UNIT CODE OF OPERATIONS

 

DEPARTMENT OF/UNIT NAME The William E. Laupus, M.D. Health Sciences Library

 

SCHOOL/COLLEGE OF Division of Health Sciences

 

EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

 

 

 

Initial Code Approval

 

1. Approved by the tenured faculty of the Unit:                                                            

Chair, Unit Code Committee:   Melissa Nasea              Date: 1/3/08

                                                                             Editorially revised 4/14/08

2. If changed, reapproved by tenured faculty:

Chair, Unit Code Committee:               ______________                    Date:

                               

3. Submitted to Dean for advice:          Dorothy Spencer          Date: 1/7/08, 4/18/08

 

4. Reviewed/recommended by Faculty Senate Unit Code Screening Committee:

                           Garris Conner                                    Date: 2/14/08

                                                                    Editorially revised 4/14/08

5. Approved by the East Carolina University Faculty Senate:

Chair of the Faculty: Mark Taggart, 2/19/08 Faculty Senate Resolution #08-05

                                   Mark Taggart, 4/22/08, Faculty Senate Resolution #08-29

 

6.        Approved by East Carolina University Chancellor/or designee:

Chancellor:                              Steve Ballard                Date:  May 21, 2008

                                                                                           (Effective Date)

 

Revision of Code: _X__          Complete; or ____       Part(s) Effective: __X__

 

 


Laupus Library Code

 

Preamble

 

This Code allows for faculty participation in and establishes procedures for the Unit's internal affairs and is consistent with all applicable appendices of the East Carolina University Faculty Manual (hereafter referred to as the Faculty Manual).

 

I.          Mission

 

The William E. Laupus, M.D. Health Sciences Library (hereafter referred to as the Laupus Library) provides leadership in access to information for healthcare education, service and research in Eastern North Carolina.

 

In order to discharge its responsibilities, the Laupus Library will:

 

Collaborate with Joyner Library/Academic Library Services in the creation and support of the Virtual Library @ East Carolina University and other projects of benefit to the ECU community;

 

Identify, acquire and/or provide access to information resources in various media to support the university's teaching, research, and clinical programs in the health sciences;

 

Identify and acquire a representative sample of information resources developed specifically for health care consumers;

 

Assist faculty, staff, students, and health care professionals in achieving their individual and group educational goals not only by provision of appropriate information resources but by active participation in the educational process through group and individual instruction;

 

Organize the collection and maintain records to provide users with prompt access and complete, accurate information on the available information resources;

 

Inform those in the service community of the resources and services that are available to them;

 

Maintain an intellectual and physical environment conducive to learning and research;

 

Participate in the expansion of knowledge directly by conducting research investigations and by providing assistance to others conducting research;

 

Explore new technological advances and evaluate their effectiveness for use in providing improved information services;

 

Participate in cooperative programs with other institutions through networks and other systems that provide for sharing resources and/or services;

 

Develop and strengthen channels of communication which will facilitate the library's response to clients' needs; and

 

Develop and employ systems for evaluation of library resources and services.

 

II.         Organization/Composition

 

A.        Personnel in the Laupus Library include:

 

1.         Faculty: all persons who hold faculty appointments as defined in Appendix D of the Faculty Manual;

 

2.         EPA (non-faculty): professional staff exempt from the State Personnel Act who hold a post-graduate degree appropriate for the position but who do not have faculty status;

 

3.         SPA professional and support staff: who are subject to the State Personnel Act;

 

                                    4.         Temporary EPA and SPA employees;

 

                                    5.         Student workers, including graduate assistants.

 

            B.         Faculty

 

                        1.         Definition

 

The Laupus Library faculty shall be composed of all individuals who hold regular academic rank and fixed-term faculty who hold appointment in the Laupus Library.

 

                        2.         Voting

 

All faculty members, as defined above, shall be voting faculty on any issue except where the Faculty Manual defines the voting faculty so as to limit eligibility to vote on a specific issue. In such instances voting faculty shall be defined for that issue as defined in the Faculty Manual.

 

All issues shall be decided by a simple majority vote of those in attendance except where the Faculty Manual specifies that a different percent of those eligible for voting on the issue is required.

 

            C.        Administrative Organization

 

1.         For the purpose of the Unit Code and Appendices D and L of the Faculty Manual, the faculty will be organized as a single Unit and will not be further subdivided.

 

2.         The Director is the chief administrative officer of the Unit. The Director shall be selected in accordance with the Faculty Manual. His/her tenure in office shall conform to the Faculty Manual.

 

            The Director shall:

 

a.         Represent the Laupus Library in its relations with other Units of the University;

 

b.         Administer the affairs of the Laupus Library in accordance with the policies determined by the Unit, the Division, and the University. The Unit's faculty shall advise the Director in relation to policy through the standing and special committees, through recommendations formulated at general faculty meetings or meetings of the heads of operational services, and through consultation with individual faculty;

 

c.         Manage the operation of the Laupus Library administration office and have general responsibility for utilization of space, equipment, and supplies belonging to the Laupus Library;

 

d.         Prepare the budget and annual report in consultation with the heads of operational services, discuss them annually with the faculty in a regular faculty meeting and be responsible for administration of the budget;

 

e.         Recommend salary increments to the Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences (hereafter referred to as the Vice Chancellor), taking into consideration the principles and criteria recommended by the faculty;

 

f.          Assist, as requested, the Personnel Committee in the recruitment of new faculty;

 

g.         Develop and prepare strategic plans of operation in consultation with the faculty;

 

h.         Serve, ex officio, as a member of the Faculty Affairs Committee;

 

i.          Respond to recommendations of the heads of operational services, faculty standing and special committees and other Laupus Library committees, or the general faculty by reporting on action taken or not taken;

 

j.          Forward faculty committee recommendations for promotion, permanent tenure, appointment, and reappointment to the Vice Chancellor, along with the Director's own recommendations on these matters.

 

k.         Ensure that code procedures are followed.

 

3.         In accordance with Appendices D and L, the Laupus Library is a code Unit and does not choose to organize into sub-units (e.g., departments).  However, the Director and the Laupus Library faculty, in consultation with its permanently tenured faculty, may organize internal operational services and designate an associate director, assistant director(s) and/or heads of operational services as program needs require.

 

4.         Laupus Library faculty serve the information needs of university programs at the undergraduate and graduate level.  There is no differentiation among the Laupus Library faculty as to which academic populations they will serve.

 

III.       Faculty Committees

 

All committee meetings shall be open to all faculty and EPA non-faculty of the Unit, except meetings of the personnel committees dealing with confidential personnel matters.

 

A.        Standing Committee

 

Faculty Affairs Committee

 

The Faculty Affairs Committee is the standing committee of the Unit. The quorum for this committee shall be a majority of the members, excluding the ex officio members.

 

1.         Composition

 

a.         The Faculty Affairs Committee shall be composed of three faculty members, preferably one of whom is permanently tenured, in addition to the Director who shall serve as an ex officio member.

 

b.         All faculty and EPA non-faculty shall be eligible to serve on the Faculty Affairs Committee.

 

2.         Method of Selection

 

Members of the Faculty Affairs Committee shall be nominated by the Unit in general faculty meetings and elected by secret ballot by a simple majority of the Unit faculty and EPA non-faculty present.  For such elections, a quorum shall be two-thirds of the faculty and EPA non-faculty. 

 

3.         Terms of Office

 

The terms of office of the elected members of the Faculty Affairs Committee shall be three years and be staggered so as to allow for rotation of at least one member annually. Terms of appointment shall begin with the day of the August Laupus Library faculty meeting. The Committee shall annually elect a chair.

 

4.         Functions

 

The Faculty Affairs Committee shall:

 

a.         Make recommendations to the Director concerning policy and procedure changes.

 

b.         Review the Unit Code periodically and make recommendations to the permanently tenured faculty of the Unit for its revision as specified in Appendix L of the Faculty Manual and Part IX of the Laupus Library Code.

 

c.         Review the “Guidelines for Evaluation of Laupus Faculty” periodically and make recommendations to the permanently tenured faculty of the Unit for final approval.

 

d.         Present recommendations to the general faculty in the above-mentioned areas or in any other areas of library concern.

 

B.         Special Committees:

 

Special committees of the Laupus Library shall consist of the Personnel, Promotion, Tenure, and Ad Hoc Search Committees. Membership in special committees will follow the "Description of 'voting faculty'" in Appendix D Section IV of the Faculty Manual.

 

1.         Personnel Committee

 

            a.         Composition

 

1.         The Personnel Committee shall be composed of three members. Two members must be elected from the permanently tenured faculty. One member must be elected from the permanently tenured or probationary-term voting faculty.

 

2.         If the number of permanently tenured faculty drops below three, permanently tenured members will serve continuously until the number of permanently tenured faculty permits the resumption of rotation of permanently tenured members.

 

3.         The committee shall annually elect a chair as specified in Appendix D.

 

b.                  Method of Selection

 

Election and membership of the Personnel Committee shall comply with the requirements of Appendix D.

 

c.                   Terms of Office

 

The terms of office of the members of the Personnel Committee shall be three years and be staggered so as to allow for rotation of at least one member annually. Terms of appointment shall begin with the day of the August Laupus Library faculty meeting.

 

d.         Duties

 

The duties of the Personnel Committee shall be those defined in Appendix D and include the following additional duties:

 

1.         Elect ad hoc search committees and the chairs of search committees for faculty positions.  At least one member of the Personnel Committee shall serve on each search committee.

 

2.         Receive the results of ad hoc search committees and make recommendations regarding appointments according to Appendix D.

 

3.         Consult with the Director on the appointment or removal of heads of operational services.

 

4.         Call meetings of the faculty, as needed, for discussion or voting on personnel matters.

 

2.         Promotion Committee

 

The composition and duties of Promotion Committees shall be those prescribed in the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix D.

 

3.         Tenure Committee

 

The composition and duties of the Tenure Committee shall be those prescribed in the ECU Faculty Manual, Appendix D. The duties include consulting annually with the Director in the preparation of each probationary-term faculty member’s progress toward tenure letter.

 

4.         Ad Hoc Search Committee

 

a.         Membership:

 

An Ad Hoc Search committee shall be comprised of sufficient members to accomplish the logistical needs of the specific search (a minimum of five members). A majority of the committee must be voting faculty of the Laupus Library. At least one member of the Personnel Committee must serve on the committee. The committee may include SPA staff of the Library. Depending upon the expertise required in the position being filled, other ECU personnel may be invited to serve.

 

b.         Duties:

 

1.         Prepare the advertisement for an open position in consultation with the Director and appropriate head of operational service.

 

2.         Solicit and review applications for positions.

 

3.         Select candidates for interview.

 

4.         Arrange interview schedules.

 

5.         Submit results of the search and the recommendations of the search committee to the Personnel Committee.

 

IV.       Appointment, Annual Evaluation, Reappointment, Promotion and Conferral of Permanent Tenure

 

A.        Appointment

 

The criteria and procedures used for appointment of faculty shall meet the requirements specified in Appendix C, Appendix D, and Appendix L of the ECU Faculty Manual.

 

1.                  Fixed Term Faculty

 

Individuals with less than two years of relevant professional library experience will be considered for appointment only as fixed-term faculty. Initial fixed term contracts will be for a period of one year at the Research Instructor level.

 

After no more than two successive one-year contracts, fixed term faculty may apply for a multi-year contract. Faculty will be offered the choice of a fixed term contract or of applying for a probationary-term appointment. At the end of a fixed-term contract, faculty who choose to change to the tenure track will be required to participate in an ECU internal personnel search.

 

Appointments could also be made with the titles of Research Assistant Professor, Research Associate Professor, or Research Professor for faculty with more than two years relevant experience.

 

2.         Probationary Faculty

 

a.         Assistant Professor

 

Appointment at the Assistant Professor level may be made for those candidates who meet the qualifications as defined in Appendix C and have a minimum of two years of relevant professional library experience.

 

b.         Associate Professor

 

Appointment at the Associate Professor level may be made for those candidates who meet the criteria for the previous rank, and, in addition, offer evidence of superior performance of professional duties, active and productive research, a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in an academic health sciences library, and a record of relevant professional activities and service commensurate with this professorial rank.

 

c.         Professor

 

Appointment at the level of Professor is reserved for those candidates who meet the criteria for the previous rank and, in addition, hold a second Master’s degree or earned doctorate in an area relevant to their appointment to the Laupus Library faculty, have a minimum of 10 years of experience in an academic health sciences library, and who present a record of professional performance, active and productive research, and professional activities and services commensurate with this senior professorial rank.

 

B.         Annual Evaluation

 

Criteria and procedures used for evaluation shall be consistent with those specified in Appendix C Sections I.C., III, and IV of the Faculty Manual; however, for Laupus Library Faculty, “Performance of Professional Duties and Continuing Professional Development” shall be considered equivalent to “Teaching,” and the evaluation of the "Performance of Professional Duties and Continuing Professional Development" shall be used in lieu of the "Evaluation of Teaching." Evaluations shall take into account the following components with relative weight ranges as indicated:

 

1.         Performance of Professional Duties and Continuing Professional Development (60-90%)

2.         Creative Activity/Research (5-30%)

3.         Service to the University, the Profession, and the Community (5-20%).

 

Criteria used in annual evaluation include any or all of the general criteria contained in the following section of this Code and more specific criteria contained in the document entitled “Guidelines for Evaluation of Laupus Faculty” approved by the Laupus Library faculty.  Additional criteria specifically relating to reappointment, promotion, and conferral of tenure can be found in Appendix D Sections III and IV.

 

1.         Performance of Professional Duties and Continuing Professional Development

 

Performance and professional development shall be evaluated based on:

 

a.         Quality of job performance

 

b.         Understanding and application of contemporary library methods

 

c.         Effectiveness of judgment

 

d.         Effectiveness of interpersonal interactions

 

e.         Evidence of continuing education activities and/or completion of academic courses related to faculty assignments.

 

2.         Creative Activity/Research

 

a.         The nature and success of creative activity/research undertaken shall be considered in evaluating creative activity/research.

 

b.         Types of publications shall include but not be limited to books, book chapters, journal articles, major bibliographic projects, and book reviews. Greater weight shall be given to first and/or senior authorship and to refereed over non-refereed publications.

 

c.         Presentations at professional meetings via oral presentation or poster session. Greatest weight shall be given to solo presentations at international or national meetings.

 

d.         Types of grant activities may include but not be limited to proposal writing, funded and non-funded projects, principal investigator, co-investigator and other activities.  Greater weight shall be given to funded over non-funded projects.

 

3.         Service to the University, the Profession and the Community

 

Service shall be demonstrated by active participation in the following:

 

a.         Laupus Library committees

 

b.         University service including university committees, service within the Division of Health Sciences, and/or committees jointly sponsored by Laupus and Joyner Libraries

 

c.         Professional association service

 

d.         Community service

 

Greater weight shall be given for leadership roles in any of the above activities.

 

Any revisions to the relative weights assigned to each of the above criteria shall be approved by the permanently tenured faculty of the Unit.  Any such revisions shall be incorporated into the Unit's Code in accordance with the provisions of Appendix C.  In no case, however, shall service be weighed more heavily than either Performance of Professional Duties and Continuing Professional Development or Creative Activity/Research.

 

Annually, by July 1, each faculty member, in consultation with his/her head of operational service and the Director, will select relative weights to be applied to the criteria that are used in the annual evaluation of the individual’s performance for the following year.

 

All faculty will receive an annual evaluation done in consultation between his/her head of operational service and the Director and based upon the relative weights determined by the previous July 1.

 

Performance, as evaluated using the Laupus Library’s criteria and “Guidelines for Evaluation of Laupus Faculty” previously approved by the faculty and posted on the Library’s Intranet, will be the primary determinant of eligibility for merit salary awards, although other factors such as salary inequities and the availability of salary increase funds in the recent past may be considered as well.  Participation in any merit increases will be determined by the Director based upon the above guidelines, but in no case will a faculty member who fails to receive an evaluation of at least “meets job performance expectations” receive a merit increase.

 

Information on the contents of and procedures related to faculty personnel/evaluation files is in Appendix C Section VI of the Faculty Manual.

 

C.        Evaluation, Subsequent Appointment, and Advancement in Title of Fixed Term Faculty

 

Evaluation, subsequent appointment, and advancement in title of fixed term faculty shall follow the policies and procedures in Appendices C and D and Part XIII of the Faculty Manual.

 

The Library has these policies: Laupus Library Portfolio for Contract Renewal of Fixed Term Faculty; Evaluation and Subsequent Appointment of Fixed Term Faculty; Advancement in Title of Fixed Term Faculty.

 

The “Guidelines for Evaluation of Laupus Faculty” document prescribes procedures, criteria, and relative weights for evaluation of fixed-term faculty.

 

D.        Reappointment

 

Reappointment for probationary-term faculty shall follow policies and procedures in Appendices C and D and Parts XII and XIII of the Faculty Manual.

 

The suggested timelines below shall be used by those evaluating probationary-term faculty and shall also be used in preparing the progress toward tenure letters.  These are guidelines, not mandates, for measuring performance.

 

1.         Years One and Two

 

a.         Demonstrate performance of professional duties at least at the “meets expectation” level on the annual evaluation.

 

b.         Serve as a contributing member of Laupus Library committees.

 

c.         Regularly attend faculty meetings.

 

d.         Maintain membership in the Medical Library Association or a comparable national or international professional organization.  Maintain eligibility for certification in a nationally recognized credentialing organization.

 

e.         Have evidence of progress towards tenure consistent with the relative weights selected for performance of professional duties and continuing professional development, creative activity/research, and service to the University, the profession and community for each year served.

 

2.         Year Three

 

a.         Demonstrate performance of professional duties at least at the “exceeds expectation” level on the annual evaluation.

 

b.         Serve as a contributing member of Laupus Library committees.

 

c.         Regularly attend faculty meetings.

 

d.         Maintain membership in the Medical Library Association or a comparable national or international professional organization.  Maintain eligibility for certification in a nationally recognized credentialing organization.

 

e.         Have evidence of progress towards tenure consistent with the relative weights selected for performance of professional duties and continuing professional development, creative activity/research, and service to the University, the profession and community for each year served.

 

Reappointment beyond year three will be based upon cumulative evidence of: quality of performance of professional duties in years one, two, and three; evidence of continued professional growth and development; active and productive research and scholarship; a record of activity and leadership in Laupus Library and Division and/or University committees and a record of activity and leadership in professional organizations.

 

3.         Years Four and Five

 

a.         Demonstrate performance of professional duties at least at the “exceeds expectation” level on the annual evaluation.

 

b.         Serve as a contributing member of Laupus Library committees.

 

c.         Regularly attend and contribute to faculty meetings.

 

d.         Maintain membership in the Medical Library Association or a comparable national or international professional organization.  Maintain eligibility for certification in a nationally recognized credentialing organization.

 

e.         Have additional cumulative evidence of progress towards tenure consistent with the relative weights selected for performance of professional duties and continuing professional development, creative activity/research, and service to the University, the profession and community for each year served.

 

4.         Years Six and Seven

 

a.         Demonstrate performance of professional duties at least at the “exceeds expectation” level on the annual evaluation.

 

b.         Continue to contribute to Laupus Library committees at a progressively higher level of leadership.

 

c.         Regularly attend and contribute to faculty meetings.

 

d.         Maintain membership in the Medical Library Association or a comparable national or international professional organization.  Maintain eligibility for certification in a nationally recognized credentialing organization.

 

e.         Have additional cumulative evidence of progress towards tenure consistent with the relative weights selected for performance of professional duties and continuing professional development, creative activity/research, and service to the University, the profession and community for each year served.

 

E.         Promotion

 

Promotion for probationary-term and tenured faculty shall follow the policies and procedures in Appendix C Se