june08b.indd


our academic futures 
Teresa Y. Neely and Megan K. Beard 

Recruiting and retaining academic 
research librarians 
Post-MLS residency programs 

Recruitment and retention are major is­sues for all academic library managers 
and components of Julie Todaro’s ACRL 
presidential initiative. Historically, residency 
programs—found at many junctures in library 
education—have provided opportunities for 
librarians to explore academic environments 
to determine where their best match might 
be. In addition, these programs have pro­
vided opportunities for institutions to assess 
potential, add critical expertise to projects, 
and energize current staff. 

Post­MLS residency programs are also 
excellent recruitment and retention tools 
for academic and research libraries. These 
programs generally offer competitive salaries, 
exposure to many aspects of academic librar­
ies, and the opportunity to make informed 
career decisions without the pressures of a 
tenure track or otherwise permanent posi­
tion. Residencies are offered by a variety 
of academic libraries including community 
colleges, liberal arts colleges, and larger re­
search schools. 

At the University of New Mexico (UNM) 
University Libraries, we have found that most 
recent library school graduates who apply for 
our Library Resident in Research and Instruc­
tion position1 are less concerned with fi nding 
a permanent position, but actually seek out 
opportunities that will give them the best all 
around experience, even if it is only for a 
year or two. 

For example, the first resident to be ap­
pointed after the residency program was 
revamped in 2005 arrived at the cusp of a li­

brary­wide reorganization and the retirement 
of a dean; the second resident arrived soon 
after the 2006 fire at Zimmerman Library and 
participated in disaster recovery, renovation 
efforts, and the reopening of a newly remod­
eled reference department. 

The current resident’s arrival coincided 
with the arrival of a new dean and was a criti­
cal member of a team to reopen the library 
basement after the fire. Residents have public 
services (reference, collection development, 
instruction) as their primary job duties, but 
are also required to complete projects and 
serve on the search committee for the next 
resident. A view from the other side of the 
faculty search process is an eye­opening 
and valuable learning experience, which 
ultimately informs their next job search. Un­
fortunately, they are fast learning the wrong 
way to apply for a position. 

Wading through the pool of applicants 
It is unclear if applicants are novices at writ­
ing cover letters for a particular position (if 
they write one at all), or if they are dealing 
with such volume that they recycle previously 
used narratives. What we are finding is that 
the process of identifying viable candidates 
from a large pool is much easier when appli­
cants don’t bother to read the job description, 

Teresa Y. Neeley is director of Zimmerman Library at 
the University of New Mexico, e-mail: neely@unm.edu, 
and Megan K. Beard is library resident in research and 
instruction services, at the University of New Mexico, 
e-mail: mbeard@unm.edu 
© 2008 Teresa Y. Neeley and Megan K. Beard 

314C&RL News June 2008

mailto:mbeard@unm.edu
mailto:neely@unm.edu


address minimum qualifications, or write let­
ters that point to their strengths in areas not 
covered by the job description. Each year, 
we critically review the job description to 
determine how best to direct applicants to 
address the minimum requirements. 

This year we put the instructions in all 
caps and bolded them. We are fi nding that 
this change has not had the impact we would 
have liked. Some applicants can’t seem to 
remember the name of the institution they 
are applying to and actually type in some 
other school. One of our perennial favorites 
is the expressed notion that applicants will 
have the opportunity to learn Spanish by 
working at UNM. 

The telephone interviews for the search 
for the 2006–07 appointment commenced one 
day late due to the basement fire. Only one 
applicant asked about the fire when given 
the opportunity to ask the search committee 
questions. Telephone interviews for large 
pools are scheduled in advance, and can­
didates are given the opportunity to choose 
from a variety of time slots. We generally 
schedule about 25 telephone interviews as a 
result of our large pool. 

We have called applicants who were work­
ing on the reference desk and driving in their 
cars or doing other distracting things. One 
even admitted that she “probably shouldn’t 
be doing this other thing right now during 
the interview.” We have called applicants 
who talked too much or those who didn’t 
talk much at all. Interviews are scheduled 
for 15 minutes, and some have lasted only 5. 
Some applicants seem alert and energetic, and 
some applicants seem to be bored and not 
interested in participating. All applicants are 
asked the same questions, which are gener­
ally based on the preferred qualifi cations, and 
some applicants are completely unprepared 
when queried. 

Academic and research libraries can reap 
numerous benefits from the influx of a fresh, 
new perspective, new ideas and approaches, 
without the baggage of historical precedent. 
The residents at UNM have been signifi cantly 
instrumental in contributing to the overall 

positive work environment in Zimmerman 
public services. They receive valuable train­
ing and experience in library instruction, 
reference and collection management, and in 
other areas which contributes to the overall 
service mission of the university libraries. 

Many applicants have not heard about 
residency programs until they happen upon 
our advertisement. Academic and research 
libraries with such programs should aggres­
sively recruit and use as many opportunities 
as possible to spread the word about their 
programs. Since 2005, each search for a new 
resident has yielded at least 100 applicants 
for 1 position. 

For more information and resources on 
recruitment and retention, see the ACRL 
Recruitment and Retention wiki at wikis.ala. 
org/acrl/index.php/RandR. 

Note 
1. See elibrary.unm.edu/residentprogram 

for more information about the UNM resident 
program. 

A suite of services offered by the 

Association of Research Libraries 

LibQUAL+
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Looking for library service 
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Learn about LibQUAL+® at the 

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Consultations available at Booth 549 

www.libqual.org/events

June 2008  315 C&RL News