Director of Technical Services Librarian

American University Library invites applications for a multi-year, non-tenure track contract, Director of Technical Services Librarian position at the rank of Associate Term Librarian, beginning fall 2013, subject to budgetary authorization. 

The Director of Technical Services provides strategic direction for the library’s Cataloging, Acquisitions and Electronic Resources Management Units.  The Director of Technical Services leads the library’s efforts to purchase, describe, and organize the library’s main collections.  This position works collaboratively with leadership in Public Services and Academic Technology to manage and facilitate access to the library collections, both in print and online.  The Director of Technical Services, in consultation with the Unit heads, is responsible for all personnel decisions within the division, which represents a total of 14 full-time and 5 part-time employees.  Reporting directly to this position are 3 full-time faculty members, overseeing the individual Cataloging, Acquisitions, and Electronic Resources Management Units, respectively.  

Position Responsibilities:

1. Create the strategic direction and oversee operations of the Technical Services Division, establishing priorities for the units.
2. Hire, train, supervise, and evaluate unit managers. 
3. Conduct regular meetings with unit managers to communicate administrative policy and updates and to coordinate departmental activities.
4. Identify training needs for the division and recommend or provide training to meet those needs.
5. Oversee the management of the library materials budget, which totals over $5 million in FY14.  
6. Prepare statistical reports on the library’s materials budget and work with the Collection Management Team on collection assessment projects, as necessary.
7. Analyze procedures and workflow within and among the units to maximize library resources and provide efficient access to materials. 
8. Work collaboratively with Public Services and Collection Management staff in developing library policies and practices to advance use of and access to the library’s collections. 
9. Monitor national trends and advances in technical services and evaluate the potential application of these initiatives to the division’s services. 
10. This position reports directly to the University Librarian.  As a member of the Library’s Administrative Council, this position works collaboratively to articulate the vision and strategic direction of the library.  As an agent of the library, this position establishes and maintains effective campus, consortium, and vendor relationships.
11. As a library faculty member, this position participates in library governance activities. Library faculty members are expected to contribute to creative, scholarly, and professional activities, and to participate in library-wide and campus-wide service.

Position Requirements:  Master's degree in Library Science from an ALA-accredited program. Eight or more years of experience in technical services, preferably in an academic setting, including four years of progressively responsible supervisory experience, experience working in a consortial library environment; knowledge of standards, trends, and issues in technical services, knowledge of metadata standards, such as MARC, RDA, and Dublin Core; developments in library acquisitions, such as DDA and shelf-ready services; and licensing and e-resource management practices, comprehensive knowledge of technical services workflows, procedures, and practices, thorough knowledge of integrated library systems, ERMS, library discovery services, and other associated library technologies, understanding of scholarly communication issues in relation to library collection management practices, knowledge of ETD programs and institutional repositories, strong leadership and administrative skills for coordinating units into a cohesive team, ability to manage multiple projects in a dynamic work environment, experience with workflow analysis, process improvement, and change management, ability to allocate and manage a sizable materials budget, proficiency in generating and analyzing data from multiple systems, excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing, enthusiasm for technological innovation, ability to manage personnel with diverse experience and backgrounds. Experience hiring and evaluating personnel including administering performance evaluations.

The American University Library www.american.edu/library serves the AU community through a collection of over 980,000 volumes, 25,000 sound recordings and 16,000 videos. Notable collections include a branch music library, a strong visual media collection, special collections and university archives, a K-12 curriculum materials center, and numerous partner collections across campus including those with GLBTA, Career, and Visual Arts resources. AU Library has affiliate collections at the Washington College of Law and a partnership with the Wesley Theological Seminary. The AU Library collection totals over 100,000 journal subscriptions and over 350 databases in all subjects.  Personnel include 20 library faculty, several part-time librarians, 73 full-time staff, and about 140 student assistants. The library's budget is over $14.4 million. The American University Library is an active member of the Washington Research Library Consortium, and it holds membership in LOCKSS, SPARC, the Patriot League Libraries Group and the University Libraries Group.

The American University, chartered by an act of Congress in 1891, offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, many with international focus, to over 11,000 students. Its proximity to centers of technology, politics, justice, world affairs, communication, science, business, and the arts in the Washington, D.C. area enhances the learning environment.

For information about American University, please see www.american.edu, and learn about the University Library at www.american.edu/library.

To apply, send a letter of application, resume, and names, addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers of three references to:

Michele Mikkelsen, Director, Administrative Services

American University Library

4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW

Washington, D.C. 20016-8046

mmikkel@american.edu

American University is an EEO/AA institution, committed to a diverse faculty, staff, and student body. Women and minority candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. American University offers employee benefits to same-sex domestic partners of employees and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation/preference and gender identity/expression.