University Librarian

The University of California, Davis, invites nominations and applications for the position of University Librarian. The campus seeks an innovative and dynamic leader able to develop, articulate, and implement a forward-thinking, shared vision for a major, next-generation research university library.

The General Library of the University of California, Davis, is a member of the Association of Research Libraries and a major educational and scholarly resource, operating as an integral part of the University while recognizing obligations to a wider public, particularly the people of California. Reporting to the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor and serving as a member of the Council of Deans and Vice Chancellors, the University Librarian provides overall leadership of the UC Davis General Library in support of University research, instruction, patient care, and community outreach.

The colleges of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science; the schools of Education, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Veterinary Medicine; and the UC Davis Health System are all served by the UC Davis General Library, both in Davis and in Sacramento. The Library houses comprehensive, world-class agricultural and veterinary medicine collections, especially in viticulture and enology, environmental sciences and ecology, and comparative medicine as well as broadly based humanities, social sciences, and sciences collections. The Special Collections feature a diverse range of topics from agricultural sciences to Western Americana to photographs of rural California and Oregon and a rich University Archives showcasing the campus's 100-year history.

The UC Davis General Library is an active collaborative contributor to the highly successful University of California collective of campus libraries and the California Digital Library. Together, the University of California libraries and California Digital Library provide state-of-the-art services, such as the eScholarship, open-access, scholarly publishing platform and UC Publishing Services, and access to a wealth of books and journals (~33 million titles), electronic journals (~34,400 titles), 180,000 digital images via Calisphere, 20,000+ special collection guides via Online Archive of California, and over 422 million web files captured by the Web Archiving Service.

For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research, and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located in an environmentally aware and socially innovative community of 65,000 people close to the state capital, UC Davis has 32,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $600 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges and six professional schools.

Already highly ranked, UC Davis aspires to achievements that will place it among the top five public universities within the coming decade. The successful candidate will understand the role that the UC Davis General Library must play in attaining that goal. Specific responsibilities of the position include strategic planning, development of collections, programs, and services, philanthropic cultivation and stewardship, information technology and digital resources, budgeting and financial management, and human resources. The University Librarian also represents the Davis campus in systemwide discussions regarding collaborative ventures and policy development. The University of California, Davis, has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of diversity among its faculty, staff, and students and seeks an individual who shares that commitment.

We seek outstanding candidates who have a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing research university libraries; successful management experience in a complex educational setting; the skills necessary to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies; a record of success obtaining external funding through grants, contracts, and development initiatives; strong collaboration skills; and the ability to be an effective spokesperson for the UC Davis General Library and a fully contributing member of the UC Davis senior leadership team. A Master of Science in Library and Information Science or other advanced degree is required.

Applications (including a cover letter and curriculum vitae) and nominations should be sent electronically, in confidence, to the chair of the recruitment advisory committee, Dean Harold Levine (hlevine@ucdavis.edu). Confidential inquiries may be directed to Dr. Levine or to Dr. Sally Springer (spspringer@ucdavis.edu), who is supporting the search. Review of candidates will begin in mid-March 2010. The position will remain open until filled.

The University of California, Davis, is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to excellence through diversity.