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----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Some historical perspective on faculty rank, and some personal musings from one who has both had it and not: Faculty rank was sought and gained in the good-old 60's and early 70's, by and large, but few libraries have adopted that model for their professional staff since then. In most cases it is either there as a vestige of that era, or not. I am not aware of a case where a library/university is now considering conferring this status on its library staff. No one looking for a job can demand it; either it is part of the situation or it isn't -- except in most unusual circumstances. I don't think that it is realistic to put "faculty status" into a list of objectives for professional development. When I worked in the SUNY system as a librarian/slide curator in 1978/79 I found faculty status to be pretty much of a farce. Librarians were not paid on the faculty rate, and while they were required to publish research findings for tenure, they were not given time to do so. Furthermore, few had the skills to do research, so their efforts were almost certainly to be found wanting when the review time came. No one in the admin. really helped librarians gain those skills. We attended faculty meetings, but were admonished not to be vocal by the library administration. We COULD eat in the faculty dining room, and that was a real plus. THE real plus. In other libraries, librarians with faculty status seemed in the 70's to make a point of being called professor so-and-so, but teaching faculty really found this kind of pathetic. I am sorry to be so blunt, but having been on both sides, I can report on both, and that was the case in my circumstances. For most teaching/research faculty in the university, faculty status, in their minds, requires a doctorate except in performing arts and a few other fields. This is really a sticking point. This status probably looks good to VR curators, who have suffered from unreasonably low status in art departments, but it has seemed to me that they realistically gain more benefits from trying to get on the library track, with some protections, then seeking faculty status, which they probably will not get anyway. Someone could survey the situation to get some objective date, but the question is, once the data are collected, what can one do with it/them? I cannot imagine that local library directors would be swayed to seek faculty status for their librarians, in these times of contraction, by the knowledge that other institutions offer this benefit. Am I just having a bad day? Is there a sunnier view? You must understand that I am writing in the gloom, from a city that prides itself on being either first, second, or third in the "rainiest" category. At least, in contrast to last week, it is not snowing. See you all in sunny Florida at the ARLIS annual meeting! DCS ------------------- Deirdre C. Stam, SyraCWIS Coordinator Syracuse University's Campus-Wide Information System [www.syr.edu] Client Services/CMS, Machinery Hall, Room 222 Syracuse University, Syracuse NY 13244 [log in to unmask] Phone 315-443-3831 or 3606 Fax 315-443-3817 On Mon, 15 Apr 1996 [log in to unmask] wrote: > ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- > > Dear Deborah, > > I am glad you have poised your faculty or staff question to the list - I > have been pondering the same question and wondering whether there > is information somewhere compiled on this topic. At Pratt Institute > Librarians do have Faculty Rank and I think it is crucial for all the > reasons you have outlined in your orginal message. Since this is my > first position in an academic institution I cannot comment on NOT having > faculty rank as a Librarian. I will be interested to read other responses > and I think the topic would make an important survey if it has not already bee > done. > > Greta Earnest > Art and Architecture Librarian > Pratt Institute > ([log in to unmask]) > (Please note, the internet addresses published for me in both the current > ARLIS/NA Membership Directory and the recent revisions published in > the recent Arlis Update are both incorrect.) > > > On Wed, 10 Apr 1996, Deborah Barlow wrote: > > > ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- > > Dear Colleagues, > > > > I am currently doing a rather indepth reexamination of the services and > > related employee activities in my academic, architecture, branch library. > > This particular study was instigated by the recent vacancy of our > > Architecture Reference Librarian position and a request by the University > > Libraries' Administration that we provide justification for filling this > > vacancy, as well as our "Plan B"--i.e. alternative staffing solutions. > > > > I plan to order a copy of the latest edition of the ARLIS/NA Staffing > > Standards but, in the meantime, the whole situation brought to mind a > > larger issue. > > > > When I was in library school, I remember being advised that, when seeking a > > position at an academic library, I should prefer and/or insist upon a > > position that had "Faculty" status. The idea being, I believe, that the > > "Library Faculty" had a better chance of receiving a higher salary, support > > for professional development (research, conference attendence, etc.), and, > > ideally, collegial respect from the Administration and the "Teaching > > Faculty". > > > > Is this still held to be true? > > > > I noticed that the 1990 ARLIS/NA Salary Survey did not include a break-down > > of "faculty" versus "staff/non-faculty" positions within the academic > > library catagory. Is this something that might be considered in the next > > survey? Has another library association conducted a recent survey including > > and/or addressing this issue? > > > > Thanks for your feedback! > > > > Deborah Barlow, Branch Head > > Emery A. Gunnin Architectural Library > > Clemson University, Clemson, SC > > [log in to unmask] > > >