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Head, Reference and Instructional Services Department

Head, Reference and Instructional Services Department

University of Delaware Job Location: Delaware Date Created: 02-07-2014

Head, Reference and Instructional Services Department Description: The University of Delaware Library seeks a creative and dynamic librarian to serve as Head, Reference and Instructional Services Department, who will manage a principal library information gateway critical to the research and curricular mission of the University. The position reports to the Associate University Librarian for Services, Outreach and Assessment. The position will lead a diverse department of 13 librarians, 8 non-exempt staff, and student assistants in the delivery of research, information and instructional services, and the management of three small branch science libraries. The Reference and Instructional Services Department librarians include a Coordinator of Library Instruction, Coordinator of Branch Libraries, Coordinator of Services for Users with Disabilities, Scholarly Communication Officer, UDSpace Coordinator who supports the institutional repository, and UDLib/SEARCH Coordinators who provide K-12 statewide database training. Librarians in the Reference and Instructional Services Department provide the entire range of in-person and online reference services and also serve as liaison librarians to one or more academic departments for both instruction and collection development. Librarians have a dual reporting line and report to the Head, Collection Development Department for collection related activities. Essential responsibilities include: directing reference service noted for its excellence, responsiveness and its effective information literacy program that supports the learning, teaching and research needs of the students and faculty, particularly focused on new models of information delivery and use; fostering an environment of exploration and implementation of new approaches to reference, instruction, and outreach services as well as services delivered through social networking tools, web applications and mobile computing platforms; collaborating effectively with library administrators and library staff to plan and implement programs and services; continually assess and reinvent reference and instructional services to meet the needs of users; staying professionally active and keeping current on trends related to university needs, technology and current library services; leading by example in the department, establishing workloads and procedures, delegating responsibility, providing guidance and direction, monitoring and evaluating performance, coaching and counseling as needed. The position will participate in the full range of services and department programs, may serve as library liaison to one or more academic departments, will represent and speak on behalf of the department and the Library and serve on library, university and professional committees. Qualifications: ALA accredited graduate library degree. Minimum of five years professional work experience in reference and library instruction in an academic library. Experience managing or coordinating library services or staff in library public services environment. Knowledge of emerging trends in library reference and instruction. Strong leadership skills and the ability to work cooperatively. Flexibility, creativity, and the ability to thrive in a complex, changing environment with competing demands. Demonstrated ability in planning, introducing, and managing change. Excellent written and oral communication, interpersonal communication and public presentation skills. Strong commitment to service excellence. Ability to successfully motivate and encourage staff. General Information: The University of Delaware has a long tradition of excellence beginning in 1743 and extending to the research-intensive, technologically advanced institution of today. The University of Delaware provides a broad range of academic programs at the undergraduate, master, and doctoral levels. There are over 1,100 full-time faculty and 4,000 staff serving a student body of over 21,000. The University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware, with its beautiful 970 acre campus, is situated one hour from Philadelphia and two hours from New York and Washington, DC. The Library makes accessible a broad range of electronic resources, including approximately 50,000 electronic and print journals, over 370 databases, and over 26,000 videos. Library collections, which are broadly based and comprehensive, include over 2.8 million volumes. The Morris Library, where the main collection is housed, is a six-acre, four-floor building which has undergone several major renovations, most recently including a refurbishment of the main Information Room to be completed by the Fall of 2014. The Morris Library has 275 public access workstations, 200 laptop connections, wireless access, and a state-of-the-art 15,000 square foot Student Multimedia Design Center. The University of Delaware Library will be the first member of the Association of Research Libraries to replace its traditional Library Information System with OCLC’s WMS (WorldShare Management Services) cloud based system. WMS will be implemented in July 2014. The University of Delaware Library is a member of the Association of Research Libraries, Center for Research Libraries, Coalition for Networked Information, Council on Library and Information Resources, Digital Library Federation, OCLC Research Partnership, SPARC, HathiTrust, the National Digital Stewardship Alliance and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM). More information about the Library is available at http://www.udel.edu/library. Benefits: Vacation of 22 working days. TIAA-CREF or Fidelity retirement with 11% of salary contributed by the University. Tuition remission for dependents and spouses, and course fee waiver for employee. Full information about University of Delaware benefits is available online: http://www.udel.edu/Benefits/ Appointment: Appointment will be at the level of Associate Librarian or Librarian with rank and salary dependent upon experience and qualifications. The current University of Delaware Library Rank and Promotion System document http://www2.lib.udel.edu/personnel/promo.htm is available online. To Apply: Include cover letter and resume, along with the names and contact information of three employment references, in a single document, following University of Delaware application instructions at http://www.udel.edu/udjobs/ by March 14, 2014. Equal Employment Opportunity Employment offers will be conditioned upon successful completion of a criminal background check. A conviction will not necessarily exclude you from employment. The University of Delaware is an Equal Opportunity Employer which encourages applications from Minority Group Members and Women. The University's Notice of Non-Discrimination can be found at http://www.udel.edu/aboutus/legalnotices.html

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