ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 324 / October 1983 Fire, cont’d The Town of Bar Harbor provided temporary quarters for the Thorndike Library in an industrial arts building. Library staff aided by volunteers from the college and the community worked seven days a week to dry and salvage the volumes saved from the flames. Many books were transferred to a large blueberry freezer in Ellsworth where they have been stored frozen until they can be properly treated. The library opened for business last month in time for the start of the academic year. Besides destoying the library, flames, smoke and water also ruined the college’s kitchen, dining fa­ cility, and business offices. The fire, which has been attributed to a human, not mechanical, origin, apparently began in the front corner of Kaelber Hall in the early hours of July 25. By the time it was spotted and reported by a fisherman on the town pier, flames had filled much of the lobby and were shooting up through the roof. Firemen from Bar Harbor, Ellsworth, Northeast H arbor, and Acadia National Park rushed to the scene at 4:30 a . m . ‚ but were unable to contain the fire which then spread to the library wing. The blaze was stopped in the library, and the library offices and Natural History Museum (in an adjacent building) received only minor smoke and water damage. The College of the Atlantic urgently needs books and periodical backfiles to help rebuild its collec­ tion. Especially needed are indexes and abstract services in general science and ecology, as well as post-1950 books in the following areas: natural his­ tory, alternative energy, botany, ecology, environ­ mental studies, evolution, zoology, art, architec­ ture, contemporary literature, design, economics, psychology, and public policy. Gifts, offers of assistance, and inquiries should be directed to: M arcia L . Dworak, Librarian, Thorndike Library, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME 04609; (207) 288-9082. ■ ■ ARL Library Faculties and Their Meetings Joan H. W orley R eferen ce Librarian, Undergraduate Library University o f Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee Librarians at the University of Tennessee, Knox­ ville (UTK) have held faculty status and rank since 1950. They enjoy the same benefits and share the same responsibilities as teaching faculty, with a few major exceptions: unlike teaching faculty, li­ brarians work a 12-month contract year with 24 days of paid vacation; university requirements for research and scholarly activity are not stringently applied to library faculty; and library faculty gov­ ernance is minimal within an administrative hier­ archy of director, associate directors, and depart­ ment heads. (The library faculty is involved in the administrative decision-making process in an advi­ sory capacity, informally on any issue and formally in tenure and promotion decisions.) The faculty meets once each month during the academic year to hear occasional committee reports; presenta­ tions by speakers from within and without the li­ brary on professional concerns; policy announce­ m ents and c la r ific a tio n by th e lib ra ry administration; or any combination of these. Ten­ ure and promotion deliberations are held at spe­ cially called meetings. Regular meetings are mod­ erated or led by the chair or another member of the Faculty Program Committee, appointed by the di­ rector. When the director of the library charged the Faculty Program Committee to review the purpose and scope of faculty meetings, in addition to the committee’s customary charge to plan program meetings for the year, the committee decided to in­ vestigate practices of other library faculties. It would be interesting, the committee thought, to know if faculty groups at other libraries meet regu­ larly as a body, and if so, how their meetings are organized and what the subject matter is. A litera­ ture search yielded articles on faculty status per se and numerous studies on faculty status and com­ pensation, faculty status and selected benefits, fac­ ulty status and publication, and so on. There were no recent articles on the organization of library fac­ ulties or their meetings, however. To satisfy curiosity, the committee developed an informal questionnaire that was sent in February 1983 to the personnel librarians at 39 ABL libraries reporting faculty status for librarians.1 Questions included the five following: 1. Does the library faculty meet on a regular ba­ sis? How often? Who chairs the meeting? 2. For what purpose does the library faculty meet? (Six items and “other” were listed, to be 1The 39 A BL libraries where librarians have fac­ ulty status were taken from Thomas G. English, “Librarian Status in the Eighty-Nine U.S. Aca­ demic Institutions of the Association of Besearch Libraries: 1982,” C ollege & R esearch L ibraries 44(1983): 199-211. October 1983 / 325 checked if applicable.) 3. Does the library faculty have any formal role in administrative decision-making? 4. Does the library faculty have elected officers? 5. Describe other library faculty activities, in­ cluding sponsored publications, workshops, social events, etc. Responses w ere received from 23 lib ra ries (59% ), and four enclosed the bylaws of their fac­ ulty organizations. Questionnaires were completed by library directors or deans (7), associate/assistant directors (8), personnel librarians (4), faculty chairs or other faculty members (3) ‚ and by an ad­ ministrative intern (1). Results. Most (83 %) of the library faculties met regularly. Three (13% ) did not meet, and one re­ spondent (4% ) did not reply to the question. Six (32 %) met 1-3 times per year; five (26 %) 4 -6 times per year; and eight (42 %) monthly. The director or dean chairs the meeting in twelve (63 %) of the li­ braries; elected chair in six (32 % ); and one respon­ dent (5 %) did not reply to the question. Faculties met for a wide variety of purposes: dis­ cussion of issues, policies, and problems (100% ), in-house programs of general professional interest (4 7 % ), programs presented by outside speakers (42% ), decisions regarding appointment of new li­ brary faculty (10% ), tenure and promotion delib­ erations (25 % ), faculty business such as election of committee chairs or university governance repre­ sentatives (65 % ), and “other,” which included ad­ denda of bylaw revision, com m ittee reports, budget discussions, monthly reports from the di­ rector, and post-conference reports from faculty. The questionnaire was flawed in at least one re­ spect: its lack of definition of “formal role” in the third question, “Does the library faculty have any formal role in administrative decision-making?” Ten (44 %) said yes; twelve (52 %) said no, and one (4 % ) did not respond. However, seven (30% ) added that the faculty has an informal advisory role, and these seven included both those who an­ swered yes and those who answered no. Additional information noted by respondents mentioned fac­ ulty committees again and again, notably budget, policy and planning, travel, and automation com­ mittees. Although the questionnaire was not designed to ascertain library governance, several respondents explained the role of standing committees within the faculty organization and/or the administrative hierarchy of the library. Additional unsolicited re­ marks indicated that committees and task force groups play a significant advisory role in library administration; moreover, one or more elected fac­ ulty representatives serve on executive or adminis­ trative policy committees in some libraries. Sixteen (70 %) faculties have one or more elected officers. Seven (30% ) have none. Elected commit­ tee chairs were not counted but were mentioned by respondents in both groups. The last question on “other faculty activities” produced a long list that included workshops, sponsored publications, seminars, speakers, news­ letters, and social events. Only three (13 %) respon­ dents reported none, some noting that such activi­ ties are arranged by the library administration or other library units rather than by the faculty. This informal survey was inadequate for any close examination of faculty organization in li­ braries; however, together with a 1979 survey of UTK faculty that solicited attitudes and prefer­ ences relevant to meeting frequency and topics, it provided a useful ground for discussions of the F ac­ ulty Program Committee. In May 1983 the com­ mittee recommended to the director and to the li­ brary faculty that a chair be elected with the following responsibilities: to call and preside at all meetings; to appoint a committee to plan programs; to effect promotion and tenure procedures in co­ operation with the Personnel Librarian and the D i­ rector; to conduct elections for UTK Faculty Senator(s) and other elections, as needed; to ascertain and represent faculty views to the li­ brary administration, when such views are sought or when the faculty wishes such views to be put for­ ward; to act as liaison for the library faculty with other departments, faculties, libraries, e tc ., locally and at other institutions, when such representation is required; and to appoint other committees and leaders as needed to assist in carrying out the duties of the of­ fice. Further, the committee recommended that meetings continue to serve a variety of purposes, that they be held every four to six weeks, and that a time be set aside at each meeting for questions and reports from library faculty or administrators, as appropriate. Both recommendations were ap­ proved by the faculty and the library administra­ tion, and will be implemented in 1983-84. The same survey, with the substitution of the word staff for faculty in each of the five questions, was later sent to the 49 ARL libraries reporting non-faculty status for professionals. Replies (28, or 57 %) generally reflected similar organizational patterns and functions, with two m ajor differ­ ences: 1) Non-faculty professionals are less likely to meet regularly—59 % of non-faculty, 83 % of fac­ ulty meet regularly; and 2) fewer of the non­ faculty group have elected officers (50 %) than do faculty (70% ). The results of the two inform al surveys are inconclusive— there are, of course, factors other than faculty status affecting meeting frequency, for example (size of staff being the most obvious) or group cohesion; nevertheless, they give rise to more questions and conjecture. A comprehensive study of the correlation between faculty status and li­ brarians’ meetings and organization might pro­ duce more conclusive results. ■ ■ 326 / October 1983 REGISTRATION FORM C O N TIN U IN G ED U C A T IO N C O U R SE S PLEA SE PRINT N A M E_______________________________________ A F F IL IA T IO N _______________________________ S T R E E T _______________________________________________________________________________________ (indicate home or work) C I T Y ________________________________________ S T A T E _____________________ Z I P _____________ DAYTIM E PHONE ( ) ____________________ ALA/ACRL M EM BERSH IP # _________________ PLEA SE C IB C L E TH E APPRO PRIA TE D O L L A R AMOUNT FO R TH E COURSE O F YOUR C H O IC E , AND IN D IC A TE YOUR P R E FE R E N C E S IN TH E MARGIN (1st, 2nd, and 3rd). Course ACRL Member Non-member C E 101 Librarians as Supervisors (January 5) $75 $100 C E 106 Performance Evaluation: A Results-Oriented Approach (January 6) $75 $100 C E107 Managing Student Workers in Academic Libraries (January 6) $75 $100 CE501 W riting the Journal Article & Getting It Published (January 6) $75 $100 *L ate registration fee $10 $10 E N T E R TO TA L AMOUNT E N C L O SE D *Fee for registration after November 30. CONFIRM A TION : W ritten confirmations will be made. CA N CELLA TIO N S: W ritten notice of cancellations received by December 15 will be honored subject to a $20 cancellation charge. No refunds for cancellations after December 15. You may make checks payable to A CRL and return them with this form to: A CRL— Continuing Education American Library Association 50 E . Huron St. Chicago, IL 60611 In order to help CE instructors prepare for their courses, please answer the following questions: 1. W hat do you hope to gain by taking this course? 2. W hat experience or education have you had in this area prior to enrollment in this CE course?