ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 6 / C&RL News ACRL jo in s n a tio n a l in itia tiv e on facu lty ro le s and re w a rd s ; s e e k s m em ber input The Association o f College and Research Libraries has been invited to participate in a national movement to re-examine the per­ formance criteria by which faculty tenure and promotion are awarded. ACRL and several other discipline-based associations in higher education believe it is necessary for academia to move beyond the “publish or perish” model o f assessing faculty effectiveness. The ACRL Board o f D irectors has ap­ pointed a task force to represent the associa­ tion in the Institutional Priorities and Faculty Rewards Project, which is being coordinated by Syracuse University’s Center for Instruc­ tional Development. To date, more than fif­ teen professional associations (such as the American Historical Association, the Ameri­ can Philosophical Association, and the Ameri­ can Chemical Society) have participated by drafting statements that describe the range of activities appropriate for faculty in their dis­ cipline and deserving of recognition through the promotion and tenure system. The ACRL Institutional Priorities and Fac­ ulty Rewards Task Force is charged with draft­ ing a similar statement for academic librari anship. It is hoped that such a statement may be used on individual campuses as a basis for assessing the performance o f librarians whether they have faculty status or not. An important aim o f the document is to clarify and support the use o f performance criteria beyond the “publish or perish” model from which other disciplines also wish to move. According to Robert M. Diamond, assistant vice-chancellor for instructional development at Syracuse University and director of the in­ stitutional priorities and faculty rewards pro­ gram: “Another premise of our efforts is that hav­ ing disciplinary societies set out a full range o f activities upon which tenure and promo­ tion decisions can be based will help change the priorities for faculty members. We hope that this will free them to focus more on im­ proving their teaching, improving curricula, and working in community activities that can benefit from their particular expertise. It also should increase the recognition of contribu­ tions which are frequently undervalued by traditional promotion and tenure criteria.” Many librarians with faculty status have ar­ gued that the classic faculty emphasis on re­ search puts librarians at an enormous disad­ vantage due to the demands o f full-year contracts, 40-hour work weeks, and the need to keep up with day-to-day responsibilities. Many librarians, with and without faculty status, have been frustrated that their impor­ tant roles in information organization, infor­ mation evaluation, and provision of access to information are not given sufficient recogni­ tion by the typical campus reward structure. The task force hopes to address these is­ sues in its statement and is asking ACRL mem­ bers to help identify related concerns to be considered. All ACRL members are invited to discuss the task force’s charge at an open fo­ rum at ALA Midwinter on Saturday, February 15, 2:00-4:00 p.m. Ed. note: The task -force is te n t a t iv e ly s c h e d u l e d to m e e t in S a lo n A a n d B o f th e M arriott Metro C en ter b u t c h e c k th e c o n fe r e n c e p r o g r a m a s lo c a t io n s m a y ch a n g e. Members of the task force are: W. Bede Mitchell (chair), Appalachian State University; Althea Jenkins, ACRL executive director; Brian C. Kelley, Palm Beach Community College; Rush G. Miller, University o f Pittsburgh; Larry Oberg, Williamette University; Carol Parke, Syracuse University; and Glorianna St. Clair, Penn State University.— W. B e d e M itchell, a s ­ so c ia te university librarian , A p p a la c h ia n State University R elated read in g s Boyer, Ernest L. S ch olarsh ip R econ sid ered : Priorities f o r th e P rofessoriate. Princeton, N.J.: Carnegie Foundation for the Ad­ vancement o f Teaching, 1990. Diamond, Robert M. and Bronwyn E. Adam, editors. The D isciplines S peak; R ew ard in g th e Scholarly, P rofessional, a n d C reative Work, o f Faculty. Washington, D.C.: Ameri­ can Association o f Higher Education, 1995. _ _ _ _ . R ecog n izin g F acu lty Work: R ew a rd Systems f o r th e Y ear 2000. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.