Working/Functional Title
Associate Dean for Collections & Technical Service
Position Summary
Michigan State University Libraries seeks an Associate Dean for Collections and Technical Services to join the leadership team of the libraries serving the nation’s premier land-grant university. Reporting to the Dean of Libraries, this innovative, collaborative, and inclusive leader provides strategic direction for the newly created Collections and Technical Services division (6 direct reports and approximately 50 FTE). This includes programmatic, budgetary, supervisory, and unit oversight for: Collections Strategies, Copyright, Acquisitions, Cataloging and Metadata Services, Catalog Maintenance, Authorities Management, and Preservation and Conservation. This position is a faculty appointment.
Core Responsibilities
Ensure robust library collections and access to these collections to support research, teaching, and learning needs of the university community. Provide high-level, forward-thinking leadership for collections and technical services operations to facilitate greater effectiveness and collaboration.
- Represent needs and perspectives of the Collections and Technical Services Division within the Libraries Executive Council.
- Maintain effective communications with library departments and the University community. Review and evaluate operations and remains current on issues and developments in collections and technical services and advises the Dean of Libraries on the same.
- Set hiring priorities, and advocate for new and emerging positional needs in the Division. Participate in and oversee hiring, supervision, training, and evaluation of faculty and staff assigned to the Collections and Technical Services division.
Collections
Create a shared vision in support of the strategic goals for library collection development to provide sustainable, diverse, and inclusive scholarly library resources that meet the evolving needs of the campus community.
- Supervise and collaborate with the Head of Collections Strategies who allocates and monitors expenditure of an annual materials budget of more than $20 million.
- Collaborate with units in other divisions of the library including but not limited to subject liaison librarians, Special Collections, Interlibrary Services, Stacks Management, and Remote Storage.
- Contribute to direction and vision for the academic research library role within scholarly communications including open access publishing.
- Ensure effective consortial representation at the Big Ten Academic Alliance, Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS), and other groups as appropriate.
Technical Services
Oversee and strategize directions for units in Technical Services (40+ faculty & staff) which provide MSUL collections infrastructure and services: Acquisitions, Cataloging & Metadata Services, Electronic Resources, Catalog Maintenance, and Authorities Management.
- Support existing and envision potential MSUL Technical Services contributions to relevant national/international communities and best practices, including but not limited to: FOLIO Special Interest Groups (SIGs), release testing, and governing councils; the Library of Congress Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC); remediation of harmful language in resource descriptions.
- Build and maintain partnerships across library divisions and beyond to facilitate: shared catalog protocols (with Library of Michigan and the Law Library); FOLIO hosting and IT needs, FOLIO vendor relationships, and VuFind catalog optimization (with Digital Initiatives); Libraries projects requiring Technical Services expertise and logistical support, including statistics, reporting, inventory management, etc.; ensure that decisions, processes, and systems across the entire division are in support of the Libraries’ commitments to metadata integrity, discoverability, more respectful descriptive practices, and visibility of culturally diverse resources.
Additional Information
We welcome candidates who meet the minimum requirements to apply and will support their professional development to grow in this position.
Librarians are appointed as regular faculty in the continuing appointment system. Faculty are expected to independently apply judgment; have excellent oral and communication skills; and demonstrate attention to detail; flexibility; collegiality; the capacity for collaboration; and a commitment to diversity and inclusion in performance of their duties. As faculty, they develop a self-directed program of professional development and scholarly activities related to their position; and serve on library and university committees as elected or assigned.
This librarian will work to advance the initiatives in the MSU Strategic Plan and in the MSU Libraries Strategic Plan. In support of these initiatives, the Libraries serve as a center of activity and engagement on campus, with librarians empowered to support both student development and transformative research activities.
The MSU Libraries Strategic Plan guides our current and future work. The candidate will partner with our diverse campus to grow our welcoming multicultural environment. More information on MSU and the MSU Libraries’ dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion is available at: http://www.inclusion.msu.edu/about/index.html.
Michigan State University Libraries serve more than 4,900 faculty, 40,000 undergraduates, and 11,000 graduate and professional students on a park-like campus of over 5,000 acres.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.
Required Degree
Masters -Information or Library Sciences
Minimum Requirements
- Master’s degree in information or library science from a program accredited by the American Library Association or an equivalent accreditation from an international institution.
- Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible leadership experience in a large academic library in one or more of the following areas: technical services, collections, scholarly communications, or related areas.
- Minimum of five years of experience managing librarians and support staff.
- Demonstrated knowledge of current trends and best practices in collection development, technical services, scholarly communication, and related areas.
- An understanding of the major issues and trends facing large academic research libraries.
- Ability to exercise a high degree of professionalism, integrity, and accountability
- Project management and problem-solving skills and ability to set priorities and manage multiple projects and competing deadlines.
- History of collaborative leadership with proven ability to work effectively with multiple stakeholders.
- Strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and an intention to work in and foster a collaborative, respectful culture.
- Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills.
Desired Qualifications
- Experience with digital scholarship initiatives, open access publishing, and emerging technologies in libraries.
- Knowledge of preservation and conservation principles.
- Experience with cataloging or library acquisitions.
- Experience with library consortia, collaborative collection development programs, or shared resource management systems.
- Record of scholarly research, publication, and professional service consistent with a faculty appointment.
- Experience managing support staff in a unionized environment
Required Application Materials
Interested applicants should provide the following to http://careers.msu.edu.
- a letter of application,
- CV/resume, and
- names, addresses and email addresses of three references (2 must be present/past supervisors)
Special Instructions
Minimum $135,000. Salary is negotiable. MSU provides generous fringe benefits including health care, dental care, professional development funding, 22 paid vacation days, 9 University holidays, 2 personal observance days, paid sick days, tuition discounts, and relocation reimbursement.
For questions, please contact Jacquelyn Hansen, aholajac@msu.edu, at MSU Libraries' Human Resources Department.
Website
lib.msu.edu
Department Statement
The Libraries are at the center of academic life at Michigan State University, providing expertise, collections, and infrastructure for discovery and creation. We facilitate connections that support research, teaching, and learning in our local and global communities.
MSU Statement
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.
