Book Publication as the Gold Standard for Tenure and Promotion: findings from a study of the CIC

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Book Publication as the Gold Standard for Tenure
and Promotion findings from a study of the CIC

• Leigh S. Estabrook
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Library Research Center
• May 14, 2004, ARL Membership Meeting

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Impetus and Background

• MLA report
• CIC provosts meeting
• Desire to emphasize quality over quantity of
  publication
• Desire to alleviate pressures on faculty,
  presses, libraries and others within their
  universities
• Mellon Foundation interest

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Provosts Continuing Goals

• Identify and commit to action steps to alleviate
  pressures on scholarly communication system in
  fields where the book is the typical unit of
  publication.
• Articulate and adopt strategies for aligning the
  evaluation of scholarly work with the current and
  emerging infrastructure for publication and
  dissemination of knowledge

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Fundamental questions of study

• To what extent are universities expectations
  about book publication a driver in behavior?
• Have university standards of publication for
  junior faculty increased over the past 20 years?
• Are there indications that expectations for book
  publication are changing currently?
• What is impact of these expectations on faculty
  members?

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Design of Study

• Within CIC institutions
• Variety of methods of data collection
• Focus groups with junior faculty
• Telephone interviews with 18 department
  chair/heads
• Questionnaire to tenure-track and tenured faculty
• Questionnaire to faculty who left CIC institution
  prior to being awarded tenure
• Analysis of promotion and tenure guidelines

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Key findings

• The book is clearly required for promotion and
  tenure in the humanities and social science
  disciplines in the CIC
• English, history and anthropology faculty in CIC
  universities are not having difficulty finding
  outlets for scholarly book publication
• Faculty are open to new methods of publication,
  including digital, but they dont understand
  them.

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6.As you think about the nature of your current
research and the best ways in which to publish
it, is a book length manuscript the best way in
which to present your work?
 
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8. Do you believe that a book (under contract or
published) should be required for tenure in your
department? (by department/field)
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3. Did you have any book-length manuscripts
completed and/or in process at the time you were
considered for tenure?
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11a. Has your department formally considered how
electronic publications should be evaluated?
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Additional insights from focus groups and
interviews

• Faculty misperceptions about e-publishing
• Administrators insistence on quality and
  continued focus on books
• Junior faculty ignorance of publishing process
• Complexities for faculty in changing dynamics of
  publishing industry

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Provosts recommendations from 12/2/03 meeting
(see report)

• Consider multiple and alternative distribution
  mechanisms for scholarship
• Encourage conversations among press, librarians,
  CIO, deans and other stakeholders
• Encourage faculty to retain IP rights
• Collaborate between institutions to create
  digital repositories
• Identify existing digital publishing efforts

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Key roles for libraries

• Embedded in and follow from Provosts
  recommendations
• Emerge from interviews with faculty and
  department chair
• Consistent with what many research libraries are
  already doing

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Acknowledgements

• Wonderful Barbara Allen, CIC, for encouraging the
  project and making it happen
• Don Waters and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
  for their generous financing