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CUL Procedure #13
APPOINTMENT AND PROMOTION OF LIBRARIANS
June 1999
APPOINTMENT AND PROMOTION OF LIBRARIANS*
An academic staff member in the Cornell University Library** may hold any of the following academic titles (hereinafter referred to as personal ranks): Librarian, Archivist, Associate Librarian, Associate Archivist, Senior Assistant Librarian, Senior Assistant Archivist, Assistant Librarian or Assistant Archivist.
In addition to a personal rank, an individual may hold an administrative appointment:
A. The following positions have been authorized by the Board of Trustees Legislation, October 1975: University Librarian, Associate University Librarian, Assistant University Librarian.
B. The following positions have been authorized by the University Librarian: Department Head, College Librarian, and Departmental Librarian. Other regular or ad hoc administrative titles may be created by the University Librarian.
Terms of appointment are governed by Board of Trustees' legislation. (See Appendix A, Article XVII of the Bylaws of Cornell University, effective May 28, 1994). All appointments in the Cornell University Library are contingent on satisfactory performance, the availability of funds and programmatic needs.
The University Librarian shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees. The Associate University Librarian and Assistant University Librarians shall be appointed by the President.
Librarians, Associate Librarians, Archivists and Associate Archivists are appointed by the President for a term not to exceed five years, subject to unlimited renewability of term at the discretion of the President. Senior Assistant Librarians and Senior Assistant Archivists are appointed by the President for a term not to exceed three years. Assistant Librarians and Assistant Archivists are appointed by the President for a term not to exceed one year. After this initial one-year appointment, Assistant Librarians and Assistant Archivists may be reappointed for a term not to exceed two years.
A year in rank is defined as follows: 1) for appointments between July 1 and December 31, the first year is considered completed on June 30 of the following year; 2) for appointments between January 1 and June 30, the first year is considered completed on June 30 of the following year.
A. Terms for Personal Rank
Assistant Librarians and Assistant Archivists are appointed by the President for a term not to exceed one year. After this initial one year appointment, Assistant Librarians and Assistant Archivists may be reappointed for a term not to exceed two years, subject to an extension of one more year under special circumstances at the discretion of the President (see Appendices B and C).
Senior Assistant Librarians and Senior Assistant Archivists may be appointed by the President for a term not to exceed three years, subject to an extension of one more year under special circumstances at the discretion of the President (see Appendices B and C).
Associate Librarians, Associate Archivists, Librarians and Archivists are appointed by the President for a term not to exceed five years, subject to unlimited renewability of term at the discretion of the President.
B. Terms for Administrative Appointment
Trustees' legislation of October 1975 specifies that the University Librarian shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees. The Associate University Librarian and Assistant University Librarians shall be appointed by the President. The University Librarian may make appointments to other administrative positions (see Article XVI, Bylaws of the University).
C. Part-Time Appointments
Appointments for three-quarter time or more are equivalent to full-time appointments. For appointments of less than three-quarter time, the time in rank needed for promotion is prorated. These appointments are for the same term as full-time appointments (see II.A., above), and may be renewed until the maximum time in rank for promotion is reached.
D. Job Assignments
Initial appointment to positions, other than those filled by presidential appointment, is made by the University Librarian, who may reassign appointees or change job responsibilities consistent with the staff member's professional background and training.
III. Methods of Appointment for Personal Rank
Initial appointments, promotions and reappointments of librarians are made by the President of the University upon the recommendation of the University Librarian. Librarians from outside Cornell are appointed to the rank appropriate to their qualifications; i.e. relevant education and experience are considered. (See Appendix C)
A. Assistant Librarian
Candidates for appointment at the rank of Assistant Librarian or Assistant Archivist are recommended to the University Librarian by the appropriate prospective college librarian, departmental librarian or department head.
B. Senior Assistant Librarian
Candidates for appointment at the rank of Senior Assistant Librarian or Senior Assistant Archivist are recommended to the University Librarian by the appropriate prospective college librarian, departmental librarian or department head in concert with the appropriate Associate University Librarian, Assistant University Librarian, or other senior administrative librarian.
C. Associate Librarian
If a candidate's qualifications suggest appointment as Associate Librarian or Associate Archivist, a search committee of three Associate Librarians or Librarians nominated by the Committee on Academic Personnel Policy and appointed by the University Librarian shall advise the University Librarian concerning the most appropriate rank for appointment. Members of the Committee on Academic Personnel Policy may not be nominated to serve on a search committee.
D. Librarian
If a candidate's qualifications suggest appointment as Librarian or Archivist, a search committee of three Associate Librarians or Librarians nominated by the Committee on Academic Personnel Policy and appointed by the University Librarian shall advise the University Librarian concerning the most appropriate rank for appointment. Members of the Committee on Academic Personnel Policy may not be nominated to serve on a search committee.
IV. Methods of Appointment for Academic Administrative Positions</P>
A. College Librarians, Departmental Librarians, Department Heads
In appointing a college or departmental librarian or department head, the University Librarian is advised by a search committee, nominated by the Committee on Academic Personnel Policy and appointed by the University Librarian, comprised of three librarians of Associate Librarian or Librarian rank, one of whom shall be a college or departmental librarian or department head. A college or departmental librarian or department head is appointed for a definite term, and may be reappointed by the University Librarian.
When considering candidates to head a college or departmental library, the search committee will include one faculty member representing the academic unit served, in addition to the three librarians of Associate Librarian or Librarian rank. The selection of the faculty member is subject to approval by the dean or unit chairperson.
B. Other Senior Academic Administrative Positions
Search committees reviewing candidates for appointments to other senior academic administrative positions may have a different composition from those described above. However, at least three members of such committees will be librarians at the Associate Librarian or Librarian rank. Senior academic administrative appointments are made for a term determined by the University Librarian.
All librarians and archivists are expected to perform in accordance with the criteria for their respective ranks. Renewals are at the discretion of the President, for terms not to exceed three or five years, depending on rank. Reappointment depends upon the documentation of successful performance, the availability of funds, and programatic needs. If these three conditions are met, the renewal of the appointment should be expected.
The primary responsibility for non-renewal of the appointment rests with the librarian's associate or assistant university librarian, college librarian, departmental librarian, department head or other senior administrative librarian in consultation with the University Librarian, or, in the case of college and departmental librarians, with the University Librarian.
The renewal of the appointment must be approved by the University Librarian on the recommendation of the librarian's college librarian, departmental librarian or department head. The University Librarian should state in writing the decision whether or not to renew the appointment no later than six months prior to the expiration date. See Appendix E for the appeals procedure which may be applied in the event of non-renewal of the appointment.
A. General
Academic staff participate in a promotion system which involves mandatory review for advancement in rank. This system, which involves supervisors' recommendations and peer review, has two primary goals: to ensure an opportunity for review on comparable terms, and to offer opportunities for promotion regardless of job assignment.
The Academic Personnel Policy Committee in conjunction with the CUL Office of Human Resources holds an annual Promotion Orientation which covers promotion procedures and the meaning and examples of the promotion criteria. This orientation meeting includes talks by appropriate staff members on potential professional activities and ways of looking beyond the job for significant professional contributions.
B. Ranks
1. Senior Assistant/Associate Librarian.
Candidates not promoted to either Senior Assistant Librarian or Associate Librarian within the maximum time limits will be terminated. Candidates may be reviewed only once for promotion to these two ranks except candidates granted a probationary extension as outlined in Appendix E. Candidates who seek promotion prior to the full time in rank and who are unsuccessful may not fulfill the full term of the contract if there are more than six months remaining.
The University Librarian should state in writing the decision whether or not to promote no later than six months prior to the date the promotion would otherwise have become effective.
2. Librarian/Archivist.
Promotion from Associate Librarian to Librarian is neither automatic nor intended only as a recognition of long service and is not requisite to continuing reappointment. Candidates may be reviewed at most three times for promotion to this rank. Candidates may not reapply until at least the second year following a negative decision.
C. General Criteria for Promotion
The underlying criteria for promotion are sound performance in the assigned job and either evidence of significant development or potential for development, and flexibility in the context of a changing work environment. (See Appendix B) Consideration will be given to individual differences in learning and ability, recognizing that job knowledge will v ary and that different assignments require different qualities.
D. Timetable for Promotion
1. Assistant to Senior Assistant/Senior Assistant to Associate.
The minimum time in rank is one year, the maximum time in rank is three years. Under the conditions outlined in Appendices B and C, the candidate's supervisor may recommend to the University Librarian a one-year extension beyond the three-year maximum time in rank.
The candidate may request to be reviewed early for promotion to either Senior Assistant or Associate Librarian. Requests should be directed to the candidate's supervisor; the decision to review early will be made by the University Librarian in consultation with the appropriate college librarian, departmental librarian or department head.
2. Associate to Librarian.
Review for promotion to Librarian is initiated by a written request from the candidate to the Director of Human Resources. Review is normally not undertaken until the candidate has been in the Associate Librarian rank for five years. An Associate Librarian may request earlier consideration if he or she feels the above criteria for promotion have been fully met in less than five years. Minimum time in rank before promotion to Librarian is one year.
E. Procedures for Promotion
1. Assistant to Senior Assistant.
Promotion or non-promotion is recommended in writing to the University Librarian by the candidate's supervisor in consultation with the appropriate college librarian, departmental librarian, department head, senior administrative librarian or dean.
2. Senior Assistant to Associate/Associate to Librarian.
Promotion or non-promotion is recommended in writing to the University Librarian by the appropriate Review Board. (See Appendix D)
3. Appeals.
In the event of non-promotion or non-reappointment, the candidate has recourse to the appeals process described in Appendix E.
* Procedure #13 applies to Librarians and Archivists. The term "Librarian(s)" includes Archivist(s) wherever the latter are not specifically named.
**The name "Cornell University Libraries" was changed to "Cornell University Library" with approval from the President and Provost in fall 1987.
Disclaimer
The policies contained within this procedure are not conditions of employment,
and the language is not intended to create a contract between the University and its employees. While
every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this policy, it does not constitute a legal document.
Appendix B: CRITERIA FOR APPOINTMENT, REAPPOINTMENT AND PROMOTION
Appendix C: GUIDELINES FOR INITIAL APPOINTMENT RANK
Appendix D: REVIEW BOARDS
Appendix E: REVIEW OF REAPPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTIONS
June 1999
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rev. 9/28/98 peo