Librarian (Assistant or Associate), Collections Management Unit Lead (UPDATED)

Please Note: The Review Date within the Special Instructions to Applicants section has been updated from "October 8th, 2024" to "October 18, 2024".

This position is designed to meet the information needs of students, faculty, and other users of Special Collections through the development and management of the department's collections, including acquisition, processing, description, and maintenance. The role also involves providing reference services, providing instruction on primary source literacy, and occasionally curating exhibitions. Key responsibilities include providing leadership and collaborating with department staff to develop long-term strategies for the stewardship of the University of Arizona Libraries' Special Collections, with a focus on managing physical and digital materials, handling accessioning, and the arrangement and description of archival collections. Additionally, the position works with others to coordinate the hiring, training, supervision, and mentoring of graduate assistants as well as supervising student employees and interns.

As the unit lead, they will provide leadership and oversight of the collections management operations, working collaboratively to set priorities, improve services, and manage workflows. Responsibilities include managing unit operations and supervising seven full-time employees (six staff and one faculty) and overseeing student employees, including graduate assistants. This position reports to the Head of Special Collections and is part of the department's leadership group. Unit lead responsibilities will account for approximately 15% of the incumbent's time (1 FTE).

This is a continuing-eligible or continuing status track, academic professional position. Incumbents are members of the general faculty and are entitled to all accompanying rights and privileges granted by the Arizona Board of Regents and the University of Arizona. Retention and promotion are earned through achievement of a record of excellence in position effectiveness, scholarship, and service.

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CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES

• Provides leadership for the Collections
  Management Unit, guiding collection development based on an understanding of
  existing strengths, usage trends, scholarly needs, and opportunities. Applies
  expertise in modern manuscript acquisition, including the curation and
  preservation of born-digital archives.
• Collaborates with department leadership and unit members to define
  and advance the unit's mission, vision, and goals.
  Leads the development of procedures and data
  collection practices to assess and inform collections management, addressing
  procedural needs and space impacts.
• Provides training for Special Collections
  faculty, staff, and student employees on best practices for collections
  management.
• Oversees and leads activities that promote discovery, including
  the arrangement, description, and creation of finding aids for both
  born-digital and paper-based collections.
• Manages the acquisition and ingest activities for paper and
  born-digital collections, including accessioning, de-accessioning,
  organization, and physical re-housing and shelving of materials.
• Oversees the preservation of born-digital materials, including
  accessioning, processing, and content capture, with work in the Digital
  Preservation Lab.
• Implements disposition recommendations or decisions through legal
  instruments such as schedules, deeds of gift, purchase contracts, and deposit
  agreements.
• Supervises and monitors the output quality produced by Library
  Services Associates and student employees.
• Trains and mentors graduate
  assistants and interns in archival processing and other projects.
• Establishes and maintains communication with creators and
  potential donors of records and papers.
• Contributes to Special Collections'
  archival education, course-related instruction, and other specialized
  educational sessions to students, the community, and other primary customers.
  Develops and prepares appropriate instructional and educational aids.
• Integrates special collections into the broader institutional
  environment, collaborating successfully within the larger organization and
  community.
• Responds to reference inquiries on-site and
  offsite via telephone, mail, and email.
• Occasionally curates and prepares exhibits of
  Special Collections materials. Assists in related events such as lectures and
  receptions.
• Promotes the use of collections through
  presentations and the exploration of new promotional technologies.
• Participates in library-wide activities,
  including project teams and other groups, to achieve library goals.
• Routinely lifts, carries, and moves materials
  weighing up to 40 pounds.
• The UA Libraries support the
  UA's diversity and inclusiveness strategic initiatives designed to create an inclusive
  environment for all faculty, staff, and students. The candidate is
  expected to support diversity and inclusiveness efforts in the department and
  library-wide.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Possesses
  foundational knowledge of the history, theory, and practices related to special
  collections, including rare books, maps, prints, photographs, ephemera,
  archives, manuscripts, original work, audiovisual media, and digitized and born-digital
  materials.
• Ability
  to articulate and advocate for information technology solutions to archival and
  bibliographic challenges. This includes
  a thorough knowledge of archival principles and best practices of archival
  (paper-based and born-digital) and bibliographic description, access, archival
  technologies, preservation, digital curation, and reference.
• Understanding of
  intellectual property rights, copyright, rights management, patron and donor
  privacy, and other legal issues related to primary materials in various
  formats.
• Comprehends the purpose, construction, and presentation of formal
  descriptions of special collections materials, such as bibliographies,
  catalogs, and finding aids.
• Committed to promoting the appreciation and use of special
  collections materials to diverse audiences, engaging them with the excitement
  of original materials.
• Familiar with and committed to standards, ethics, guidelines,
  trends, and best practices established by professional groups such as ACRL's
  Rare Books and Manuscripts Section, the Society of American Archivists, and the
  American Association of Museums.
• Knowledge of relevant archival and
  bibliographic standards and frameworks (DACS, Records in Contexts, EAD, MARC)
  and archival processing standards and techniques.
• Relevant project management skills as it relates to space management, collection management, and arrangement and description workflows. Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously; this may include planning, coordinating, and implementing effective programs, complex projects, or service models.
• Knowledge of best practices for the procedures for technical accessioning of materials in electronic formats.
• Skilled in donor relations, including
  identifying and cultivating donors, negotiating gifts, preparing legal
  agreements, understanding appraisal sources and tax regulations, and developing
  long-term stewardship strategies.
• Excellent
  interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to work in a highly collaborative and
  inclusive environment, one that values and leverages the benefits of diverse
  perspectives. Demonstrates a positive attitude and embodies of Our Values:
  Collaboration, Continuous Learning, Diversity, Innovation, and Integrity.

• ALA-accredited
  master's degree in library and information science.
• Experience supervising any of the following: student employees,
  graduate assistants, staff, faculty, or through other informal leadership
  roles.
• Evidence of ability to achieve continuing status (equivalent to
  tenure), including contributing to the information/library professional and to
  fulfilling the responsibilities of a library faculty member through service and
  scholarship.

• At least three years of experience processing collections and preparing finding aids for archival and manuscript collections as well experience with hiring and training related to archival arrangement and description.
• Experience documenting and implementing procedures and policies.
• Experience in the use and maintenance of collection management systems such as ArchivesSpace.
• Experience providing effective public services (reference and instruction) in a special collections repository to a diverse clientele including faculty, undergraduate, graduate students and members of the public.
• Experience working with technical support, systems, and programming staff in relation to a collection management system.