[LIBJOBS] African Studies Librarian; Bloomington; Indiana; USA

 

AFRICAN STUDIES LIBRARIAN

ASSISTANT OR ASSOCIATE LIBRARIAN

INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON LIBRARIES

 

Founded in 1820, Indiana University Bloomington has grown from a small state seminary into the flagship campus of a great public university with over 42,000 students and almost 3,000 faculty. Innovation, creativity, and academic freedom are hallmarks of IU Bloomington and its world-class contributions in research and the arts. The campus covers over 1,800 wooded acres and is distinctive for both its park-like beauty and an architectural heritage inspired by local craftsmanship in limestone.

 

The Indiana University Bloomington Libraries (http://www.libraries.iub.edu) are among the leading academic research library systems in North America. The IUB Libraries provide strong collections, quality service and instructional programs, and leadership in the application of information technologies. The collections support every academic discipline on campus and include more than 6.6 million books, journals, maps, films, and audio/visual materials in over 900 languages. Users can access more than 400 databases, 43,000 electronic journals, and 224,000 electronic books, as well as locally developed digital content.  Of particular note are the 8-million volume high-density Auxiliary Library Facility (ALF) for preservation and access to the libraries’ collections and archives, and the Lilly Library, the rare books, manuscripts, and special collections library of the Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington.

 

The IUB Libraries are active members of regional and national associations and consortia including the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Digital Library Federation (DLF), the Hydra community, and is a founding member of HathiTrust, a shared digital repository. IU is the principal investigator for Kuali Open Library Environment (OLE) and is working with academic library partners to develop a next generation open source library management system. IU is a founding partner in Unizin.org, a consortium of institutions seeking to provide teachers and students with more digital learning options.

 

The IU Libraries are a national and international leader in the creation of tools to support digital scholarship. The Scholars’ Commons’ (SC) services and space have been designed to reinforce and extend the IU Libraries’ great strength in the area of digital scholarship, to bring together digital tools and methods with traditional scholarly inquiry.

 

The Indiana University Bloomington Libraries seek a dynamic, innovative, and collegial individual to serve in the position of Librarian for African Studies. 

 

The Area Studies Department of the Indiana University Bloomington Libraries includes six librarians and four support staff employees who are responsible for all aspects of collection development, management, reference, and outreach to students and faculty in African, Latin American, Spanish & Portuguese, Latino, Slavic and East European, East Asian, Middle Eastern, Islamic and Central Eurasian, Jewish, India and South Asian, and Tibetan Studies.  The department’s mission is to support and strengthen teaching, learning, and research by providing the collections, services, and environments that lead to intellectual discovery.  For more information, see https://libraries.indiana.edu/area-studies-department.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to the Head of the Area Studies Department, the individual in this position will provide reference and instructional support for, and oversee collection development and management for materials from and about the continent of Africa, with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa.  This position will also work closely with special collections and archives to support teaching and research, and to collaborate on outreach and selection and purchasing of digital collections.  Archival collections related to Africa at Indiana University include the Liberian Collections, the Somali Collection, and the H.K. Banda Archive.  Additional responsibilities include:

·         Serving as an active member of the Libraries’ Area Studies Department.

·         Managing and developing interdisciplinary library collections in the areas of sub-Saharan Africa and, to a lesser degree, North Africa. 

·         Supporting research and scholarly communication in the above subject areas through outreach to faculty and students.

·         Actively supporting the teaching of Africa and African Studies by consulting with faculty on teaching information literacy skills and teaching library instruction sessions.

·         Serving as liaison to the African Studies Program. The individual in this position may also serve as a member of the African Studies Program’s core faculty.

·         Learning and understanding the continually evolving research practices and teaching needs of African Studies faculty, students, and instructors.

·         Providing reference services and research consultations and support to faculty, students, staff, and the community at large. 

·         Promoting the collections through website development, physical and virtual exhibitions, tours, etc.

·         Closely collaborating with archival units on campus to provide access and reference for IU’s Africa-related special collections, most notably the Liberian Collections and the H.K. Banda Archive.

·         Keeping abreast of developments related to the book trade in sub-Saharan Africa as well as to digital initiatives and film.  

·         Contributing to developments in the field of area studies librarianship through active professional engagement and research, presenting and publishing in appropriate venues.

·         Developing regional, national, and international partnerships and collaborations, representing IU in forums such as the Africana Librarians Council and the Cooperative Africana Materials Project (CAMP), and participating in cooperative collection development agreements. 

·         Supervising a 0.5 percent support staff position.

• Working closely with Technical Services and other library departments on matters related to acquisitions, cataloging, translation and interpretation of business correspondence and cataloging records, book and serials exchange programs, and special purchasing agreements.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

·         ALA-accredited Master’s degree in Library Science (MLS) and a Master’s degree in an African Studies discipline.  Candidates with advanced degree(s) in relevant subject areas and appropriate experience in an academic setting will also be considered.

·         Solid command of the history and major trends in research and scholarly publishing in sub-Saharan Africa.

·         Ability to identify and work with materials in African languages outside the candidate’s core area of expertise.

·         Bibliographic knowledge of French.

·         Ability to work in a team environment and build working relationships with campus colleagues.

·         Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work well with diverse populations of faculty, students, and academic colleagues.

·         Broad knowledge of information resources for African Studies. 

·         Ability to deliver in-person and online reference services.

·         Excellent communication skills in English.

·         Ability to meet the requirements of a tenure-track librarian position.

Preferred

·         Experience as an African Studies Librarian, or a comparable combination of academic and professional experience. 

·         Strong language skills in at least one African language.

·         Strong language skills in French, and at least bibliographic knowledge in other major European languages (e.g., German, Portuguese).

·         Ph.D. in African Studies discipline.

·         Experience in collection development.

·         Experience in information literacy instruction.

·         Experience in grant-writing and/or identifying funding sources for new initiatives.

 

SALARY AND BENEFITS

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience and education; benefits include a university healthcare plan, university-funded base retirement plan, a 100% university paid group life insurance plan, and a generous paid time off plan. This is a tenure-track academic appointment that includes eligibility for sabbatical leaves once achieving tenure. For a full list of benefit programs, please refer to the following resources:

• Website: http://hr.iu.edu/benefits/index.html
• Video: http://www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/benefitsvideo/academic.html
• Brochure: http://hr.iu.edu/pubs/books/IU-benefits_broch.pdf

 

TO APPLY

Review of applications will begin Friday, May 6, 2016.  The position will remain open until filled. Interested candidates should review the application requirements and submit their application at: https://indiana.peopleadmin.com. Questions regarding the position or application process can be directed to: Jennifer Chaffin, Director of Human Resources, Libraries Human Resources, Herman B Wells Library 201, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405 - Phone: 812-855-8196 - Fax: 812-855-2576 - Email: libpers@indiana.edu.

For more information about Indiana University Bloomington go to http://www.iub.edu.

 

Indiana University is an equal employment and affirmative action employer and a provider of ADA services.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ethnicity, color, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status.

 

 

Betty Davis

Libraries Human Resources

Herman B Wells Library 201

Indiana University

Bloomington, IN  47405

812-855-8196