Publication Requirements and Tenure Approval Rates: An Issue for Academic Librarians

One hundred and thirty-eight members of the Center for Research Libraries responded to a survey designed to test the hypothesis that where tenure-track librarians are required to do research and publish, an inadequate research and publication record would be the most frequent cause for the rejection of the librarians' tenure applications. The hypothesis proved valid, but only for a small percentage of the librarians. The study revealed a generally high tenure approval rate (81.5 percent) for academic librarians compared to the national average for other academic faculty (58 percent).