Director of Collections Strategy and Library Operations

Position Information

Type of Position Administrative
Job Function Reporting to the Dean of the Barnard Library & Academic Information Services ( BLAIS ), the Director of Collections Strategy and Library Operations provides leadership and collaborative expertise for developing, sustaining and delivering the rich collections Barnard owns and accesses. In collaboration with the Dean of BLAIS , the incumbent will revisit and redevelop Barnard's collection development policy and focuses (currently Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Dance, and outstanding undergraduate liberal arts research) and facilitate conversations about reshaping the collection or access in response to the needs of the library community and the new library under construction. They are responsible for leading the conversation to define the collection strategy for the Barnard Library Collections; coordinating and communicating with Barnard Library subject selectors, students, faculty, and staff; facilitating access to the library's collections for all users; and coordinating Barnard Library's collaborations with Columbia University Libraries' collections and operations policies and practices.
The Director will be responsible for managing the Operations department. This includes currently 6 FTE engaged in the acquisition, materials processing, cataloging, circulation and reserve services of the Barnard College Library. They will recruit, develop, and motivate their team to continually deliver an excellent standard of library services to the Barnard community. In addition, the Director participates in the provision of research and instructional services to students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the Barnard and Columbia communities, through information literacy and library research classes, research consultations, and faculty and student liaison responsibilities.

Department Library
Reports to Title Dean of the Barnard Library & Academic Information Services
Full or Part Time Full Time
Number Of Months 12
Posting Number 2017 -00894- AS

Position Summary Information

Essential Duties Summary The duties and responsibilities of the Director of Collections Strategy and Library Operations fall into four areas or roles: collections strategy, operations management, personal librarian, and leadership team.
Collections Strategy - coordinate all facets of collection development for the Barnard College Library including:
Lead strategic work (discussion, metrics collection, etc) about the Barnard collections across the library
Create workflow and training for collections work by subject selectors
Communicate the status of collections and budgets with different constituencies and stakeholders, and lead conversations about the collection strategy of the Barnard library with students, faculty, staff (including but not limited to the Office of Disability Services and the Dean of Studies.)
Coordinate review of collections understanding and satisfaction with faculty committee and stakeholders
Create and adjusting plans for future collection growth and work
Coordinate Barnard Library collaborations with Columbia University Libraries' collections and operations policies and practices
Create, sustain and negotiate access for patrons to both collections and spaces, ensuring accessibility standards are met or exceeded.
Operations Manager:
Manage all facets of the Technical Services and Circulation operations of the library, including budgets, personnel, and operational planning. Technical Services and Circulation currently include 6FTE as well as a number of students.
Using the library's community agreements, ensures a welcoming, safe and respectful working and study environment for Technical Services and Circulation staff and users of the library.
Develop policies and procedures for all facets of Operations and ensure that they are coherent with Columbia Libraries' policies.
With the Dean of the Library, and in collaboration with the librarians, create and maintain a strategy for collections space management
Personal Librarian role:
Serves as a liaison to students and faculty in departments as assigned, acting as a personal librarian to relevant departments, directly communicating with the department and providing support for students and faculty. (Departments affiliations are based on education or experience.)
Deliver instruction in library & Information resources, develop resources to support students and library users
Collaborates with colleagues and partners with faculty to create and support innovative digital projects including but not limited to projects involving audio and video production, Wikipedia, etc.
Library Leadership team:
In coordination with the Associate Dean of BLAIS and the Digital Commons and the other Directors in the library, participate in the library leadership team to create and understand priorities for the library.
Participate in strategizing and implementing library-wide initiatives.
Understand and maintain the Collections and Operations budgets and their relationship to the BLAIS budget.
Performs additional job responsibilities and duties as needed

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Demonstrated supervisory experience and management skills essential.
Ability to perform detailed analytical work as well as a talent for broader planning and implementation of long term goals.
Excellent communication skills and ability to interact effectively with faculty, staff, students, alumnae, librarians, vendors and publishers as well as administration and external stakeholders.
Book and media acquisitions experience and familiarity with the publishing trade. Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with publishers and vendors.
An aptitude for or experience in teaching and developing instructional content and documentation.
Demonstrated initiative and the ability to create and maintain a collaborative work environment.
Fluency in database searching, office applications, and digital scholarship tools.

Required Qualification Summary

Master's degree in Library Science from an ALA -accredited institution required.
Three to four years of progressively responsible experience in technical and collection services. Must have knowledge of cataloging practices and experience with online bibliographic utilities, integrated library systems, library automation applications and bibliographic database management.
Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, particularly as they inform collections, communications, instruction, and library labor practices.

Posting Detail Information

EEO Statement Barnard College is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Barnard does not discriminate due to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital or parental status, national origin, ethnicity, citizenship status, veteran or military status, age, disability, or any other legally protected basis, and to the extent permitted by law. Qualified candidates of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds are encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels.

Open Date 05/11/2017
Open Until Filled Yes

Supplemental Questions
Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).



Applicant Documents
Required Documents

1. Resume
2. Cover Letter/Letter of Application

Optional Documents

PI97956271