Missing Credit: Systematic Review Work in Promotion or Tenure

Missing Credit: Recognizing Systematic Review Work in Promotion or Tenure MLA-Midwest Chapter Annual Meeting October 16, 2025 Abigail Goben, MLS Professor Data Management Librarian University Library Data Policy Advisor, OVCR [email protected] Rebecca Raszewski, MS, AHIP Professor Information Services & Liaison Librarian Library of the Health Sciences Chicago [email protected] Do Librarians Get Credit? Annual Reviews Search Development and Translation Teaching & Consults Promotion and Tenure Publications Search Strategies External Reviewers Guidance on Reviews as Librarianship or Scholarship AHIP Credit for Establish/Maintain Scarce Findings Systematic Reviews only mentioned in 2of the 36 libraries’ promotion guidelines. University of Utah: “novel systematic reviews” as new knowledge creation University of Florida: “indicators of distinction” and similarly valued with other peer reviewed articles 36 US Institutions where librarians have faculty status, extensive systematic review support, or regional NNLM libraries. Recommendations: Annual Review Librarians who are co-authors should receive scholarly credit for reviews Librarians should document for their librarianship projects when they completed a search, but a co-authored publication did not result Develop an internal tracking system for time spent on reviews, teams worked with, etc. Recommendations: Promotion and Tenure Librarians who are co-authors should receive scholarly credit Revise norms to clarify how systematic reviews are credited Include published search strategies as supplemental scholarship Create specific call outs for interdisciplinary scholarship Clarify between librarians’ own research agenda and systematic review collaborations Establish guidance around expectations for external reviewers Questions? [email protected] [email protected]