[LIBJOBS] Residency Librarian Program, UI Libraries, Iowa City, IA

THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA (UI) LIBRARIES

IOWA CITY, IOWA

 

Position Vacancy

 

Residency Librarian Program

2 Positions

(Librarian – PLB1 - Pay Level 3A)

 

Position Description: The UI Libraries offers early-career librarians the opportunity for professional-level experience in academic librarianship via its Residency Librarian Program. The purpose of the UI Libraries' Residency Librarian Program is to interest early-career librarians or librarians new to research libraries who are members of historically underrepresented groups in professional learning and service by launching their careers at the UI Libraries. Resident positions include benefits coverage, paid leave and funding to support professional development activities. Iowa’s Residency Librarian Program is part of a new initiative – called the Diversity Alliance*. Our Resident Librarians will comprise a cohort of resident librarians established by Diversity Alliance members.

 

The three-year appointment is designed to provide an immersion into academic librarianship, an opportunity to focus on areas of interest and funding to support professional engagement at the national level. By participating in the Residency Librarian program, individuals will demonstrate skills at a professional level, develop a professional network, and be prepared for future career opportunities.

In year one, the Resident Librarian will gain meaningful work experience within one of several library departments, depending upon the needs of the library at the time of appointment. Areas of priority for the University Libraries for the academic year 2015-2016 include:

·         Health Sciences Library

·         Preservation & Conservation

·         Reference & Library Instruction

·         Special Collections

 

In the second year, the Resident Librarian will rotate through library departments in order to gain a broader knowledge of academic librarianship. In addition, they will work independently or with a mentor to develop a research proposal with the goal of presenting the findings at a professional conference or in a professional journal.

In the third year, the Resident Librarian will identify an area of specialization and assume related responsibilities for the selected positon for one year.

 

Residents will participate actively in University and Libraries committees, councils and task forces. They will develop collegial relationships with UI Libraries staff, other UI faculty and administrators, and colleagues at peer institutions. Residents will become involved in relevant national and regional professional organizations. During their residency they will acquire first-hand experience with research and scholarship, service to the University Libraries, and service to the profession. The Resident Librarians will report administratively to the Libraries’ Human Resources Director.

 

Please visit the University of Iowa’s Why UIOWA website for more information about working at the University of Iowa and living in the diverse community of Iowa City.

 

Required Qualifications:

·         Graduate degree from an ALA-accredited program in Library and Information Science on or by August 14, 2015

·         General knowledge of physical and digital information resources

·         Demonstrated commitment to diversity in the workplace or community

·         Excellent written and oral communication skills

·         Ability to work in a team environment

·         Demonstrated interest in professional development and contribution

·         Complete the online application form and include a cover letter** describing reasons for your interest in the residency program plus how you would contribute to the diversity of the University and the profession.

 

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. Able 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.

 

Application Procedure: To apply, please visit the University of Iowa Jobs@UIOWA website at http://jobs.uiowa.edu/pands/view/66148. Please submit a resume, cover letter** and the names and contact information of three professional references. Applications must be received by April 10, 2015.

 

For more information about other employment opportunities at the University of Iowa and the Libraries, please see http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/employment/.

 

Salary and Appointment: Available on or by August 1, 2015, the three-year appointment will be made at the Librarian level with an annual salary of $43,000. The University of Iowa offers an attractive package of benefits including 24 days of paid vacation per year, TIAA/CREF retirement, and a flexible selection of medical, life, and dental insurance, and additional options. Residents are also provided with a generous allowance for moving expenses.

 

*The Diversity Alliance is a new collaborative effort involving the libraries at the University of Iowa, American University, West Virginia and Virginia Tech. Each library is committed to diversity initiatives and have come together to form the Alliance whose overarching goal is to develop a cohort of early-career librarians as they make their way through each libraries’ residency program.

 

The Alliance is a collaborative effort based on these core principles:

·         Each Library will sponsor its own three-year residency program.

·         A commitment to creating employment opportunities for underrepresented groups in research libraries.

·         Target early-career librarians (or librarians new to research libraries).

·         Build community among the cohort of resident librarians by providing opportunities for the individuals to network.

·         The residency programs will provide for a rich and broad experience including a research component (writing is an important part of the experience), a leadership component (exposure to leadership possibilities), professional development (service experience), and exposure to the broader academy.

·         A Diversity Alliance Steering Team comprised of point persons from each library is responsible for ensuring outcomes are met as well as supervising the residents at their institutions.

 

For information on residency job ads for American University, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia, go to https://american.edu/diversityalliance/.

 

The University of Iowa Libraries: The University of Iowa Libraries 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 Iowa Digital Library, featuring close to a million digitized texts, images, and 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 15^th century to newly created artists’ books.

 

Library systems are built on a mix of open source, locally developed, hosted services, and vended applications primarily from Ex Libris, OCLC, and Microsoft. 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 2,800 and a permanent staff of 16,000 serving 31,000 students, almost 40% of whom are from out of state and close to 10,000 of whom are registered in graduate and professional degree programs. Approximately 11% of the University’s faculty and staff and 14% of its student body are members of minority groups, and 12% 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. In 2008, UNESCO designated Iowa City as a world City of Literature.

 

Iowa City is a community of some 68,000 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, 33% of the students are minority, with 17% identifying as African-American, 9% as Latino/Hispanic, 7% as Asian-American, and .4% as Native American during the 2012/13 school year.

 

The University of Iowa is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment free from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, religion, associational preference, status as a qualified individual with a disability, or status as a protected veteran.