3.8.3 Qualified Staff

Comprehensive Standard: The institution provides a sufficient number of qualified staff — with appropriate education or experiences in library and/or other learning/information resources — to accomplish the mission of the institution.

X  Compliance
     Partial Compliance
     Non-Compliance

Narrative:

Staffing and Staff Development

University Library Personnel Memorandum 35A specifies that at Georgia State University, librarians may either be non-tenured or tenure track, and that both tenure and non-tenure track library faculty may be appointed and promoted within the ranks of Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor.  The terminal degree appropriate for appointment as a library faculty member is an American Library Association (ALA) accredited master’s degree in librarianship or library and information science. Library archivists, also library faculty members, must have either an ALA accredited master's degree or an accredited master's degree in history, music history, cultural history or a related field along with graduate coursework in archival administration. The University Library employs 38 faculty librarians and archivists [1], all holding accredited graduate degrees.  Librarians and archivists at GSU have faculty status, are eligible for membership in the University Senate, and serve on university-wide committees.

Minimum hiring standards for 64 library support staff positions — Library Assistants Library Associates, Library Technical Assistants, Library Subject Specialists, Library Reference Specialists and Administrative staff — have also been established by the GSU Human Resources department within the guidelines of USG Board of Regents Policies and are described on the Classification and Compensation Standards [2] website.

The University Library’s staffing levels are comparable to and consistent with peer institutions.  Though the comparison of the ratios of students to professional staff is not quite as favorable, ACRL’s  2003 Academic Library Trends and Statistics for GSU and selected peers (Wayne State University, SUNY Albany, and University of Alabama at Birmingham) show that the University Libraries (including the Law Library) have more library staff per full time student than GSU peer institutions.

Faculty librarians and archivists at Georgia State University have ongoing professional development goals, and classified staff also have job-related development goals. Both classified and professional staff report, evaluate and revise their individual goals and activities as part of their annual evaluation.  Per its Organizational Memorandum 80, the Library “provides employees access to educational opportunities that encourage professional development, improved technical skills, increased productivity, and better service to patrons.”  To do this, the University Library offers several avenues of support and assistance to employees to help them meet their training and development goals. These include

• In-house and external training and development opportunities. The Personnel Development Committee organizes an annual Development Day and other specific training events for library faculty and staff throughout the year.  To more formally organize, design, implement, and market learning opportunities, the University Library hired a Training and Assessment Librarian in 2005. The Training and Assessment intranet site for University Library employees offers a calendar of classes and events, with descriptions and registration options; class handouts, exercises, and presentations; and an information guide for new library employees.   In 2006, 68 professional development classes and events were offered.

• Funds for library employees to travel and attend conferences and workshops for professional development. In the 2005-2006 FY, the University Library expended nearly $20,000 for conference registrations, travel expenses, and staff development programs.

• A Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) [3].  TAP is available through the University System of Georgia and allows full time employees, faculty or staff, to receive a tuition and fee waiver for up to 8 hours of coursework per semester.

• The establishment of an endowment to support staff development.  A generous gift from William J. Usery established the Usery Staff Development Fund.

• The Carolyn Robison Scholarship Award.  This scholarship provides support for an employee pursuing a degree in the library profession, such as an archivist, media specialist, or a librarian, while remaining an employee of the University. Recipients may be staff members of either the University Library or the College of Law Library.

Law Library Staffing and Staff Development

The College of Law Library has seven librarians and eleven support staff members. Of the seven librarians, five have a J.D. degree and all librarians have a M.L.S. degree. The librarians receive financial support for professional activities and are involved in national, regional, and local professional association activities and research projects. In recent years, the librarians have published CALI lessons and articles in AALL Spectrum, Georgia State University Law Review, and presented in national and regional conferences. Additionally, some librarians have published chapters in books. Support staff members are encouraged to attend conferences held in Atlanta and at Georgia State.

Professor Nancy Johnson is the Law Librarian and Professor of Law. Prof. Johnson is responsible for all aspects of the library’s operation.  She teaches 1st year Legal Research and Advanced Legal Research.  She has been at GSU since 1982.

Ronald Wheeler is the Associate Director for Public Services. Ron is responsible for all aspects of public services, faculty research services, and teaching 1st year Legal Research.

Terrance Manion is the current Director of Information Technology for the College of Law. Terrance joined the College of Law Library in 1998. Manion teaches 1st year legal Research and is responsible for all IT operations.

Kreig Kitts is the Reference Librarian. Kreig joined the College of Law Library in 2006.

Trina Holloway is the Acquisitions/Serials Librarian. Trina joined the College of Law Library in 2004.

Qian Cui is the Catalog Librarian. Qian joined the College of Law Library in 2002.

Supporting Documentation — University Library

1. University Library Faculty Librarians
2. GSU Human Resources / Minimum Hiring Standards
3. Tuition Assistance Program for the University System of Georgia