LAUC-I Professional Development Funding Guidelines

Prepared by the LAUC-I Professional Development Committee
Updated October 1999

Professional development funding is intended to support and encourage excellence in professional contributions and meaningful professional development activities on the part of LAUC-I members.

Types of Funding

All non-AUL librarians (unit and non-unit members) are eligible for Base funding as mandated by the MOU; the amount is determined annually based on the number of LAUC-I members. Members must submit a Librarian Request for Professional Development Support form describing each planned activity in order to receive Base funds.

Supplemental funds allocated to LAUC-I by the University Librarian are awarded to librarians submitting requests for Tier 1 or Tier 2 activities, as defined below. Funds are limited, and it is desirable to support such activities for as many librarians as possible. Therefore, no librarian may receive Tier funding for more than one Tier activity per fiscal year until all eligible librarians who apply have been funded once at either Tier level for that year.

Tier funds are awarded in addition to each librarian's allocated Base funds. Tier and Base funds may be used separately or in combination, for any legitimate professional activity related expense, including air or ground transportation, hotel, per diem meals, conference or course registration fees, and incidentals.

BASE FUNDING MAY ALSO BE USED FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MATERIALS, i.e., PURCHASE OF BOOKS AND SOFTWARE. MATERIALS ACQUIRED THROUGH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDING IS THE PROPERTY OF THE UNIVERSITY.

SOFTWARE REQUESTS NEEDS TO BE APPROVED, ORDERED AND INSTALLED TO THE REQUESTOR'S WORKSTATION BY THE LIBRARY INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT [LIS]. LIS WILL NOT PROVIDE ANY SOFTWARE TECHNICAL SUPPORT OR INSTALL SOFTWARE OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY. COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS MUST BE ADHERED TO.
REQUESTS FOR BOOKS NEED TO BE APPROVED. REQUESTOR WILL ACQUIRE THE BOOKS. APPROPRIATE RECEIPTS NEED TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE BUSINESS OFFICE IN A TIMELY MANNER FOR REIMBURSEMENT.

TIER FUNDING EXPENDITURES SHOULD BE FLEXIBLE, INCLUDING USE FOR TWO OR MORE ACTIVITIES WITH THE SAME CRITERIA. DOCUMENTATION FOR EACH ACTIVITY MUST BE PROVIDED (i.e. LIBRARIAN REQUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT FORM AND RECEIPTS). These activities are eligible for Tier 1 funding:

Chair/officer of a society/committee
Chair/moderator of a conference session
Presenter of a conference paper
Junior librarian (Assistant I - Assistant IV)

These activities are eligible for Tier 2 funding:

Committee member
Continuing education course

Due to the inherent difficulty of ranking the significance of various type of activities as separate branches of librarianship, all Tier 1 activities are considered equivalent; the same is true for all Tier 2 activities. Exceptional activities may exist beyond the above named categories which warrant Tier funding due to the significance or workload. In such situations, librarians are encouraged to attach a short letter explaining why the request should be considered for the desired Tier level.

Call for Requests for Support

To award funds, the LAUC-I Professional Development Committee will announce a Call for requests with a closing date of no later than November 15. In response to this Call, librarians may submit a Librarian Request for Professional Development Support form for each activity planned for the entire fiscal year. The Committee urges librarians to submit requests for all planned activities during the first Call. Costs must be estimated if the activity has not yet occurred; forms lacking this information will be returned as incomplete.

Funds are distributed in the following manner: First, the Base allocation is reserved for each LAUC-I member. Second, all Tier funds are divided among the Tier applicants. Each applicant is awarded Tier funding for his/her highest priority activity. Tier 2 awardees are funded at two-thirds the level of Tier 1 applicants (for example, if Tier 1 awards are $750, then Tier 2 awards will be $500).

If unallocated funds remain after the first Call, a second Call will be announced by the end of January that will close no later than April 15; this deadline also serves as the final date for requests for use of Base funds. After Base awards have been made, all remaining funds will be divided equally among the librarians who have submitted a second request for Tier funding (in response to either Call).

ANY CHANGES TO SUBMITTED REQUESTS SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE LAUC-I PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AND TO LIBRARY PERSONNEL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT ENCUMBERED FUNDS CAN BE REDISTRIBUTED AND PERSONNEL RECORDS UPDATED.

REQUESTING REIMBURSEMENT

ALL RECEIPTS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO THE LIBRARY BUSINESS OFFICE WITHIN 30 DAYS OF RETURN TO THE LIBRARY FROM THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY, THIS WILL ALLOW TIME FOR BUSINESS OFFICE TO REQUEST BACKUP DATA NEEDED FOR TRAVEL PROCESSING IF NECESSARY. IF EXPECTING DIRECT REIMBURSEMENT TO CAMPUS CREDIT CARD, RECEIPTS TO REIMBURSE CAMPUS CREDIT CARD SHOULD BE TURNED IN SOONER.

AT FISCAL CLOSING TIME RECEIPTS NEED TO BE SUBMITTED IMMEDIATELY UPON RETURN, PREFERRABLY IN PERSON SO THAT THE VOUCHER CAN BE PROCESSED AND SIGNED WHEN THE RECEIPTS ARE TURNED IN.

Reporting Responsibility

All librarians awarded professional development funding are strongly encouraged to submit a brief report to the LAUC-I Professional Development Committee stating the nature of the activity and the most significant outcomes or issues that may be of interest to colleagues. The report should be submitted by email within a month of the activity to the Committee chair or designate. Optionally, reports may be disseminated to LAUC-I by email or submitted to the Editor of Library Items.