The University recently shifted the status of incoming librarians from faculty to managerial and professional staff, informing all current librarians by email. The title change has drawn ire from library employees and is, in my opinion, rather backward.
About 75 percent of public universities grant their librarians faculty status, according to a 2008 study by a scholar at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 2009 Wake Forest University transitioned librarians from staff to faculty. The University, however, has chosen to move in the opposite direction. In this academic climate, this decision seems out of place.
University officials hold that the title change will allow for more flexibility in hiring. People with different kinds of expertise are necessary to ensure the library runs smoothly. Hiring under the title of general faculty hinders the school’s ability to attract people with the broad range of skill sets the library’s operations require. With advances in digital scholarship and library science, traditional librarian skill sets in the domain of research and curation may not be what are necessary. The faculty title may therefore mislead prospective employees.
Currently librarians hold the title of general faculty, which is different from teaching faculty (e.g. professors). The transition will not affect salary nor benefits for the employees. Current employees who wish to retain faculty status can do so. Furthermore, regardless of title, employees will still be able to research or teach.
Nevertheless, I think the title change is a mistake. Though eliminating the faculty designation may make for a more flexible hiring process, because the majority of universities still offer librarians faculty status, the University may lose appeal for prospective librarians. Even if the title change does not reduce benefits or salary packages for prospective employees, job candidates may still opt to work at another university that gives them faculty status.
First and foremost, librarians have the ability to conduct research and publish work. Often, they collaborate with professors to help students better understand how to conduct research and they ensure that students are able to tap into the appropriate resources for their research. Faculty status allows librarians to be better integrated into the University’s academic efforts. Eliminating the librarians’ faculty designation might isolate these employees from other academic communities at the University and provide less of an incentive for them to conduct research.
Second, the title change would deny librarians sufficient representation in the University community. At the moment, faculty status allows libraries to be represented in the General Faculty Council. Library staffers would not have this opportunity. By losing faculty status, incoming librarians will be unable to participate in faculty governance. This transition is meant to create a more cohesive community, according to University Librarian Karin Wittenborg, but the policy promotes the exact opposite. Instead of cohesion, the move will isolate librarians by denying them a voice.
I can understand the concern about having more flexibility in the system. But, perhaps flexibility can be achieved by hiring people under both general faculty and managerial and professional titles with specific skill sets for each. It seems that the problem can and should be solved by allowing at least some incoming librarians to claim the designation of general faculty — and the respect that comes with the title.
Fariha Kabir’s column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at f.kabir@cavalierdaily.com.
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