The University Library is organizationally placed within the University's Academic Affairs Division. The Dean of the Library reports directly to the Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost and serves as a member of the Council of Deans and the Provost's Academic Group.

The Library has four administrative divisions (Reference & Instruction, Research & Access, Collections & Technical Services, and Information Technology). In addition, the Library administration includes the Dean's Office, Business Services Department, and Human Resources Office. The Dean's Office has a wide range of duties including oversight of faculty personnel (promotion and tenure, post-tenure review, searches, and annual evaluation), development and relationship with the ISU Foundation, equipment purchases, and grants. The executive administrative leadership includes the Dean of the Library, three Associate Deans, and the Information Technology Officer.

The Library professional librarians hold faculty rank. The Library Faculty holds monthly meetings, approves major faculty governance documents (e.g.,Promotion and tenure policies and procedures, Post tenure review policies and procedures, and the Library faculty constitution/by-laws), and elects its three officers (Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary). The faculty officers conduct the elections of key faculty governance groups (i.e., the department-level and college-level promotion and tenure committees, and the Travel & Research Committee), as well as the Library Faculty Senator. They also plan monthly faculty meetings, and advise the Dean of the Library.

The Library also participates in broader governance and strong consortial activities through the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. The umbrella committee is the Committee on Library Cooperation (CLC, comprised of the three executive officers of the university libraries). The CLC reports to the Interinstitutional Council of Provosts, and submits an annual report. Reporting to the CLC are Collection Management Council, the Library Information Technologies Council, and a variety of short-term task forces. Interinstitutional interests include reference and instruction, interlibrary loan, and preservation.

Organizational Chart

Central Administrative Leadership and Organization:

• Business Services Department.
• Human Resources Office. Staff includes the HR officer and an administrative assistant. The HR Office has direct personnel responsibilities for P&S staff, merit staff, graduate assistants, and student assistants.
• Dean's Office. Staff includes the Dean of the Library, a P&S administrative assistant, a .5 P&S administrative support professional, and a Secretary II. The Dean's Office has direct personnel responsibilities for the faculty (Promotion and tenure policies and procedures, Post tenure review policies and procedures, faculty searches and annual evaluation).
• Development Office. Staff includes a full-time Director of Development (ISU Foundation staff), a .5 Secretary I, and student assistant support.

The four Library Divisions:

• Collections & Technical Services
• Information Technology
• Reference & Instruction
• Research & Access

Administrative/Advisory Groups:

• Administrative Cabinet. The Administrative Cabinet is the key operational and strategic group advising the Dean of the Library. The membership includes the Dean of the Library (chair), the three associate deans, the Information Technology Officer, Head of the Business Services Department, and the Human Resources Officer. The council meets weekly.
• Dean's Council. The Library Dean's Council provides an avenue for library-wide discussion of major policies (new and revised) and makes formal recommendations to the Dean of the Library regarding library policy.
• Library Faculty.
• Library Faculty Council. The Faculty Council is comprised of the three elected faculty officers and the elected faculty senator. The council advises the Dean of Library Services on matters of faculty governance and evaluation.
• University Library Committee. The University Library Committee serves as chief external advisory group to the Dean of the Library and it reports to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.

Major Library-Wide Administrative and Leadership Groups:

• Promotion and Tenure Review Committee
• Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee
• Travel and Research Funds Committee
• Staff Development Advisory Committee
• Committee on Diversity
• Public Relations Committee
• Library Staff Association
• Ad-hoc Groups. For major studies and implementation projects, task forces and working groups are appointed by the respective administrator. Depending on the nature of the charge, volunteers are solicited.

Major Library-Wide Programmatic Committees/Councils:

• e-Library Oversight Committee
• Collection Development Council
• Fiscal Planning Group

Communication:

The Library has five key mechanisms for communication.

• Inform. The Library's internal staff newsletter includes notification of personnel changes, informative articles on library programs, staff and special events, development activities, introduction to new staff, etc. Printed copies are mailed to retired library faculty and staff.
• Library Intranet. Access is limited to Library faculty & staff. It serves as the Library's policy and procedural handbook. It also provides access to important reports, strategic and operational plans; Inform, library-wide committee rosters; staff web applications; minutes of key committees, task forces, etc.
• Library faculty/staff email and distribution lists. Access is limited to current library faculty and staff.
• Your Library - Newsletter. A new Library newsletter designed to be a comprehensive communication tool for library services, collections, and news for university faculty and professional & scientific staff. It is distributed via the web and the first issue was sent on October 27, 2005
• Bookmarks. A new Library development newsletter - its first issue was published during the spring of 2005. Its editor is Pam Williams, Human Resources Officer.

Decision Making:

The Dean of the Library serves as the administrative head of the University Library, and the Department Chair of the Library Faculty. The dean delegates administrative responsibilities to the associate deans (ADs) and the Information Technology Officer. The associate deans serves as the department heads in matters related to promotion & tenure and post tenure reviews. The dean shares responsibilities for faculty searches with the ADs. The Library Faculty is responsible for making formal recommendations on faculty governance documents to the Dean of the Library.

The four divisions have separate mechanisms for discussion and advice on divisional policies, initiatives, reports, etc.

Institutional Integrity:

The Library is responsible for compliance with university policies, state and federal laws and regulations, and professional ethical guidelines. Key policies and guidelines include:

• Promotion and tenure policies and procedures
• Library User Privacy Policy
• Code of Computer Ethics and Acceptable Use Policy (Iowa State University)
• Library Bill of Rights (American Library Association)
• Code of Ethics (American Library Association)
• Confidentiality of Library Records (Code of Iowa, Section 22.7, §13)