NAVIGATING THE GATE KEEPERS: A MIXED METHOD STUDYOF

EARLY CAREER LIBRARIANS

IN THE TENURE PROCESS
By
Judith Ann Wolfe
A DISSERTATION
Presented to the Faculty of
The Graduate College of the University of Nebraska
In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Major: Human Sciences (Leadership Studies)
Under the Supervision of Professor Leverne Barrett
Lincoln, Nebraska
May 2012

Abstract

NAVIGATING THE GATE KEEPERS: A MIXED METHOD STUDY OF EARLY

CAREER LIBRARIANS IN THE TENURE PROCESS
Judith Ann Wolfe, Ph.D.
University of Nebraska, 2012Adviser:Leverne Barrett The gate keepers oversee the
enforcement of the rules,set by the university, for those seeking tenure. This elite club
decides what counts, how it is completedand evaluated, and where to set the equity bar.

The pretenured librarian expects to be treated with openness and fairness but may be met
with bias and secrecy. Without a network or mentoring system many early-career librarians
are not reappointed,are denied tenure, and become dropouts in the last yearof the tenure
process. This study explores mentoring functions as they relate to joining theclubwithin an
academic library.

This study Also identifiescharacteristics of mentoring that are similar to characteristics of a

transformational leaderand characteristics of mentoring that are similar to psychosocial
support.

This study was pursued with the belief that mentoring benefits the early career librarians who
must navigate through the tenure process.Because recruitment and retention are costly it is
important for the library to retain library faculty and to assist them through the tenure
process. It is equally important to replace departed library faculty. The pre-tenured librarian
may enter the job market and profession with little or no academic experience so it is critical
to provide a mentoring program to assist the librarian inprofessional growth.

This study providedevidence that mentoring programs assist the pre-tenured librarian in
building a strong portfolio and developing confidence, while providing an overall easier time
of becoming acculturated. This study also revealed that both mentors and mentees agree tothe
value of the support a mentoring program provides. It has been shownin the literature,that
librarians who are not assisted through the tenure process most often do not become
culturally savvy, do not receive promotions, or do not remain at the university.

The research questions were addressed through an explanatory sequential mixed method two
phased approach. The first phases survey population was drawn from 113 Association of
Research LIbraries members. In the second phase of the study, data was collected through
interviews with librarians from three tenure granting academic libraries.

T-test analysis indicated that there was no significant differencebetween mentees and
mentorsmeasured for three of the Four Is,of transformational leadership (inspirational
motivation, individualized consideration, or intellectual stimulation).
There was, however, a significant difference between the views of mentors and mentees for
idealized influence. Sequential equation analysis supported the rejection of both null
hypotheses.
The coded transcript Ion provided supporting evidence that not all of the Four Is are
considered important.

Three themes emerged. 1), idealized influence was marginalized by the interviewees
responses. 2), individual consideration was confirmed as important. 3), the psychosocial
support characteristic of trust was regarded as highly important by all interviewees.