Texas A&M Weighs Sweeping Changes to Library; Inside Higher Ed, May 16, 2022

 Josh Moody, Inside Higher Ed; Texas A&M Weighs Sweeping Changes to Library

"The Texas A&M University system is working on a plan that would make sweeping changes across its 10 libraries. Those changes, still being discussed, would include asking librarians to relinquish tenure or transfer to another academic department to keep it.

The plan grew out of recommendations from MGT Consulting, which Texas A&M hired in June 2021 “to conduct a high-level, comprehensive review of major functional areas,” according to a company report. But as administrators have suggested additional changes, including to employee classification, faculty members have pushed back, arguing that proposed structural changes to the library system will do more harm than good.

They are especially concerned about a proposal that would end tenure for librarians. Experts note that tenure for librarians, which is somewhat common in academia, though not universal, can be crucial for academic freedom, especially in a political environment in which librarians are under fire."

Free Webinar: Students and Freedom of Expression on Campus: Tuesday, January 25, 2022 2 PM EST

Free Webinar: Students and Freedom of Expression on Campus

"Today’s students are challenging free-speech norms and are more likely than older generations to support restrictions that limit offensive speech. What’s more, the rise of social media, new sexual-harassment policies, and demands for more racial diversity and inclusiveness have sometimes complicated free expression on campus. In this environment, how can colleges promote open inquiry and discussion while balancing changing attitudes?

Join us for a virtual forum that brings together Michael S. Roth, the president of Wesleyan University, and other experts to share their perspectives on these topics:

• How is free expression evolving on college campuses?
• How do college leaders respond to claims that their institutions have become unwelcoming places for certain views?
• How can colleges mitigate potential conflicts when they do arise?

With Support From the Knight Foundation"

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Harvard’s Epstein corruption deserves a full airing — even amid a pandemic; The Washington Post, May 4, 2020

Charles Lane, The Washington Post; Harvard’s Epstein corruption deserves a full airing — even amid a pandemic

[Kip Currier: Fortuitous to see this story -- and the call for this "cautionary" real world case study to be investigated  -- as I’ve included this as a case study in the syllabus for my new graduate course, The Information Professional in the Community, launching next week.

In one of the course’s weekly units, we'll be exploring Harvard's deeply concerning ties to the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and, in columnist Charles Lane's parlance, "the cutting of ethical corners", within the broader context of critically examining Fiscal Considerations, Legal/Ethical/Policy Issues, and Risk Management in Collaborations and Partnerships.] 

"Such grotesque money-grubbing at the pinnacle of U.S. academia — a school, to be sure, that has positioned itself an ethical leader, especially in the movement against sexual assault and gender bias on campus — deserves a full airing, even amid the novel coronavirus pandemic...

It joins a lengthening list of cautionary tales of fundraising excess, such as the admissions-for-cash episode involving athletic teams at Yale, Stanford, the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Southern California and Georgetown, among others...

The need for cash is probably at or near an all-time high, and so is the risk, reputational and otherwise, of cutting ethical corners to raise it.

Professors and administrators can ill afford the moral arrogance that characterized the dealings of some at Harvard with Epstein, or their sloppiness, or their cluelessness...

Not everyone at Harvard — much less everyone in higher ed — is to blame for this sorry episode. Every college and university can learn from it."

Schools See Steep Drop in Librarians, New Analysis Finds; Education Week, May 16, 2018

Sarah D. Sparks and Alex Harwin, Education Week; Schools See Steep Drop in Librarians, New Analysis Finds

"“When we’ve talked to districts that have chosen to put resources elsewhere, we really do see more than one who have then come back and wanted to reinstate [the librarian],” said Steven Yates, the president of the American Association of School Librarians. “Not only do you lose the person curating the resources for informational and pleasure reading, but you lose the person who can work with the students on the ethical side—how do you cite? How do you determine a credible source of information?”"

Campus Libraries See Increase in Discriminatory Incidents; Library Journal, 11/28/16

Lisa Peet, Library Journal; Campus Libraries See Increase in Discriminatory Incidents:

"Within the libraries, administrators have used these events to highlight ongoing issues such as how to spot and respond to fake news. On a wider scale, they have stepped up their mission to support various campus communities and interest groups, particularly when it comes to student welfare. Said Hutto, “We, like a lot of colleges, have been very proactive about increasing diversity on campus. I think especially for those students, they definitely… are thinking of Reed as being a safe place. And to find out that it’s kind of like any other place is not a pleasant thing for them. We’re really concerned about them.”

In a statement released by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), Chris Bourg, director of libraries at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and ARL Diversity and Inclusion Committee chair, stated, “While ARL libraries and archives work hard to be inclusive in their hiring, collections, services, and environments, the Association and its members will not claim neutrality in the face of discrimination, sexism, ableism, racism, homophobia, religious persecution, or other forms of oppression. We support freedom of speech and the open exchange of ideas and opinions, but we will not tolerate hate speech, silencing, inflammatory rhetoric, or any other speech or action that threatens the safety or dignity of any member of our community.”

Addressing the proactive role campus libraries can play post-election, Bourg wrote in a statement from MIT Libraries, “This election has highlighted the urgent need for open, enduring, and equitable access to credible sources of news, data, and knowledge. At the MIT Libraries we will redouble our efforts to provide not only credible sources of information to our communities, but also the expertise, services, collections, tools, and spaces that facilitate and promote the critical assessment of information. We will also continue to document and provide access to the ideas, knowledge, and perspectives of our communities, as we did by archiving the post-election posters containing the immediate reactions of MIT students and community members.”"

Why Management Training Doesn’t Work; Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/15/13

David Evans, Chronicle of Higher Education; Why Management Training Doesn’t Work: "Let me note here that I am not anti-training—I think that there are many areas in which aspiring administrators both need and can make practical use of thoughtfully designed training that helps them learn to manage processes and people and to lead effectively in complex circumstances. I especially liked the suggestion offered by one reader of a yearlong seminar-type program which has as its “lab” the actual concurrent job duties of the participants, a model that could work especially well at a larger institution where there is a regular supply of new administrators being promoted from within and arriving from outside. I do, however, take exception to the idea, expressed by a couple of commenters, that the lack of such training is why many institutions of higher education are in serious trouble right now. I am quite certain that this claim cannot be empirically verified... The ultimate point is that yes, training is important. Administrators absolutely must understand the processes and legalities of their positions, how to manage crises and finances, and learning these by trial and error is the surest route to disaster—I would never argue otherwise. At the same time, as the examples above show, training is not the be-all and end-all of institutional success. People are people, by turns noble and venal, clever and stupid, honest and devious, competent and inept. Character matters, brains matter, empathy matters, work ethic matters. Training can sharpen these, but if an administrator doesn’t have them in the first place, no amount of training is going to fix the problem."