The Librarianship Portfolio: A Case Study of Innovation in Faculty Evaluation at Robert Morris University (Preprint Version)

Abstract

Purpose: This paper describes the development of a Librarianship Portfolio for

the purposes of permanent status evaluation and rank promotion at a small private

university with a unionized faculty.

Design/methodology/approach: The Librarianship Portfolio was conceived and

based on teaching portfolios and evaluative documents at other colleges and

universities and is also a direct result of collective bargaining negotiations.

Findings: Interest in outcomes assessment and evaluation is increasing in the

educational institutions where academic librarians work. One assessment strategy that

has been developed for teaching faculty is the professional teaching portfolio. Librarians

have not widely adopted this type of documentation for the purposes of tenure

evaluation, or work performance assessment.

Practical Implications: Portfolios such as this one can serve as a basis for

collecting documentation and highlighting excellence in job performance at other

academic libraries, whether or not librarians are faculty or belong to a union.

Originality/Value: The Librarianship Portfolio as described here is a unique

creation in job performance evaluation.