College and Research Libraries W I L L I A M H. J E S S E and ANN E . M I T C H E L L Professional Staff Opportunities for Study and Research Members of the teaching faculty are expected to spend part of their working time in study and research. This paper examines the extent of comparable opportunities available to academic librarians, as revealed by questionnaires returned from fifty-two research libraries and fifteen college libraries. Among the opportunities considered are time released from ordinary schedules for course work and research, sabbatical and special leaves for these purposes, and financial assist- ance. The extent of staff participation in study and research activities and administrative attitudes are presented, culminating in the dis- cussion of a desirable library policy in this area. A. R A P I D L Y C H A N G I N G A G E is forcing the professions to attach a new importance to continuing education. Librarians re- alize that while there may be terminal academic degrees, there never can be an end to the continued learning which alone insures against inflexibility in the face of new problems. In this context it is appropriate to inquire into the op- portunities for the professional growth of academic librarians. The necessity for professors to continue to study through- out their teaching careers has always been unquestioned, and there has been a long tradition of research in the aca- demic world. It is generally expected that the faculty member will spend a Mr. Jesse is Director of Libraries and Miss Mitchell is Assistant Reference Librar- ian in the University of Tennessee. This study was prepared for the ACRL Com- mittee on Academic Status, of which Mr. Jesse is a member. Reader reaction and comment is invited by the authors. Such comment will be taken into consideration by the Committee when it prepares its final report for publication as an ACRL mono- graph. considerable portion of his working hours in these scholarly pursuits. To what extent do similar opportunities and expectations exist for academic librar- ians? A corollary question is: What op- portunities should be provided by the employing institution? To gain some understanding of cur- rent practice and thinking on these mat- ters in a cross section of the leading libraries in this country, a questionnaire was sent in December 1966 to the sixty- four academic libraries then belonging to the Association of Research Libraries and to the libraries of twenty-two se- lected liberal arts colleges. The colleges included a sample from the Midwest and well-known women's colleges of the East. Fifteen usable questionnaires were returned from the college libraries, and fifty-two of the ARL questionnaires were answered. A letter from one university librarian, declining to fill out the ques- tionnaire, explained that the status and privileges of non-teaching academic per- sonnel were currently undergoing scru- tiny in his institution. A college librarian wrote that his failure to complete the / 87 88 / College 6- Research Libraries • March 1968 questionnaire was because no stated policy for such matters had been formu- lated. The librarians who did respond to the specific questions often qualified their answers with the statement that decisions were made on an individual basis, leading the investigators to con- clude that a formal, announced policy having to do with study and research was the exception. The purpose of the questionnaire was to survey the opportunities provided to professional librarians who desired to pursue further study or to undertake re- search projects. The term "professional librarian" was broadened to include those performing a high percentage of professional library duties, regardless of whether they had received a master's degree in library science. The emphasis was upon the freedom of the librarian to follow his own initiative; thus assign- ments from supervisors were not con- sidered to be within the province of the survey. Although "opportunities" may be considered from various view- points, such as grants from outside sources and activities of library schools and associations, this study was con- cerned only with the opportunities pro- vided by the employing institution. Even the librarian's freedom to take advan- tage of these outside opportunities is largely contingent upon his employer, as represented by both library director and the university or college administration. In the final analysis "opportunity" must be considered in terms of the amount of time and money available. In other words, is the institution willing to release the librarian from assigned duties for a certain period of time—daily, weekly, annually, or after a period of years—so that he may be free to study and to do research? Although leave of absence without pay may be considered by some librarians to constitute an opportunity, for many others some form of financial compensation is necessary to provide real inducement. S T U D Y There is one means of improving the librarian's education which is almost universal, and that is the policy of per- mitting him to interrupt his working schedule to enroll in classes at the col- lege or university where he is employed. Thirteen of the fifteen college library administrators and all of the fifty-two university library directors allowed pro- fessional librarians to interrupt their working schedules in order to attend classes on campus. In one college library there was no established policy, and in the remaining one of the fifteen college libraries the practice had been permitted in the past, but no one had taken ad- vantage of the opportunity in many years. An additional indication of the interest of the library administration in promot- ing further study may be found in a modest concession: the granting of time for class attendance. Twenty-nine of the research libraries did not require em- ployees to work additional hours in order to compensate for the time spent in class. Eleven administrators required that the time lost from work be made up. Twelve other administrators gave qualified answers to the effect that de- cisions were made on an individual basis, depending upon such factors as whether the course was directly related to the librarian's work or was taken at the request of the library. The college librarians leaned heavily towards mak- ing decisions on the basis of particular cases. A third question dealt with the amount of time which was given to the librarians for the purpose of attending class. Responses from the research librar- ies were from one-half hour to six hours a week, with three hours being the num- ber most frequently mentioned. Several respondents did not specify the number of hours but indicated that it was per- Professional Staff Opportunities for Study and Research / 89 missible for librarians to enroll in one course per term. It is interesting to note that head li- brarians are not discriminative in most cases concerning the kind of courses which their staffs elect to take during working hours. Only one of fourteen col- lege librarians and not a single one of the university librarians required the courses to be restricted to library sci- ence. Six of the fifty university librarians answering this question required that the classes be on a graduate level, and eleven stipulated that the courses be tak- en for credit. A further question on spec- ifications was: "Are the courses restricted to those a supervisor thinks are directly relevant to the job?" A surprising two- thirds of the university librarians an- swered "no." Only one of fourteen col- lege librarians replied "yes" to this ques- tion, carefully adding his opinion, evi- dently shared by most of his fellow li- brarians participating in this survey, that "few courses are not relevant to librar- ianship in some way." In one-third of the universities partici- pating in the survey, librarians received no reduction in tuition for the courses in which they were registered. Fees were waived in thirteen institutions; in six- teen others there were reductions in varying degrees; and in a few other uni- versities reduced tuition was contingent upon certain circumstances. The situa- tion was somewhat more favorable in the liberal arts colleges, there being no tui- tion charge in half of them. When asked to list any special eligi- bility requirements or restrictions regard- ing the taking of courses, most of the li- brarians had no comments. The most fre- quent statement was that the schedule adjustments must be satisfactory so that normal library operations in the em- ployee's department would not suffer because of his absence. In an effort to determine the extent to which librarians are availing themselves of existing opportunities, the investiga- tors asked: "How many of your full-time professional staff (excluding those on leave) have taken courses during the past three academic years?" The college library administrators apparently had no difficul- ty in giving precise data. Thirty-one li- brarians out of a total of 106, or 29 per cent, had taken courses during the past three years. The number ranged from none in three institutions up to two-thirds of the staff in one library. It was much more difficult for the directors of large university staffs to answer this question with exact statistics. Such records were not kept in some institutions, and esti- mates were furnished in a number of other instances. According to the figures or approximations which were reported by thirty-six of the university librarians, roughly 19 per cent of their staffs had been enrolled in classes at some time during the three-year period. In sum- mary, releasing the librarian from duty so that he may pursue formal academic work at his home institution is a long- standing and popular means of upgrad- ing the education of practicing librarians. RESEARCH Though many administrators consider continued study to be within the legiti- mate activities of the librarian, there is less willingness to give time for inde- pendent research projects. In answering this part of the questionnaire, respond- ents were asked to exclude persons em- ployed specifically as research librarians and to disregard library-assigned re- search. Of the fifteen libraries in the liberal arts group, only one answered an unconditional "yes" to the question, "Is time given from the work schedule for independent research?" Eight indicated that librarians were not given time for research; one director had no policy; the question had not arisen in still another library; and the remaining four librarians in the college group gave qualified an- swers. 90 / College 6- Research Libraries • March 1968 As might be expected, the universities were somewhat more research-oriented, with fifteen libraries releasing staff mem- bers from their work schedules for inde- pendent research projects and fifteen others—answering neither "yes" nor "no" —implying that such a possibility exists under appropriate circumstances. Al- though the universities were more favor- ably disposed towards research than were the college libraries, there were nevertheless sixteen university directors who did not release their personnel for such endeavors. In five other universities there was no established policy pertain- ing to research. It is interesting to note that one librarian expressed a willing- ness to give time for research if any- one should request it. Thus it would seem that apathetic librarians must share the responsibility with reluctant admin- istrators for the limited output of research by academic librarians. To the inquiry concerning the amount of time allotted for research each week by the university libraries, there was a universal reluctance to designate a cer- tain number of hours. All the directors indicated that the amount of time spent on research depended upon the nature of the investigation. In fact, only one li- brarian even attempted to give an esti- mation, reporting that as much as one- third to one-half of the researcher's work- ing time might be devoted to his project. The directors were further asked if the research conducted by their staffs had to be related to library operations or problems. From the twenty-five uni- versity librarians who answered this question, there were eight negative re- sponses, eight positive answers, and nine qualified responses conveying the idea that some relevance to librarianship was desirable but not necessarily required. More than half of the university li- braries assisted the researcher by provid- ing him with free use of photocopying equipment and by making clerical staff available. The colleges were able to offer clerical assistance less frequently. In al- most all libraries free interlibrary loan service was given to staff members. Re- search by professional librarians was sup- ported in still other ways in a few insti- tutions of higher learning. For example, eleven university library directors pointed out that librarians were eligible to apply for a faculty or university research grant. The possibility of financial assistance from the college was also mentioned by three of the liberal arts group. The final item in the sequence of questions pertaining to research was: "How many professional librarians on your staff have engaged in research proj- ects during the past three academic years?" As in the analagous question on study, it was difficult for the university directors to give precise figures. Fifteen of them failed to answer the question or reported that there was no record. In five university libraries no one had done research during the past three years. At the other extreme, one librarian esti- mated that 40 per cent of his staff had been engaged in research projects. Ac- cording to the figures furnished by all of the university libraries, about 8 per cent of the total personnel had been in- volved in research in the past three years. The comparable figures for college li- brarians was 14 per cent, or fifteen of the 106 professional workers in the li- braries responding to this question. In view of the noticeable difference evident here between the college and university librarians ( 8 per cent for university li- brarians and 14 per cent for college li- brarians), it should be noted that the rough estimates made by the university librarians were probably more subject to error. With large staffs it is more diffi- cult for university directors to keep in- formed of the activities of their person- nel and to report accurate statistics when records are not available. It should also be observed that the college sample Professional Staff Opportunities for Study and Research / 91 represented in this response was small (106 librarians) compared to the 2,523 university librarians in the thirty-seven libraries which presented usable figures concerning research pursuits. It would be a mistake to infer that interest in re- search is uniformly present among the college libraries. In fact, there had been no research activity during the three- year period in five of the fourteen librar- ies. In view of the earlier finding that the college libraries in this sample sel- dom release staff members for research purposes, the college librarians engaged in research apparently were doing much of their work outside their scheduled library hours. At any rate, it is possible to conclude that there is an active group —a minority, to be sure—of both college and university librarians sharing an inter- est in research. SABBATICAL L E A V E In addition to ascertaining the poli- cies and practices concerning study and research on campus, an attempt was also made in this survey to examine pro- visions for leaves. 1 Of the fifty-two uni- versities, thirty-nine gave sabbatical leaves to faculty members, and librar- ians were eligible in twenty-seven of these. Two additional universities had recently adopted plans for librarians, but these proposals were pending approval. In two others there was no formal policy, but some librarians were given a sab- batical in special instance^. Twelve of the fifteen liberal arts col- leges had sabbatical plans for faculty members, and in six of these institutions librarians were also eligible. In two ad- ditional colleges, only the head librar- ians were granted sabbatical leaves. Well-defined standards were in effect 1 For a recent large-scale study of leaves and other benefits for faculty (though librarians are not con- sidered separately), see Mark H. Ingraham, The Outer Fringe (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1 9 6 5 ) . in both colleges and universities stipu- lating the particular librarians who were eligible. These policies varied to such an extent, however, that it was difficult to categorize them. In eight of the universi- ties all professional librarians were eli- gible; eleven other institutions defined eligibility in terms of faculty rank; for most of the remainder, the criterion was the position held in the library. In eighteen of the twenty-nine insti- tutions with sabbatical policies for li- brarians, leave was related in some way to the seventh year of employment; i.e., it was granted after six or seven years of service. Librarians were eligible for leave after three or four years of service in the seven additional universities spec- ifying the length of employment re- quired. For the majority of universities grant- ing sabbaticals, the most commonly of- fered alternative was six months at full pay or a year at half salary. Varying lengths of time, ranging from one quar- ter to one year, were offered; and the librarian in many cases had an option of whether to take more time and less mon- ey or vice versa. Plans and policies in the colleges were similar to those in the universities. There was a variety of responses to the question, "What specifications, if any, are placed upon the way in which the time must be used?" Twelve univer- sity directors specified study and/or re- search. Other answers included activi- ties promoting professional growth, scholarly pursuits, writing, creative work, travel, appropriate industrial or profes- sional experience, and any project ap- proved by committee or administrator. In two universities the librarian was spe- cifically prohibited from using the time to acquire an advanced degree. F e w differences between the policies on sabbatical leave for the teaching faculty and the professional librarians were indicated. In a few institutions 92 / College 6- Research Libraries • March 1968 leave for librarians may be in the form of a "summer sabbatical" or a summer off with pay after three years of service. In order that some idea might be gained of the importance of sabbatical leaves in furthering research and study, a question was included on the number of librarians using sabbaticals for these purposes over the past ten years. As no effort was made to determine how long sabbatical leaves had been in effect in the various institutions or to take account of variations in staff size over the years, it would be useless to attempt to give staff participation in terms of percent- ages. However, simply reporting the number of librarians involved may be of interest. Seven college librarians had tak- en sabbatical leaves for study, and four were granted leaves for research during the past ten years. The comparable figures for university libraries were four- teen leaves for study and forty-six for research purposes. In addition to the fourteen librarians taking a sabbatical leave for study, there were an estimated twenty-two who were granted "summer sabbaticals" from one university. For purposes of comparison, the total sample (also comprising institutions not grant- ing sabbaticals) included fifteen college libraries with a total professional staff of 122 and fifty-two large research li- braries with more than 3,500 profes- sional librarians. None of the librarians had received sabbatical leaves in some institutions in which such leaves were reported to be granted as a matter of policy. Though one college library di- rector asserted that there was no policy on the question of sabbatical leaves, one of his librarians had in fact received a sabbatical for study during the period covered by the questionnaire, showing a further discrepancy between stated policies and practices. One conclusion which can be drawn from the figures pre- sented is that university librarians used sabbatical leave for research purposes more often than for advanced study, whereas the reverse was true of the col- lege group. SPECIAL L E A V E FOR STUDY AND RESEARCH An attempt was made to differentiate sabbatical leaves from leaves which were specifically requested for study and re- search. This effort was not entirely suc- cessful since some of the institutions do not distinguish the two. Just over half of the college libraries stated that special leaves were granted for study, and one-third granted leaves for research purposes. The university li- braries were much more inclined to grant special leaves than were the colleges, and there was little difference in their willingness whether the leave was to be used for study or for research. Four out of five of the university libraries re- plied that special leaves could be ob- tained for these activities. There were qualifying circumstances, of course. In one instance the librarian must already have a PhD degree to be eligible for a research leave. Two-fifths of the university librarians declined to specify the length of leaves granted, stating that decisions were based entirely on the individual cases. Another two-fifths indicated that the amount of time was flexible but that periods of up to one year might b e granted. In five universities the length of time was specified, and the range was from two weeks to two years. There was very little financial as- sistance available from the colleges for any of these special leaves, although there was an exceptional instance in which the head librarian might be given full salary for a half year or half salary for a full year of study. This is the usual provision for a sabbatical leave and may reflect the lack of a clear demarcation between types of leaves. The universities offered financial as- Professional Staff Opportunities for Study and Research / 93 sistance for study and research more often than the colleges, but it was diffi- cult to ascertain any specific number be- cause of the many qualified answers and lack of defined policies. Nevertheless, it appeared that fewer than half paid even a portion of the regular salaries to their librarians on leave. One institution of- fered a special graduate study leave al- lowing up to $2,100 for twelve months. In another university, librarians were eligible for a research grant of up to $1,500; and the possibility of a research grant was mentioned in a f e w other re- plies. There was no noticeable difference in the policies for financial support of the leaves regardless of whether they were to be used for study or research. As in the case of courses taken on their own campuses, library directors were permissive about the kind of classes taken during leave. Of the forty uni- versity librarians responding to this series of questions, only one specified that li- brary science must be studied during the leave. Eleven of the forty required that the courses be on a graduate level, and thirteen stipulated that the courses b e taken for credit. Few restrictions were placed upon the research done during leave. A college librarian stated his position thus: "Such needs are handled on an individual basis, in order to assist the individual and pro- tect the institution at the same time." One specification was that such research must be done in pursuit of either a doc- torate or a master's degree in a subject field. This comment illustrates the diffi- culty in making and keeping any neat separation between study and research and also raises the suspicion that in other replies the distinction may have been blurred. In twelve colleges there were six li- brarians w h o had secured a leave for the purpose of study during the past ten years; half of them received pay. Only one librarian from these colleges had secured leave for research (four months with pay). In one-fifth of the university libraries which would provide special leaves, no person had secured a leave for study or research in the last ten years. In almost half the libraries willing to grant leaves, no one had taken a leave to do research. In the forty-one university libraries ex- pressing a willingness to grant such leaves, a total of 148 had been given for purposes of study during the previous ten years. Of this group seventy-eight were partially or fully paid leaves. Like the college librarians, the university li- brarians used leave much more frequent- ly for study than for research. In the preceding ten-year period, forty-five uni- versity librarians in all had received leaves for research, of which thirty-two were paid full or partial salary during leave. These should all be considered minimum figures, as the directors' sta- tistics did not at all times extend back the full ten years. It will be noted that the practices of the library directors have been somewhat more generous than the ill-defined poli- cies referred to earlier would indicate. Though in more than half of all leaves some financial assistance was granted, research was supported more often than study. This result is also at variance with the earlier finding that there was no noticeable difference in the policies for financial support of leaves for the two purposes. D I S C U S S I O N O F O P P O R T U N I T I E S Administrators were asked to com- ment on the importance of the library's providing opportunities for study in terms of the number of librarians in their institutions who had thereby received master's or doctor's degrees subsequent to their professional appointment. One college librarian replied, "This has not presented itself as a 'problem' at our in- stitution since our librarians come 94 / College 6- Research Libraries • March 1968 equipped with degrees and do not ex- pect the institution to subsidize further education or research study." An oppo- site viewpoint expressed was that pro- viding such opportunity is "vital to the upgrading of librarianship." The prevailing attitude among the uni- versity librarians was that encourage- ment of study is an important and de- sirable policy. Only three directors as- serted specifically that it was not an important factor. Some others, however, pointed out that a master's degree was required before employment and that f e w librarians tried to secure a PhD. Recognizing that ideal educational stand- ards do not always prevail, a director commented: "Enlightened self-interest and responsibility to our profession dic- tate a policy as liberal as possible." The question was asked: "To what ex- tent has your staff availed themselves of opportunities for study and research not undertaken for the purpose of securing a degree?" Approximately a third of the college and university librarians an- swered in the range of very little or minimal. Almost as many university li- brarians entered the opposite: many, common, or frequently. Some adminis- trators went on to explain that this was a more common practice than studying for a degree among their staffs. Non- degree studying was held to be impor- tant especially to increase foreign lan- guage competence and for subject-area familiarization. Librarians were asked to describe any special provisions or unique features which their institutions have with regard to continuing study and research. Two of the college group and one university director mentioned a "summer sabbat- ical": one quarter with full pay after three years of service. One of the college librarians commented that the thirty-five hour week and forty days vacation pro- vided by his institution would make it easier for a librarian to undertake re- search or study on his own time. In an- other college the librarian and associate librarian have every other summer free in addition to the regular sabbatical leave. Among the features mentioned by the university librarians were: a graduate study leave with partial salary, a continuing study leave with generous stipend, all-university research grants available to librarians on the same basis as to the teaching faculty, a work-study program, and a twenty-hour manage- ment training course for supervisory personnel. Directors were requested to describe the attitude of the library administration toward further study and research in terms of: ( 1 ) strongly urged, ( 2 ) en- couraged, ( 3 ) not actively encouraged but welcomed, ( 4 ) permitted, and ( 5 ) discouraged. One-half of all the college and university administrators checked "encouraged" for both study and re- search. The next most popular choice for all categories was "welcomed but not actively encouraged." Study received a f e w more of the "strongly urged" re- sponses than research in both colleges and universities. A slightly larger per- centage of the universities as compared to the colleges checked "strongly urged" for study ( 2 0 per cent for the universi- ties, 14 per cent for the colleges) and for research (14 per cent for the universi- ties, 10 per cent for the colleges). Al- though they checked the scale for study, four of the fourteen college librarians did not indicate attitudes on research. Perhaps the question of independent re- search had not come up sufficiently so that the librarian had a fixed policy or attitude; thus it may have been consid- ered irrelevant to the local situation. Significantly, only one librarian checked the lowest response, "discouraged" (for study); and he qualified his meaning with "i.e., not assisted." The scale was not sufficiently dis- criminative for a f e w directors who Professional Staff Opportunities for Study and Research / 95 marked two alternatives, one university administrator favoring encouragement to librarians taking language courses but indicating a different response ("wel- comed" but not "actively encouraged") for degree programs. Another university director asserted that he would "do all that can be done to get librarians to take additional work." There was in his li- brary, he continued, little interest in re- search; and he would not encourage the weak librarians, some of whom had shown interest. One administrator ap- pended the warning: "Initiative for in- dependent research must come from the individual librarian." Another director wanted it known that he judged further study and research to be important fac- tors in considering staff members for promotions and increases in salary. Many fruitful comments were elicited by the following question: "What are the similarities and differences in the opportunities for study and research available to faculty members and li- brarians of your institution?" The most common response from the liberal arts colleges (in five out of thirteen) was to the effect that sabbatical and other leaves of absence were less generous for librarians. Two administrators noted that grants were more readily available to the faculty. "We would probably have a more difficult time justifying time off for study or research than a teaching member of the institution," wrote one head librarian. Realistic assessments of the financial situation led to other re- marks, such as, "Our budget does not allow for subsidizing graduate educa- tion," and "Our staff is not large enough to do more than the daily duties." Al- though the majority of directors indi- cated that more opportunities for study and research were available for faculty members, three of the thirteen liberal arts colleges reported that there was no discrepancy in the provisions for the teaching faculty and librarians. In analyzing the responses to this question from the research libraries, it became apparent that the single most serious difference between the opportu- nities available to teaching faculty and professional librarians lay in the amount of time which could be set aside for such pursuits. So striking was this difference that eighteen respondents referred pri- marily to the lack of available time. One librarian pointedly summarized the situ- ation with the comment, "More free time for the faculty." Eleven mentioned spe- cifically the forty-hour scheduled week for librarians in contrast to the flexible schedules of the faculty. Six others re- ferred to the twelve-month contract con- trasted to the nine-month period of em- ployment for many members of the teaching staff. This problem is less acute in the college libraries, only one of that group calling attention to differences in the employment year. In addition to these eighteen responses, there were other comments in which lack of time was viewed as one of the primary is- sues. Six respondents mentioned unequal sabbatical leave policies; three stated that special leave was not available to librarians as it was to the teaching faculty; and one complained of "no time off for research." One administrator expressed a greater need for study on the part of librarians, who unlike most faculty members, do not usually hold doctoral degrees. He elab- orated, however, that while a librarian may have the advantage of studying for an advanced degree in a subject field in the institution where he serves, the fac- ulty member usually pursues his aca- demic work in another institution. It is interesting that one administrator felt that librarians enjoyed a security denied to the teaching faculty. As he bluntly expressed it, "Faculty are fired if the advanced degree is not obtained in six years. Librarians are not." Many respondents made pertinent re- 96 / College 6- Research Libraries • March 1968 marks on research, most of them point- ing out that faculty members are ex- pected to engage in research as a part of their normal responsibilities, contrary to expectations for librarians. As one administrator asserted, "The librarian's daily activities do not, as a rule, relate to a research project in the same way as teaching faculty." Further, "Librari- ans' status, salaries, etc., are not gov- erned by their productivity in research," while faculty members feel "compelled to publish." This situation is viewed as advantageous by some directors but as undesirable by those who feel that li- brarians should be producing more re- search. Obviously, there is a great difference between one administrator advocating more peer group pressure among librari- ans to do research and another who wants us to escape the publish-or-perish dilemma. Contending that librarians are more akin to the administrative faculty than to the teaching faculty, a respond- ent pointed out that administrative of- ficers do not, as a rule, have time for much research. A university librarian, deploring the idea that forty hours a week is all that a librarian should be ex- pected to devote to his career, declared, "Librarian can find time to do research if they really want to." Analyzing the difference in financial opportunities available to the two groups, one librarian noted that most faculty leave was financed by research grants and that similar outside financial support had not been available in the library field. The fact that librarians have received little of the funds dis- bursed by the universities may be at least partially explained, in his opinion, by the failure to request such support. Then, too, although the staff may be encouraged to develop research pro- posals worthy of receiving grants, a shortage of staff creates problems in re- leasing librarians from their usual duties. At least one administrator held that the difference between the librarians and teaching faculty of his institution lay not in eligibility for various privileges but rather in unequal rewards to the librari- an, as opposed to the teacher, for schol- arly endeavors. A D E S I R A B L E P O L I C Y The final and most significant item contained in the questionnaire was this invitation for a summarizing opinion: "What would be your main recommen- dations for a desirable library policy with regard to providing opportunities for further study and research on the part of professional librarians?" Thirteen college librarians and forty-four univer- sity librarians made some commentary, and their ideas, frequently expressed at some length, form the basis for the dis- cussion which follows. So diverse were the opinions advanced that the task of extracting recurrent themes was diffi- cult. An obvious conclusion is that there is no unanimity among academic librari- ans as to what constitutes a desirable policy. However, probably a majority of the respondents would agree with the college librarian who, without specifying the practical means of implementing the policy, wrote in general terms: "As pro- fessionals, librarians should have the opportunity for further study and re- search, just as they should have faculty rank. Opportunities should be provided when they can be without the interrup- tion of good library service." The domi- nant idea of extending privileges to li- brarians on an equal basis with the teaching faculty was present either ex- plicitly or implicitly in most of the rec- ommendations. As one director clearly put it, "We don't believe in a separate policy for librarians." Acceptance of li- brarians "as members of the teaching faculty rather than administrative officers of the academic community" was a solu- tion offered. On the other hand, an ob- Professional Staff Opportunities for Study and Research / 97 jection was raised to a blanket granting of professorial titles to librarians. One administrator summed up his position as follows: There is a conflict, possibly inevitable, be- tween the spirit of scholarship and the de- mands of library schedules. The librarian's position resembles that of the administrative officer in an academic department who no longer gets around to doing the research he did when he was only a professor. Library policy needs to seek ways of resolving this conflict, if only partially. On the other hand, libraries should strive to avoid development primarily aimed at identification with the teaching profession. In particular, they should avoid being caught up in the "pub- lish or perish" problem, insofar as one exists. In earlier responses to various ques- tions, directors had revealed a concern for the continuance of good library serv- ice, stating a willingness to grant cer- tain benefits provided they could be giv- en without detriment to library opera- tions. Viewing the situation as one of possible conflict between the best in- terests of the individual and the library, a director wrote: "A balance has to be struck between the advancement of the individual and the work of the library. Insofar as the two can be made com- patible, I believe staff members should be encouraged to do graduate study and carry on research, aided by leaves with pay, travel funds, scholarships, etc." Guarding against the problems of a too-permissive policy, another librarian set forth a similar philosophy: "A com- promise is needed which will benefit the individual, his institution, and the pro- fession at large." One of the favorable points mentioned by a librarian satisfied with the present arrangement in his in- stitution is the flexibility of a policy which will allow the library to "protect itself against the absence of key people at critical moments." Some other librarians recognize that their own situation stands in need of im- provement. The head of a college library enclosed a document which had been prepared for the consideration of the college administration three years ago in which she advocated that librarians be given a summer with pay after three years of service for "improvement" in the form of course work and similar pursuits. She ended her comment with, "I'm sorry to say nothing came of it." A university library director is presently negotiating for the waiver of tuition for graduate courses and for a part-time study and work program. Another ad- ministrator simply wrote, "Our own li- brary policy is now under review." The responsibility of the individual li- brarian for his own professional growth was stressed in responses such as this one: "Initiative for any research or study not directly connected with a staff mem- ber's work must come from the indi- vidual." Important factors upon which administrative decisions might be based are the librarian's motivation, and quali- fications fitting him to undertake planned programs of research and study. "React to individual cases" was the succinct ad- vice from one administrator. In the same vein was this comment: "Welcome re- quests and suggested programs for study and research from able staff." Also recog- nizing the primacy of ability, another di- rector advocated leave for research and writing, adding that this prerogative should be confined to those competent to perform these tasks. Still another di- rector, observing that many librarians do not have the desire for continued formal education and research, advised, "Encourage librarians with interest and ability." In addition to motivation and competency, important considerations named in judging the merits of indi- vidual cases were whether the individual could be released from assigned duties and the ultimate benefits accruing to the institution as a result of the study or research. 98 / College 6- Research Libraries • March 1968 A complex of problems beginning with low motivation prompted this comment: Very few librarians in a given institution are interested in or motivated to attempt advanced study and research; the few who are face serious obstacles. Given low de- mand from the staff, plus the stringencies of library staffing, library administrators have not pushed very hard for perquisites. Given generally unreceptive institutional at- mospheres, they are severely restricted in any case. Disclaiming the library's responsibility to the individual librarian for his pro- fessional development insofar as edu- cation and research are concerned, an administrator asserted: Ideally, it seems to me, we will have few librarians producing significant research un- til we can recruit to the profession those who have already committed themselves to the scholarly world. In practice, I sup- pose, this means subject specialist already holding the PhD. The average young li- brarian, equipped with a BA and a MLS, does not have the intellectual background, training, or experience to aspire to scholarly research however many "how to do it" ar- ticles he may write. No library can give him what formal work in a discipline would: there would be no administrative justifica- tion for it. He should be educated before we get him. The exception (and praise be, he is always with us) will find the time to do his research if he really feels it is worth doing. One librarian called for recognition of the products of high quality scholarship. But another warned that "libraries should continue to use performance of duties as their criterion for tenure and reassignment—supplemented by truly voluntary activities, if they are under- taken, e.g., research." Here we see again an insistence upon individual initiative, an approach which insures the presence of adequate motivation and guards against unfortunate administrative pres- sure. Practical suggestions for improving the librarian's lot were given as well as theo- retical considerations or ideal solutions. Various practices itemized in the ques- tionnaire and already in effect in many of the institutions were mentioned. Rec- ommendations for sabbatical and special leaves with at least partial salary or grants for study and/or research were specifically made by approximately a third of the university librarians. A fail- ure to mention leave in this unstructured response should not be construed, of course, to mean that it was considered unimportant. The problem, from one viewpoint, was not ineligibility for the sabbatical leave, but a failure of the librarians who were eligible to take full advantage of it. This administrator ad- vocated that eligible librarians formu- late a definite plan for study and re- search as required by their institutions, apply for the leave, and publish the re- sults of their research. One director would like to see a sabbatical used in visiting other libraries for purposes of comparison with the home library, which had been thoroughly studied previously. In discussing the importance of pro- viding opportunities for study, two ad- ministrators recommended that librari- ans received especial encouragement in seeking advanced degrees in subject spe- cialties, one specifying that time off with pay should b e granted for this purpose. A scholarship for deserving librarians who wish to attend graduate school at other institutions was proposed. It was contended that master's or doctoral pro- grams are preferable to random course- taking. Another director, however, ad- vocating leave with at least half salary for study and research, appended this proviso: "Professional leave should not be granted for work toward an advanced degree." No great differences were evident be- tween the statements of the college and university librarians on the question of a desirable policy. However, in degree of emphasis the responses from the uni- Professional Staff Opportunities for Study and Research / 99 versities more often indicated some con- cern about providing research opportu- nities. A college librarian stated that study opportunities should be made more attractive but contended that re- search in a small liberal arts college li- brary should not be actively encouraged. In a broad statement of desirable ben- efits towards professional development in a large university library, sufficient time for research was advocated, together with necessary supplies, student or cler- ical help, and institutional assistance in obtaining research grants. To facilitate the latter and to serve as informational liaison, it was suggested that a library committee on study and research be established which would serve as ad- visor to persons seeking grants and pub- lishing results of research. The commit- tee's responsibilities would include an examination of proposed study and re- search programs, issuing in recommenda- tions to the director of projects worthy of library support. Obviously, such a com- mittee would more readily fill a need in a large university system than in the small college library. Various suggestions were aimed at the problem of insufficient time to devote to scholarly pursuits. There were recom- mendations for longer summer vacations, nine-month contracts, and a maximum work week of thirty-five hours. The im- possibility of implementing these ideas with present staffing was recognized in most instances. One administrator thought it desirable to incorporate some time for study and research into the regular work schedule. Money necessarily loomed large in the thinking of administrators; where the lack of sufficient money was not im- plied as the underlying difficulty, it was explicitly so identified. This is the way one librarian saw the situation: "To per- mit further study is one thing; to finance it, another. Outside support is essential, such as fellowships, grants." A sabbatical year for librarians, financed in part by foundation or government funds was the proposal of another. Citing the consider- able number of "near-PhD's" in the pro- fession, he advocated that those who could complete their programs in a year should be regarded as the most eligible group. Others eligible might include successful librarians "who need a free year for re-tooling,' in which they could pursue matters of interest to them with- out being tied to the rigidities of degree programs or formal research projects." Sometimes the administrator, while desiring to promote the professional growth of his staff, recognized the prac- tical limitations placed upon his efforts by inadequate financial resources. The librarian of a small system felt that un- less some additional money was forth- coming, he would be unable to do more than to release his staff for limited study at the college. Commenting on the diffi- culties of releasing members from an already inadequate staff, two directors suggested that funds be made available to provide substitute staff while some librarians were away on study or re- search leave. Although another director conceded that it would be desirable to free li- brarians from their professional and managerial duties for study and research, he saw little likelihood of being able to do so. Commenting on the large pro- portion of clerical employees in rela- tion to professional librarians, he pre- dicted a much smaller percentage of professional staff available in the future for administrative work. Concluding, he wrote: "The sort of staffing that would make possible a major change in the present situation is precluded by: ( 1 ) shortage of personnel; ( 2 ) budgets of libraries relative to workload." Viewing the whole problem from the standpoint of the best use of available money, the director of a research library wrote: 100 / College 6- Research Libraries • March 1968 Unless the salary structure of a library is exceptionally good, any extra money should go towards increasing salaries of the best staff members rather than for research or study. If they really want to do research and if it is really significant, a first-class professional librarian will do it regardless of extra money. First-class librarians are in any case difficult to hire without a good or excellent salary scale. S U M M A R Y AND SUGGESTED POLICY Whether a librarian engages in re- search or continues his formal education is the result of a complex interaction of many factors. Because the role of the li- brary director is crucial, however, it is gratifying to record that almost all the administrators questioned in this survey characterized themselves as welcoming or encouraging further study and re- search activities among their professional staffs. One of the main practical difficulties in implementing this attitude is the rela- tive rigidity of the librarian's schedule, which makes it difficult for him to in- corporate study and research into his usual activities. The daily schedule re- quirements were relaxed in virtually all the libraries surveyed, however, to per- mit staff members to enroll for course work in their institutions. This is a de- sirable practice, and the administration should further encourage such study by granting librarians the time and by ne- gotiating for the remission of tuition. As befits the role of academic librarian, the administrators questioned did not want continuing education to be restricted to library science but recognized the rele- vance and value of broad knowledge ac- quired in the various disciplines. Because of the difficulty of setting aside time for sustained study and re- search during ordinary working hours, a desirable alternate or complementary solution lies in the granting of larger blocks of time in some form of leave. Although librarians continue to lag be- hind the teaching faculty in eligibility for sabbatical leave, there are many institutions in which librarians have equal opportunities. In such cases eligi- ble librarians should be encouraged to apply for the leave and to use it in one of the acceptable ways, study and re- search being most prominent among these. A large majority of the university library directors expressed a willingness to grant leaves specifically for study or research purposes, and they were more receptive to research proposals under these circumstances than to incorporat- ing research into the daily schedule. A f e w libraries which do not have tradi- tional sabbatical leaves for librarians have adopted the practice of granting periodically scheduled summer leaves. This innovation seems particularly suit- able for librarians; and where traditional sabbatical leaves are lacking, adminis- trators should consider this alternate plan as a realistic means of providing librari- ans with the necessary time for further study and research. Most of the academic library directors questioned are aware of the desirability of encouraging the intellectual develop- ment of the librarians in their employ, and to this end are receptive to requests from competent, motivated librarians seeking time and support for formal study or worthwhile research projects. Administrators contend, quite rightly, that the individual librarian must take the initiative. It is important, however, for these directors to communicate the receptive attitudes which they have. • •