ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


174

the proposed means of implementation. 
Once standards have been agreed upon, 
then th e means of implementation can 
be considered.

5. The group was in general agreement that 
point 7 on library governance is not satis­
factory. It was their considered opinion 
th at the proposal of the use of the aca­
demic departm ent as a model of library 
organization is questionable.

The following letter from Mr. A lυin Skipsna, 
librarian of Skidmore College, was also direct­
ed to Mr. Forth and is reprinted with his per­
mission at the request of the writer.

Dear Mr. Forth:
It is with dismay bordering on incredulity 

th at I read in CR L News, February 1971, th at 
“two master’s degrees …  shall be the minimal 
educational requirement for tenure for all li­
brarians appointed after the adoption of these 
standards by the ACRL.” e

F ar from being “truly a vote of confidence 
in the profession” as claimed by Beverly John­
son in the accompanying article, the proposed 
standards constitute an officially sanctioned dec­
laration th at librarianship is not in itself a pro­
fession. Curiously, Miss Johnson refers to fine 
arts and engineering faculties as examples of 
disciplines w here “Ph.D. is not necessarily the 
terminal degree,” bu t is seemingly oblivious to 
the fact th a t members of those professions are 
not out lobbying for the need of additional 
master’s degrees. T hat dubious distinction is 
reserved for the inferiority complex-ridden li­
brary profession.

Pondering as to the reasons for this strange 
proposal, one cannot escape the impression th at 
here is an outgrowth of local experiences in 
appeasing angry faculty gods. Miss Johnson’s 
article reinforces th at impression when she 
writes “we were able to gain the faculty’s ac­
ceptance by offering (sic) as p art of our ‘cre­
dentials’ …  a second master’s degree,” and 
“In  the California state colleges …  * * the 
success of the librarians’ case with the faculty,” 
etc., etc. Another how-we-did-it approach com­
bined with a deplorable willingness to sell short 
the profession as a whole.

I hope that it is unnecessary to state that I 
am not arguing against additional degrees. A 
doctorate in library science has been and should 
continue to be important means of professional

* Revision in the Proposed Standards for Faculty 
Status.

* * Cf. ALA Report, “Status of California State Col­
lege Librarians,” American Libraries (Jan. 1970) 
which ( commenting on the twenty-year struggle to 
achieve faculty status in the California state colleges) 
states that “among the states to which the nation cus­
tomarily looks for educational leadership California 
is most backward in this respect [i.e. faculty status 
for librarians].”

advancement. Some large university systems 
require a second master’s degree for appoint­
ment. Other institutions evaluate additional de­
grees in granting tenure and promotions, b u t to 
make such degrees a condition of tenure is 
pernicious. The clause that the requirement 
would apply only to “all librarians appointed 
after th e adoption of these standards by ACRL” 
would still deprive in a cavalier fashion a sub­
stantial number of academic librarians of oc­
cupational mobility.

For the sake of perspective I would like to 
state th at I am writing from an institution 
where librarians have faculty status. This in­
cludes a 9 / 10-month year, faculty rank and 
salary scale, as well as tenure, promotions, and 
sabbaticals. The library is considered a faculty 
departm ent and the librarian functions as a 
departmental chairman. The principle has 
been established that the customary terminal 
degree for librarians is the M.L.S. This was 
achieved without any “offering.”

W hat I am saying in a nutshell is th a t no­
body will honor a profession that does not hon­
or itself. Thank you.—Alvin Skipsna. ■■

GRANTING OF 
ACADEMIC STATUS

The Board of Regents of the University of 
Rhode Island approved a recommendation at 
its April 1 meeting th at would give faculty 
status to University of Rhode Island librarians 
effective July 1.

The regents, in adopting the motion, agreed 
th at several changes be made in the university 
manual. Like other university faculty members 
in teaching and research, librarians will be able 
to qualify for one of four ranks: professor in 
the library, associate professor, assistant pro­
fessor, and assistant librarian.

Holding of academic rank, however, shall be 
independent of holding an administrative ap­
pointm ent in the library. To qualify for aca­
demic rank, a librarian must have been award­
ed an advanced degree in library science, a 
master’s degree in a subject area discipline, or 
have equivalent professional experience.

Librarians who hold faculty rank shall re­
ceive salaries with other faculty members in 
the same rank and shall attain salary levels at 
least equivalent to the minimum for their 
ranks by July 1, 1973.

The recommendation was brought to the 
board by President Baum who approved a bill 
of the faculty senate. The senate had endorsed 
a report by its library committee last May 28 
saying th at librarians are an organic part of 
the university community and can best func­
tion when they are rightly recognized as pro­
fessional members of the faculty. ■■