ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries College & Research Libraries news No. 8,September 1972 ACRL News Issue (A) of College & Research Libraries, Vol. 33, No. 5 Membership Endorses Joint Statement on Faculty Status The members of the Association of College and Research Libraries, meeting on June 26 during the Annual Conference in Chicago, voted their overwhelming endorsement of the “Joint Statement on Faculty Status of College and University Librarians” drafted by a com­ mittee of the Association of American Col­ leges, the American Association of Univer­ sity Professors, and ACRL. The statement is the result of nearly a year’s effort on the part of the tripartite committee, established in Dal­ las, Texas during the 1971 conference. After rigorous and painstaking reviews of the docu­ ment at a special meeting in March, and again during the Annual Conference, the ACRL Committee on Academic Status submitted the following recommendation to the membership: That the ACRL Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Librar­ ians, as passed at the ACRL Membership Meeting of June 24, 1971, in Dallas, Texas, be reaffirmed and th at the April 26, 1972 Joint Statement on Faculty Status of Col­ lege and University Librarians of the As­ sociation of College and Research Libraries, the Association of American Colleges and the American Association of University Professors be endorsed as an effective im­ plementation of many of these standards. The joint statement will now be presented to the AAC and the AAUP for their considera­ tion. ■ ■ Joint S tatem en t on Faculty Status of College and U niversity L ibrarians As the primary means through which stu­ dents and faculty gain access to the store­ house of organized knowledge, the college and university library performs a unique and indis­ pensable function in th e educational process. This function will grow in importance as stu­ dents assume greater responsibility for their own intellectual and social development. In ­ deed all members of the academic community are likely to become increasingly dependent on skilled professional guidance in the acquisi­ tion and use of library resources as the forms and numbers of these resources multiply, schol­ arly materials appear in more languages, bib­ liographical systems become more complicated, and library technology grows increasingly so­ C ollege & Research Libraries is published by the Association o f. C ollege and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, 17 times yearly—6 bim onthly journal issues and II monthly, com bining July- August, News issues a t 1201-05 Bluff St., Fulton, Mo. 65251. Subscription, $10.00 a year or, to members of the division, $5.00, included in dues. C irculation and advertising office: Am erican Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, III. 60611. Second–class postage paid at Fulton, Missouri 65251. News e d ito r: Michael Herbison, Library, University of C olorado, C olorado Springs Center, Colorado Springs, C olorado 80907. E ditor: Richard M. Dougherty, University Library, University o f C alifornia, Berkeley, C alifornia 94720. President, ACRL: Russell Shank. Executive Secretary, ACRL: Beverly Lynch, ALA. 210 phisticated. The librarian who provides such guidance plays a major role in the learning process. The character and quality of an institution of higher learning are shaped in large measure by the nature of its library holdings and the ease and imagination with which those resources are made accessible to members of the aca­ demic community. Consequently, all members of the faculty should take an active interest in the operation and development of the li­ brary. Because the scope and character of li­ brary resources should be taken into account in such important academic decisions as curric­ ular planning and faculty appointments, li­ brarians should have a voice in the develop­ ment of the institution’s educational policy. Librarians perform a teaching and research role inasmuch as they instruct students for­ mally and informally and advise and assist faculty in their scholarly pursuits. Librarians are also themselves involved in the research function; many conduct research in their own professional interests and in the discharge of their duties. Where the role of college and university li­ brarians, as described in the preceding para­ graph, requires them to function essentially as part of the faculty, this functional identity should be recognized by granting of faculty status. Neither administrative responsibilities nor professional degrees, titles, or skills, per se, qualify members of the academic community for faculty status. The function of the librarian as participant in the processes of teaching and research is the essential criterion of faculty status. College and university librarians share the professional concerns of faculty members. Aca­ demic freedom, for example, is indispensable to librarians, because they are trustees of knowl­ edge with the responsibility of insuring the availability of information and ideas, no mat­ ter how controversial, so that teachers may freely teach and students may freely learn. Moreover, as members of the academic com­ munity, librarians should have latitude in the exercise of their professional judgment within the library, a share in shaping policy within Adopted by the Membership of the Association of College and Research Libraries, Dallas, Texas, June 26, 1971. W ith publication increasing a t an exponen­ tial rate, with the variety of forms of publica­ tion proliferating rapidly, with significant schol­ arly and information material appearing in all the institution, and adequate opportunities for professional development and appropriate re­ ward. Faculty status entails for librarians the same rights and responsibilities as for other members of the faculty. They should have correspond­ ing entitlement to rank, promotion, tenure, compensation, leaves, and research funds. They must go through the same process of evalua­ tion and meet the same standards as other faculty members.1 On some campuses, adequate procedures for extending faculty status to librarians have al­ ready been worked out. These procedures vary from campus to campus because of institutional differences. In the development of such pro­ cedures, it is essential that the general faculty or its delegated agent determine the specific steps by which any professional position is to be accorded faculty rank and status. In any case, academic positions which are to be ac­ corded faculty rank and status should be ap­ proved by the senate or the faculty at large be­ fore submission to the president and to the governing board for approval. W ith respect to library governance, it is to be presumed that the governing board, the ad­ ministrative officers, the library faculty, and representatives of the general faculty, will share in the determination of library policies that affect the general interests of the institu­ tion and its educational program. In matters of internal governance, the library will operate like other academic units with respect to de­ cisions relating to appointments, promotions, tenure, and conditions of service.2 1Cf. 1940 Statement of Principles on Aca­ demic Freedom and Tenure; 1958 Statement on Procedural Standards in Faculty Dismissal Proceedings; 1972 Statement on Leaves of A b­ sence. 2Cf. 1966 Statement on Government of Col­ leges and Universities, formulated by the Amer­ ican Council on Education, American Associa­ tion of University Professors, and Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Col­ leges. ■ ■ S tandards for Faculty Status for College and U niversity L ibrarians the world’s languages, with the bibliographical apparatus of many fields and subfields becom­ ing increasingly difficult to use, with the grow­ ing sophistication of library and information technology, and with the development of aca­ demic libraries into large and complex organi­ zations, the work of the academic librarian has become highly specialized and demanding.