Academic Leave D Byers June 21, 2005

Who is eligible Full-time library faculty in the bargaining unit Faculty with seven years of full-time service since beginning work or taking a previous leave NB: if divide leave time, accrual begins AFTER last leave segment

Time options See Article 25 Most librarians are on 12-month contracts – 4 consecutive quarters at 2/3 base – 8 months at full base salary – Any combo of 1-month leaves to total 8 months at full base salary

Application Meet with supervisor re how job will be covered Write summary for application Follow Library Faculty leave procedures for content Due to RPT by Oct 1 of academic year prior to leave year Due to ALA by Oct 31

Supervisor point of view Will want to cover tasks Won’t want to spend money! What can be omitted for the duration What can be taken on by others Create development opportunity for other librarians? ADL for added responsibility may be a possibility - ask

Re compensation You can’t be earning salary elsewhere while drawing salary on sabbatical Money for travel or training might be possible – specify in your application

What to do? Must serve the academic interests of the University May be directly related to your work May be related to your field May be related to an area the libraries wish to pursue May be intellectual development in your specialty

Ideas from the past Develop e-reserves Write a dictionary of abbreviations or acronyms in your field Write a book or bibliography Edit/update previous work Compose music Develop an archive Study instruction techniques

More ideas Write thesis or dissertation for Masters or PhD Reading/research for PhD in relevant subject area Get special training Creating a blog with RSS feeds Study collection assessment methods at a national library

…and more Visit other libraries with an eye to – Public service – Info commons – Digital Archives – Best practices – Preservation practices

Application Have clear purpose and goal Identify relevance to your work and your professional development Indicate use of time throughout Identify means for sharing the results of your work

What they’re looking for What’s unique that you don’t normally do in your job An end-product that is well-conceived Your track record in getting things done Quality of proposal and relevance to mission of unit

If your leave is granted Prepare like mad before you go Have a specific plan Keep a record of accomplishment Let others do without you (unless otherwise agreed)

If your leave is not granted If the number of applicants exceeded the unit’s ability to grant leaves to all, try again a subsequent year If your proposal was turned down for content reasons, consult with the RPT and administration about strengthening your case

When you are done Submit a written summary to the ALA – What you attained – How you developed Not necessary, but good idea to copy summary to Provost Get some mileage: publish or present a paper, or both