Constant Vigilance, Babelfish, and Foot Surgery: Perspectives on Faculty Status and Tenure for Academic Librarians

Faculty status and tenure for academic librarians are topics of continuous discussion. The rationales for having a tenure system have relevance for librarians but affect librarians differently than they do other faculty. A well-conceived tenure system can enhance a library's vitality and effectiveness, but maintaining the system requires commitment by faculty and administrators, understanding differences in faculty cultures, documentation, communication, understanding peer review, and support for scholarly work. Several idiosyncratic perspectives on tenure for librarians, including lessons to be learned from single-sex colleges, computer translation programs, and figure skating are offered.