Faculty status of librarians at U.S. research universities

This survey of 124 library directors reveals that 52% of U.S. research universities grant nominal faculty status to librarians. The proportion granting faculty status has declined since 2008. Further survey results are provided for 12 distinct components of faculty status: nominal faculty status, tenure, professor ranks, peer review, scholarship, faculty senate, other committees, sabbaticals, flexible work, 9-month year, research funds, and equivalent salaries. Certain components of faculty status are substantially more or less common than faculty status itself, and nominal faculty status does not correspond to a clear-cut set of working conditions, rights, or responsibilities. A 5-tier hierarchy of faculty status indicators can be identified, and factor analysis can be used to create a single faculty status index that fully represents 9 of the 12 components of faculty status. The individual components that correspond most closely to the faculty status index are peer review and sabbaticals—not nominal faculty status.