SPEC Kit 330: Library Contribution to Accreditation · 111
Brigham Young University
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Library and Information Resources 5
Both the Lee and Hunter Libraries have set strategic goals for improving their staffing.
The Hunter Library hopes to add one full-time professional librarian in the near future. The Lee
Library plans to continue an ongoing effort to reallocate positions to understaffed areas or
emerging programs as employees terminate or retire. Many positions have been reassigned since
2000 to redirect resources to new programs, including
electronic resources processing, information commons management, digitization programs,
metadata production, multimedia production, library assessment, personnel management,
communications, and public relations functions (RE 5.7).
Library Organization
The administration of the Lee Library consists of a university librarian, an associate
university librarian, and three assistant university librarians. These administrative officers are
responsible for setting the library’s vision, mission, core values, and performance expectations.
Reporting administratively through the associate academic vice president for graduate studies
and research, the Lee Library is considered equivalent to a college at the university.
The university librarian serves as the library’s chief executive officer and, in addition to
his broad administrative responsibilities, directs the library’s technology programs. He chairs the
library administrative council, which is responsible for setting strategic plans, establishing
librarywide policies, formulating budgets, allocating resources, and acting on recommendations
from committees, task forces, and project teams. Council membership includes the university
librarian, associate university librarian, assistant university librarians, library controller, the
administrative assistant, department chair of library information systems, representative of the
library faculty, and chair of the Library Support Staff Association.
The associate university librarian functions as the library’s chief operating officer and
directs the library’s budget, personnel, physical facilities, and assessment programs. The
associate university librarian also chairs the Library Coordinating Council, which is responsible
for making broad operational decisions and coordinating library functions. This council serves as
an important venue for deploying library goals, values, and expectations to all library employees
through their department chairs. It includes department chairs, assistant university librarians and
administrative assistants for personnel, budget, physical facilities, and communication.
Lee Library departments and employees are organized into three divisions: Public
Services, Collection Development/Technical Services, and Special Collections. Each division is
led by an assistant university librarian. Though each employee reports administratively through
only one assistant university librarian, many fulfill responsibilities that span divisions. For
example, subject librarians have both collection development and public service responsibilities
(including reference and instruction), many catalogers provide library instruction, and curators
are involved in reference activities.
Duties and responsibilities of Lee Library staff, administrative, and faculty employees are
clearly defined in individual job descriptions. Annual performance reviews and planning sessions
are held in which an assistant university librarian or the department chair evaluates employee
performance. During these meetings employees articulate goals and administrators ensure that
these goals are consistent with the mission and objectives of the library and the university.
All librarians at BYU are professional faculty (distinct from professorial faculty). Library
faculty must obtain continuing faculty status (tenure) after satisfactory performance during a six-
year probationary period. There is a formal review during the third and sixth year of employment
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