SUNY Distinguished Librarians Constantia Constantinou -- (SUNY Maritime) Trudi Jacobson -- (SUNY Albany)

Background of the Rank Requirements for consideration Working towards the rank The responsibilities of those who are at this rank The routes Constantia and Trudi took Potential role for SUNYLA

Background of the Rank Rank and Status - Distinguished Librarian is a rank above Full Librarian. This rank parallels the Distinguished Professor rank in terms of expected level of accomplishment and the rarity in awarding the rank. The State University of New York recognizes the accomplishments of all its faculty; it also assumes national leadership within the academy by becoming the first university system to so encourage and foster the full potential of the faculty status of librarians. The Distinguished Librarian rank honors and promotes the achievement of personal excellence, groundbreaking professional progress, and wide-ranging benefit to the academic community

Background of the Rank Since 1964 have been 5 SUNY Distinguished Librarians: Meredith Butler (SUNY Albany) Cerise Oberman (SUNY Plattsburg) Carla List (SUNY Plattsburg) Trudi Jacobson (SUNY Albany) Constantia Constantinou (SUNY Maritime)

Requirements for Consideration Minimum of 10 years of service at SUNY Minimum of 5 years at the rank of tenured Full Librarian Having a longer career as a librarian than indicated by the minimum years of service State-operated campuses Distinguished Librarian Guidelines:

Working Towards the Rank Contributions to the profession of librarianship that are of national or international significance Achieve stature and distinction beyond their own library, beyond their own college or university, beyond SUNY through formal scholarship, research, and publications, and other paths including extended efforts toward forging alliances, networks, and cooperative programs that advance resource sharing and significantly improve access to information or enhance its usefulness to the community Break boundaries, expand potentials, and engender positive change in academe Demonstrated leadership in realizing the potential for access to world-wide information resources performed with excellence and innovation in the traditional areas of librarianship They will have earned the respect of members of the information professions as well as their academic professorial counterparts by the quality, vigor, and innovative nature of their thinking, their standards of performance, and the effectiveness of their initiatives

The Responsibilities of those at the Rank Those appointed are expected to function as role models and devote appropriate service to the home campus, to the State University, and to the profession. Distinguished Librarians are expected to provide service to the State University, both ceremonial and professional, on campuses other than their own when requested to do so by the Chancellor

The Responsibilities of those at the Rank Distinguished Academy: Contribute to the creation of knowledge by providing faculty and students with access to information resources that enhance and promote learning and scholarly inquiry Contribute to the learning environment of each SUNY campus by creating virtual and physical spaces and programs for faculty and students that are designed to inspire and support learning Promote the value and visibility of librarianship in higher education Inspire and mentor our librarian colleagues to achieve the Distinguished Professorial rank Explore opportunities to promote SUNY–wide library initiatives that represent and reflect the goals of SUNY Chancellor’s strategic plan

Trudi and Constantia

The Potential Role of SUNYLA Establish: Support groups for those working towards the Librarian rank Support groups for those working towards Distinguished Librarian rank Clearinghouse of information for those aspiring to the Distinguished Librarian rank Mentoring program for one on one interactions

Role for Distinguished Librarians Serve as a conduit from SUNYLA to SUNY Provost’s office