Policies

EVANS LIBRARY
FACULTY PROMOTION GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA

I. INTRODUCTION

These guidelines provide a basis to discern criteria and specific benchmarks for evaluating and rewarding meritorious performance of faculty librarians at Florida Institute of Technology’s Evans Library. At this time, all librarian faculty positions are non-tenure track positions. Promotion is an acknowledgment of professional achievement within the broad field of academic librarianship. Librarians will be evaluated in three categories with emphasis on librarianship, scholarship, and service. However, it is to be noted, that each faculty librarian has specific and singular tasks unique to the librarian’s area of expertise.

II. PROMOTION PROCEDURES

FH 2.7 of Florida Tech’s Faculty Handbook, Guidelines for Faculty Promotion, states that Colleges develop their own promotion guidelines to supplement the general academic rank requirements outlined in FH 2.1 "Academic Rank". FH 2.1 states that the qualification for any librarian is, “at least a master's degree in library science with primary duties that do not include teaching.”

Evans Library Faculty Evaluation Procedures (FH Appendix 7) were approved and made effective February 27, 2015. A library faculty member who wishes to be considered for promotion requests review from the Library Faculty Review Committee (LFRC). The LFRC, in turn, will review and evaluate the faculty member’s qualifications and performance and make a recommendation to the Dean of Libraries.

III. PROMOTION ELIGIBILITY

Upon initial appointment, librarians are given faculty status, with all associated rights and responsibilities, and are assigned the rank of Assistant Librarian, Associate Librarian or Librarian based on the level of experience and expertise.

Assistant Librarian
Assistant Librarian is the beginning rank for faculty librarians with a graduate degree in library or information science, the terminal degree, or in a special field relevant to the position. Potential is determined through a selective hiring process including a review of the curriculum vitae, references, and an on-campus interview and research presentation.

Associate Librarian
An Assistant Librarian can be considered for promotion to Associate Librarian after a minimum of five years in the rank of Assistant Librarian or equivalent rank at another institution. There is no maximum time limit. Promotion will depend on successful achievement in librarianship, scholarship and service. Three letters of recommendation are required from professional colleagues, professors or university or organizational leaders of equal or higher rank.

Librarian
An Associate Librarian can be considered for promotion to Librarian after a minimum of five years in the rank of Associate Librarian or equivalent rank at another institution. There is no maximum time limit. Promotion will depend on successful achievement in the same categories as promotion to Associate Librarian; however, the achievements must reflect continued professional growth and the expansion and notoriety of academic development. Five letters of recommendation are required from professional colleagues, professors or university or organizational leaders of equal or higher rank. At least two of the letters must be from external organizations.

IV. PROMOTION CRITERIA

Candidates will be evaluated for promotion in three areas:

• Librarianship
• Scholarship
• Service

Performance in each area constitutes an overall measure of the faculty member’s academic and professional contributions. However, as each candidate has distinctly different roles and responsibilities, the nature of the contributions in these three areas may vary by individual.

High-quality achievement in academic contributions and professional pursuits must be demonstrable through peer-to-peer, faculty and student evaluations, assessments or outcomes. The candidate is responsible for providing ample documentation, of any format or media, to clearly and effectively support the case for promotion.

As scholarship, the candidate must demonstrate recognized expertise in a defined area of librarianship on a local, state, regional or national level including engagement in professional activities, committees and groups. Continual professional development and scholarship must be apparent through varying degrees of clear contribution to professional growth including awards, recognition or publications.

Service comprises a record of contribution to the library, a faculty member’s liaison department, the university, the community or the academic community at large. Faculty members with administrative responsibilities will outline how impactful leadership and service contribute to the success of the university.

The criteria for promotion are described below. These criteria set minimum thresholds for promotion eligibility. The LFRC will use these criteria in making a recommendation to the Dean of Libraries. Faculty who meet these criteria may be considered for promotion, but candidates are encouraged to exceed the minimum standards to make a stronger case for promotion. The criteria listed are not all-inclusive and all relevant contributions should be included in the dossier for consideration. The applicant’s thoroughness in preparing and organizing their dossier, as well as in presenting a case for promotion based on the dossier’s contents, can be a significant factor in the ultimate success or failure of the application.

PROMOTION TO ASSOCIATE LIBRARIAN

A. LIBRARIANSHIP
As implied by its name, the day-to-day duties comprising academic librarianship are focused primarily upon furthering the academic mission of the university. This broadly includes:

• Supporting the research efforts of faculty members.
• Assisting students in accessing and using library resources relevant to the successful completion of their education.
• Identifying, procuring and developing new library resources to meet the emerging needs of the university community.
• Disseminating information about library resources through either instructional sessions or online media.
• Training members of the university community in skill sets that can further them in their research-related and scholarly endeavors.
• Identifying and implementing new service areas through which the library can expand its support of the university’s academic mission.

Promotion from Assistant to Associate Librarian will be contingent upon demonstrating a strong and continuous performance across most or all of the areas listed above. Depending upon the particular duties and background of the librarian in question, the manner in which this performance is manifested may be expected to vary.

A successful candidate will meet at least 3 of these objectives:

• Develop a significant procedure or process that improves the efficiency of the library.
• Develop and teach 4 instruction sessions that demonstrably help students or attendees.
• Provide evidence of 4 consequential interactions with students, faculty or staff.
• Develop and institute a significant collection or resource that meets a Florida Tech need.
• Identify and implement needed student- or faculty-specific services.

B. SCHOLARSHIP
Library faculty are actively involved in the intellectual and scholarly growth of their profession and area of expertise. A library faculty member’s scholarship will be reviewed in terms of quality, recognition among peers, and significance to the library profession or to the academic community. This broadly includes:

• Creating works that further intellectual and scholarly growth within the field of librarianship or specialty area.
• Improving pedagogy to further the mission of the library and the university.
• Increasing access, understanding and delivery of academic library services and information.
• Pursuing continued education to support the acquisition of new skills germane to the candidate’s role and position.
• Strengthening professional librarianship through mentoring, team building and strategic or collaborative retreats.

A successful candidate will meet at least 3 of these objectives:

• Demonstrate subject expertise by participation in at least 2 conference presentations, panel discussions or other leading roles at local, state or national conferences.
• Publication of at least 2 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters or other scholarly output with equal professional impact.
• Expand professional librarianship through participation in at least 3 projects, consortiums, collaborative efforts, professional award committees or nominations.
• Continued pursuit of academic knowledge, either personally or through mentoring colleagues, peers or early-career librarians through growth, development, and training opportunities.
• Illustrate contributions to academic discourse through 3 invitations to present talks, lectures, or seminars outside the Library.

C. SERVICE
Service to Evans Library and Florida Tech is defined as the individual’s contribution to the library, the university, and the community. Individuals are expected to participate in the governance and development of the library through service on library and university committees as well as have a seat at community tables as representatives of the Library and Florida Tech.

Exceptional service entails actively working to enhance the Library’s role and level of integration within the university as a whole, the surrounding community, and the librarianship profession. Broadly speaking, this includes:

• Collaborating with other university departments in pursuance of university-wide goals.
• Originating initiatives to further the library's services and reach to the university and community.
• Providing outreach to the surrounding community in a manner that promotes the library and the overall university.
• Actively participating in professional organizations to promulgate superior library services both at Florida Tech and beyond.
• Assuming supervisory responsibilities within the library.

Service should reflect continued or consistent growth and development, progressing each year under review. For example, short-term committee membership or membership on committees that have little responsibility should be offset with added responsibilities or roles in other committees or evidence of new initiatives on the existing committees.

A successful candidate will meet at least 3 of these objectives:

• Depict 3 definable outcomes as a result of committee work on local, state or national professional organizations. The candidate should be prepared to clearly demonstrate the impact of their individual work.
• Coordinate with students through library and university committees to develop 2 meaningful improvements to student success and retention.
• Participate in 3 civic, community or service-based opportunities to increase academic outreach and grow local community.
• Forge long-term partnerships (2 or more years) with local community or academic organizations to contribute to the growth of scholarly and civic conversations.
• Implement leadership initiatives that directly affect student success at the library or university level.

PROMOTION TO LIBRARIAN

Promotion from Associate Librarian to Librarian will be contingent upon mastery of professional skills, techniques, and performance. Demonstrated knowledge in cross-organizational vision must be apparent through professional judgment, a broad perspective of the library and the university, and excellent analytical skills.

The promotion criteria to achieve the rank of Librarian is consistent with the criteria to achieve the rank of Associate Librarian; however, the individual criterion must demonstrate a higher level of achievement and superior contributions to the library, the library profession, the university and the university community at large.

The candidate will undergo external peer review with a minimum requirement of five letters of recommendation. The evaluators must differ from those used when applying for promotion to Associate Librarian, but may be the same as used in prior applications for Librarian status. Each letter should be from an evaluator outside the unit and address the substance of the candidate’s accomplishments.

Types of criterion for promotion within the three areas of performance will be similar to those applied for promotion to Associate Librarian. Achievements must be subsequent to achieving Associate Librarian rank. Moreover, the thresholds for expected performance will be greater, as detailed below.

A. LIBRARIANSHIP
A successful candidate will meet at least 4 of these objectives:

• Develop a significant procedure or process that improves the efficiency of the library.
• Develop and teach 5 instruction sessions that demonstrably help students or attendees.
• Provide evidence of 5 consequential interactions with students, faculty or staff.
• Identify and develop multiple significant collections or resources that meet Florida Tech needs.
• Identify and implement needed student- or faculty-specific services.

B. SCHOLARSHIP
A successful candidate will meet at least 4 of these objectives:

• Demonstrate subject expertise by participation in at least 3 conference presentations, panel discussions or other leading roles at national or international conferences.
• Publication of at least 3 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters or other scholarly output with equal professional impact.
• Expand professional librarianship through participation and dissemination of at least 4 projects, consortiums, collaborative research efforts or professional award nominating committees.
• Continued pursuit of academic knowledge, either personally or through mentoring colleagues, peers or early-career librarians through growth, development, and training opportunities.
• Illustrate contributions to academic discourse through grant proposals or implementations of grant-funded projects.

C. SERVICE
A successful candidate will meet at least 4 of these objectives:

• Depict 3 definable outcomes as a result of leadership within state or national professional organizations. The candidate should be prepared to clearly demonstrate the impact of their personal work.
• Coordinate with university administration to develop 3 meaningful improvements to student success and retention.
• Organize 3 civic, community or service-based opportunities to increase academic outreach within the community.
• Implement an alliance with a local community organization to mutually further educational or civic goals.
• Implement leadership initiatives that directly affect student success at the library or university level.