Finding Balance: Examining the Experiences of Supervisory Technical Services Librarians on the Tenure Track

Abstract

Many technical services librarians find themselves managing a department and supervising staff while trying to work toward the requirements of tenure. This scenario is not unique to technical services, but historically technical services departments have been deprioritized over more public facing departments. This creates an added burden for these tenure-track technical services librarians. This topic has only been minimally explored in professional literature. This study examines the ways in which the responsibilities of tenure-track technical services librarians who supervise staff impact the amount of time they can devote to the requirements of tenure. This qualitative research study utilizes focus groups to hear the stories of both those who have been awarded tenure and those still going through the process. Participants report they are experiencing both challenges and successes in the process but need more support. The results from this study may be of interest to both librarians navigating the tenure process and colleagues and administrators who support them.