THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
Position Vacancy
ASSOCIATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN FOR COLLECTIONS
The University of Iowa Libraries seeks an Associate University Librarian to provide leadership and oversight for the development and management of the University Libraries’ collections. One of three Associate University Librarians reporting to the University Librarian, this senior position works with other members of the Libraries’ Administrative team to develop and execute the Libraries’ strategic plan, ensure organizational effectiveness and efficiency, develop policies for library operations, and manage human and financial resources. Departments and functions in this position’s portfolio currently include Collection Management, Acquisitions and Licensing, Access Services, and Scholarly Communication. In collaboration with the Administrative team, this position plays a critical role in continuing the evolution of a 21st-century research library at the University.
The Associate University Librarian for Collections is responsible for the leadership of collections services; stewardship of a $14 million collections budget managed by subject specialist librarians distributed across the organization; meaningful engagement with diverse constituencies including faculty, clinicians, students, and community members; mentoring, supervision, and performance assessment; and the development of cooperative arrangements and services. Through deep theoretical and strategic engagement with the research enterprise, the Associate University Librarian for Collections will foster the organization’s vision for the development and delivery of new services around the University Libraries’ collections.
Specific duties and responsibilities include:
· Leading all collections initiatives at the University of Iowa Libraries, encompassing the Main Library, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, and five branch libraries;
· Communicating regularly and substantively with faculty, students, researchers, and other community groups in shaping the Libraries' physical and digital resources; ensuring quality access to these resources for the purposes of teaching, learning, and research;
· Leading in the design, delivery, and assessment of services such as Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery, Circulation, Course Reserves, and collaboration on provision of programs in the Main Library Learning Commons;
· Acting as an innovative thinker and strategist who is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the changing nature of libraries, librarianship, and the wide-ranging expectations users have of an academic library;
· Establishing and developing collaborative relationships among the Libraries, colleges, academic departments, and campus communities at large;
· Engagement with current issues and trends regarding all aspects of scholarly communication, including advising staff and University faculty and administrators on scholarly publishing trends, open access initiatives, copyright and rights management, and information technologies that affect access and preservation of scholarly information;
· Demonstrating national leadership as well as continuing achievement enhancing value to the Libraries, the University, the profession of librarianship and/or the scholarly community in the form of service, research, publication, and/or teaching.
Required Qualifications:
· Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from an ALA-accredited program;
· Seven or more years of academic library experience with increasing responsibilities in one or more areas related to collection management;
· Demonstrated ability to manage complex budgets and an understanding of evolving business models for acquisitions;
· Knowledge of current and evolving collection development and management strategies, including resource selection and working with vendors and publishers as well as faculty, researchers, and staff;
· Deep understanding of the mission of a research university and the mission and functions of an academic research library;
· Demonstrated ability to engage librarians and staff in the collaborative planning and delivery of user-centered services;
· Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain close and productive working relationships with colleagues and constituents in an environment where consultation, flexibility, collaboration, and cooperation are essential;
· Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills;
· Demonstrated commitment to diversity in the workplace or community;
· Knowledge of current trends and issues in scholarly communication, including copyright, open access, and data sharing;
· Strong record of scholarly engagement and professional service, including peer-reviewed publications and/or presentations at national conferences, and service on regional and/or national-level organizations.
Desired Qualifications:
· A second advanced degree;
· Deep awareness of the ways an academic library's collections facilitate scholarship, and of the various ways faculty and researchers of different disciplines engage collections;
· Deep understanding of the diverse, changing ways instructors and students use physical and digital collections as teaching and learning tools in the classroom;
· Three or more years of experience administering an academic library unit or department;
· Familiarity with one or more of the following: digital humanities, data management, demand-driven acquisition, and print repositories;
· Experience with vendor and publisher negotiations, consortial collaborations, and license agreements.
Universal Competencies:
· Positive Impact/Achieving Results: Ability to utilize existing resources and learning to achieve or exceed desired outcomes of current and future organizational goals/needs. Ability to demonstrate ethical behavior in diverse situations while producing results.
· Service Excellence/Customer Focus: Ability to meet or exceed customer service needs and expectations and provide excellent service in a direct or indirect manner. Ability to effectively transmit and interpret information through appropriate communication with internal and external customers.
· Collaboration and Embracing Diversity: Ability to work with a variety of individuals and groups in a constructive and civil manner while appreciating the unique contribution of individuals from varied cultures, nationalities, genders, ages, etc.
Salary and appointment: Appointment will be made at the level of Associate Director, University Libraries, and a salary commensurate with qualifications and experience in the range of $100,000 - $115,000. Start date is negotiable. The University of Iowa offers an attractive package of benefits including 24 days of paid vacation per year, your choice between two retirement plans and two University of Iowa health insurance plans, dental insurance, pre-tax child and health care spending accounts, and additional options.
The University of Iowa Libraries: The University of Iowa library system consists of the Main Library, the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences and a number of branch libraries. The Libraries has more than 5 million volumes including thousands of electronic resources and coordinates the development and maintenance of the University’s locally-created open access digital resources including the digital library, featuring more than 800,000 digitized texts, images, audio and video recordings, as well as Iowa Research Online, our institutional repository. Our Special Collections include over 200,000 rare books, ranging in age from the 15th century to newly created artists’ books.
The University of Iowa is a member of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), ARL, OCLC, CRL, SPARC, CNI, CLIR, LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, and Portico. The Libraries provides a program of support for professional development activities and its staff members are actively engaged in national cooperative efforts.
The University and Iowa City: A major research and teaching institution, the University of Iowa offers internationally recognized programs in a diverse array of academic, medical, and artistic disciplines, from otolaryngology to fiction writing, printmaking to space science, hydraulic engineering to dance. The University consists of a faculty of 2,000 and a permanent staff of 13,000 serving 30,500 students, more than 40% of whom are from out of state and close to 10,000 of whom are registered in graduate and professional degree programs. Approximately 9% of the University’s faculty and staff and 10% of its student body are members of minority groups, and 8% of the students are from foreign countries.
The University of Iowa is home to the Writers’ Workshop, the oldest graduate creative writing program in the country, and the blueprint for many of the creative writing programs that now thrive on campuses worldwide. It is also home to the International Writing Program where, since 1967, over a thousand writers from more than 120 countries have participated. The University has recently instituted a program in creative writing in Spanish. Finally, UNESCO designated Iowa City as the world’s third City of Literature in 2008.
Iowa City is a community of some 70,000 people (more than 150,000 live in the surrounding area) with excellent educational, recreational, and cultural advantages. It is consistently cited in the national media as a city with an excellent quality of life. The city is readily accessible via interstate highways and a major airport is only 30 minutes away. The community is growing in its diversity; within the Iowa City Community School District, 32.47% of the students are minority, with 16.22% identifying as African-American, 8.55% as Latino/Hispanic, 7.33% as Asian-American, and .37% as Native American during the 2010/11 school year.
Application Procedure: To apply for this position, please visit the University of Iowa Jobs@UIOWA website at https://jobs.uiowa.edu/pands/view/63809. Review of candidate materials will begin on March 3, 2014; applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER. WOMEN AND MINORITIES ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.
For more information about the University of Iowa Libraries, please see http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/ and for more information about the University of Iowa and community, please see https://jobs.uiowa.edu/why_ui/index.php
