Youth Services Librarian

General Description:

The Youth Services Librarian provides leadership and vision for the library’s Youth Collection, a collection of contemporary materials designed for the adult study of children's and young adult literature. The collection currently contains more than 20,000 trade books, related reference sources, and a growing number of materials in electronic formats, representing many genres, curriculum areas, and grades PK-12. The collection serves as a resource for faculty and students in the University’s teacher education programs, students and staff interested in researching topics related to children's literature, and area librarians, educators, child care providers, researchers, and other adults throughout the state of Iowa. The University aspires for the Youth Collection to become the Children’s Book Center for Iowa, expanding its collections and its outreach to teachers and librarians across the state.

The Youth Services Librarian develops the collection in various formats (print, electronic, DVD, etc.), designs and delivers library instruction and innovative programming related to the collection in person and online; provides in-person and virtual reference assistance; plans and assesses for the continued development of the collection and its services; and serves as the face of the collection and promotes it to the campus, area educators and librarians.

This is a tenure-track position. Participation in library committees and professional associations is expected, as is ongoing research, scholarship, and/or creative work. Rod Library encourages applications from persons of color, women, person living with disabilities, and veterans.

Specific Duties:

1. Leads operations of the Youth Collection, including the provision of reference and instructional services. (See http://www.library.uni.edu/collections/youth-collection to learn more about the collection.) Coordinates development, implementation, and evaluation of collections and services; and supervises, mentors, and evaluates personnel.
2. Develops, maintains, and assesses a collection of children’s and young adult materials and an associated reference collection in various formats.
3. Provides reference and research assistance to local and remote users.
4. Develops, provides, promotes, and assesses library instruction and special-content presentations focused on various aspects of children’s and young adult materials. Develops guides, bibliographies, and other instructional materials related to Youth Collection resources in print and electronic formats, as appropriate.
5. Reaches out to and serves as a resource for schools and other educational agencies in the state; and seeks opportunities to partner with area libraries, schools, and community agencies.
6. Serves as bibliographer in the library’s Collection Management program. Duties include selection, collection assessment and analysis, and liaison responsibilities for selected programs in the College of Education.
7. Promotes the use and understanding of Collection services and resources using diverse means, including the Youth Collection website and social media; and engages in diverse marketing and promotional activities, in collaboration with the Library’s Public Relations Committee.
8. Participates in appropriate professional associations and builds cooperative working relationships with other regional libraries.
9. Serves on library, university, and professional committees.
10. Engages in research, scholarship, and creative work.
11. Performs other duties as assigned.

Reports to: Head, Collections and Museums

Qualifications:

Required: ALA-accredited master’s degree in library or information science or international equivalent; second graduate degree in education, literature, or related discipline; knowledge of trends and issues in children’s and young adult literature; ability to work in a team environment and build positive working relationships with library peers and campus colleagues; excellent communication skills; and commitment to provide high quality library services and resources to students and faculty.

Preferred: Undergraduate or graduate degree in education; experience as a children’s or school librarian or coursework in school library or media studies; experience as a classroom teacher at the K-8 level; demonstrated understanding of high-quality children’s and young adult literature and its use in school curricula; and demonstrated commitment to fostering diversity and inclusiveness.

Application:
Pre-employment background checks are required. To apply, visit http://jobs.uni.edu. Applications received by September 3, 2013 will be given full consideration. For more information, contact Clint Wrede, Librarian, at clint.wrede@uni.edu. The University is an equal opportunity employer with a comprehensive plan for affirmative action.

UNI is a smoke-free campus.