[LIBJOBS] Job Posting: Head of Collection Strategies Department, Irvine, California, USA

 

 

HEAD OF COLLECTION STRATEGIES DEPARTMENT

 

 

The University of California, Irvine Libraries seeks a dynamic, knowledgeable leader to join an enthusiastic staff in building a research library of excellence for a young and rapidly-growing university ranked nationally among the top tier.  The Head of Collection Strategies will play a leadership role in an innovative, service-oriented, and collaborative environment to develop high quality learning and research intensive collections that support the teaching, research, and patient care needs of the University.

 

Qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds and life experiences are encouraged to apply.  The UCI Libraries is committed to recruiting a diverse workforce and advancing UCI’s Commitment to Inclusive Excellence.

 

Responsibilities

 

The Head of Collection Strategies provides leadership and vision for the Collection Strategies Department and within the Research Resources Division.  The incumbent will oversee collection strategies and management of resources in all formats library-wide, supervises collection development personnel, and monitors and helps coordinate the Libraries’ collections budget.   Responsibility for collection strategies is distributed among 17-20 Research Librarians who are also responsible for education and instruction, outreach, and reference.  The Head of Collection Strategies will directly supervise one collections assistant and 7 Research Librarians who reside in the Collection Strategies Department and will also provide collection strategies direction and feedback to approximately 10 Research Librarians who reside in the Reference or Education & Outreach Departments.  In addition, the Head of Collection Strategies works collaboratively with staff at the UC Irvine Law Library and with colleagues in the UC system libraries.

 

Reporting to the Associate University Librarian for Research Resources, the Head of Collection Strategies participates as a member of divisional and library-wide groups, task forces, and project teams as appropriate and is expected to work comfortably and with a high degree of expertise in a shared decision-making environment. As a leader, the Head of Collection Strategies will foster an environment where strategic and well-informed risk taking is encouraged.  As a member of Leadership Council, the UCI Libraries’ senior management team responsible for library-wide planning and policy making, the incumbent works with other library leaders to shape strategic directions for the Libraries.

 

Duties include:

 

Departmental Leadership & Management

·         Plans, coordinates, manages, and evaluates the services/activities of the Collection Strategies Department.

·         Collaborates with stakeholders to articulate, enhance, revise, and assess the vision for collections at the UC Libraries.

·         Collaboratively engages with subject liaisons across the Libraries and other stakeholders to continuously evaluate the ways in which decisions regarding collection strategies are made and communicated.

·         Leads efforts to enable data-driven decisions regarding collections.

·         Serves as the Libraries’ lead on matters related to copyright and copyright education.

·         Assists in developing effective reports and messaging for other Library and University administrators to understand the UCI Libraries’ materials budget needs.

·         Creates and implements innovative strategies for providing sustainable access to content in the ever evolving environment of scholarly communication, including Open Access initiatives

·         Shares responsibility for developing a robust scholarly communication program, with the Scholarly Communications Coordinator, the Head of Digital Scholarship Services, and other stakeholders within the Libraries and across the University.

·         Collaboratively engages with the Digital Scholarship Services Department to coordinate research librarians’ involvement in the development and marketing of digital content and related services

·         Provides broad oversight for the Collection Strategies Department meetings.

·         Serves on Research Resources Leads Group.

·         Co-coordinates the Mega Meetings with other department heads.

·         Provides departmental supervision including: recruitment  retention , training, and evaluation of Research Librarians and the Library Assistant(s) in the Collection Strategies Department

·         Manages departmental budgets, policies, procedures, and web pages.

·         Provides input in developing, evaluating and assessing the Libraries' collections to support the University's research, teaching and patient care programs.

·         Monitors the Libraries' materials budget.

·         Oversees the Libraries ' approval plans with input from the Research Librarians and in consultation with Acquisitions

·         Oversees Research Librarians’ activities in collection strategies/management.

·         In collaboration with the Heads of Reference, Education & Outreach, Digital Scholarship Services, and Special Collections & Archives, shares responsibility for the oversight and strategic direction for librarians’ faculty/student liaison activities.

·         Oversees collection strategies training and collection strategies-related teams and initiatives

·         Coordinates the Research Librarians' work on weeding projects and serves as UC Southern Regional Library Facility weeding coordinator for UCI.

 

Other:

·         Participates actively and collaboratively on library committees, task forces, and project teams as appropriate.

·         Actively seeks opportunities to participate in professional organizations outside the library, provide university and public service, and/or engage in research and creative activity in order to meet the University of California criteria for advancement and promotion.

 

Qualifications

 

Required:

 

·         Graduate degree in library science from an ALA-accredited institution or an equivalent combination of relevant advanced degree and library experience.

·         Significant collection development and collection management experience in an academic or research library.

·         Ability to oversee collections in the full range of subjects at UCI.

·         Professional experience including management of resources and personnel in an academic or research library setting.

·         Ability to successfully supervise, mentor, and train Collection Strategies personnel.

·         Knowledge of current issues and trends in collection strategies, collection management, copyright, and preservation facing academic and research libraries.

·         Knowledge of current issues and trends in scholarly communication, including Open Access initiatives.

·         Leadership qualities to be an effective Department Head and Leadership Council member.

·         Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (oral and written).

·         Ability to work creatively, collaboratively, and effectively and to promote teamwork, diversity, equality, and inclusiveness within UCI Libraries and the campus.

·         Ability to meet the University of California criteria for advancement in the Librarian series.

 

Preferred:

·         Successful experience supervising librarians.

·         Successful experience in budgeting and planning.

·         Successful experience in assessment and evaluation of research libraries’ collections

·         Experience assessing and negotiating licenses for online resources.

·         Experience working with general and specialized vendors, publishers, and approval plans.

 

The Collection Strategies Department

The Collection Strategies Department is responsible for the library-wide development and management of general collections in the Langson Library, Ayala Science Library, and Grunigen Medical Library under the administration and coordination of the Associate University Librarian for Research Resources.  This department takes the lead role in developing and planning the overarching and ongoing collections policies, procedures, and projects that ensure that the scholarly resources available meet the campus teaching, research, and patient care needs.  The Department consists of 7 librarians (including the department head) and 1 library assistant. 

The UCI Libraries

The UCI Libraries values innovation and collaboration.  We are committed to the University’s goal of diversity and inclusive excellence.  The Libraries consist of the Langson Library, the Ayala Science Library, the Library Gateway Study Center, and the Grunigen Medical Library.  These buildings contain over 3,300 public seats for study and research and provide nearly 525 public access computers.  The UCI Libraries have a staff of approximately 145 FTE plus approximately 25 student assistant FTE.  The library collection consists of over 3.8 million volumes, nearly 150,000 journals and serial titles, and an aggressively expanding electronic resources collection.  The UCI Libraries are a member of the:  Association of Research Libraries (ARL), California Digital Library (CDL), HathiTrust Digital Library, Center for Research Libraries (CRL), Coalition of Networked Information (CNI), Digital Library Federation (DLF), Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), Pacific Rim Research Libraries Alliance (PRRLA), International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), National Information Standards Organization (NISO), and OCLC Research Library Partnership (OCLC RLP).

 

University of California, Irvine

The University of California, Irvine, is nestled in over 1,500 acres of coastal foothills, five miles from the Pacific Ocean, between San Diego and Los Angeles.  Founded in 1965, UCI has more than 31,500 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,600 faculty and staff.  Nearly 67% of UCI students identify themselves as Asian American, African American, Chicano/Latino, or Native American.  The University offers graduate degrees in more than 100 academic disciplines and interdisciplinary programs in addition to the M.D. and J.D.  UCI’s academic programs are ranked nationally among the top universities; several doctoral programs are ranked in the top ten.

Librarians at the University of California Irvine are academic appointees and receive potential career status at the time of their initial appointment.  Librarians periodically receive administrative and peer review for merit increases based on the following criteria: 1) professional competence and quality of service within the Library; 2) professional activity outside the Library; 3) university and public service; and 4) research and other creative activity.

Salary & Benefits:  Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience based on the University of California pay scales.  Appointment is anticipated to be at the Associate Librarian or Librarian rank with a salary of $53,913 - $105,105.

Librarians are entitled to two days per month of annual leave, thirteen paid holidays, and one day per month sick leave.  The University has an excellent retirement system and offers a variety of group health, life, and disability insurance plans.  Benefits are equal to approximately 40% of salary.

Deadline for Applications:  Applications received by January 16, 2017 will receive first consideration, but applications will continue to be accepted until the position is filled.

To Apply:  Qualified applicants who wish to be considered for this position should submit the information requested:  cover letter; complete résumé; a statement that addresses past and/or potential contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion; and a list of three references (names and contact information only) via UCI AP Recruit at: https://recruit.ap.uci.edu/apply/JPF03782.

Upon application, candidates should be in possession of proof of their legal right to employment in the U.S. In compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, verification of legal right to work will be required between the time of final selection and hiring, and is absolutely essential in ultimately being hired.

This position description is listed on the UCI Libraries website at http://www.lib.uci.edu/current-librarian-and-administrative-vacancies with links to additional websites featuring campus and community information.

The University of California, Irvine is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer advancing inclusive excellence. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination policy.