ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

IMPROVEMENTS FOR ACADEMIC LIBRARIANS

The College, University and Research Library Section (CURLS) of the California Library Association adopted a position paper at its Fresno meeting on October 24, calling for “full faculty status [for librarians] with ranks appropriate to their backgrounds and assignments.” The paper also called for equivalent salaries; sufficient clerical support for professional assignments; a workload to include time for independent research; sabbatical and other leaves; eligibility for tenure prefaced by contractual employment; promotion on the basis of standards and criteria used for professorial classes independent of administrative duties; access to grants, fellowships and research funds; a grievance procedure similar to that of other faculty members; and membership in the Academic Senate or equivalent body. “No librarian, currently employed, shall be demoted or suffer loss of annual income through application of the new standards,” reads the “grandfather clause” accompanying the change.

A very effective joint presentation of the above position was made by Marc Gittelsohn of UC Berkeley and Fay Blake of UCLA. The motion was approved without opposition when Loren Owings (UC Davis) called the question. It now goes to the CLA Board of Directors for its approval. University Librarian J. Richard Blanchard (UC Davis) moved that the adopted motion be called to the attention of the Coordinating Council for Higher Education, the chief officers of academic institutions in California, and other state committees as appropriate. This, too, was approved without opposition.

Obviously, it will take a sustained effort to implement the position. This effort is aided by the similar position adopted by the Academic Senates of the California State Colleges at their October 20 meeting. There is also a similar movement in other parts of the nation supporting this move, as witnessed by City University of New York’s Harold D. Jones in his report of “How the East Was Won.”— Charles Shain. ■ ■