CAUT Conference:
Academic Status for Librarians
under 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
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“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 unit
7 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 2003
Academic Status Under-valued? Under Threat?
Keynote speaker - Janet Swan Hill
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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?
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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 ejournals, 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
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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”
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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 investigation
 Library 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 Work
Research, 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
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“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 degrees
Publish more extensively
Teach in areas outside librarianship
Take advantage of sabbatical leave
Participate in graduation ceremonies
Increase contact and visibility
Participate in the academic life of the
university
Roundup 1:
Academic Status improvements achieved
through contract negotiations
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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
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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”
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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
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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
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“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, JanuaryFebruary 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?
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