Texas A&M weighs sweeping changes to library

The Texas A&M University system is working on a plan that would make sweeping changes across its 10 libraries. Those changes, still being discussed, would include asking librarians to relinquish tenure or transfer to another academic department to keep it. The plan grew out of recommendations from MGT Consulting, which Texas A&M hired in June 2021 “to conduct a high-level, comprehensive review of major functional areas,” according to a company report. But as administrators have suggested additional changes, including to employee classification, faculty members have pushed back, arguing that proposed structural changes to the library system will do more harm than good. They are especially concerned about a proposal that would end tenure for librarians. Experts note that tenure for librarians, which is somewhat common in academia, though not universal, can be crucial for academic freedom, especially in a political environment in which librarians are under fire.

Faculty members have suggested that the change lacks rationale and that the plan—scheduled for implementation this fall—is being pushed through too quickly. Some details are still being finalized, and Texas A&M declined to answer questions about how the proposed changes will happen—or why. An MGT Consulting spokesperson told Inside Higher Ed that it “has not weighed in on issues related to tenure” at Texas A&M. The idea seems to have emerged in the absence of transparent leadership regarding the process. Exactly how the Texas A&M library system will be overhauled has been the subject of speculation for months since plans became public. Early concerns included speculation that the administration would completely digitize the library and convert the physical building into office space, a notion that leadership has squashed. But such rumors underscore and illustrate concerns across the university system about changes that critics argue don’t make sense and aren’t being explained, leaving students and employees in the dark. The plan from MGT Consulting is, of course, subject to the approval of Texas A&M leadership—including President M. Katherine Banks, who has already shot down or modified some of the suggestions. For example, the administration scuttled MGT Consulting’s recommendation that it place the university libraries in a new department of library sciences, to be housed in a newly created college of art and sciences.