The number of instructional faculty (FACULTY) is included as a proxy for the size of the institution. It is hypothesized that FACULTY size will be positively related to the probability of tenure track librarians. Note that other measures of institutional size, such as the number of students were not chosen.
In matters pertaining to tenure, faculty governance, and academic freedom, larger faculty bodies may have a more developed promotion and tenure process.
Finally, URBAN measures the local environment of the university.
Specifically, the variable measures whether the university is located in a metropolitan statistical area, as measured by the Census Bureau. No a priori assumption is made about the relationship of this variable with the probability of tenure.
MLS PROGRAM data were obtained from the ALA’s list of accredited programs and the number of instructional faculty is reported in the annual ARL statistics. Again, URBAN was developed using the Census Bureau’s regional geographical descriptions.
The final vector of variables are proxies for geographic region. The universities included in the study have been divided into four categories, based on the Census Bureau’s geographical divisions: NORTH, SOUTH, MIDWEST, and WEST. NORTH was omitted as the reference variable.
Likewise, no a priori assumption is made about the expected signs these regional variables will take.
DETERMINANTS OF TENURE IN ACADEMIC
Model 2 is estimated using standard ordinary least squares (OLS) techniques (Greene, 1997). A summary table of the operational variables and their definitions may be found in Table 6. The variables chosen are based on the theory of wage determination and the theoretical literature surrounding tenure in academic libraries.
The dependent variable, LSALARIES, is the natural logarithm of starting salaries as reported in the annual ARL Salary Survey. Initial efforts to obtain individual data on salaries collected by ARL proved unsuccessful.
Several library attributes are hypothesized to have a role on average starting salaries. TENURE measures whether or not the library offers tenure track positions for academic librarians. The economic theory of compensating wage differentials leads one to expect that the presence of tenure would serve as a type of non-pecuniary compensation, with a resulting lower wage. Hence, the expected sign for TENURE is negative.
Given the vast literature on the presence of a union wage premium (Lewis, 1986), unionization should have a positive impact on the starting salary and thus, the expected sign for UNION is positive.
Table 6. Model 2: OLS Equation Variables.
Variable Labels Definition
Dependent variables
LSALARIES Natural logarithm of average starting salary Library attributes [L]
TENURE () Librarians have tenure track positions¼1; otherwise¼0 UNION (+) Library is unionized¼1; otherwise¼0
VOLS (+) Number of physical volumes in the library
% PROFESSIONALS (+) Librarians (professionals) as a percentage of total library staff EXPEND (+) Total library expenditures
Institutional attributes [I]
TYPE (+) The university is private¼1; otherwise¼0
PHD FIELDS (+) Number of subject fields supporting a Ph.D. program URBAN (?) The university is located in an MSA¼1; otherwise¼0 Region [R]
NORTH (?) Library is located in the North¼1; otherwise¼0 SOUTH (?) Library is located in the South¼1; otherwise¼0 MIDWEST (?) Library is located in the Midwest¼1; otherwise¼0 WEST (?) Library is located in the West¼1; otherwise¼0 Note:( ): Expected value when entered as a right-hand side variable.
VOLS is an aggregate measure of the total number of physical volumes in the library, excluding electronic resources. VOLS is hypothesized to be positive, on the belief that larger libraries would more likely offer higher starting salaries. Likewise, % PROFESSIONALS measures library profes- sionals as a percentage of the total library staff; larger staffs are hypothesized to offer higher starting salaries. (SeeLazear, 1998concerning the relationship between firm size and wages.) Finally, EXPEND measures the total library budget including personnel expenditures. Intuitively, higher expenditures would be positively related to higher starting salaries.
Data for TENURE and UNION were obtained through the survey instrument, while the data for the variables VOLS, % PROFESSIONALS, and EXPEND came from published ARL statistical sources.
Three institutional attributes are also included in the regression equation.
TYPE reports whether the university is public or private. TYPE is hypothesized to be positive, reflecting the higher wages often found at private institutions. PHD FIELDS reflect the number of subject fields in which Ph.D. degrees may be awarded in the institution and is hypothesized to be positive. A more extensive and complex graduate program increases the need for more specialized librarians and, should other things held constant, increases average starting salaries. URBAN measures whether the university is located in a metropolitan statistical area, as measured by the Census Bureau. No a priori assumption is made about the relationship of this variable with starting salaries. Rural institutions may have to offer higher salaries to attract applicants. On the other hand, urban areas may offer higher starting wages to compensate for higher costs of living. Data for all three institutional variables – TYPE, PHD FIELDS, and URBAN – were obtained from published ARL data sources.
The final vector of right-hand side variables are proxies for region. The universities included in the study have been divided into four regional categories, based on the Census Bureau’s geographical divisions: NORTH, SOUTH, MIDWEST, and WEST. NORTH was omitted as the reference variable. No a priori assumption is made about the expected signs these regional variables will take.
Summary
In sum, this study estimates two models. The first is a probability model, which examines the determinants of tenure within ARL libraries. The second is a wage equation, which examines the relationship between tenure
and starting salaries. The sample under investigation is drawn from ARL libraries. Cross-sectional data from 10 years (19891998) are analyzed using standard and widely accepted econometric techniques and procedures.