Policy, Procedure, and Perceptions: Mapping the Sociomaterial in Academic Libraries

Abstract

The librarian performance peer review process is a cornerstone of professional advancement,
with outcomes that carry real weight for all participants. Many academic librarians
may recognize familiar, and often stressful, scenarios that recur across institutions.
A senior colleague who is being reviewed has submitted evidence of their effectiveness
as a librarian, and a committee of their peers has met with this colleague in advance of the
performance review meeting, bolstering their optimism. Everything seems to be working
according to the procedures and policies that guide the performance review process, but the
colleague becomes visibly upset and surprised with the final report of the committee, finding
it inaccurate and unfair. Equally likely is a new librarian who has never