UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATIVE MEMORANDUM NO. 2.1

Issued: February 1977
Revised: February 1985
Revised: December 1990
Revised: January 1992
Revised: September 1992
Revised: January 2002

 

GUIDELINES FOR ACADEMIC REVIEW PROCESS AND DOCUMENTATION

This administrative memorandum describes the academic review process and the review documents to be prepared by the candidate and the review initiator. It also presents a glossary of terms used in the academic review process, describes policy and procedures for deferral, describes mid-year review procedures, outlines procedures for notification of review, and provides samples of documents associated with the review process. References to both the Academic Personnel Manual (APM) for non-represented librarians and the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for represented librarians are provided for policy guidance and clarification. For represented librarians, the APM applies only to the extent provided for in the MOU. This memorandum is to be used in conjunction with the Call to Review, which is issued annually by the Executive Vice Chancellor. A companion document, Personnel Administrative Memorandum No.2.2, provides guidelines for the application of academic review criteria.

I. PROCEDURES FOR NOTIFICATION OF REVIEW
Each year, prior to the beginning of the review period, the Library Personnel Office shall inform the review initiators of the review status of librarians under their supervision and shall indicate what actions are possible. All librarians shall be notified in writing of their status for review.

II. POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR DEFERRAL
A review may be deferred if prolonged absence or other unusual circumstances have resulted in insufficient evidence to evaluate performance. A deferral is considered a neutral action, which means it is neither positive nor negative. If deferral is approved, the individual will be scheduled for review in the subsequent year. (see APM 360-80-a(2); MOU 4.C.2). The candidate must submit a request for deferral in writing to the review initiator, stating the reasons for deferral. If the review initiator, the Department Head, the Division Head, or the University Librarian, do not all concur with the deferral request, the review shall take place as scheduled. When all parties agree that the deferral is appropriate, a recommendation for deferral will be forwarded to the Executive Vice Chancellor. The Executive Vice Chancellor may deny the request for deferral, in which case a review would take place.

III. MID-YEAR REVIEW PROCEDURES
It is the responsibility of supervisors to communicate regularly with librarians under their jurisdiction regarding their assignments, achievements, problems, professional activities, and goals. For librarians eligible for review, supervisors shall schedule a meeting in October to prepare for the review. No documentation is required in preparation for, or as a result of, this mid-year review. Whenever job assignments have changed, the Statement of Primary Responsibilities shall be modified to reflect the change.

IV. PREPARATION OF THE REVIEW PACKET
It is the review initiator's responsibility to ensure the completeness of the candidate's review file and to inform the candidate of all materials in the file up to the time of the submission of the file to the Division Head or the University Librarian. The candidate is made aware of the number of confidential documents in the file if these are present. (The Certification Statement and the Documentation Checklist are annotated and signed at the time of the candidate's interview with the University Librarian.) The candidate's review documentation shall include the following elements:

1. STATEMENT OF PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES. This form (see Appendix 1) states the job assignments and ongoing academic responsibilities in effect at the time of review (see Appendix I for a sample). If a candidate directly or indirectly performs library assignments outside of the department (e.g., as a selector), it is the responsibility of the review initiator to incorporate these assignments into the Statement of Primary Responsibilities, and to incorporate performance of these activities into reviews. Letters from bibliographers evaluating selector performance may be included here.

2. CANDIDATE'S STATEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS. See Section V., "Candidate's Documentation" and Appendix 2 for guidelines on the format and preparation of these documents.

3. An updated UC BIOGRAPHY FOR ACADEMIC PERSONNEL.

4. UC RIVERSIDE LIBRARIAN SERIES ACADEMIC REVIEW-REVIEWERS' EVALUATION. See Section VI, "Review Initiator's Documentation" for guidelines on format and preparation of this document.

5. LETTERS may be included as a part of the candidate's documentation. If the candidate wishes letters to be included in the file, a reasonable number of letters will be solicited from the names that the candidate provides. In any case, the two forms regarding letters will be a part of the file (see Appendix 4). One form is a request from the candidate to the review initiator regarding solicitation of letters, and the other is from the review initiator (through the appropriate administrative channels) to the Library Personnel Office. Other documents, such as copies of articles or other examples of a librarian's creative activity, may be added to the file if the candidate wishes.

The reviewers may wish to have letters solicited in specific cases. Letters are required to support promotion or advancement to Distinguished Librarian, and are normally requested for any accelerated action. If any reviewer wants letters and the candidate has provided no names at the beginning of the review cycle, the candidate must have a second opportunity to provide a list of names from which a reasonable number of letters will be solicited.

Normally, unsolicited letters are not a part of the file. However, if the candidate or the review initiator believes that a letter (or letters) contributes materially to the review, then these may be added as non-confidential items.

V. CANDIDATE'S DOCUMENTATION
The candidate prepares the following documents for submission to the review initiator:

1. AN UPDATED STATEMENT OF PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES. (see page 2 and Appendix 1).

2. CANDIDATE'S STATEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS.
   The Statement of Professional Achievements is a concise narrative statement citing the most significant achievements during the review period under each of the four review criteria. The benefit of these achievements to the Library, University, and the profession should be highlighted in the statement.

   Guidelines for preparing the Statement of Professional Achievements are provided in Appendix 2.

   Candidates being considered for promotion or for advancement to Distinguished Librarian are required to summarize their achievements over their entire career, in addition to those of the last review period.

3. AN UPDATED BIOGRAPHY FOR ACADEMIC PERSONNEL FORM.

4. OTHER DOCUMENTS
   In consultation with the Review Initiator, the candidate may include other documents such as copies of articles or other examples of creative activity in the review file.

NOTE: APM 360-80g (MOU 4.C.12) provides for the candidate's submitting "for inclusion in the record a written statement in response to or commenting upon material in the record." This opportunity shall be available at any time during the review process, including when additional information is added to the candidate's file.

VI. REVIEW INITIATOR'S DOCUMENTATION
A major objective of the review process is communication between the review initiator and the candidate. The written review document prepared by the review initiator is essential as a means of providing a constructive critique of work performed by the candidate and as a basis for the recommendation of a specific salary and rank/step action. Results should include a mutual understanding between the review initiator and the candidate of the duties of and expectations for the job, identification of the accomplishments of the candidate, and, if applicable, areas in which improvement may be needed.

In the case where the review initiator reports to a Division Head, the recommendation must be forwarded to the Division Head for concurrence or non-concurrence with the recommendation. In the case of a disagreement, the Division Head must present justification for an alternative recommendation. Where a split appointment exists, the Primary Supervisor is considered the Review Initiator and is responsible for making the recommendation. Secondary Supervisors are responsible for providing evaluations of the performance of candidates partially under their supervision.

The review, utilizing a version of the form UC RIVERSIDE LIBRARIAN SERIES ACADEMIC REVIEW-REVIEWER'S EVALUATION (see Appendix 3) shall include the items listed below:

1. Date, rank, and step of the candidate's initial appointment at UCR.

2. Current rank and step of candidate.
3. Number of years at current step.
4. Rank and step recommended.
5. Evaluation of the candidate's performance in relation to the job assignment, together with specific evidence to support the recommendation. This section must be organized according to the four criteria (Section 210-4-e(3)-a.-d; MOU Appendix E.IV.A.) of the Academic Personnel Manual.

1. PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND QUALITY OF SERVICE WITHIN THE LIBRARY. Evaluation in this criterion must be made according to the functions as listed in APM Section 360-4 (MOU Appendix IV.A.):
   1. Selection and development of resources.
   2. Bibliographic control of collections and their organization for use.
   3. Reference and advisory service.
   4. Development and application of specialized information systems.
   5. Library administration and management.
   6. Research, where necessary or desirable, in relation to foregoing.
      This section (A. 1-6.) analyzes a candidate's performance; it is done in the context of a comprehensive statement of the candidate's job assignments and academic responsibilities for the review period, including special projects. All librarians will be judged on consistency of performance, grasp of library methods, command of their subjects, continued growth in their field, judgment, leadership, originality, ability to work effectively with others, and their ability to relate their functions to the more general goals of the Library and the University.

2. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY.
3. UNIVERSITY AND PUBLIC SERVICE.
4. RESEARCH AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY.
   A candidate's activities, services, and contributions in B-D should be assessed in terms of:
   1. Their significance and value to, as well as their influence and impact on, the profession and the University.
   2. The level and quality of the candidate's contributions.
   3. The appropriateness of the candidate's choice of activities in terms of overall career development and growth. In cases where the review initiator does not possess personal or direct knowledge of a candidate's activities, letters (not necessarily confidential) or other appropriate documentation shall be solicited in order to clarify the candidate's contributions.

5. OVERALL EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATION. This is a concise statement by the review initiator which assesses the candidate's performance and includes a discussion of the balance among the criteria in the candidate's performance, an evaluation of the candidate's plans and goals, mention of other factors which may have had a bearing on performance during the review period, and, if applicable, a statement of areas in need of improvement. The recommendation is reiterated and may be one of six possibilities: (1) merit advancement, (2) promotion, (3) accelerated merit advancement or accelerated promotion, (4) continue at present rank and step (Associate Librarian VII, or Librarian V without prejudice), (5) no merit, or (6) termination. The first three actions may include a change from potential career to career status. The analysis of performance prepared by the review initiator must provide justification for the recommendation. In the case of a recommendation for promotion and/or a change from potential career to career status, the review initiator must address the candidate's full career, not just the past review period.

   In summary, each reviewer’s document must be a concise and objective analysis of a candidate's performance of agreed upon job assignments and academic and professional activity. The review must clearly substantiate the recommendation.

VII. DIVISION HEAD'S/ UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN'S DOCUMENTATION
At a minimum, the Division Head (if applicable to the review in question) and the University Librarian (in all cases) must indicate concurrence or non-concurrence with the evaluation and recommendation of the review initiator. Where either has significant additional input or information or a new perspective on the candidate's file, this shall be noted in the documentation.

VIII. GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN THE ACADEMIC REVIEW PROCESS

Academic Personnel Manual (APM) -- The Academic Personnel Manual includes policies and procedures pertaining to the employment relationship between an academic appointee and the University of California. These policies are issued by the President of the University of California. For represented librarians, the APM applies only to the extent provided for in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), see below.
Accelerated Merit -- 1) A more than one-step advancement within rank, or 2) a merit increase which takes place before the normal period in rank and step established by the APM.
Accelerated Promotion -- 1) A promotion which takes place before the normal time in rank and/or step established by the APM, or 2) a promotion which involves more than a step advancement in salary.
Bargaining Unit -- University Council - American Federation of Teachers (formerly the University Federation of Librarians) is the exclusive bargaining agent for librarians in the bargaining unit. All librarians, except those librarians designated as managerial, supervisory, and/or confidential by the University, are members of the Bargaining Unit.
Candidate -- Librarian under review consideration.
Candidate's Statement of Professional Achievements -- This form, prepared by the candidate, is used to record contributions and achievements to the library and librarianship during the period under review, as well as plans for academic and professional activity. Achievements cited should not repeat the responsibilities outlined in the Statement of Primary Responsibilities.
Deferral -- A postponement of a scheduled review for one year. This is a neutral action, but carries with it a requirement for subsequent review in the following year.
Distinguished Librarian -- Currently, Librarian Step VI and above. Please refer to LAUC Position Paper No. 1 and PAM 2.2 II (F).
Merit Advancement -- A one-step advancement within rank in the Librarian Series.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) -- A collective bargaining agreement between the University of California and the University Council - American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT), Professional Librarian Unit, the provisions of which describe and define the exclusive bargaining relationship between them. For represented librarians, the MOU describes and prescribes the academic review process and the APM only applies to represented librarians to the extent provided for in the MOU.
Primary Supervisor -- The person to whom the candidate reports for more than 50% of the time.
Promotion -- An advancement which entails a change in rank.
Rank -- The relative position held in the Librarian Series: Assistant Librarian, Associate Librarian, or Librarian.
Review Document (or Academic Review Document) -- The document prepared by the review initiator evaluating the candidate's performance and recommending specific personnel action.
Review Initiator -- The person to whom the candidate reports and who is responsible for completing and discussing the review document, assembling the review file, and (with the candidate) preparing the Statement of Primary Responsibilities. The review initiator is normally the primary supervisor. The review initiator shall consult with others who supervise the candidate's work.
Review Period (or Academic Review Period) -- The span of time with which the review is concerned. The review period is March 1 through the following February and may be for one or more years depending on the rank and step of the candidate.
Secondary Supervisor -- The person to whom the candidate reports for 49% of time or less, or a person who supervises a discrete activity, such as a bibliographer evaluating a selector's work.
Selector -- A librarian who has responsibility for collection development in one or more subject areas.
Split Appointment -- An appointment in which a librarian reports to more than one supervisor.
Statement of Primary Responsibilities -- The form used to document the candidate's job assignments and other assigned responsibilities, such as standing committee assignments. Assignments undertaken during the review period but not completed should also be noted. The form is to be jointly prepared by the candidate and the review initiator and will be included with the review initiator's review document as an attachment.
Step -- The relative position held by a librarian within rank.

IX. APPENDICES
This section includes copies of all standard forms used in the reviews of librarians, and, in some cases, guidelines for filling out the forms.
Appendix 1. Statement of Primary Responsibilities.
Appendix 2. Candidate's Statement of Professional Achievements.
Appendix 3. UC Riverside Librarian Series Academic Review-Reviewer's Evaluation Form.
Appendix 4. Forms (2) for requesting confidential letters.
Appendix 5. Documentation Checklist.
Appendix 6. Certification Statement.
Appendix 7. Calendar (sample: for the current review cycle).


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Appendix 1

STATEMENT OF PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Date:____________________

Name:
_____________________________________________________________________
Academic Rank/Step:
_________________________________________________________
Functional Title(s):
___________________________________________________________
Supervisor(s):
_______________________________________________________________


1. General statement of job assignments and responsibilities within the Library in the five major areas of librarianship.
1. Selection and development of resources.
2. Bibliographic control of collections and their organization for use.
3. Reference and advisory service.
4. Development and application of specialized information systems.
5. Library administration and management.
6. Research, as part of foregoing.
2. Standing committees of task forces undertaken as part of job assignments.
3. Long-term special projects, on-going responsibilities, or other assignments not mentioned above.

 

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Appendix 2

GUIDELINES FOR CANDIDATE'S STATEMENT
OF PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

The Statement of Professional Achievements is a narrative summary of the candidate's activities and contributions during the review period which are noteworthy. The form for the Statement is attached to this appendix. The candidate's achievements should be summarized under each of the four criteria. The summaries should focus on the major achievements of the review period, and should not include ongoing or regular activities that are listed in the Statement of Primary Responsibilities. Review initiators may request, or Candidates may submit, a more detailed listing of activities if desired, but such a listing is not required for the review file.

Candidates being considered for promotion, or advancement to Distinguished Librarian, are required to summarize their achievements over their entire careers.
The following outline is intended to serve as a guide as to which types of achievements should be included in the narrative summaries under each criteria. The outline is not intended to serve as a structure for the narrative summaries.

Criterion I. PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND QUALITY OF SERVICE WITHIN THE LIBRARY

1. Contributions in the Five Major Areas of Librarianship:

   1. Selection and development of resources.
   2. Bibliographic control of collections and their organization for use.
   3. Reference and advisory service.
   4. Development and application of specialized information systems.
   5. Library administration and management.
   6. Research, as part of the foregoing.

2. Committee and Task Force Activity within the Library.
   (LAUC and other committees not wholly within the UCR Library should be included under Criterion III, University Service.)
3. Other
   Mention of any special projects, expanded responsibilities, or contributions within the library.

Criterion II. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY

1. Activities in Professional Organizations.
   Mention of any noteworthy achievements made as officers, committee chairs, or participants in professional organizations and their meetings and conferences.

2. Awards, Fellowships, and/or Grants Received.

3. Teaching and Lecturing Activity.
   Mention of formal courses taught at either UCR or another institution. However, exclude instructional classes that can be included as primary job responsibilities in Criterion 1.

4. Consulting or Advisory Services.
   Mention of any consulting or advisory services to government agencies, library boards, libraries, companies, professional associations, publishers, editors or database producers.

5. Editorial Activity.

6. Formal Course Work Completed.
   Indicate degree(s) completed or formal courses taken for credit or audited.

Criterion III. UNIVERSITY AND PUBLIC SERVICE

1. Participation in the Librarians Association of the University of California (LAUC). Mention of noteworthy achievements in the activities of LAUC, both locally and systemwide.

2. University participation.
   Mention of noteworthy achievements while serving on an academic senate committee, or a special campus or systemwide committee.

3. Professional librarian services to community, state, nation, or internationally.
   Mention of contributions based upon professional and scholarly expertise.

4. Public service contributions to Library or UCR campus newsletters, Library Staff Association, Friends of the Library, etc.

Criterion IV. RESEARCH AND OTHER CREATIVE ACTIVITY

1. Published Writings.
   List anything written, edited, reviewed or compiled which has been published during the period under review.

2. Research and Creative Activity in Progress.
   List research or other creative activity in progress or completed, including books, articles, and papers submitted for publication.

PLANS FOR GROWTH

1. Forthcoming review period
   It is important to mention short-term goals: i.e., contributions to the library and the profession.

2. Long-term Plans.
   It is advisable to include any career or professional goals envisioned beyond the next review period.

OVERALL SUMMARY OF ACHIEVEMENTS
The Candidate may summarize and highlight his/her most notable achievements during the review period, if he/she chooses to do so. Candidates under consideration for promotion or advancement to Distinguished Librarian are required to summarize the most notable achievements of their entire careers.
Last modified: 3/12/2008 3:49 PM