ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

Faculty status and collective bargaining: Drafts

Prepared by the ACRL Committee on the Status of Academic Librarians

Standards for faculty status for college and university librarians

In order to recognize formally the importance of faculty status for academic librarians, ACRL endorses these standards. Institutions of higher education and their governing bodies are urged to adopt these standards.

To implement these standards, ACRL shall:

1. Publicize these standards to college and university administrators and governing bodies, academic libraries, library education programs, library organizations, and agencies that accredit institutions.

2. Seek to have these standards formally adopted or endorsed by the appropriate groups listed above.

The academic librarian makes unique contributions to the university community and to higher education itself. These contributions range from developing collections to providing bibliographic access to all library materials and interpreting these materials to members of the college and university community.

Specific services include instruction in the use of print and online library resources and the creation of new tools to enhance access to information available locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally.

Librarians add to the sum of knowledge through their research into the information process and other areas of study. Service improvements and other advances in the field result from their participation in the library and other scholarly organizations.

1. Professional responsibilities.Librarians must be able to exercise independent judgment in the performance of professional duties. There must be a regular and rigorous review of their performance based on a stated criteria. A necessary element of this review must be appraisal by a committee of peers who have access to the evidence pertaining to performance, service, and scholarship, subject to appropriate institution policy.

2. Library governance.College and university librarians should adopt an academic form of governance similar in manner and structure to other faculties on the campus.

3. College and university governance.Librarians should be eligible for membership in the faculty senate or equivalent governing body. They should have the same degree of representation as other academic units on all college or university governing bodies.

4. Compensation.Salaries and fringe benefits should be comparable to and within the range of those paid to faculty of equivalent rank. Salary scales should be adjusted in an equitable manner to contract period.

5. Tenure.Librarians should be covered by a stated tenure policy. During the probationary period, librarians should have written contracts or agreements.

6. Promotion.Librarians should be promoted in rank on the basis of their academic proficiency and professional effectiveness (performance, service, and scholarship) consistent with stated campus standards. The peer review system should be an integral part of procedures for promotion.

7. Leaves.Sabbatical and other research leaves should be available to librarians consistent with campus standards.

8. Research and development funds.Librarians should have access to funding for research projects and professional development consistent with campus standards.

9. Academic freedom.Librarians must have the same protection of academic freedom as all other faculty. Censorship of any type is unacceptable whether individual or organizational. All librarians must be free to provide access to information regardless of content. ■

Guideline on collective bargaining

Introduction

This guideline was developed by the ACRL Academic Status Committee and approved by the ACRL Board of Directors and the ALA Standards Committee at the 1993 Midwinter Meeting. In 2000, the ACRL Committee on the Status of Academic Librarians reviewed the guideline as requested by ACRL and no changes to the current text are being recommended.

Those wishing to send comments to Glenda Thornton at g.thornton@csuohio.edu should do so within 30 days of publication in order for the committee to review and consider the changes before submission to the ACRL Standards and Accreditation Committee at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Washington, D.C., 2001.

The guideline

The policy of the Association of College and Research Libraries is that academic librarians shall be included on the same basis as their faculty colleagues in units for collective bargaining. Such units shall be guided by the standards and guidelines pertaining to faculty and academic status of the ACRL. ■