A pilot study of the effects of faculty status for medical librarians in the United States.

Sa'Ad Laws

doi:10.5195/jmla.2021.1138

Abstract

Objectives:Within many institutions, there are debates over whether medical librarians should be classified as faculty or professional staff, a distinction that may have considerable effect on the perception of librarians within their local institutions. This study is a pilot exploration of how faculty status may affect the professional experiences of academic medical librarians within their local institutions.Methods:Surveys were sent to 209 medical librarians listed as having some instructional function at Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accredited medical institutions in the United States. Survey responses were captured using Qualtrics survey tool and analyzed for frequencies and associations using SPSS version 27.Results:Sixty-four medical librarians at academic medical institutions completed the survey developed for this study. Of the respondents, 60.9% indicated that librarians at their institution have faculty status, while 71.9% believe that librarians at their institution should have faculty status. Ninety percent of librarians with faculty status reported that they are expected to generate scholarly materials, compared to 28% of those without faculty status.Conclusions:Many medical libraries offer faculty status to librarians. While many medical librarians are active in instruction, research, and other activities normally associated with faculty status, it is not clear if faculty status impacts how librarians are perceived by other health care workers within their institutions.

Highlights

Many academic librarians within college and university libraries have held faculty appointments for decades
When respondents were asked about the faculty status of librarians at their institution, 60.9% (n=39) indicated that librarians at their institution hold faculty status
When comparing if librarians should hold faculty status between respondents with and without faculty status at their institutions, there was a significant association (Fisher’s exact=11.616, p=0.003*), with 87.2% (n=34) of faculty status respondents indicating that librarians at their institution should have faculty status, while only 48% (n=12) of nonfaculty respondents indicating the same, and 24% (n=6) of nonfaculty respondents indicating that they did not know if librarians at their institution should have faculty status

Summary

Introduction

Many academic librarians within college and university libraries have held faculty appointments for decades. Several studies have noted that many librarians have expanded their roles as instructors in both extent and depth, with librarians both leading instructional initiatives as well as responding to faculty and student-initiated requests [7,8,9]. This expanded teaching role has led to a general trend toward greater librarian integration within the curriculum through incorporation into curricular committees at the institutional level [7, 10, 11].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion