3.8.3 Qualified Staff
The institution provides a sufficient number of qualified staff--with appropriate education or experiences both in the library and/or other learning/information resources--to accomplish the mission of the institution.
Judgement of Compliance:
Compliance
Narrative:
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) Lupton Library’s faculty and staff members are highly qualified and are sufficient in number to accomplish UTC’s mission. Lupton Library has a total of 30 full-time faculty librarians and staff specialists, including: 15 full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty librarians, one library faculty instructor, and 14 staff specialists. The Library is organized into six departments as articulated on the attached organizational chart.
The faculty and staff members of the Lupton Library view quality patron services as a top priority. As such, the Library places significant importance on its human resources. Library staffing paradigms are analyzed each time a position in the Library goes vacant, and frequent internal adjustments are made to position responsibilities. Position descriptions for faculty and staff are up to date.
Library Faculty
All faculty librarians possess an ALA-accredited master’s degree; six have additional advanced degrees. Eight librarians are tenured, seven are on the tenure-track, and one appointment is renewed annually. The attached table provides a list of faculty by position, rank, and degrees. Library faculty members are recruited at the national level, and the current faculty represents a diverse group of library schools and experiences.
Library faculty meet the necessary academic and professional standards as outlined by the Southern Association of Colleges and Universities. Library faculty members are appointed, tenured, promoted, and annually evaluated through the same process as other UTC faculty and as outlined in the UTC Faculty Handbook. In addition, Library faculty matters are guided by the Library Bylaws in regards to the specifics of rank, reappointment, tenure, and promotion and Library Exceptional Merit Guidelines. Librarians are evaluated in the areas of librarianship, research and professional activities, and service activities. Lupton Library evaluation processes work in combination with the University’s annual goal-setting processes. Goals are drafted at library-wide, departmental, and individual levels. Library goals are discussed, documented, and measured twice a year, as is membership in Library groups.
Lupton Library faculty members engage in professional and scholarly pursuits as demonstrated in the attached chart of activities for 2008-2009. Lupton Library is fortunate to have an engaged and dynamic faculty contributing to the profession at local, regional, and national levels via the production of books, articles, presentations, grants, poster sessions, and more. Librarians are also active in service to UTC through membership on committees and attendance at University events. Professional development opportunities are supported by the Library budget and enhanced by competitive professional development and research grants supported by Academic Affairs.
Staff Specialists
As with Library faculty, staff specialists are evaluated annually and participate in the Library’s goal-setting and team membership processes. Library staff specialists meet the standards set forth for each position by the Human Resource Department and regularly surpass UTC’s recommended professional development hours. The attached table lists many of the professional development activities attended by Lupton Library faculty and staff members.
Peer Comparison
The quality of Lupton Library faculty and staff is without question. The overall number of staff members is adequate to meet University needs. The attached table of total library staff per FTE students at Lupton Library compared to those of THEC, TBR, and UT peers show that Lupton Library is 17th of 21 institutions.
New facility
Lupton Library has submitted a list of positions essential to adequately staff and provide services in the new building, scheduled to open in January 2012.
Documentation:
- Library Organizational Chart
- Faculty Positions, Ranks, and Degrees
- Faculty Handbook http://www.utc.edu/Departments/fcouncil/handbook.php
- Library Bylaws
- Library Exceptional Merit Guidelines
- Library-Wide Goals
- Library Groups
- 2008-2009 Professional, Scholarly, and Service Contributions
- 2005-2009 Library Spending on Professional Development
- Peer Comparison, Staffing
