LFA Annual Report - Fiscal Year 2016-2017

Library Governance Committee Final Report

Fiscal Year: 2016-2017

Committee Name: Library Faculty Assembly

Committee Chair: Sara E. Morris

Members (with terms): Karna Younger, Vice-Chair/Chair Elect; Rebecca Orozco, Secretary; Ada Emmett, Librarian; Sherri Brown, Associate Librarian; Josh Bolick, Assistant Librarian; Andi Back, Member-at-Large. All terms were 2016-2017

Standing Charges:

  • 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:

  • We met regularly, had two general membership meetings, and met the spirit of the Standing Charges.

Special Charges:

No official charges. Recommendations from outgoing Library Faculty and Professional Assembly (LFPA) Exec in 2015-2016:

  1. Continue in transition activities, as new governance structure will be in place on July 1
  2. Revise governance website to reflect new governance structure
  3. Appoint ad hoc committee to combine all promotion and tenure documentation into one form as requested by Standards and Procedures on Promotion and Tenure (SPPT)
  4. Continue to lobby for inclusion of academic staff in the university’s orientation program for faculty
  5. Faculty evaluation plan needs to be updated to include Unclassified Academic Staff (UAS)
  6. Explore with HR making names of faculty going up for tenure and post tenure review available to aid process of finding eligible people to run for committee positions with LCPT and SLPTR (Sabbatical Leave and Post Tenure Review)

 

Special Charges Progress/Accomplishment Summary:

  1. Successful transition from LFPA to LFA occurred in collaboration with LFSA and LSA
  2. Governance website revised with the assistance and collaboration of LFSA & LSA
  3. An ad hoc committee completed the combination of the promotion and tenure documents. The LFA membership passed “The Promotion and Tenure Procedures for the Faculty of The University of Kansas Libraries” in a ballot vote in December 2016. The Dean of Libraries and SPPT approved the document in the spring of 2017. The ad hoc committee has requested a document detailing the procedural aspects of promotion and tenure (P&T) and post-tenure review (PTR). This was not completed this year and is listed in “Potential Charges” below
  4. See “Other Activities or Accomplishments” for activities related to UAS
  5. The Faculty Evaluation Plan was not updated
  6. The LFSA website now includes a link to a SharePoint document with dates related to P&T and PTR. It is currently only accessible to Library faculty

Other Activities or Accomplishments:

  • Unclassified Academic Staff (UAS)
    1. LFA assisted with the transition of all librarians classified as UAS to Tenure Track positions.
    2. The LFA Unclassified Academic Staff Working Group completed a study of the use of this classification on campus. As a result, LFA has asked Faculty Senate to complete a detailed study of KU’s use of this classification and asked Library Administration to appoint any new hires in this classification until the University Senate completes such a report.

Potential Charges for Future Committees/Recommendations:

  • Work with the library’s administration and LFSA to load the necessary LFA documents in the Policy Library
  • Create a document outlining the procedural aspects of the P&T and PTR process
  • Revise the Faculty Evaluation Plan to include UAS and any other necessary updates
  • Develop a marketing plan to demonstrate the value of shared governance and participation therein
  • Recruit candidates for LFA positions
  • Work with the Committee on the Code to update the Code to reflect the adoption on new documents related to P&T and PTR

Please review the Committee’s portion of the Library Governance website and the Code. Does it need updating/correcting?: The Code needs to be updated to reflect the adoption of new documents for P&T and PTR.

Prepared By: Sara E. Morris