Achievement of tenure and/or promotion in rank is perhaps the most significant event in the professional life of a faculty member. It represents the culmination of years of work and excellence in teaching, research, and service; recognizes promise for future achievement; and welcomes scholars into a community of privilege and responsibility. In many cases, the Library represents a laboratory for faculty as they engage in scholarship. At minimum, the Library serves as a record of intellectual achievement and an archive of all that we have attained.
With this in mind, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, under the leadership of University Librarian Paula Kaufman, initiated a program in 2000 in which faculty who are newly tenured and/or promoted are able to select a book for our Library collections. These selections are book-plated in their honor, and stand as a reminder now and into the future of the remarkable accomplishments of the faculty at this university. Each selected book receives a bookplate with the faculty member’s name, rank, and year of selection
