LFA Annual Report - Fiscal Year 2023-2024

Membership Members (with terms): https://lfsa.ku.edu/committee-members-fy-2023-2024

Michael Peper, chair

Jon Giullian, vice-chair/chair-elect

Sara Outhier, secretary

Cecilia Zhang, assistant librarian representative

Andi Back, associate librarian representative

Scott McEathron, librarian representative

Standing Charges: [from https://lfsa.ku.edu/lfsa-code-and-bylaws ]

· Ensures the orderly and effective operation of LFA.

· Is the first point of contact for any matters referred to the attention of LFA, save those which are specifically assigned to standing committees in the Code and, where appropriate, assigns such matters to standing or ad hoc committees.

· Brings governance issues concerning all faculty and staff to the LFSA Executive Committee.

· Designates a liaison to the Organizational Development Unit and an ex officio liaison to LSA to ensure communication and information sharing.

· Monitors KU governance issues that may affect LFA, including the Faculty Senate and the University Senate Committee on Libraries.

· Takes no action contrary to the desires of the LFA.

Standing Charges Progress/Accomplishment Summary:

The LFA Executive Committee had regular contact with both Libraries faculty and the Libraries Dean, and fulfilled a role as liaison between Libraries leadership and Libraries faculty.

A member of the Sabbatical Leave and Post-Tenure Review committee left KU in 2023 and LFA Exec appointed a new member to this committee in December 2023.

The Libraries Dean worked with LFA Executive to share the draft faculty hiring plan and solicit feedback from Libraries faculty.

Committee Appointments and Charges:

No new charges or committees were formed.

LFA Exec. received the report of the Ad Hoc committee that was appointed in June 2022 and charged with reviewing the Criteria & Discipline Expectations related to the degree requirements for library faculty and the appointment process. LFA Exec. called a Special Meeting of the Assembly to discuss the findings of the Ad Hoc committee.

Meetings:

LFA-Exec met monthly (11 meetings total, no meeting in January 2024) from July 2023 to June 2024 and held three General Assembly meetings, including one special session.

LFA chair and LSA chair coordinated monthly meeting times and one General Assembly timing to improve efficiency in communicating and addressing shared assembly needs.

Special Charges:

No new charges or committees were formed.

Progress/Accomplishment Summary:

The Assembly voted and approved by ballot the changes to the Criteria for Academic Ranks of Library Faculty regarding the eligibility of people with a PhD in Library/Information Science, but without a Master’s degree in Library/Information Science. At the time of approval, the Standards and Procedures on Promotion and Committee (SPPT) had completed work for the academic year. The incoming committee needs to submit approved changes to SPPT for review and approval and addition to the Policy Library.

Potential Charges for Future Committees/Recommendations:

Review all committees’ Annual Report recommendations for future considerations.

Ensure that changes to the Criteria are made based on revised language for the eligibility of those with a PhD, but no Master’s degree in LIS. These changes should initially be submitted to the Faculty Senate committee on Procedures for Promotion and Tenure.

The Libraries Dean and the chair of LCPT in 2023-2024 recommend charging an ad hoc committee to review promotion and tenure guidelines. Some specific ideas for changes include expanding the pool of what is considered “scholarly activity,” improving the clarity of the table at the end of the document, and integrating the information contained in footnotes into the body of the document. Guidelines are documented in Promotion and Tenure Procedures for the Faculty of The University of Kansas Libraries, approved by the Faculty in 2016. Membership of this committee would ideally include those who are not current LCPT members but have served on LCPT in the past five years and be diverse in terms of rank (i.e. include an assistant librarian), professional experience, and Libraries unit.

Charge an ad hoc committee to revisit past mentoring guidelines and university guidance, consider needs of pre-tenure Faculty and provide more formalized guidance for Libraries mentors to create an environment with more consistent mentoring.

Review guidelines about the selection of the ex officio member to the University Senate Libraries Committee. University Senate language stipulates that the ex officio member from Libraries Faculty is elected by the Library Faculty and serves a two-year term. LFSA code stipulates that the current LFA chair “serves or designates another member of the LFA Executive Committee to serve as the representative to the University Senate Libraries Committee.”

The Libraries Dean is interested in doing a comprehensive audit of service load among Libraries faculty. It is currently unclear when this may happen or what role LFA Exec would play.

Please review the Committee’s portion of the Library Governance website and the Code. https://lfsa.ku.edu/lfsa-code-and-bylaws Does it need updating/correcting?

Prepared By: Michael Peper