Status, Promotion and Salary
If you are interested in a career in Academic Librarianship, you may have heard the phrases, tenure track and faculty status. What does that mean in the context of employment and how does it affect salaries and professional opportunities? Academic institutions classify librarians and their work differently. Depending on the institution, this can range from librarians being employed as tenured faculty to librarians employed as academic staff.
Often, tenure-track librarians are expected to do research and publish results in peer-reviewed journals as part of the promotion to tenure process. This may not be true for academic staff librarians.
As you apply for work in different academic settings, it is important to determine how the institution classifies librarian employment and status, because that will help you know what you need to do to advance in your career in that setting.
Tenure vs. non-tenure – What are the fundamental differences?
The following tables illustrate the differences between the two major university library systems in the state of California. As of June 2016, the University of California (UC) system (research intensive – R1) employs librarians as academic staff without a tenure process, whereas the California State University (CSU) system (teaching-focused) employs librarians as faculty on the tenure track.
The requirements for research and publication for community college librarians differ by institution. At many community colleges, a successful history of service and instruction are the primary criteria by which librarians are promoted. Promotion and salary advancement are structured and depend on years of service and rank. For example, many California community college librarians may earn tenure after four years of full-time employment. Keep in mind, however, that published research may provide an edge in the hiring process at community colleges, and check out the promotion requirements when you apply for or consider accepting a position.
Note: This comparison presents an example of some differences you may encounter. There are, of course, exceptions, such as an R1 university library where the librarians are tenured/tenure-track faculty (for example, The University of Colorado, Boulder).
Librarian Status
| Research 1 ( University of California, Stanford, etc.) | Teaching (California State University, Florida State, etc.) |
|---|---|
| Academic staff, a special status. No faculty status or tenure process for promotion | Faculty status, on tenure-track. |
| Must achieve academic staff status within in a certain number of years | Must complete a full, satisfactory dossier within in 6 years to earn tenure |
| Progress is reviewed every two years | Internal progress review has specific schedule deadlines |
| Review process never leaves the library | Tenure review begins in the library, moves to campus faculty level, and then culminates with the provost and president for final review |
Professional Achievement
| Research 1 (University of California, Stanford, etc.) | Teaching (California State University, Florida State, etc.) |
|---|---|
| Attending national conferences and being involved in committees is sufficient | Occasional attendance at conferences is useful to build relationships for research possibilities |
| Occasional presentations and publications are nice but not necessary | Presentations and publications (particularly peer-reviewed journal articles) are absolutely necessary |
| Equal monetary support distributed among all librarians for conference attendance | Point-based system of distributing travel funds to librarians (untenured library faculty receive more funds) |
Salary Comparison
| Research 1 (University of California, Stanford, etc.) | Teaching (California State University, Florida State, etc.) |
|---|---|
| Lower base. ($49,165 for Assistant Librarian) Source: University of California Academic Salary Scales | Moderate base. ($57,000) |
| Steady increases every 2-3 years | No increases until tenure is achieved |
| Specifically set $$ amount for each rank for all UC librarians | Range is very broad and not applied consistently across the CSU libraries |