scholarly journals Who Publishes in Top-Tier Library Science Journals? An Analysis by Faculty Status and Tenure

2014 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 724-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quinn Galbraith ◽  
Elizabeth Smart ◽  
Sara D. Smith ◽  
Megan Reed
Keyword(s):  
High Impact ◽  
Library Science ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Tenure Track ◽  
The Status ◽  
Faculty Status ◽  
Status Position

This study analyzes the status and background of authors publishing in high-impact library science journals. Twenty-three high-impact journals were selected in this study by both quantitative and qualitative measures, while the analysis of author background focuses on whether the author holds a faculty status position with a tenure track. This study finds that 76% of academic librarians publishing in top-tier library science journals have faculty status.

scholarly journals Typology of Librarian Status Created for U.S. Land Grant Universities is Applicable to U.S. Research Libraries

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Kate Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Research Universities ◽  
Land Grant ◽  
Tenure Track ◽  
Land Grant Universities ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
The Status ◽  
Type 3 ◽  
Faculty Status

Bolin, Mary K. “Librarian Status at U.S. Research Universities: Extending the Typology.” Journal of Academic Librarianship 34.5 (August 2008): 416-24. Objective – To describe and categorize the status of librarians at 119 American research libraries using a typology of librarian status first developed for 50 U.S. land grant universities. Design – Survey. Setting – U.S. research universities. Subjects – 119 American research universities. Included are those universities whose library is a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), in addition to land grant universities who are not also ARL members, and any flagship state universities who are neither ARL nor land grant universities. All subjects are classified as either “research – very high” or “research – high” in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The 119 institutions represent a total census of the selected population. Methods – The websites of the 119 institutions were surveyed and data on institutional characteristics such as governance, size and geography collected. Additionally, data describing librarian status characteristics such as administrator title, rank systems and tenure status was gathered from sources such as promotion and tenure documentation, faculty handbooks, and policy manuals available on websites. Data was compiled on a spreadsheet and imported into SPSS which was used to create frequencies and cross tabulations. Data was categorised and cross-tabulated using a typology of status originally applied to 50 land grant universities in a previous study. The typology comprises four possible status types for librarians: Type 1 – Faculty: Professorial ranks. Type 2 – Faculty: Other ranks with tenure. Type 3 – Faculty: Other ranks without tenure. Type 4 – Non-faculty: Professional or academic staff. Main Results – In the 119 institutions surveyed, librarians held faculty status at 74 (62%) institutions, of which 63 (51%) provided tenure track positions. At the remaining 45 (38%) institutions, librarians were considered non-faculty. Of the 50 “land grant” institutions in the population, 40 (80%) had librarians with faculty status and 35 (70%) provided tenure track. Ten universities (20%) considered librarians non-faculty. Of the 97 ARL libraries in the population, 55 (57%) had librarians with faculty status and 44 (45%) provided tenure track. Non-faculty librarians were found at 42 (43%) of these institutions. Of the 90 public institutions in the population, 68 (76%) had librarians who were faculty, 57 (64%) provided tenure track, and 22 (24%) had non-faculty librarians. Among the 29 private institutions the status ratios were reversed with only 4 (13%) institutions having librarians ranked as tenure track faculty (type 1 or type 2) and 23 (80%) having non-faculty librarians. In the total population (119) type 3 “Faculty: Other ranks without tenure” was the least common category, 48% (57) of libraries were headed by a dean, 67% (80) of institutions had librarian representation on faculty senate and as the size of an institution increased the likelihood of librarians having faculty rank decreased. “Dean” was the most popular administrator title in the population; it correlated with professorial rank and was strongly associated with tenure. Having tenure was, in turn, strongly associated with faculty senate representation. In the Northeast census region type 4, non-faculty staff predominated while type 1 was rare; in the Midwest there was an almost even split between type 1 and type 4; in the South there was a fairly even spread across all four types, and in the West a fairly even spread across types 1, 2 and 4. Finally, the data showed that as the size of an institution increased, the likelihood of librarians having faculty rank decreased. Conclusion – The typology created for land grant universities can be extended and applied to a wider population. It is valid and reliable both for organizing information about librarian status and for comparing institutions and population segments.

scholarly journals Perceptions from Library School Faculty on Meaningful Matters to Academic Librarians: Additional Degrees, Sabbaticals, Evaluation, and Governance

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Kristen Young
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Library Science ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Academic Rank ◽  
School Faculty ◽  
Library School ◽  
Faculty Status ◽  
Masters Students

Objective – To survey the faculty members of American Library Association (ALA)-accredited library schools to gain insight into their perceptions on academic librarians obtaining faculty status and how the library school curricula prepare academic librarians for faculty roles. Design – Survey questionnaire. Setting – An e-survey was distributed online to 57 ALA-accredited library schools during April 2007, using Zoomerang. Subjects – The population consisted of 906 tenure-track or tenured faculty members. Methods – The 24 item survey was designed to answer eight specific research questions and evoke responses scored on a five-point Likert scale that corresponded to (1) Strongly Disagree, (2) Disagree, (3) Neutral, (4) Agree, and (5) Strongly Agree. For the analysis of data in questions 1 and 3 through 8, the perceptions of faculty members of ALA-accredited library schools were determined by calculating the mean and standard deviation. For the analysis of question 2 a t test was used to determine differences in faculty members’ perceptions based on gender and tenure. A one-way analysis of variance, or ANOVA, was used to determine library school faculty members’ perceptions based on academic rank. Main Results – A total of 906 individuals were sent the link to the survey, and 187 individuals completed the survey, making the response rate 20.6%. Of the respondents, 38.5% were professors, 25.7% were associate professors, 33.7% were assistant professors, and 2.1% were lecturers. The majority of respondents were female (60.0%) and tenured (65.0%). Faculty members of the ALA-accredited library schools agreed that courses in statistical concepts, procedures, and research (both experimental and non-experimental) should be required of those seeking a master’s or doctoral degree. They agreed that the Master of Library Science (MLS) degree is insufficient in preparing librarians for faculty status, and that additional graduate degrees improve performance of academic librarians in discipline-specific positions. Conclusion – It is clear that library school faculty have a strong interest in the curriculum and the future directions of librarianship. It is also clear that faculty status for academic librarians, equivalent to that of teaching faculty, will remain a contentious issue for some time. The author had five recommendations for practice: Librarians who want a faculty-status position should earn another graduate degree, in addition to the MLS; ALA-accredited library schools should require that PhD and masters students have courses in experimental and non-experimental research; ALA-accredited library schools should require that PhD and masters students have courses introducing statistics; Librarians with faculty status should be involved in university governance as well as library governance; and, Librarians with faculty status should be eligible for the same sabbatical and research leaves as other faculty. There are three recommendations for further study identified by the author. First is a qualitative study to identify the reasons behind the perceptions that faculty members have of the issues that surround faculty status for academic librarians. Second is a qualitative study to assess how faculty status affects the lives of academic librarians, both personally and professionally. Lastly, additional research should be conducted to gain a greater understanding of how faculty status impacts academic librarians within the institutions they are a part of.

scholarly journals Academic Librarians’ Changing Perceptions of Faculty Status and Tenure

2017 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise Silva ◽  
Quinn Galbraith ◽  
Michael Groesbeck
Keyword(s):  
Work Experience ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Years Of Experience ◽  
Tenure Track ◽  
Selective Perception ◽  
Extra Effort ◽  
Perception Bias ◽  
Motivating Factor ◽  
Faculty Status

This study explores how time and experience affect an academic librarian’s perception of tenure. Researchers surveyed 846 librarians at ARL institutions, reporting on institutions that offer both tenure and faculty status for their academic librarians or neither. The survey reported how librarians rated tenure’s benefit to patrons, its effect in attracting and retaining quality employees, and tenure as a motivating factor in giving extra effort on the job. Researchers found that tenured librarians rated tenure as more beneficial than librarians without tenure who had more than six years of work experience at their institutions. Furthermore, non–tenure-track librarians with fewer than six years of experience at their institutions rated tenure’s effect on library patrons as more beneficial than tenure-track librarians who had not yet achieved tenure. The study implies a selective perception bias on the part of academic librarians that grows with time and warrants further consideration and study.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Faculty Status among Academic Librarians

2016 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 582-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quinn Galbraith ◽  
Melissa Garrison ◽  
Whitney Hales
Keyword(s):  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Tenure Track ◽  
Academic Librarianship ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Teaching Faculty ◽  
Faculty Status ◽  
Insight Into

This study measures the opinions of ARL librarians concerning the benefits and disadvantages of faculty status in academic librarianship. Average responses from faculty and nonfaculty librarians, as well as from tenured and tenure-track librarians, are analyzed to determine the general perceptions of each group. Overall, faculty librarians reported more positive perceptions of faculty status than nonfaculty librarians. Tenured librarians generally reported more positive perceptions than tenure-track librarians. Despite the differences in opinion, these results offer insight into the potential benefits and disadvantages of faculty status in academic librarianship and suggest that faculty status improves relationships with teaching faculty, even if status alone cannot make them full peers.

scholarly journals Critique and Renewal in the Sociology of Music: Bourdieu and Beyond

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Prior
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
New Work ◽  
Sociology Of Culture ◽  
Sociology Of Music ◽  
Critical Engagement ◽  
Potential Problems ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Status Position

This paper reviews the status, position and legacy of Bourdieu in the sociology of music, the waxing and waning of his influence and the recent move away from Bourdieu towards something like a post-critical engagement with musical forms and practices. The idea is to show the reaction to and treatment of Bourdieu’s ideas as a gauge of where we are in the sociology of culture, the various strands of influence that emanate from his work, and to assess what is at stake in a ‘post-Bourdieu’ moment when a position once considered progressive and critical now acts as the foil against which new work is being conducted. The article engages with some recent contributions to the music/society debate from figures in the UK and France, and points to the ways these contributions move debates on musico-social relations into territories more sensitive to the complex mediating qualities of music. Such work is better placed, it is argued, to represent music as an animating force in everyday life, including its specific mediating qualities ‘in action’. At the same time, however, the construction of a new sociology of music is not without its perils. The article will conclude with some potential problems with these approaches, and take stock of what might be lost as well as gained by adherence to them.

scholarly journals Academic Librarians’ Attitudes about Advanced-Subject Degrees

2005 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Mayer ◽  
Lori J. Terrill
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Institutional Culture ◽  
Library Science ◽  
Career Goals ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Research Skills ◽  
Terminal Degree

Academic librarians have various opinions on the importance of advanced-subject degrees in addition to a master’s in library science (MLS). The authors conducted an online survey to collect opinions from academic librarians on this topic. Arguments in favor of having advanced-subject degrees include development of research skills, credibility, and overall improved job performance. Arguments against it include the fact that the MLS is—and should continue to be—our terminal degree, inadequate salaries, and the validity of developing subject expertise via other means. The need for advanced-subject degrees may vary by many factors, including individual career goals and local institutional culture.

scholarly journals Faculty Publishing Productivity: Comparisons over Time

2006 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 230-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Budd
Keyword(s):  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Tenure Track ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Part Time Faculty ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Time Faculty ◽  
Over Time

Concerns about higher education abound, and these include concerns about productivity. The present study extends two previous examinations of faculty publishing productivity covering the years 1991 to 1993 and 1995 to 1997. Both members of ARL and a group of institutions included in ACRL’s data set are included. For both groups there are some increases in mean total numbers of publications, although the rate of increase has decreased since the second time period. Per capita rates of publication demonstrate an even flatter pattern. In recent years, there have been some changes in the dynamics of universities’ faculties; there are more part-time faculty and more faculty who are not on the tenure track. These factors, coupled with the publishing data, point to activities that all academic librarians should be aware of.

scholarly journals More Academic Librarians in Arkansas with Faculty Status and Rights but Decreased Benefits and Increased Responsibility

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Mê-Linh Lê
Keyword(s):  
Response Rate ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Similar Data ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Faculty Status

A Review of: Vix, H. M., & Buckman, K. M. (2011). Academic librarians: Status, privileges, and rights. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 38(1), 20-25. doi: 10.1016/j.acalib.2011.11.004 Objective – To provide cross-comparable information on the number of students per librarian, salary, faculty status, contract lengths, and maternity benefits of academic librarians. Design – Online questionnaire. Setting – Four-year private, four-year public, and two-year public academic institutions in Arkansas. Subjects – Academic library deans and directors were surveyed three times over a six-year period. Methods – Three surveys were sent to library deans and directors of four-year private, four-year public, and two-year public academic institutions in Arkansas in 2007, 2009, and 2011. The surveys were created by the College and University Library Division of the Arkansas Library Association, with questions created based on reports from the Association of College and Research Libraries (e.g., Standards and Statements). Committee members tested the survey before distribution. Over the course of the six-year period the questions were modified and were chosen to ensure that respondents could easily answer them (i.e., no questions on topics such as retirements, vacation, which can vary significantly from librarian to librarian). All responses were confidential. Main Results – The 2007 survey had a 78% response rate (n=35/45); the 2009 survey had a 93% response rate (n=42/45); and the 2011 survey had a 90% response rate (n=44/49). While the survey covered a number of topics (shown in supplementary material online), the article focused on five areas of interests and had the following findings. 1) The number of students per librarian is increasing at four-year private and two-year public institutions. While the data shows a decrease in the ratio at four-year public institutions the authors believe this is due to the addition of new institutions in the follow-up surveys, one of which had a very low study-to-librarian ration. 2) Tenured librarians make more than non-tenured librarians. 3) The number of institutions granting faculty status is increasing at a statistically significant rate at four-year private and two-year public institutions, and has remained relatively constant at four-year public institutions. 4) Most libraries have 12-month contracts for librarians, although this has decreased slightly over the survey period. 5) The number of institutions providing paid maternity leave has decreased. Conclusion – This study provides a broad overview of the changing state of academic librarians’ rights and benefits in Arkansas over the last six years. Some of the trends demonstrated, such as an increase in the number of students per librarian, are potentially troubling and may have a negative impact on the quality of service provided by individual institutions. Other trends, such as increases in institutions granting faculty status to librarians and decreasing the number of 12-month contracts, may signal that some institutions are beginning to acknowledge the significance and impact of librarian research. Ultimately, this article provides a starting point for other states and provinces to begin collecting similar data in an attempt to understand changing trends in academic libraries.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document