ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 510 / C&RL N ew s ■ M a y 2001 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s weNs Faculty rank, status, and tenure for librarians Current trends by Shannon Cary T he issue of faculty status for academic li­brarians has been discussed within the profession for many years, and opinions have been expressed in both support of and op­ position to the notion. In 1990, ACRL adopted the “Guidelines for Academic Status for College and Univer­ sity Libraries” and the board stated that “ACRL supports faculty rank, status, and tenure for librarians.”1 And in a 1992 article, Bed e Mitchell and Bruce Morton argued that librar­ ians should embrace the academic model and strive to becom e full members o f the aca­ demic community.2 However, detractors also have voiced their opinions. Recently, Blaise Cronin wrote that the “obsession with [fac­ ulty] status merely detracts from customer service and weakens the profession’s public image.”3 Because this issue is o f continuing interest to academic librarians, ACRL decided to illuminate this discussion by gathering data on faculty status. Conditions fo r fa cu lty statu s In 1999, ACRL conducted its second annual survey of academic libraries. The survey in­ cluded a series of questions designed to as­ certain the extent to which institutions offer faculty status to academic librarians. Because there is no uniform definition o f what consti­ tutes faculty status, the survey questions asked which of the nine conditions listed in the ACRL Guidelines for Academic Status were provided by the institution. Therefore, using the definitions in the ACRL standard, an indi­ vidual institution may be providing complete faculty status, a limited version of faculty sta­ tus, or no faculty status at all. The data show that most academic librar­ ians are provided some conditions o f faculty status by their institutions, either fully or par­ tially. But there also are some conditions that many librarians have not yet been granted. The data also illustrate the different academic conditions faced by librarians working at dif­ ferent types of institutions. In this article, we look at some of the key findings in the 1999 survey titled “Trends in Academic Libraries: Faculty Rank, Status, and Tenure for Librar­ ians.” The nine conditions that constitute faculty status in ACRL’s survey were: 1. Librarians are assigned professional re­ sponsibilities. 2. Librarians have a governance structure similar to other faculties on campus. 3. Librarians are eligible for membership in the faculty governing body. 4. Librarians have salary scales that are equivalent to those for other academic faculty. 5. Librarians are covered by the same ten­ ure policies as other faculty. 6. Librarians are promoted through the ranks via a peer review system. About the author Shannon Cary is director o f Research and Special Initiatives at ACRL, e-mail: scary@ala. org mailto:scary@aia.org Percentage of Institutions Providing Faculty Status Conditions Prof. Govern. Eligible Salary Tenure Peer Leave Research Acad. Resp. Structure Gov. Equ¡v. Review of Funding Freedom Bodies Absence Not at all 24.7 21.5 30.4 43.3 35.5 35.2 21.1 13 0.3 Partially 29.2 25.7 39.1 18.1 20.9 19.4 40 15.6 91.6 Fully 46.1 52.8 30.5 38.6 43.6 45.4 47.9 71.4 3.1 # o f 802 879 800 842 845 826 835 797 976 Libraries 7. Librarians are eligible for leaves of ab­ sence or sabbaticals. 8. Librarians have access to funding for research projects. 9. Librarians have the same protections of academic freedom as other faculty. The condition that almost all institutions grant their librarians is academic freedom. Of the respondents, 99.7 percent indicated that their institutions granted librarians the same protections of academic freedom as they did other faculty. But surprisingly, the over­ whelming majority of respondents felt that this academic freedom was only partially granted. Librarians also appear to be gaining equal­ ity with teaching faculty in the areas of leaves of absence and research funding. The respon­ dents indicated they receive these conditions partially or fully (87.9% and 87%, respec­ tively), with 71.4 percent indicating they have full access to funding for research projects and professional development on the same basis as other faculty. The area in which librarians most often responded that they are not on equal footing with their teaching counterparts was salary scale, benefits, and appointment period, with 43.3 percent responding that their institutions did not provide equivalent salaries and ben­ efits for librarians as they did for other aca­ demic faculty. Tenure and peer review were also areas where a significant number of librarians in­ dicated they are not on equal footing with other academic faculty, with 35.5 percent in­ dicating they were not covered by the same tenure policies as other faculty and 35.2 per­ cent indicating they were not promoted through the ranks on the basis of professional proficiency and effectiveness via a peer re­ view system with standards consistent with other faculty. Discrepancies by type of institution and faculty By comparing the conditions of faculty sta­ tus given to librarians at the different types of institutions, some discrepancies become clear. According to the survey, salary issues are the most prominent area in which librar­ ians and faculty are not being treated equally. Librarians at institutions granting bachelor of arts degrees report the most inequality in this area. Only 48.4 percent of librarians at this type of institution indicated having full or partial equity with other faculty in the area of salary scale, benefits, and appointment period, compared to 75.7 percent of librar­ ians at institutions granting associates of arts degrees who responded that their institutions provide full or partial equity with other fac­ ulty regarding salaries. Moreover, librarians at institutions granting bachelor of arts de­ grees were less likely than librarians at other types of institutions to be covered by the same tenure process as other faculty. Only 48 per­ cent of these institutions were reported as having full or partial tenure processes for li­ brarians, whereas 66 to 67 percent of the other types of institutions were reported as par­ tially or fully providing this condition. Over­ all, institutions granting associates of arts de­ grees were the most likely to partially or fully provide the conditions that define faculty sta­ tus to librarians, and institutions granting bachelor of arts degrees were the least likely to provide these conditions to their librar­ ians. (co n tin u ed on p a g e 5 2 0 ) C&RL N ew s ■ M a y 2001 / 511 520 IC&RL News • M ay 2001 and winter programs and training camps; a chapter listing for each state; and a legal infor­ mation page providing information on the Americans with Disabilities Act and Amateur Sports Act. The Athlete Highlight features short biographies of disabled athletes who have over­ come their disabilities to perform amazing feats. Access: http://dsusa.org/. W ate rsp o rts • R iv e rs p o rt.c o m . Riversport.com pre sents information on canoeing, kayaking, raft­ ing, and other river sports throughout the United States. Notable features include the Online River Guide, w hich provides infor­ mation on trips, guides, clubs and organiza­ tions, safety, river camping, and other river- related topics. The guide is searchable by keyword or location. The Paddler’s Choice Mall provides information on clothing and gear, and is searchable by keyword or cat­ egory. A ccess: http://www.riversport.com/ • Scuba C en tral. A notable division o f this site is Rick’s Links, a collection o f more than 2,000 diving links, e-mail lists, and FTP sites, presented in alphabetical order by category. Another useful section is About Diving, a free online magazine containing special-interest ar­ ticles on topics such as dive instruction, pho­ tography, technical diving, and equipment. Other sections include Scuba Humor, Shop­ ping, a Photo Gallery, and an Industry Guide. This useful guide includes a searchable data­ base listing dive retailers, charter operators, resorts, training agencies, underwater equip­ ment manufacturers and retailers, instructors, and clubs and organizations, to name a few. Inclusion in the guide is free. At present, there are not many listings, but this section has great potential. A ccess: http://www. scubacentral. com/. • S p orting A dven tu res Lau n ch P ad . The SPAV Web site began in 1995 and is devoted to raising funds for conservation groups world­ wide. This fishing and hunting site contains information on lodges and guides, a photo li­ brary, classifieds, regional information, field guides, and a fishing and hunting directory. The Lodges and Guides database is search­ able by state, species, and sport, and includes information on more than 3,000 resorts and lodges specializing in hunting and fishing. This ­ site also includes links to other fishing, hunt­ ing, camping, parks, and outdoor sports sites. Information is also provided on SPAV mem­ bership, which is free. Access: http://www. spav.com/. N ote 1. The National Park Visitor Use Summary is on the Web at http://www2.nature.nps.gov/ stats/summary99.pdf. ■ ( “F a c u lty r a n k . . . " con t. f r o m p a g e 5 1 1 ) Role o f th e lib ra ria n still e v o lv in g Regardless o f the controversy over the role o f librarians in the academ ic community, it is clear that many librarians are receiving the rights and responsibilities o f faculty status. As librarians’ roles on campus continue to evolve, it is possible that certain conditions o f faculty status may b e seen as more or less appropriate for librarians. According to the ACRL statistics, the academ ic community has already agreed that librarians should receive research funding and academ ic freedom. But these institutions also have b een slower to provide librarians with tenure and salaries that are equivalent to other faculty. By ana­ lyzing these data, academic librarians can gain a m ore com plete picture o f the state o f the profession with regard to the criteria that define academ ic status. N otes 1. “ACRL Guidelines for Academic Status for College and University Libraries,” 1990. Available online at http://www.ala.org/acrl/ guides/ acstatus. html. 2. Bede W. Mitchell and Bruce Morton, “On Becom ing Faculty Librarians: Accultura­ tion Problems and Remedies,” C ollege a n d Re­ s e a r c h L ib ra ries 53, no. 5 (Sept. 1992): 389­ 3. Blaise Cronin, “The Mother of All Myths,” L ib r a r y Jo u r n a l 126, no. 3 (Feb. 2001): 144. ■ http://dsusa.org/ Riversport.com Riversport.com http://www.riversport.com/ spav.com/ http://www2.nature.nps.gov/ http://www.ala.org/acrl/