ACRL Staff Questions

The staff should be sufficient in size and quality to meet the programmatic and service needs of its primary users. Librarians should have a graduate degree from an ALA-accredited program. In addition, there may be other professional staff who will have appropriate combinations of training, experience, and/or degrees. All library professionals should be responsible for and participate in professional activities. The support staff and student assistants should be assigned responsibilities appropriate to their qualifications, training, experience, and capabilities. The further development of professional and support staff should be promoted through an on-going commitment to continuing education, including training on security, emergencies, and the preservation of materials. Professional library staff should be covered by a written policy that clearly establishes their status, rights and responsibilities. This policy should be consistent with the ACRL Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Librarians.

1. Does the library employ staff capable of supporting and delivering information in all available formats, including electronic resources?

Professional librarians and technical staff are required to have the knowledge and ability to support and deliver information in diverse formats.  This requirement is reflected in job announcements.  As part of the interview process, potential staff members are asked to demonstrate their knowledge of and competencies in using a variety of formats of information.  Our recent LibQUAL+ survey responses included favorable comments to questions regarding the ability of staff regarding their expertise in utilizing electronic resources.   Subject specialists must have specific qualifications and experience in delivering information in multimedia formats.  They have been employed and required to create individual subject WebPages that provide access to information available in all formats within certain subject areas of health sciences, education, and business.  The information literacy librarian teaches students and faculty how to use electronic resources and thereby must be current in the knowledge of information resources and must demonstrate a command for using various types of resources as part of the instruction process.

A new goal for the library includes the digitization of library information.  Within this initiative, a team of librarians and computer staff are engaged in planning and implementing techniques for digitizing information that is currently in print and multimedia formats.  This team is capable of supporting and delivering information in digital form to enhance its accessibility.

Supporting Documentation: 

  1. Library Departments and Staff
  2. Library webpage - WebPages created by subject specialists
  3. Staff Resume Charts
  4. Information Literacy Department
  5. LibQual Survey comments
  6. Digitization Team minutes

2. Is sufficient budgetary support provided to ensure the ongoing training of all staff?

The University Library receives funding for travel each academic year for the General Fund budget.  Between FY2003-FY2008, the General Fund travel budget has consisted of $3,965.00 annually.  This has allowed several administrative and non-administrative staff members to travel to local, state, and national library workshops and conferences.  Some of the conferences and workshops attended in the last several years include the American Library Association (ALA) mid-winter and annual conferences, the Southeastern Library Network Meeting (SOLINET) Annual Meeting, and the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries (NAAL) Annual Meeting.  Furthermore, the library has also been able to maintain memberships with several library organizations including the Society of American Archivists, the American Library Association, the Alabama Library Association, the Historically Black College and University Alliance, and the Library Orientation Exchange (LOEX) which supports information literacy.  Since the costs for airfares and hotels have increased tremendously over the last few years, it is imperative that the library’s travel budget is increased in order to keep up with inflationary travel costs. The University Library does receive support for travel funds through the Title III program.  During FY2003-FY2006, the Title III program provided $7,000.00 for travel funds.  During FY2007, the amount for travel funds was reduced to $3,000.00.  However, in FY2008, the Title III travel funds were increased to $8,000.00.  Several staff members who have their annual salaries paid by the Title III program and library administrators serving on the Title III committee have been able to travel to professional meetings using Title III travel funds.    Moreover, some of the Title VI programs including the Health Sciences program have provided funding for travel for subject specialists on several occasions.

      Supporting Documentation:

      1. Budgets, FY2003-FY2008

3. Does the library have qualified librarians, other professional staff, skilled support staff, and student assistants in adequate numbers to meet its needs? Counts may include FTE library staff numbers for total staff and a separate number for FTE librarians (MLS or equivalent).

The University Library is staffed with professional, paraprofessional, and technical staff during all operating hours.  All Library staff members are highly qualified to provide services to the students, faculty and ASU community.  The Dean of the Library and the University Archivist hold a Ph.D. degree in their field of study.  Furthermore, all the professional library staff members hold a Master’s of Library Science (M.L.S.) degree which is considered the terminal degree in the field of librarianship by the American Library Association (ALA).  Also, several of the professional staff members hold a second Master’s degree in another subject field.  Moreover, all of the paraprofessional and technical staff members hold a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in a subject field as required by Alabama State University’s Office of Human Resources. 

Currently, the University Library employs 15 full-time equivalent (FTE) professional librarian staff, 16 full-time paraprofessional staff, two full-time secretaries, and two full-time police officers.  Also, the library employs five part-time staff members to assist with evening and weekend hours.  However, there is an urgent need to hire additional library staff in order to extend the operating hours for the library especially during mid-terms and final examinations.  The Library Dean has made a very concerted effort to acquire additional staff for the University Library.  A Staff Reclassification Proposal has been submitted each academic year as a part of the Annual Budget Proposal.  The Staff Reclassification Proposal has been presented each academic year in an oral budget hearing presentation to the Alabama State University President and Vice-Presidents.  The University Library expects to receive approval for the following positions that have been requested in the Staff Reclassification Proposal: Education Librarian for Undergraduate Programs, Administrative Assistant to the Library Dean, Staff Associate for the Library, Microcomputer Applications Programmer, Humanities Librarian, and Interlibrary Loan Librarian.  The University Library also requested to receive approval for restoration of the following positions in the library’s personnel budget:  Collection Development Assistant, Reference Assistant, Special Collections Assistant, Serials Librarian, and Assistant Catalog Librarian.  

4. How does the institution ensure that the library's professional staff have the appropriate accredited degrees, and how does it encourage them to engage in appropriate professional activities?

      The institution ensures that the professional library have appropriate accredited degrees through its application process for employment.  Each applicant’s application packet must include: 

                  (1) completed application form

                  (2) current resume

                  (3) official transcripts

                  (4) listing of the last three employees with phone numbers and email addresses

      The Department of Human Resources verifies compliance of these requirements before the application packet is forwarded to the appropriate unit for the screening process.  The opportunity for employees to participate in professional activities is supported by the University as extensions of one’s employment, so long as they do not conflict or interfere with performance of the individual’s primary duties.  Professional growth and development are encouraged by the library administration.  Activities used to promote professional development have included financial support for off-campus workshops, professional meetings, conferences, and short courses.  Similar on-campus activities have been provided by the College of Business Administration, the Department of Human Resources, the Office of Management Information Systems (MIS), the College of Health Sciences, the Teacher’s In-service Center, and library vendors.

5. How does the size of the library staff relate to the goals and services of the library, the institution’s programs, degrees, enrollment, size of the faculty and staff, and auxiliary programs?

      The University Library’s goals and objectives are directly related to the Mission Statement and Institutional Goals.  The size of the library staff correlates to the guidelines established by the Office of Human Resources in support of student enrollment data.  The number of library positions has increased with implementation of the Title VI programs in Health Sciences, Accountancy, and the Education Doctorate degree.  However, the library’s actual staff count has remained level due to the fact that several positions were frozen during proration in FY2001 and the positions have not been restored.  The full-time enrollment (FTE) has fluctuated during the last few years with an increase from 4,607 in FY2007 to 4,939 in FY2008.  The new Title VI academic degree programs have impacted staffing levels in various departments overall.

6. How do library staff policies and procedures compare with institutional guidelines and sound personnel management, especially in the areas of recruitment, hiring, appointment, contract renewal, promotion, tenure, dismissal, and appeal.

Library policies and procedures are directly in line with those of the university as reflected in the university’s Non-Academic Staff Handbook.  Staff members classified as staff follow these guidelines.  All policies and procedures regarding personnel management, recruitment, hiring, appointment, contract renewal, promotion, tenure, dismissal, and appeal are taken directly from the university’s Handbook as required by the Department of Human Relations.

            Supporting Documentation:

1. Non-Academic Staff Handbook

7. How do staff members who are responsible for instruction maintain sufficient knowledge and skills to be effective instructors?

The Information Literacy Librarian maintains sufficient knowledge and skills by attending professional workshops that focus on information literacy training.   Our current Information Literacy Librarian applied and received a full scholarship to attend the Information Literacy Leadership Institute held at Johnson C. Smith University in November 2007.  The Information Literacy Institute provided the participants with an opportunity to actually design information literacy activities that could be implemented in their respective institutions.  The Information Literacy Librarian also collaborates with faculty members to gain insight regarding the best teaching strategies for information literacy sessions.  This collaborative effort ensures that the content reflects actual classroom instruction and project assignments.  The Information Literacy Librarian also attends training workshop held by the University Library each year that focus on leadership and teamwork.

Supporting Documentation:

1.Information Literacy Department

8. How does the library provide security and emergency training for its staff?

The University Library currently employs one full-time and one part-time security officer who are primarily responsible for providing security for the library on all five floors.  The security officers are provided on-site training by Alabama State University Security Police Office.  In addition, intensive security training is provided off-site through the Montgomery Police Academy.  The security officers and the library staff are provided updated reports on procedures for emergency situations including hurricanes, tornados, fires, bomb threats, and other hazards.