Madeeha Sheikh (Mentee)
I feel incredibly lucky to have been selected as a protégé for the APALA Mentoring Program 2025-26 cohort, because I was paired with a mentor that not only helped me learn more about specialized job opportunities within the field of librarianship, but also gave me guidance to navigate my first year as a part-time public librarian and adjunct professor of art and humanities. Thank you, Zulay Chang, for being my mentor.
When I applied for the mentoring program as a protégé, I wanted to be matched with an experienced library professional that could help me learn more about the range of duties and roles that exist in libraries, as well as how to avoid burnout and land a full-time position, specifically in my area of interest as a makerspace librarian.
While there are many different undergraduate paths that can lead to pursuing a graduate degree in library science, it felt great to have matched with someone that also went to school for art. Zulay and I were able to discuss future opportunities and endeavors that crossed interdisciplinary boundaries between libraries, special collections, and centers for art education. I enjoyed learning about her background in photography, and the academic literature she was reading about Asian photography.
During our mentoring journey, Zulay went above and beyond to help me with professional development. When a temporary position in the Prints department opened up at her workplace at The New York Public Library, she not only looked over my application materials, but also walked me through a mock interview of what to expect for the real thing. Though I was not selected for the role, I was informed that I was the runner-up candidate. This came as a genuine surprise, as I know that I would not have felt qualified enough to even apply for the job if it weren’t for this mentorship program.
The growth that I have gone through the past year as an early career librarian and educator is in no small part thanks to Zulay and the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association. I am excited to share that I have since accepted a full-time position as a Creative Technologies Librarian at Wallingford Public Library’s Collaboratory makerspace, while continuing to teach arts and humanities courses part-time at Connecticut State Community College.
Bio: Madeeha (Mads) Sheikh is an artist, educator, and librarian working in Connecticut. They hold a Master of Library and Information Science from the School of Information at Kent State University and Bachelor of Fine Arts from Hartford Art School at University of Hartford in Printmaking with a minor in Art History. Mads was awarded the title of Salutatorian of their graduating class at Naugatuck Valley Community College and received a Presidential Medal of Honor for their contributions to the college, and later received a C3 Artist Grant to fund their studio practice beyond art school through the Five Points Artist Launchpad.
Zulay Chang (Mentor)
For the mentoring cycle of 2025-2026, I was paired with Madeeha Sheikh, librarian at a public library in Connecticut. While it was not my first time being a mentor (I have been a mentor before with Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City), it was my first time mentoring a fellow librarian. I thought the mentorship program did a great job pairing us together. We both came from a studio BFA background. Hers in printmaking and mine in photography.
In our initial (virtual) meetings, we got to know each other and our work by sharing our day-to-day experiences and our challenging scenarios as frontline library staff. As a mentor, my goal was to listen, process and acknowledge the information, and give feedback when appropriate. Sometimes, listening is all it takes. Having a safe space to discuss our thoughts freely was incredibly valuable for us, and it was important to me to provide a non-judgmental environment. Over the next few months, I felt that we established a good rapport with each other. In addition to talking about the day-to-day, we discussed some of Madeeha’s future career goals, which included finding a full-time librarian position working with art resources. As a special collections librarian who works with visual art materials, I provided guidance on how she could strengthen her knowledge of printmaking through scholarly resources and introduced her to professional associations such as the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) and the College Art Association (CAA).
A position for a print librarian became available during our time together. Naturally, Madeeha was very enthusiastic about it and applied for the role. Not surprisingly, with her background in printmaking, she was invited for an interview. That’s when I knew my job as a mentor really counted. We practiced interview questions and she did an amazing job. Sadly, she didn’t receive the offer, but remained optimistic about the future.
Although the mentorship is over, I consider Madeeha a colleague in the field and will always be supportive of her. I’m excited to see what the future holds for her. (Spoiler alert: Madeeha, congratulations on your new role!)
Bio: Zulay Chang is the Specialist in the Photography Collection in the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs at The New York Public Library. She has been there since 2012. She has held internships at the Whitney Museum of American Art Archives, Getty Research Institute, Art Gallery of Ontario, and the City of Vancouver Archives. She has an MLIS from Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY), an MA in Photographic Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, and a BFA in Photography from Emily Carr University. Currently, she volunteers for two non-profit organizations: Coordinator of the Photography Librarians Special Interest Group for ARLIS/NA and the Emerging Professionals Liaison for the Photography Network (CAA-affiliated).