Creating an Annual Evaluation Framework for Library Faculty

This article describes the faculty-lead process and outcomes of a collaborative annual library faculty evaluation project. The authors share the process used at Boise State University's Albertsons Library, including the drivers, team member roles, communication strategies, challenges, discoveries, revision process, evaluation criteria, and the implemented framework. One key discovery is that while library faculty seek the clarity and transparency that a framework can provide in the evaluation process, they often favor differing evaluation criteria, thereby necessitating a structured yet flexible framework. The personal nature of assessing one's work made it an emotional process requiring sensitivity; and while evaluations can never be fully objective, faculty highly value consistent implementation. These findings add complexity to the process of creating a faculty evaluation framework suitable for everyone's needs. There is little scientific research in library sciences on this topic, and much of it is not current. As a result, the library faculty intend to continue to evaluate this process over time.