This guide is under construction!  Please use the information here cautiously.  Ask your supervisor for assistance.

Welcome to the University of Arkansas Libraries!

This guide provides links and guidance to various aspects of being a faculty member here at the University Libraries. This guide is not an official document. 

Our faculty is governed by the Personnel Document on Evaluative Criteria, Procedures and General Standard for Initial Appointment, Successive Appointments, Annual and Post-tenure Review, Promotion and Tenure as well as by a set of Bylaws of the Library Faculty.

Our faculty document is ultimately governed by Academic Policy Series, 1405.11

As of September 2024, the Personnel Document has been approved by our library faculty, has been reviewed by the university general counsel and the provost, and will be undergoing revisions based on that feedback.  The Bylaws were approved and are found in the Library Faculty Team, Files.

See the Library Faculty Team, Files for more information on the Personnel Document, our bylaws, the Library Faculty Calendar (updated annually), library committees, and procedures.

Useful Terms to Know

• Unit Personnel Committee - also known as UPC.  This committee is charged with reviewing tenure-track faculty for 3rd year review, and for promotion and tenure.  The UPC also reviews non-tenure-track faculty for the reappointment review that occurs generally at the 3 year mark, then again at approximately 6 years and following that every 5 years or on whatever schedule is determined by the dean and the supervisor.  Non-tenure track faculty going up for promotion would also be reviewed by UPC.
• Unit Peer Review Committee - also known as UPRC. This committee is charged with reviewing all faculty, except library administrators, as part of the annual review process required by the state of Arkansas.
• Library Faculty Council - also known as LFC. This committee acts as the overall governing body of the Library Faculty. LFC holds annual elections for the UPC, UPRC, and LFC.
• Annual Review - used to describe both the process and the document created each year by each faculty member. The annual review document records and describes accomplishments in performance, scholarship, and service, if appropriate. Submitted in January to UPRC. After review and feedback from UPRC, the document is passed to the immediate supervisor where further feedback is provided.
• Faculty Document or Personnel Document - informal name for the Personnel Document on Evaluative Criteria, Procedures, and General Standards for Initial Appointment, Successive Appointments, Annual and Post-tenure Review, Promotion, and Tenure.  This full title states the purpose of this document. It is the guiding document for how faculty are evaluated for reappointment each year and for promotion and tenure.  The campus document may also be called 1405.11, the board policy outlining this process for all campus faculty.
• Bylaws  - an internal library document that "outlines policies and procedures intended to enable and encourage all Libraries' faculty to actively participate in the shared governance of the University of Arkansas Libraries."
• Reappointment  - the process by which a tenure-track or non-tenure track library faculty member is reappointed for another year or another multi-year term (for non-tenure track).  The Annual Review process, the Third Year Review Process, and the Merit Based Reappointment (MBRR) process are all related to reappointment.
• Library Management Council - also known as LMC. This is a group of faculty and staff representing all areas of the library. It "serves as a deliberative body to discuss, inform, and coordinate issues of daily operations" among other things. Meant to provide an essential connection between the library administration and the library units. 
• Faculty Review Checklist  - also known as FRC or the checklist. This is the document used for your Third-Year Review and for Promotion and Tenure. 
• 1405.11 - the policy in our Academic Policy Series that governs faculty.  The full title is Evaluative Criteria, Procedures and General Standards for Initial Appointment, Successive Appointments, Annual and Post-tenure Review, Promotion and Tenure.