College and Research Libraries


By RAYNARD C. SWANK 

University of Oregon Statutes and 
Supplementary Library Policies 
Relating to the Professional 
Library Staff 

Dr. SwankJ directorJ Stanford University 
LibrariesJ wrote this article while librarian 
of the University of Oregon. 

T HE FOLLOWING statement of selected personnel policies, which are now in 
effect at the University of Oregon Library, 

consists of: (a) ·excerpts from the Admin-
istrative Code 1 of the Oregon State System 
of Higher Education, and (b) supple-

mentary interpretations affecting the pro-

fessional library staff. The quotations 

from the Administrative Code apply gen-
erally to the academic staffs of the U niver-

sity of Oregon, Oregon State College, and 

other institutions in the state system, 

within which professional librarians have 

held academic ranks since 1932. 

Tenure 

Administrative Code, K-8a. Academic Staff. 
Members of the academic staff below the rank 
of assistant professor are generally appointed 
on one-year tenure unless in individual cases 
there is a definite understanding to the con-
trary. On recommendation of the executive 
head of the institution and the chancellor and 
the approval of the board, members of the 
academic staff of the rank of assistant profes-
sor or above may be placed on indefinite 
tenure. 

1 Oreg on Sta te Board of Higher Education. Ad-
price of about $40. 

JANUARYJ 1949 

Working Hours 

Administrative Code, K-ga. Academic. Be-
ca.use of the varied nature of the work, no 
attempt is made to define the exact number of 
working hours of administrative, instructional, 
research, or extension workers. All such staff 
members are expected to give the institution 
their undivided efforts, free from outside in-
terests that interfere with their ability to 
render the institution maximum service. De-
termination of time of service is the responsi-
bility of the executive head of the institution. 

Library policy. a. According to the gen-
eral regulation applicable to the academic 
staff, no definite working hours are prescribed 
for the professional members of the library 
staff, the measure of their service being the 
degree to which they fulfill the responsibilities 
of their individual jobs and devote their maxi-
mum efforts to the advancement of the 
library program, broadly conceived. . 

b. Responsibility for determining the ade-
quacy of services rendered by staff members 
rests immediately with the department heads. 

c. It is recognized that the nature of the 
work in some departments necessitates intra-
departl)lental working schedules of varying 
lengths and degrees of exactness, for example, 
at service points and where the duties of 
several staff members are interdependent. 
Intra-departmental schedules, where necessary 
for adequate service, will be arranged by 'the 
department heads. It is expected that regu-
larly recurring schedules will be kept as short 
as possible in order to allow maximum 
freedom to staff members in the organization 
of other phases of their jobs. 

39 



d. Attendance at faculty, committee, and 
other meetings of an official character, is in-
terpreted as a responsibility of staff members 
in the performance of their regular jobs. 

Vacations 

Administrative Code, K-10 . Vacation priv-
ilege is defined to mean absence from duty for 
the purpose of recreation and rest for a limited 
period during which regular compensation is 
received. Vacation privilege is not cumulative 
from year to year. Vacation privilege is not 
open to employees not serving for twelve 
months of the year. 

Administrative Code, K-roa. Academic 
Staff. Staff members in the academic classifi-
cation who are appointed on a twelve-months 
basis are eligible for one month's vacation 
with pay after one year's service. 

Library policy. For all staff members, the 
vacation month is interpreted as twenty-seven 
working days and is computed on the basis 
of a six-day week. Institutional holidays are 
not regarded as working days. 

Sabbatical Leave 

Administrative Code , K-12 . After six years 
of continuous service as a regular full-time 
member of the staff of any of the institutions 
of higher learning under the control of the 
state board of higher education, a staff mem-
ber may be granted leave of absence not to 
exceed one year, better to fit himself for 
service to his institution and the state. Pro-
fessorial rank is defined as that of assistant 
professor or above. (See Administrative Code 
for further details.) 

Arrangements in Case of Illness 

Administrative Code, K-13. Arrangements 
to care for the work of a staff member in-
capacitated by illness over a period longer than 
one month must have the approval of the 
executive head of the institution. 

Library policy. No definite period of sick 
leave is specified. 

a. Arrangements to care for the work of a 
staff member incapacitated by illness over a 
period longer than two weeks at one time must 
have the approval of the librarian. 

b. Recurring brief illnesses , including dental 
and medical appointments, must be reported 
to the librarian by the department head when, 

in their cumulative effect, they begin to inter-
fere with adequate service. Adjustments will 
be made on the merits of each case. 

Privileges of Staff Members 

Administrative Code, K-r6a. Academic 
Work. Full-time staff members may have the 
privilege of registering for class work on the 
following conditions: Staff members on a 
regular salary basis, other than graduate as-
sistants, scholars, and fellows, must make 
application for the privilege of carrying work 
for credit, such application to be approved by 
the depar:tment head and the dean, and sub-
stituted for approval to the ex ecutive head of 
the institution before being filed in the regis-
trar's office. In general, full -time staff mem-
bers shall not carry work involving more than 
three term hours of credit; five term hours 
shall be the maximum . Requests may be in 
the form of a letter and should make clear the 
subjects and credits for which registration is 
requested. It is assumed that the regular 
duties of the staff member will not be inter-
fered with. 

Administrative Code , K-r6b. Auditing. 
"Auditor" privileges are accorded staff mem-
bers under the same general procedures as 
provided above (no special application . to the 
executive office). Auditors are not expected 
to participate in the class discussions, and their 
presence should in no way interfere with the 
class program. 

Library policy. a. Auditors are expected 
to report their activities to the department 
head , who will relay the information to the 
librarian for the record. 

b. Every reasonable effort should be made 
to adjust working schedules in such a way as 
to accommodate staff members who wish to 
attend classes, whether or not for credit, 
which will contribute to better performance on 
the job. 

Holidays 

Administrative Code, K-17. The following 
are institutional holidays: New Year's Day, 
Memorial Day, July Fourth, Labor Day, 
Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day. On these 
days all employees compensated on an annual 
or monthly basis are excused from regula1 
institutional work, except where their duties 

(Continued on page 45) 

40 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



chusetts and Connecticut. It appears that 
the smaller the library the smaller the re-
sources which can be expected for university 
development, as well as other governmental 
services. 

Ill. Summary 

The following points emerge regarding 
interstate cooperation in higher education 
with special reference to the state university 
libraries which might be involved: 

I. The idea of regional cooperation in ad-
vanced levels of higher education, while 
strongly motivated by the desire to continue 
the practice of racial segregation, has gone 
beyond that objective. Its application to the 
general problem of providing university fa-
cilities which are not available in large areas 
of the country has been advocated and is 
permissible under the compact of February 8, 
1948, between fifteen Southern states. 

2. Figures for 1944, with estimates to 1948, 
show that about one-half the state uni-
versity libraries of the country have less than 
300,000 volumes. A considerable part of this 
group, on the basis of a sampling of eleven 
institutions, offers work up to the Ph.D. 
degree, and supports one or more graduate 

professional schools. It is obvious that for 
existing programs and for expansion these 
institutions are seriously handicapped with 
regard to library resources. 

3· Enrolments are expected to remain at 
levels substantially higher than those of pre-
war years. On a short-term basis a larger 
proportion of upperclassmen and graduate 
students can be expected; on a long-term 
basis the predictions are more doubtful, 
though the higher general enrolment levels 
will mean increased demands for all reading 
materials. This pressure will be felt with 
special force in those collecting areas which 
are, and usually have been , given less atten-
tion in smaller universities. Such areas in-
clude the high-level research literature in a 
number of subject fields. 

4· The twenty-three below-median li-
braries can be grouped into coherent regional 
divisions. The Southern states subscribing 
to the compact of February 8 fall into several 
groups rather than one. The remaining states, 
with the addition of a few possessing libraries 
just above the median size, can be similarly 
aligned. The institutions which support the 
libraries are likely to be those which also re-
quire extensive additions to their research fa-
cilities, and therefore have most to gain from 
c~operation with others in the same situation. 

Microprint Reader 
(Conti~ued from page 38) 

cost between film and paper is insignificant 
except in the case of mass reproduction. 

Whether in the end film or Microcards 
will prove more suitable for library use 
will depend not only on their relative degree 
of satisfactory performance and the rela-

tive cost of production, maintenance, and 
use, but also upon the manner of distribu-
tion of microreproductions and reading ma-
chines, and, last but not least, upon their 
acceptance by the library user as substitutes 
for the printed page. 

Oregon Statutes 
(Continued from page 40) 

are of such character that release is not prac-
ticable, in which case the same amount of time 
may be allowed at another date. Student re-
cesses in addition to the days above named 
do not constitute institutional holidays. 

Professional Activities 

Administrative Code, K- 1 9· No full-time 

JANUARY, 1949 

employee in the Oregon State System of 
Higher Education or of any of the institutions 
thereof shall engage in any outside activity 
which substantially interferes with his regular 
duties. Prior to acceptance of any employ-
ment involving time or . honorarium, the indi-
vidual concerned shall secure the approval of 
the executive head of the · institution. 

45