Faculty and Professional Appointments of Academic Librarians: Expanding the Options for Choice

Abstract

Continued rapid change in higher education and in academic librarianship calls for flexibility in offering and managing professional appointments to meet organizational needs and objectives, as well as to provide career options for librarians seeking a professional model suitable to personal needs and objectives. A literature review focused on appointment types highlights the variety of existing positions for faculty and academic professionals. Expansion of appointment options is suggested for consideration, particularly in light of recruitment and retention concerns in the profession. Most institutions restrict the power of choice to management, but there are some that offer choice, thereby allowing candidates to select a preferred appointment according to personal and professional career goals. Examination of two institutions that offer a choice track for librarians points to the necessity for further investigation of the benefits of expanded appointment options to the individual, the institution, and the profession.

A Typology of Librarian Status at Land Grant Universities

“…Herring and Michael Gorman, 42 Fred Hill and Robert Hauptmann, 43 Janet Swan Hill, 44 Donald E. Riggs, 45 Louise S. Sherby, 46 Norman E. Tanis, 47 and Beth J. Shapiro. 48 Diane E. Ruess 49 argues for more choice in librarian appointments, while Philip J. Jones and James Stivers 50 find the separation between librarians and other library employees counter-productive.…”

Promotion and tenure: Carnegie reclassification triggers a revision

“…They acknowledged differences, however, between functions of traditional librarianship and conventional faculty, by presenting a tenure-track and a non-tenure track model. Ruess (2004) describes the system in the University of Alaska Anchorage Consortium (UAAC), in which librarians choose between bipartite and tripartite assignments. Both assignments are tenure track and include a teaching and a service element.…”

Academic Librarians’ Views of the Chair's Professional Development Role

“…Holding faculty status does not always mean the same thing from one institution to another (Cary, 2001). New hires are now given choices regarding their type of appointment at some institutions (Ruess, 2004). Even the Association of Research Libraries, in their annual survey, notes: "Since the criteria for determining professional status vary among libraries, there is no attempt to define the term "professional."…”