Setting the Stage for Success: Developing an Orientation Program for Academic Library Faculty

Abstract

A multi-faceted orientation program can provide a strong foundation for self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and retention of academic librarians. At many colleges and universities, academic librarians have faculty status. Becoming a member of a faculty involves an extensive process of socialization. This paper examines the literature of higher education and library science on the topic. It identifies the characteristics of effective orientation from that literature. Incorporating an organizational socialization model with the findings from both bodies of literature resulted in a flexible, multi-dimensional model for the orientation of academic library faculty. One university library is an example that can be readily adapted in any academic library.

The Importance of Transformational Leadership to Support Faculty Diversity in Our Nation’s Predominantly White Institutions of Higher Learning

“…New faculty often lack the experience and skills necessary to succeed in the classroom. There exists the perception that new faculty fully understand the faculty roles and responsibilities (Weiner, 2015). Unfortunately, invariably, a doctoral student who defends his or her dissertation one month can be hired the next and begin teaching a couple of months later, often without any or minimal prior teaching experience.…”