Initial Faculty Appointments

The following guidelines are meant to assist the College Advisory Committee of University Libraries in recommending to the Dean an academic rank for librarians when they are initially appointed to full- time, tenure-track faculty positions.

Except in unusual circumstances, librarians selected for full-time, tenure-track faculty positions shall be appointed at the rank of Assistant Professor.

Initial appointment as an Assistant Professor shall require that the individual hold the Master's degree from a school of library science accredited by the American Library Association in order to assure the breadth of knowledge necessary for the immediate and competent performance of professional duties appropriate to the position in question. An exception may be made if an applicant possesses an advanced degree in another field or has comparable experience in addition to a bachelor's degree which makes her or his expertise especially valuable to the position being filled.

Appointment to a higher rank requires all the qualifications demanded for promotion to that rank. The period of time spent at a lower faculty rank in another library shall be weighed among the several considerations in making an initial appointment to a rank higher than that of Assistant Professor.

Approved by UL Faculty: March 26, 1999