College and Research Libraries W. P O R T E R K E L L A M and D A L E L. B A R K E R Activities and Opportunities of University Librarians for Full Participation in the Educational Enterprise A questionnaire was distributed to the directors of all members of the Association of Research Libraries and to all other state university li- braries inquiring about their attitudes and practices regarding library staff participation in professional and community activities. Seventy-two respondents showed preponderantly favorable attitudes to such activi- ties as teaching, research and publication, conmlting, and participating in the work of professional groups. Although there appear to be ex- plainable differences between such activities by librarians and by teaching faculty members, it is clear that most university librarians have reasonable opportunity to engage fully in the educational enter- prise. T H I S S T U D Y is one of a series made to collect and disseminate information re- garding the status of librarians and its improvement in colleges and universi- ties. T h e extent to which librarians have the opportunity (and take advantage of such opportunity when it is available) to participate in professional and com- munity activities has been of concern to librarians for many years. T h e question- naire on which this study is based was designed to elicit this information from the larger university and research li- Mr. Kellam is Director and Dr. Barker is Associate Director of Libraries in the University of Georgia. This paper is one in a series of preliminary statements pre- pared by the Committee on Academic Status of ACRL's University Libraries Section. Its members welcome reader comments on these papers. braries in the United States and Canada. T h e questionnaire was sent to the di- rectors of all A R L members and to all other state university libraries. Replies were received from seventy-two librar- ians, most of whom were members of A R L . G E N E R A L S U M M A R Y T h e questionnaire was divided into ten areas of activity in which librarians might participate as parts of the educa- tional enterprise. T h e first question in each section explored the attitudes of the respondents—usually the library di- rectors—toward participation of staff members in a particular activity com- monly engaged in by teaching faculty. These questions were expressed in lan- guage equivalent to asking, " D o you en- courage . . ." or " D o you think the li- brary benefits by . . ." the given activity. / 195 196 / College b- Research Libraries • March 1968 T h e responses showed strong senti- ment in favor of all these activities, as follows: Per Cent Writing and publication . . 100 Campus committee and similar assignments 100 Professional service on local, state, and national basis . . 100 Consulting work . . . . 99 Research 97 Surveys 96 Leaves of Absence . . . . 92 Participation in non-library professional association work 92 Participation in non-profession- al local activities . . . . 89 Teaching 71 Though the value of the precise fig- ures may b e questioned, there is a clear indication that library administrators, at least in public, strongly favor the par- ticipation of their staffs in professional university life. Some of the affirmative replies to these questions about attitude, however, may not have been very hearty, as indicated by the reservations and qualifications expressed by some of the respondents in volunteered comments. From the evidence of similar comments, on the other hand, some of the negative responses also appear to have been rath- er weak. Other questions explored the extent to which this generally high estimate of the value of library staff activity is trans- formed into policies of support in time, money, and other resources. Many of the observations made by respondents indicated that this is difficult for some. Besides his own attitude, it appeared, the administrator has to take into ac- count the attitudes of others, the costs in relation to resources, the peculiarities of the local academic environment, and other elements. Though the findings in the various categories of activity differed, it can b e roughly generalized that about three-fourths of the library administrators who favored the involvement of librar- ians in university activities appeared a b l e and willing to support such involve- ment at some level and in most cate- gories. This seems indeed like wide- spread support. T h e volunteered com- ments of the respondents, however, indi- cated that such assistance is often small, it may be extended very selectively, and in some categories the over-all volume of activity on individual campuses is quite low. T E A C H I N G Of all the activities in which their staffs might engage, teaching was b y far the least popular with library direc- tors. Even so, the 71 per cent who said they encourage it constituted a very substantial sentiment in favor of it. T w o - thirds of the respondents reported t h a t librarians are given time from their schedules to do teaching, and a remark- able 89 per cent reported that librarians teach courses in their institutions. L i - brarians were found to teach library sci- ence and bibliography only slightly m o r e than subjects outside the library field. Several points of a qualifying nature should b e made. Though most institu- tions reported some librarians teaching, the comments volunteered by the re- spondents indicated that the volume of such teaching on each campus tends to b e very low. Only a few people on e a c h staff, apparently, possess both the tal- ents and the desire needed for teaching to take place. It is interesting to n o t e that when conditions for teaching exist, library directors usually permit the staff member to go ahead regardless of t h e director's own attitudes in the matter: 8 6 per cent of those who encourage teach- ing reported that they had staff members so engaged, but 78 per cent of those w h o do not encourage it also reported t h e same activity. As to time off, the com- ments revealed that university policy, rather than internal library policy, often determine what arrangements are made, Full Participation in the Educational Enterprise / 197 or not made, to accommodate teaching. Librarians apparently follow prevailing campus patterns whether that b e al- lowed time, extra compensation, or di- vided appointments. R E S E A R C H T h e response was almost unanimously in favor of encouraging librarians to do research. Most library administrators are also willing to support research activity: 76 per cent said they allowed time for research, and 83 per cent said they gave some sort of financial assistance. About 60 per cent answered that the research need not be related to library operations or probems, b u t even so the number of librarians reported as working on library subjects exceeded the number working on other subjects by a ratio of about two to one. For t h e libraries reporting the number of staff members who had en- gaged in research in the last three years, the range was from zero to twenty-five people, with t h e median falling at four. Though the number of institutions supporting the research activities of staff members was high, support seemed, from the comments, to b e extended cautiously, with an eye to the value of the project, the promise of the individual, and the cost to the library. A frequently ex- pressed sentiment was that while as- sistance was available staff members should contribute substantially of their own time. Respondents referred to uni- versity and off-campus funding to such an extent that it seems likely that sup- port from sources outside the library is playing a prominent role. T h e kind of in-house support reported to b e given by libraries ran mostly to copying service and other easy-to-give assistance in the same categories suggested in the ques- tionnaire. W R I T I N G A N D P U B L I C A T I O N Every respondent said that librarians should be encouraged to write and pub- lish. About 7 8 per cent reported that they allow time for staff members to prepare articles, though a few stated that they also expect writers to work on their own time as well. Seven out of eight library administrators give some kind of recognition for writing and pub- lishing. B y far the most common action was to take this activity into account in recommending advancement in rank, salary, or tenure. Other recognition comes in the form of publicity, mention in official reports, and general commen- dation and encouragement. C O N S U L T I N G W O R K A N D S U R V E Y S Even though most library administra- tors regard consulting and surveying as beneficial, the comments indicated that the actual volume of work, free or paid, is very small; and, either because of lack of demand or because the consultant's or surveyor's employer cannot afford it, the volume is not expected to increase much. About 86 per cent of the libraries were reported to give time off for free con- sulting; 74 per cent would give the time when the consultant is paid. T h e corre- sponding proportions for surveys were 83 per cent and 72 per cent. As with some other activities, the staff member who is not given the time seems often to b e allowed to charge his time against vacation or to make up the time. C A M P U S C O M M I T T E E , C O U N C I L , A N D B O A R D A S S I G N M E N T S If campus committee work were the chief criterion of librarian identification with the educational enterprise, the con- clusion might b e reached that librarians have progressed quite far in this direc- tion. All library administrators indicated they were generally in favor of this kind of activity, and 98 per cent reported they had staff members serving on campus bodies. T h e r e seemed to b e a variety of atti- tudes toward actively trying to place librarians on faculty committees. About 198 / College b- Research Libraries • March 1968 74 per cent reported they make an effort, but some of these commented that their efforts are modest and infrequent. Some said or implied that on their campuses it is unnecessary, even unseemly, to seek assignments since they will b e made by proper authority automatically. Respondents were not asked to tell how many librarians on their campus hold committee posts, but enough volun- teered this information to give the im- pression that the number varies con- siderably. T h e nature of assignments also varies greatly. In status they range from campus housekeeping chores, such as parking or safety, to high-level advisory responsibility. Some assignments (like teaching media, publications, archives) are in areas of some relation to librarian- ship, but others are of general academic interest. Some draw on the specializa- tions of subject librarians, a conspicuous example (twelve instances) being com- mittees for various area study programs. An interesting, but perhaps predictable, group of assignments (ten instances) has been to committees on computer centers, administrative data processing, and cam- pus I D cards. P R O F E S S I O N A L S E R V I C E O N A L O C A L , S T A T E , A N D N A T I O N A L B A S I S Library administrators not only be- lieve in professional service in library organizations but also seem to support it as much as possible. All of them said they give time for professional activities and almost 99 per cent said they pay expenses. T h e greatest problem, as might be guessed, is the inadequacy of travel budgets. When resources are low, vari- ous schemes were reported for curtailing costs: fractional refunding, low per cliem allowance, restriction on the number and length of trips, selectivity in persons per- mitted to travel, rotation of permission to travel, carpooling, selectivity in allow- able purposes for travel, and others. Seventy-eight per cent said they paid some expenses to national meetings for staff not on programs or committees. Several who said this, however, indi- cated that these people were given a lower priority for funds and might in general receive less support than those who had business at the meetings. L E A V E S O F A B S E N C E Directors of libraries generally ( 9 2 per c e n t ) thought it beneficial to grant leaves of absence to librarians to study elsewhere, and many of them had had some opportunity to reap the benefits. Eighty-two per cent reported that li- brarians are permitted by university regulations to take leaves of absence for periods of time usual for other faculty members. It was clear, however, from the comments that the leave might b e given with full pay, with reduced pay, without pay, or with some combination of these according to a formula; no data were gathered on which pattern prevails. Respondents from 43 per cent of the institutions reported that librarians had been given leave for study or foreign assignments within the last three years. T h e examples given showed that the travel had been world-wide and for a great variety of purposes. P A R T I C I P A T I O N IN N O N L I B R A R Y P R O F E S S I O N A L A S S O C I A T I O N W O R K Though library administrators favor ( b y 92 per c e n t ) staff participation in nonlibrary professional associations, their support for it lagged somewhat behind that for some other categories of activity. Time off is given b y 85 per cent of the institutions, but expenses are paid (prob- ably to a very limited extent) by only 47 per cent. T h e comments suggest that the same budget problems exist in this case as for the library associations, but that participation in these organizations is given a lower priority for funds. T h e questionnaire asked for examples rather than numbers of staff engaged in non- library professional association activity. T h e examples, along with comments, Full Participation in the Educational Enterprise / 199 however, suggest a rather high level of activity and showed • remarkable di- versity. T h e organizations mentioned in- cluded A A U P and other educational as- sociations; AHA and other historical so- cieties; a wide variety of subject-special- ized associations in the arts, the social sciences, the natural sciences, and tech- nology; and several organizations, such as the National Microfilm Association, connected with, or peripheral to, the li- brary and information fields. P A R T I C I P A T I O N I N N O N P R O F E S S I O N A L L O C A L A C T I V I T I E S Though library directors are less en- thusiastic over the civic and other non- professional activities of their staffs than over any of the professional activities except teaching, an overwhelming 89 per cent reported they considered it advantageous to their libraries. Few, however, went further than merely to support this kind of activity. Of those who favored such activity, 39 per cent reported that they neither gave time nor paid expenses for it. Just on giving time, the response was fairly divided: 59 per cent give it—at least to some extent—and 39 per cent do not. Very few directors could justify paying any expenses; 86 per cent of those who say they generally approve of these activities reported they do not pay expenses for them. C O M M E N T S It appears that college and university librarians are given extensive opportuni- ty to participate in the educational enter- prise when they have the desire and the capability of doing so. T h e r e seems to be an underlying fear, however, that par- ticipation in the peripheral activities might detract from the basic service function of the library. It is true that most librarians are required to follow a relatively inflexible schedule which can- not b e relaxed to any great extent with- out causing service to suffer. Because of the differences in the as- signments and responsibilities of librar- ians and teaching faculty, perhaps li- brarians should not expect to have the freedom of scheduling that teaching fac- ulty have. T h e library must accept as its main function responsibility for provid- ing the materials of scholarship and re- search to students, faculty, and scholars. T h e library cannot meet this responsibil- ity if its staff is allowed to operate on an unorganized or loosely organized basis such as the teaching faculty may do. Perhaps there is not so great a prob- lem as would appear at first glance. Probably librarians as a group should not b e expected to engage in most of these activities—for example, research and consultation—to the same extent as the faculty. Most faculty either already have or are studying toward the doctor- ate. Most librarians do not have the doctorate, comparatively few are work- ing toward it, and most library positions do not require it. Many librarians have neither the interest to do extended re- search nor should it be expected of them because of the nature of their work. Those who are capable and have the de- sire to do research seemingly have that opportunity in most libraries. W h e r e this opportunity does not exist, the ad- ministration would be wise to provide it. Even if the librarian cannot follow the schedules of the teaching faculty and engage in certain activities to the same extent as the faculty, the nature of his work draws him close to all the educa- tional and research activities of the edu- cational institution. Also he must possess particular academic qualifications and specialized knowledge which the teach- ing faculty does not have. These justify giving him faculty rank even though cer- tain accommodations must b e made. • •