positions and how we propose that early career scholars cultivate their networks for sustainable, ongoing care and success.