Policy on March 9, 1995 To request an official copy of this policy, contact: The Office of the Governing Council Phone: 416-978-6576
Table of Contents Academic Year Conflict of Interest Supervisor Paid Professional Activity Major Paid Professional Activity Minor Paid Professional Activity Major Paid Professional Activities Use of University Resources Dealings With Family Members Research in Which the Librarian Has a Financial Interest
Librarians at the University of Toronto are committed to the pursuit of truth, the advancement of learning, and the dissemination of knowledge. While the pattern of a librarian's professional activity, research (which includes both scholarly and creative professional activity), and service to the University may vary from individual to individual, these three activities constitute a librarian's principal responsibilities. A full-time librarian appointment entails a year-round commitment to these responsibilities, unless the individual librarian has a written agreement with the University to the contrary. It is often intrinsic to this commitment that librarians will engage in professional activities from which they may derive supplementary income. These activities represent an important mechanism for disseminating the knowledge and expertise of librarians to the community and for contributing to the librarian's intellectual and professional development. The freedom that librarians properly enjoy to engage in these activities and to earn supplementary income means that, on occasion, their personal interests might seem to conflict with those of the University. All librarians have an obligation to report and discuss with the person to whom they report all real or apparent significant conflicts of interest; that is, all conflicts that the librarian believes--or an objective observer would believe--to be significant. The purpose of this Policy is, therefore, to set out what constitutes a conflict of interest, to describe the procedures to be followed when librarians engage in professional work from which they derive supplementary income, and to establish procedures for other situations which could give rise to an apparent conflict of interest. No librarian shall engage in activities which create for that librarian a conflict of interest as defined in this Policy; however, where approval of an activity has been sought and received from the person with the authority to grant such approval, the activity shall be deemed not to be a conflict of interest. "Academic Year" means the period from July 1 of any calendar year to June 30 of the following calendar year. A conflict of interest exists when:
"Supervisor" means the person to whom the librarian normally reports. "Gifts" includes not only articles of value, but also includes, and is not limited to, travel, accommodation, extravagant meals, and the like, including those that might be provided by commercial external sponsors of conferences in which the librarian is playing no role other than that of an attendee. A paid professional activity is an activity funded by sources other than the University which (1) arises from the librarian's academic position and expertise, and (2) confers a financial benefit. Major Paid Professional Activity A paid professional activity is a major paid professional activity if it involves:
Minor Paid Professional Activity A minor paid professional activity is any paid professional activity that is not a major one but which, nevertheless, involves more than a minimal amount of the librarian's time. 4. Activities Requiring Prior Approval The following activities require the prior written approval of the librarian's supervisor:
Major Paid Professional Activities (a) The request for approval of a major paid professional activity shall be made in writing to the librarian's supervisor and shall specify:
(b) In exceptional circumstances and with the written approval of the Provost, the supervisor may require that the identity of the client and any pertinent financial details of any specific activity be revealed by the librarian to the supervisor on a strictly confidential basis. (c) The librarian's supervisor shall evaluate the request in light of the extent to which the activity will undermine rather than enhance the librarian's normal responsibilities, while at the same time recognizing that librarians are not to be discouraged from nor unduly restricted in this sort of activity, as it represents an important mechanism for disseminating the knowledge and expertise of librarians to the community and for contributing to the librarian's intellectual and professional development. (d) In evaluating the request, the supervisor may seek the advice of an advisory committee, although information received under 5(b), above, may not be revealed by the supervisor to anyone, including members of any advisory committee. Members of such a committee shall be directed by the supervisor to comply strictly with the rule on confidentiality set out in section 12, below. (e) The supervisor shall consider the request for approval as soon as possible and shall render a decision in writing within 10 days. The decision must, of course, reflect consistency of treatment among the librarians in the division or department. (f) If it is advisable for a librarian to be permitted to undertake a major paid professional activity that would undermine the meeting of the librarian's primary obligations and responsibilities, the supervisor may require in granting approval that the librarian take full or partial release time without pay; moreover, if a librarian wishes to continue such activity indefinitely, the librarian may be required to relinquish his or her status as a full-time appointee. (g) If approval is denied, the librarian shall be provided with the reasons for the denial in the letter of denial. The reasons for the denial shall be expressed in the same terms as the evaluation criteria set out in 5(c), above.
Research in Which the Librarian Has a Financial Interest
6. Conflict of Interest for Supervisor If the person to whom reports are normally made has a personal interest in the matter to be discussed or approved, that supervisor shall refer the matter in writing to the person at the next higher level of authority, who shall respond in writing within 10 days. 7. Activities Requiring Disclosure If a librarian has recently received or is receiving supplementary income from a company, or if the librarian, any member of the librarian's immediate family, or a person with whom there exists, or has recently existed, an intimate personal relationship has a significant financial interest in a company, the librarian must disclose the nature of the involvement with the company in any situation in which the librarian is in a position to influence whether or not University funds will be used to purchase goods and services from that company or where the company may otherwise receive some benefit from the University. 8. Source of Support for Research When publishing the results of any research for which funding was supplied, the librarian shall name the source or sources of funding in the publication, unless explicit approval to do otherwise has been obtained from the librarian's supervisor. Every librarian shall submit a Paid Activities Report as part of the general annual activity report. The Paid Activities Report shall include:
All expense claims made by librarians involving funds administered by the University require the signature of the librarian's supervisor. The acceptance of gifts from individuals or organizations which are associated with the University activities of the librarian, with the exception of minor gifts as token courtesies, is not normally permitted. If a librarian has any doubts about the propriety of accepting a particular gift, the librarian should discuss the matter with the librarian's supervisor. Any information gathered about an individual librarian under this Policy shall be held in strict confidence and shall not be divulged to any other person, except for internal University administrative purposes, without the express written consent of the librarian or under compulsion of law. Any complaint by a librarian about the application of this Policy may be raised in accordance with Article 7 of the Memorandum of Agreement between the University of Toronto Faculty Association and the Governing Council of the University of Toronto. |