Assistant University Librarian for Collection Strategy
University of Pennsylvania Job Location: Pennsylvania Apply By: 10/01/2019 Date Created: 03-27-2019
The University of Pennsylvania Libraries invites applications and nominations for the position of Assistant University Librarian for Collection Strategy. Reporting to the Associate University Librarian for Collections, this administrator serves in a leadership capacity to oversee and develop strategies to operationalize collective change in the development and management of the Penn Libraries’ general collections. The incumbent monitors the expenditure of a $20 million budget and allocations to 62 subject funds, supporting and advancing the collections-related functions of 35 selectors responsible for serving the diverse information needs of the university, while supervising a team of 9 professional staff (4 directly).
Duties
Working in a collaborative and service-oriented environment, the Assistant University Librarian ensures an appropriate scope and caliber of the resources to which the libraries provide access in support of the mission of the University of Pennsylvania. Responsibilities include:
- Oversee the allocation and management of $20 million in funds for collections. Directly manage the expenditure of general and system-wide funds, totaling $2.3 million.
- Maintain relationships and productive communication with information resource vendors and publishers.
- Supervise 4 professional staff directly, and 5 indirectly.
- Set policies, standards and best practices for collections-related functions. Manage the internal onboarding, training and education program for 35 staff with collection development responsibilities.
- Oversee the collection analysis unit of the libraries to assess and analyze the Libraries’ collections in all formats, their use, and the expenditure of collections’ budgets to inform system-wide decisions about allocation, acquisition, storage and retention, and to identify potential collaborative collection development, digitization, and preservation opportunities.
University Overview
The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning.
Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.
The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.
School/Center Overview
The Penn Libraries serve the world-class faculty and students of Penn’s 12 schools. The Libraries’ collections comprise more than 7 million volumes, over 100,000 journals, some 2 million digitized images, and extraordinary rare and unique materials that document the intellectual and cultural experience of ancient and modern civilizations. Through our collaborative relationships, we supplement Penn’s great local collections with physical access to the Center for Research Libraries (approximately 5 million items), the combined holdings of the Ivies (more than 70 million volumes), and exclusive electronic access to some 2 million public domain titles in the HathiTrust. Today, the Libraries play an instrumental role in developing new technologies for information discovery and dissemination and are noted for groundbreaking work in digital library design. To learn more about the Penn Libraries, visit http://www.library.upenn.edu.
Qualifications
A MLS and five to seven years of experience, or its equivalent in theory and practice, is required or equivalent combination of education and experience; an additional graduate degree is preferred. The successful candidate will have: a minimum of five years of progressively responsible and productive experience working in collection development in research libraries, and experience in and a comfort with working with large, complex budgets. Experience in system-wide planning and administration. Previous supervisory experience.
To apply
Reference Number 50-31343
Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.
Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class.
