CAUT Conference:Academic Status for Librariansunder valued? under attack?

Halifax Oct 23-25, 2003

What is Academic Status?Framework for my presentation:CAUT policy statements

See CAUT Policy statement on Academic Status and Governance for Librarians at Canadian Universities:

1 “procedures for terms and conditions of appointment should be analogous to those of faculty.” i.e. Framework agreement.

2 “must be able to devote a portion of their normal workload to research projects.” need provisions such as sabbatical, research or study leave “on the same basis as faculty”

3 “right to participate fully in university affairs” –”Librarians should work to increase understanding of their functions within, and contributions to the University”: i.e. Governance

Academic Freedom “duty to promote and maintain intellectual freedom” “Academic freedom is essential for universities to

fulfill their public responsibility to promote the unfettered search for knowledge and truth.”

“Academic freedom means the right to freedom of speech and discussion, regardless of prescribed doctrine, political convention, or administrative convenience.”

“Suppression of speech through violence, threats of violence, or political intimidation is not acceptable.”

“Academic institutions have an obligation to defend academic freedom and not allow open discussion to be suppressed.”

Academic Governance:- Collegiality “Right and duty to participate in collegial governance

of the university.” “elected or appointed members on all university

governing councils and committees.” “where depts. or divs. exist within the library all

librarians should have a role in the development of departmental and divisional policies and procedures.”

“right to participate as members of search and appointment committees for all administrative and professional positions.”

“must be able to participate directly in the determination and arrangement of their own workload.”

Collegiality – CAUT Discussion Paper on Libraries Councils

“collegial body – increases level of participation in university governance.”

“The council should have responsibility for the development of policies and procedures for the operation of the library as a whole and should be responsible to Senate or equivalent body.” i.e. policy making, not merely information sharing

“issues to include any issue which has impact on the library and librarians.”

“must be some mechanism whereby recommendations reach the university at large.”

“the reporting structure must be defined to allow the Council to submit recommendations to any appropriate person or group – UL, Sen. Lib. Committee, Senate or other body.”

“Shd. be negotiated & defined in a collective agreement.” “position of the UL on the Council must be carefully defined – invited

guest rather than ex-officio member.” “not a management group but a collegial forum that engages the

librarians and the administration in positive discussions about the direction that the library will take.”

Caut Conference overview Governance issues often need to be addressed by a

persistent campaign of education and persuasion Some elements of Academic status can be gained by

collective bargaining i.e. York salaries 87% of faculty salaries, UNB and Ryerson 6 wks vacation; Memorial 22 days of research leave per year; Wilfred Laurier – full faculty status

Each Library across the country has a slightly different version of Academic status.

UVic better off than some:- e.g. Waterloo and Western, Mt. St. Vincent, but worse off than others Wilfred Laurier, Laurentian, University of Saskatchewan

Robert Leger’s CAUT Librarians committee 2001-2002 survey

35 librarian groups across Canada are in the same assn. as faculty

30 unionized, 32 in same bargaining unit7 indicators of ac. status:-leaves, Apt. & Review, Rank, Salaries,

Ac. Freedom, Ac. research, tenure, sabbatical (probs. w data)

- but, seems to be correlation betw. unions and 7 indicators- difference in salaries between Ontario librarians and Eastern

libs. -$9200; betw. Ontario and Western -$4900- difference between Faculty salaries and Librarian salaries –- librarians avg. 76% of faculty, less than in 1994 when 77% - York has negotiated 87% of faculty salaries – now best

salaries in the country

CAUT Librarians Conference 2003Academic Status Under-valued? Under Threat?Keynote speaker - Janet Swan Hill

Keynote address:- Academic Status Use it or lose it!Janet Swan Hill– University of Colorado at Boulder“Constant Vigilance, Babelfish and Foot Surgery: Perspectives on Faculty Status and Tenure for Academic Librarians.”

argued that an evaluation that was based on 40/40/20 was substantively better than one that is based on 80/10/10:”you’re not even on the same ladder as faculty”. “Not just less status but less salary, less collegiality, less room for creativity and revitalization.”

40/40/20 (40 performance, 40, scholarship 20 service)librarians expected to do scholarly work – rigorous standards of tenure. Admitted that “this is not for all librarians: – some resign or move on.”

librarians given 28 days per year minimum for scholarly work & 1 semester prior to comprehensive review and award of tenure.

Constant vigilance is the price of tenure- “need to educate admin.” Bablefish:- Librarians situation not understood by teaching faculty or

University admins., easily misconstrued and misunderstood. Foot surgery:- need for a “custom fit” of what tenure means for

librarians otherwise librarians end up with an uncomfortable fit of academic status that stunts growth and causes pain

Academic Status:-What is Research and what kinds of research can librarians do?

Ashley Thomson, Laurentian U. – “Research must be published, must be peer reviewed”.

Examples: solutions to Library problems; research tools, finding aids, bibliographies, edited books, articles on e-journals, reference on-line, hybrid library, faculty research bibliography

“amount of time spent in research needs to recognized in terms of promotion”

“research is fun” Librarians can get access to SSHRC funds if they partner

with faculty, but 200-300 hrs. needed to write an application Needs a “culture shift” and a “research infrastructure” in

the Library (or “librarians need to build that culture”) “Need to mentor new librarians in the arts and skills of

doing research.”

Wilfred Laurier model for Faculty status based on 1999 ACRL Survey often librarians treated most like faculty when they are evaluated on

40/40/20 scheme as faculty as at Wilfred Laurier where librarians have tenure and are given 20 days per year of short term leave and 1 year sabbaticals at 100% after 6 years of service.

at Wilfred Laurier librarians have salary scales “equivalent” (but not equal) to faculty with ceilings for librarians not a factor in curbing salaries.

They have the same access to research funding as faculty. Continuing appointments (tenure) kicks in after 4 years. Peer review. Librarians have a governance structure similar to other faculties on

campus including a Libraries Council – UL ex officio all librarians, 2 staff elected, 4 fac., 3 students.

Search Ctte. for UL structure similar to other facs. for Deans: search cttee of U.L.: VP Ac, 1 BOG, 1 Dean, 2 students, 1 staff, 1 fac. 7 libs. 2 Senators

had to overcome a number of problems to get there:- dysfunctional relationship with U.L. meant VP Ac chaired Lib. Council., no replacement for leaves was hard on small depts., lack of incentives for promotions, opposition within to peer review.

Research for librarians 2“Scholars, Managers and the Bird of Academic Status”

David Fox http://library.usask.ca/~fox/, Head of the Information Technology Services and Technical Services Divisions at University of Saskatchewan Library

important paper on the nature of scholarly work for librarians D. Fox, Oct. 25, 2003 CAUT Librarians Conference, Halifax, N.S., Oct 23-25, 2003. Scholars, Managers, and the Bird of Academic Status.

D. Fox, D. Friesen, Oct. 4, 2003 Access 2003 Conference, Vancouver, B.C., Oct. 2-4, 2003. ETD's at the University of Saskatchewan, or... Dude, Where's my Thesis?!

Scholarship vs. management: role conflict? Tension between the scholarly and

managerial roles?Not much different from the conflict

between the scholarly and service roles of non-supervisory librarians

Most librarians have assigned duties that take up 40 hrs/week, 12 months of the year

Difficult to find the time, but… Professional practice creates opportunities

for scholarly investigationLibrary must allow release time for

scholarly work

UofS Library standards for promotion and tenure

“The four scholarships of teaching, discovery, integration and application identified in the University Mission Statement are emphasized in the Library’s mission and vision statements and are considered in the context of permanent status and promotion considerations.”

UofS Library standards for promotion and tenure

“5.2 Scholarly WorkResearch, scholarly and/or artistic work is creative, intellectual work which is in the public realm and which has been subjected to external peer review. Publication in reputable peer-reviewed outlets is the primary evidence in this category.”

UofS Library standards for promotion and tenure

“Scholarly work is expected of all librarians. Unlike traditional faculty research, a librarian’s scholarly work usually derives from professional practice. Candidates for permanent status or promotion will engage in scholarly work appropriate to academic librarianship with the fundamental expectation that the results of scholarly work will be shared with other members of the profession and the academic community. A librarian’s scholarly work may be in one or more but not necessarily all of the following areas:”

Forms of scholarship

“a) applied scholarship: investigations of the practice within the library environment. Covers such areas as library organization and management practices, application of new technology, development of information delivery methods and services, application of teaching methods, development of standards for cataloguing and classification practices.”

Forms of scholarship, continued

“b) subject scholarship: research in the literature of specific disciplines resulting in the publication of bibliographies, resource lists, internet site evaluations, translations, books, articles, etc.”

Forms of scholarship, continued

“c) theoretical/policy scholarship: exploration of issues leading to the development of theory, policy and standards of practice for the library community. For example: copyright for digital resources, electronic licensing agreements, equity and sustainability of information access.”

Communication of scholarly work

“The appropriate vehicles for dissemination of scholarly work will include one or more of the following peer reviewed outlets:

Articles in scholarly journals; Books, chapters in books; Technical reports/reports to agencies derived from research; Presentations at academic, scientific or professional meetings; Editorial work; Substantial translation work; Curated exhibits.”

Communication of scholarly work, continued

“External peer validation of scholarly work is also derived from evidence of the adoption, implementation or replication of a librarian’s work on policy, practice, technological developments or library services by others in the extended library community.”

David Fox summary 1

Scholarship is any form of creative intellectual work that is validated by peers and communicated

Scholarship has 5 dimensions: discovery, integration, application, teaching, and artistic creativity

Scholarship by librarians is required for faculty status, tenure and promotion at most universities

Librarians are engaged mostly in the scholarship of application

There are many scholarly opportunities for librarians arising from professional practice

David Fox summary 2

It is not realistic to expect librarians to reject the faculty model faculty status bestows salary, benefits and prestige

Despite concerns of quality and quantity, practising academic librarians contribute 43% of the library literature.

The cost of not doing research is stagnation for the library profession

Where scholarly publishing is a requirement for tenure and promotion the library has an obligation to provide release time for this activity

David Fox summary 3 Unless library services are to suffer universities must

incorporate librarians’ release time into their staffing models

Unless we are prepared to engage in research and scholarship the bird of academic status might land on another branch.

Rather than looking at scholarship as an additional burden that conflicts with service to patrons, academic librarians should accept it as an integral part of the job. They should embrace their scholarly obligations and insist on the necessary resources to fulfill them.

Summary 4: How to raise librarians’ academic profile and improve perceptions?

Obtain additional advanced degreesPublish more extensivelyTeach in areas outside librarianshipTake advantage of sabbatical leaveParticipate in graduation ceremoniesIncrease contact and visibilityParticipate in the academic life of the

university

Roundup 1: Academic Status improvements achieved through contract negotiations U of C greater recognition and encouragement for scholarly work. Now

a prerequisite as well as management for promotion to Librarian IV U of S making librarians more like faculty, vacations increased to six

wks. Manitoba moving towards decision-making Library Council Ryerson six wks vacation after 6 yrs. York – salaries 87% of faculty salaries and 20 days per year research

entitlement but still have a “complement problem” only 20 libs for 20,000 students

Brock 22 1/2 days annual leave for study, parity with faculty for prof. development

Concordia no differentiation between faculty and librarian, 3 months research leave (but only 30 libs for 40,000 students)

UNB improved workload and vacations in spite of tough bargaining environment

At Laval and Univ. Montreal a minimum complement was set in the contract and there is a financial penalty on the University if doesn’t reach the threshold

St. Mary’s 15% - 17% salary increase over 3 yrs. UCCB 20% over 3 yrs.

Round up 2:Academic Status: - still under attack in some Universities U.B.C. – plunged from 6th to 111th place in ARL annual salary survey. 19 of last 35

positions sessional starting salary $37,593 – no ranks or progress through the ranks

UNBC ext. review critical of human resources dept. & lack of career progress U of A and U of C pension fund running out of money At UNB John Nielsen “librarians are valued by faculty but they are undervalued by

Library and University admin. “Library Admin. vindictive and thin-skinned”. Have cut 45% of the complement in last 10 yrs., lost input into financial issues, cttee. structure undercut.

At Mt. St. Vincent number of librarians going down – no movement on this issue at negotiation

Trent- complement raised as an issue by using ARL figures showing staff half what it would be in U.S.

McGill – 14 librarians on temporary contract Regina – librarians suffered “harassment and intimidation” “ changes in job

descriptions made under duress in spite of good union agreement and governance model (U.L. “manipulative” finally fired by the V.P. Academic).

Ryerson – 50% of librarians at ceilings Guelph – biggest issue understaffing – 20 libs for 18,000 students Waterloo – had vacations reduced from 4 wks to 3 wks (not member of F.A. but

trying (repeatedly) to get in) Western – not in F.A. – trying to make Library Council “meaningful” U PEI has certified but Admin not interested in negotiating on librarian issues

Conference Summary- “Learn to recognize Academic opportunities” there seems to be a relationship between respect for

librarians’ academic status and librarians’ insistence on engaging in scholarship and research.

if librarians are to engage in scholarship there needs to be rewards and supports for it in terms of both time and money

a need to educate new librarians in library schools and as part of their normal progression to engage in research and to foster an academic outlook

librarians need to “learn to recognize academic opportunities”

two papers were helpful in defining librarian research in a broad sense: particularly David Fox’s.

librarians need to have sufficient confidence in themselves as professionals to take full advantage of their academic freedom

Conference Summary- Vigilance, persistence and determination Academic status for librarians is not a given on any campus

across Canada. It is under attack in a number of institutions. It varies with the libraries and U.L.’s across the country. Collective Agreements are important in defining ac. status.

emerging issue across the country: “librarian complement”: i.e. how many librarians ought there to be? CAUT librarians committee will be looking into this issue and perhaps writing a model clause on it.

CAUT has some policy statements on academic status which are helpful to librarians in achieving academic status.

In order to achieve and maintain academic status librarians need to persist in their efforts to educate faculty, University Administration and, in some cases, Library Administration

Librarians need to be vigilant on University Governance issues and in protecting their rights and freedom under whatever kind of contract they have.

Further Readings: CAUT Statements on Academic status “CAUT Policy statement on Academic Status and Governance for

Librarians at Canadian Universities” “CAUT Discussion Paper on Librarians’ Workload” “CAUT Discussion Paper: Job descriptions for Academic Librarians” “CAUT Guidelines for the Appointment and Review of University Chief

Librarians and Other Library Administrators Outside the Bargaining Unit”

http://cufabc.harbour.sfu.ca/dispart.php?artid=a1118&subm=main Collegial Governance -- Who Cares? By Rick Coe, President, CUFA/BC

http://www.library.arizona.edu/conference/ltf2/papers/dc42298.html“The Library as an Academic Department / The Dickinson College Model: How Revolving Leadership, Collegial Management, and Holistic Librarianship Can Revitalize Your Library”

“Collegiality, collegial management, and academic libraries”, The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 29, Issue 1, January-February 2003, Pages 40-43 Philip C. Howze

Some questions arising from the conference Is it possible for librarians to integrate scholarly opportunity into

their daily work? Is scholarship a right and responsibility of librarianship? Should we be looking at new hires and their ability to do

scholarship? Should there be mentoring of scholarship? Are there small ways in which we can develop a “culture of

research” in the library? (i.e. U of S – research forum, help with grants, research methods etc.)

Bargaining issues: what are we comfortable with? Should we looking a clauses on “minimum librarian complement” Should we be bargaining for a 40/40/20 mix? Should we be bargaining for tenure and academic leave? Should we be bargaining for a CAUT style Libraries Council? Should we be bargaining for a fixed percentage of faculty salaries? What other changes are needed to bring about a truly collegial

climate in the libraries?