ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


Standards for Faculty Status for 
College and University Librarians

Adopted by the membership of the Associa­
tion of College and Research Libraries, June 
26, 1971, in Dallas, Texas.

With publication increasing at an exponen­
tial rate, with the variety of forms of publica­
tion proliferating rapidly, with significant schol­
arly and information material appearing in all 
the world’s languages, with the bibliographical 
apparatus of many fields and subfields becom­
ing increasingly difficult to use, with the grow­
ing sophistication of library and information 
technology, and with the development of aca­
demic libraries into large and complex organi­
zations, the work of the academic librarian has 
become highly specialized and demanding.

The academic librarian makes a unique and 
important contribution to American higher edu­
cation. He bears central responsibility for de­
veloping college and university library collec­
tions, for extending bibliographical control over 
these collections, for instructing students (both 
formally in the classroom and informally in the 
library), and advising faculty and scholars in 
the use of these collections. He provides a 
variety of information services to the college or 
university community, ranging from answers 
to specific questions to the compilation of ex­
tensive bibliographies. He provides library and 
information services to the community at large, 
including federal, state, and local government 
agencies, business firms and other organiza­
tions, and private citizens. Through his own 
research into the information process and 
through bibliographical and other studies, he 
adds to the sum of knowledge in the field of 
library practice and information science. 
Through membership and participation in li­
brary and scholarly organizations, he works to 
improve the practice of academic librarian- 
ship, bibliography, and information service.

Without the librarian, the quality of teach­
ing, research, and public service in our col­
leges and universities would deteriorate seri­
ously and programs in many disciplines could 
no longer be performed. His contribution is in­
tellectual in nature and is the product of 
considerable formal education, including pro­
fessional training at the graduate level. There­
fore, college and university librarians must be 
recognized as equal partners in the academic 
enterprise, and they must be extended the 
rights and privileges which are not only com­
mensurate with their contributions, but are 
necessary if they are to carry out their respon­
sibilities.

In order to recognize formally the college or 
university librarian’s academic status, the Asso­
ciation of College and Research Libraries and 
the American Library Association endorse, and 
urge all institutions of higher education and 
their governing bodies to adopt, the following 
standards for all academic librarians:

1. Professional responsibilities and self de­
termination. Each librarian should be as­
signed general responsibilities within his 
particular area of competence. He should 
have maximum possible latitude in ful­
filling these responsibilities. However, the 
degree to which he has fulfilled them 
should be regularly and rigorously re­
viewed. A necessary element of this re­
view must be appraisal by a committee 
of peers who have access to all available 
evidence.

2. Library governance. College and univer­
sity libraries should adopt an academic 
form of governance. The librarians should 
form as a library faculty whose role and 
authority is similar to that of the faculties 
of a college, or the faculty of a school or 
a department.

3. College and university governance. Li­
brarians should be eligible for member­
ship in the academic senate or equivalent 
body at their college or university on the 
same basis as other faculty.

4. Compensation. The salary scale for librar­
ians should be the same as that for other 
academic categories with equivalent edu­
cation and experience. Librarians should 
normally be appointed for the academic 
year. If a librarian is expected to work 
through the summer session, his salary 
scale should be adjusted similarly to the 
summer session scale of other faculty at 
his college or university.

5. Tenure. Librarians should be covered by 
tenure provisions the same as those of 
other faculty. In the pretenure period, 
librarians should be covered by written 
contracts or agreements the same as those 
of other faculty.

6. Promotion. Librarians should be promoted 
through ranks and steps on the basis of 
their academic proficiency and profes­
sional effectiveness. A peer review sys­
tem similar to that used by other faculty 
is the primary basis of judgment in the 
promotion process for academic librarians. 
The librarians’ promotion ladder should

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have the same titles, ranks, and steps as 
that of other faculty.

7. Leaves. Sabbatical and other research
leaves should be available to librarians
on the same basis, and with the same re­
quirements, as they are available to other
faculty.

8. Research funds. Librarians should have
access to funding for research projects on
the same basis as other faculty.

9. Academic freedom. Librarians in colleges
and universities must have the protection
of academic freedom. Library resources
and the professional judgment of librar­
ians must not be subject to censorship.

To implement these standards, the Associa
tion of College and Research Libraries and the
American Library Association will:

1. Publicize these standards to all colleges
and universities and their libraries, all
library schools, all library organizations,
all higher education organizations, and all
agencies which accredit academic institu­
tions.

2. Seek to have these standards formally 
adopted or endorsed by all colleges and
universities and their libraries, all library
schools, all library organizations, all high­
er education organizations, and all agen­
cies which accredit academic institutions.

3. Investigate all violations of these stan­
dards which are reported by members of
the Association of College and Research
Libraries. Such investigations will be co­
ordinated and supervised by the Com­
mittee on Academic Status of the Asso­
ciation of College and Research Libraries.*

4. Invoke the following sanctions against
institutions of higher education which are
found, after such investigation, to be in
violation of any or all of these standards:
a. Publicize the violation and the institu­

tion concerned in CRL News and other
appropriate publications.

b. Refuse to accept advertisements in 
any ALA publication for positions at
that institution.

c. Discourage its members from accept­
ing employment at that institution, 
through notices in its publications and 
other means.

A reasonable amount of time—three to five
years—should be provided college and uni­
versity libraries which do not currently con­
form to any or all of these standards, to en­
able them to do so. However, no such grace 
period should be provided to libraries which 
currently do conform, either wholly or in part,

 
 

 

 
 

 
 
 

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and which seek to deny or withdraw any such 
rights and privileges.
*The Committee on Academic Status receives, 
from individuals, reports of potential violations 
of these standards and recommends appropriate 
action to the ACRL Board of Directors. Re­
quests for assistance from individuals who al­
lege that violations of these standards have oc­
curred are within the jurisdiction of the ALA 
Program of Action for Mediation, Arbitration, 
and Inquiry, and should be directed to the Ex­
ecutive Director of the American Library Asso­
ciation. ■ ■

Single reprint copies of these standards are 
available from the ACRL Office, 50 E. Huron 
St., Chicago, IL  60611. Multiple copies are 20¢ 

each.

Two-Year Guidelines in A-V Format

The “Guidelines for Two-Year College 
Learning Resources Programs” (CRL 
News, December 1972), prepared and 
approved in 1972 by ACRL, the Ameri­
can Association of Community and Junior 
Colleges, and the Association for Educa­
tional Communications and Technology, 
are now illustrated in an audiovisual pre­
sentation. The program, prepared by 
the AACJC/AECT/ALA(ACRL) Joint 
Committee on Learning Resources Pro­
grams, is intended for use by educators 
and lay persons. It will also be useful in 
in-service programs for learning resources 
personnel.

The presentation is available either as 
a synchronized audio cassette/slide pro­
gram or on a ¾-inch U-Matic color video 
cassette. It can be obtained on interli­
brary loan from the ALA Headquarters 
Library. Arrangements have been made 
with Johnson County Community Col­
lege, in Overland Park, Kansas, to furnish 
copies for sale to those who prefer to 
purchase the program. Since the presen­
tation is not copyrighted, it may be du­
plicated by the borrower or purchaser.

Interlibrary loan requests should be 
addressed to: ALA Headquarters Li­
brary, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 
60611. Purchase orders (slide/tape, 
$25.00; video cassette, $27.50) should 
be addressed to: Educational Media Cen­
ter, Johnson County Community College, 
111th & Quivira Road, Overland Park, 
KS 66210. All requests should specify the 
format desired.

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