External reviews within the context of the library promotion and tenure process

Abstract

External reviews are part of the promotion and tenure process for faculty at many institutions of higher education. The authors examined external review writing within the context of the academic library faculty promotion and tenure process by surveying 1849 librarians at 166 libraries. Librarians were asked to respond to quantitative and qualitative survey questions on several aspects of the external review process: participation in the process, qualifying as an external reviewer, the writing process, and demographics. The authors received 379 responses. Survey results provide information from the perspective of librarians who write external reviews, and show similarities with external reviewers in other disciplines.