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Contribution to Book
Faculty Workload in Technical Services
Technical Services in the 21st Century Library (2021)
  • Aimee deChambeau
  • Ian McCullough
  • Melanie Jolynn McGurr, The University of Akron
  • Mike Monaco, The University of Akron
Abstract
This chapter discusses hurdles posed to a medium-sized public university library in the Midwest when they were asked by their Dean to create a faculty workload worksheet, rationale, and ultimately a set of guidelines. Faculty in other departments compute their loads using formulas based on course loads. How many hours they spend in the classroom, and how many hours they spend preparing for that time in the classroom are factored into the course loads expected for a full teaching load, with release granted in course load equivalents for research and/or service. Because librarian work does not typically involve teaching credit-bearing courses, a major challenge to constructing guidelines is equating library work with course loads. Calculating faculty workload for librarians commensurate with other faculty on campus is often complicated. To all of these challenges add the unique issues that face the technical services librarian. Technical services work supports instruction and research but may involve little classroom contact with students, so it has even less resemblance to classroom instruction than other librarian work has. Technical services librarians spend their time in a wide variety of tasks. Exactly how to formulate this time in accordance with the rules for other departmental faculty is a challenge. The specific situation at this university added more complications as there was also a campus-wide mandate to ensure all workload policies are consistent and equitable.
Keywords
  • faculty status,
  • technical services,
  • faculty librarians,
  • library workload,
  • faculty workload
Publication Date
January 8, 2021
Editor
Samantha Schmehl Hines
Publisher
Emerald Publishing.
Series
Advances in Library Administration and Organization
Citation Information
Aimee deChambeau, Ian McCullough, Melanie Jolynn McGurr and Mike Monaco. "Faculty Workload in Technical Services" Technical Services in the 21st Century Library Vol. 42 (2021)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/aimee_dechambeau/12/