scholarly journals Library School Programs and the Successful Training of Academic Librarians to Meet Promotion and Tenure Requirements in the Academy

2010 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rickey D. Best ◽  
Jason Kneip
Keyword(s):  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Professional Literature ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Promotion And Tenure ◽  
Academic Librarianship ◽  
School Programs ◽  
Library School

This article relates an investigation of tenure and promotion practices for librarians at academic institutions. The study employed two surveys. The first survey determined the level of impact on promotion and tenure by recent publication in two top-tier peer-reviewed journals: College & Research Libraries and Journal of Academic Librarianship. The second survey was developed and distributed to authors of articles in the two journals requesting information about the nature of their library positions. Although more research is warranted, it appears that librarians at academic institutions tend to publish more frequently in top-tier journals, enhancing our professional literature.

scholarly journals Collaborative Authorship in the Journal Literature: Perspectives for Academic Librarians Who Wish to Publish

2000 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 410-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Harrison Bahr ◽  
Mickey Zemon
Keyword(s):  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Professional Literature ◽  
Journal Literature ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
College And University ◽  
Collaborative Authorship ◽  
Academic Librarianship ◽  
Author Productivity ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Successful Collaboration

Academic librarians, particularly college librarians, may increase their contributions to the professional literature through collaborative authorship. For example, university librarians, who published 69 percent of the articles in College & Research Libraries and the Journal of Academic Librarianship between 1986 and 1996, contributed almost 90 percent of the coauthored research in those core journals. This study examines the increase in collaboration in the literature of academic librarianship and in other disciplines, explores the relationship between collaboration and article quality as well as author productivity, compares collaborative patterns of college and university librarians, and considers factors that lead to successful collaboration.

scholarly journals An Analysis of Articles by College Librarians

1998 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 421-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mickey Zemon ◽  
Alice Harrison Bahr
Keyword(s):  
Professional Growth ◽  
Professional Literature ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Academic Librarianship

College librarians recognize research and publication as important components of professional growth and communication. Yet, compared to their counterparts in universities, they author fewer articles in the professional literature. This paper examines articles published by college librarians in College & Research Libraries and Journal of Academic Librarianship from 1986 to 1996 to provide a profile of college librarian authors and to identify factors that contributed to their success in publishing.

scholarly journals An Analysis of the Research Areas of the Articles Published in C&RL and JAL between 1990 and 1999

2000 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 536-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue-Ming Bao
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Major Portion ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Academic Librarianship ◽  
College Libraries

A total of 682 refereed articles from College & Research Libraries (C&RL) and Journal of Academic Librarianship (JAL) (376 and 306 articles, respectively) between 1990 and 1999 were analyzed with respect to the Research Agenda developed by the ACRL College Libraries Section (ACRL-CLS). The analysis finds that articles on collections, services, staffing, and the Internet have taken up the major portion of the peer-reviewed sections of C&RL and JAL. It also reveals that a wide variety of researchable questions remain to be studied and reported. This presents a challenge and an opportunity for academic librarians who wish to engage in research.

scholarly journals Academic Librarians and Research: A Study of Canadian Library Administrator Perspectives

2013 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 560-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selinda Adelle Berg ◽  
Heidi LM Jacobs ◽  
Dayna Cornwall
Keyword(s):  
Future Climate ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Association Of Research Libraries ◽  
Canadian Association ◽  
Academic Librarianship

Within the literature exploring the role of research in academic librarianship, very little attention has been paid to the perspectives of upper library administrators. This perspective is critical because library administrators play a key role in hiring, evaluating, supporting, promoting, and tenuring professional librarians. As a way of bringing the administrative perspective to these discussions, our study examines how library administrators within the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) view the role of research in their own libraries and within academic librarianship, as well as how they perceive the current and future climate for librarians’ research. Our study reveals key areas in need of further research and identifies several issues that librarians and upper administrators would benefit from exploring together to advance discussions about research.

Academic Librarianship and Burnout

2017 ◽  
pp. 72-89
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Bibliographic Instruction ◽  
Administrative Positions ◽  
Professional Literature ◽  
Academic Librarianship ◽  
Work Done ◽  
Technical Services

Given the emotionally laden work done by academic librarians, and given what the book has established so far on emotional labor and its contribution to emotional exhaustion, which in turn contributes to burnout, it should come as no surprise that academic librarians seem quite prone to burnout. This chapter explores the phenomenon of burnout among academic librarians, looking at the issue from three perspectives: a public services perspective; a technical services perspective; and a managerial/administrative perspective. It draws comparisons between front-of-house (FOH) and back-of-house (BOH) employees in the hospitality industry and the work of librarianship, given its customer service orientation. It draws on the professional literature for causes of burnout in librarianship. This chapter highlights the strong emphasis that has been placed on burnout research in bibliographic instruction librarians while criticizing the lack of research on technical services positions and managers/administrators, underlining the need for more research regarding public services positions that aren't tied to instruction, technical services positions, and managerial/administrative positions.

scholarly journals Replicable services for reproducible research: a model for academic libraries

Bibliosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 33-45
Author(s):  
F. Sayre ◽  
A. Riegelman
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Reproducible Research ◽  
Library Services ◽  
The Public ◽  
Data Intensive ◽  
Academic Librarianship ◽  
Core Areas ◽  
Research Faculty

Over the past decade, evidence from disciplines ranging from biology to economics has suggested that many scientific studies may not be reproducible. This has led to declarations in both the scientific and lay press that science is experiencing a “reproducibility crisis” and that this crisis has consequences for the extent to which students, faculty, and the public at large can trust research. Faculty build on these results with their own research, and students and the public use these results for everything from patient care to public policy. To build a model for how academic libraries can support reproducible research, the authors conducted a review of major guidelines from funders, publishers, and professional societies. Specific recommendations were extracted from guidelines and compared with existing academic library services and librarian expertise. The authors believe this review shows that many of the recommendations for improving reproducibility are core areas of academic librarianship, including data management, scholarly communication, and methodological support for systematic reviews and data-intensive research. By increasing our knowledge of disciplinary, journal, funder, and society perspectives on reproducibility, and reframing existing librarian expertise and services, academic librarians will be well positioned to be leaders in supporting reproducible research. Citation: Sayre F., Riegelman A. Replicable services for reproducible research: a model for academic libraries.

An exploratory survey measuring burnout among academic librarians in the southeast of the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 703-715
Author(s):  
Monica Colon-Aguirre ◽  
Katy Kavanagh Webb
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Sample Population ◽  
Human Resource Practices ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe main purpose of this work is to uncover and identify the issues that academic librarians consider important in the attainment of work–life balance. This work will focus on exploring their experiences with different dimensions of burnout.Design/methodology/approachThe topic of burnout is explored by analyzing the results of a survey based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which was distributed among librarians at a group academic institutions that are members of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL).FindingsThe findings of this study do not demonstrate evidence of burnout among the sample population. However, the results do present plenty of opportunities for further exploration such as the relationship between burnout and personal factors, including LGBTQA + status and race or ethnic minority status.Research limitations/implicationsFurther exploration of the topic of burnout should be followed up with more qualitative studies, especially those employing interviews.Practical implicationsImprovement of human resource practices, which reduces the incidence of burnout among academic librarians, is something that can only be accomplished at the organizational level. Human resource practices can create a work environment that enhances productivity by improving the quality of life of employees.Originality/valueThis work explores and assesses academic librarian burnout, among those working in academic institutions in the southeastern United States. To date, no study has been undertaken that looks at burnout across broad types of work performed by academic librarians and librarians at different institutions.

scholarly journals Rejuvenation and Networking Motivates Librarians to Attend Conferences

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Yvonne Hultman Ozek
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Mail ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Poster Sessions ◽  
Reference Librarians ◽  
Curriculum Vitae ◽  
Public Librarians ◽  
Conference Attendance

A Review of: Vega, Robert D. and Ruth S. Connell. “Librarians’ Attitudes Toward Conferences: A Study.” College & Research Libraries 68.6 (2007): 503-15. Objectives – To determine why professional librarians attend or do not attend conferences and to consider their attitudes toward the various conference offerings and whether conference attendance is important to their careers. Design – An electronic mail list survey designed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data through closed and open-ended questions. Setting – Mainly academic and public libraries in the U.S.A. Subjects – A total of 794 librarians participated in the study. Methods – The quantitative and qualitative data gathered from the survey were analyzed using statistical software. The quantitative items on the questionnaire regarded the following: years working as a librarian, age, gender, average number of conferences attended each year, amount of financial support provided, and the importance of attending conferences. For qualitative analysis, the instrument included open-ended questions to gather comments about issues related to conferences. Electronic mail list subscriptions were used to reach approximately 17,000 potential respondents of whom 794 completed the survey. Main Results – The study found the main reason the respondents attended conferences was to achieve professional rejuvenation (56%), and that this finding was associated with age: the older the librarian, the higher he or she would rate the need to stay updated in librarianship. The study also found that men as compared to women ranked rejuvenation as less important. Respondents who visited more conferences tended to rate rejuvenation as more important. Networking was also highly valued (40%), although was not of significant importance among reference librarians. Exhibits were considered to be very useful among older respondents, particularly older public librarians and older administrators from all types of libraries, but were regarded as less valuable among younger academic librarians. . Invited speakers were rated highly by academic librarians, but less highly by public librarians. General sessions primarily attracted newer and younger librarians, and poster sessions primarily appealed to academic librarians. Being able to add conference participation to the curriculum vitae was primarily of interest to younger academic librarians. Academic librarians rated roundtables as important. Conclusion – Respondents primarily attended conferences for professional rejuvenation and networking, though felt these benefits were not necessarily related to conference content. Those who had worked longer as librarians valued exhibits more than those who were new in the field. Based on the results, further investigation is needed to answer the following questions: 1) Why do public librarians find poster sessions of low interest? 2) Why do men compared to women find professional rejuvenation less important? 3) Have more experienced librarians learned to navigate exhibits better? The findings of this study would be useful to conference organizers.

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.

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