 |
POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT October 2008 University of California, Berkeley Head of Acquisitions |
The University of California, Berkeley, seeks a dynamic, experienced, innovative librarian to lead the acquisitions functions of the Technical Services Department through the multifaceted, rapidly changing environment of acquisitions librarianship. The Acquisitions Librarian will position the Technical Services Department’s team of knowledgeable and dedicated staff to meet the challenges of new systems, new technologies, and new ways of envisioning traditional acquisitions functions. The UCB Library believes that current trends in collection development, collection access, and scholarly communication require a strategic rethinking of the structure and function of acquisitions in our organization. For this reason we have placed the Acquisition Librarian in direct relationship to both the technical services and collections programs. The Acquisitions Librarian will help us to shape the future organizational structure of collections and technical services at Berkeley.
The UC Berkeley Library is an internationally renowned research and teaching facility at one of the nation’s premiere public universities. In a highly-diverse and intellectually-rich environment, Berkeley serves a campus community of 23,000 undergraduate students, 9,000 graduate students, and 1,500 faculty. The Library is comprised of 20 libraries, including the Doe/Moffitt Libraries, The Bancroft Library, and the East Asian Library collectively offering extensive collections in all formats and robust services to connect users with those collections and build their related research skills. The Library has a collection of more than 10 million volumes and a budget of over $35 million with nearly 375 FTE employees and more than 600 part-time student employees. The Library is a member of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), and the Research Libraries Group (RLG), and is an active participant in the California Digital Library. Through participation in exciting initiatives such as the Google Digitization Project, UC System’s WorldCat Local pilot, and New Directions Initiative, the Library continues to explore new approaches and roles for research libraries. Discover more about the Library and our initiatives via the following Web site http://www.lib.berkeley.edu.
The UC Berkeley Library collection development program is lead by over fifty collection specialists with specialized subject knowledge who are responsible for developing and managing a diverse set of collections and information resources in close consultation with faculty and students. The Library’s Technical Services Department is responsible for ordering, receiving, and providing access to these Library collections and information resources supporting the broad research and teaching programs at Cal. The department consists of four major Divisions: Original Cataloging, Copy Cataloging and Monographic Receiving, Collections Core Services, and Gift and Exchange. The Acquisitions Librarian serves as the Head of the Collections Core Services and Gift and Exchange Divisions.
The Collections Core Services Division (18.5 FTE), which provides and maintains the Library’s core acquisition functions, is subdivided into five units. The Ordering Unit places over 20,000 orders annually for monographs and serials via INNOPAC and various electronic vendor interfaces. The Unit also provides the majority of collections budgeting support to the AUL for Collections. The Payments Unit processes all payments for collections material in all formats; places orders for electronic resources, handles electronic resource access problems; and manages The Library’s open-URL link resolver for Berkeley resources.. and will play a key role in The Library’s upcoming transition to Innovative Interface’s Millenium Integrated Library System The Check-In Unit receives, routes and claims all of The Library’s serials and standing orders arriving in tangible format that have been set up for central receipt. The News/Micro Processing Unit receives, routes and claims newspapers in print, microfiche and microfilm formats along with other serial material produced in microformat.
The Gift and Exchange Division (4 FTE) manages both the Exchange Program, which maintains over 2,900 active exchange agreements with institutions in virtually every country in the world to obtain approximately 8,000 serial titles and 4,500 monographs per year, and the Library's Gifts Program, which evaluates, receives, acknowledges, and reviews donations of publications and withdrawn materials for possible addition to the Library collections, discard, or sale in the Library Book Sale. The Library's Slavic and Eastern European Ordering Program is also located in this Division.
For more detailed descriptions, please go to http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/Collections (Collections program) and http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/wikis/TechServices/ (Technical Services Department).
Reporting jointly to the Associate University Librarian for Technical Services and to the Associate University Librarian for Collections, the Acquisitions Librarian will provide expert leadership in developing, implementing, and creating policy and procedures for the acquisition of collections materials in all tangible and electronic formats by purchase, exchange, depository, gift, shared or collaborative acquisitions programs and by access to freely available electronic resources.
UCB librarians are expected to participate in library-wide planning and governance, to be able to work comfortably in a shared decision-making environment, and to be active professionally. Professional contributions beyond the primary responsibilities, e.g., active participation in university and professional settings, publication or other research and creative activity, are required for advancement in the Librarian series. The successful candidate will show promise or evidence of such contributions.
We encourage applications from librarians with a wide range of experience (see table below), including qualified mid-career librarians.
Librarian level |
Associate Librarian level |
|---|---|
1. A track record of successfully leading and implementing institutional change |
1. Ability to demonstrate significant promise in this area. |
2. A history of successful management at increasingly higher levels of authority. |
2. Some successful experience in management assignments. |
3. Evidence of ability to build consensus among differing constituencies. |
3. Some successful experience in this area. |
4. A history of active participation in the profession of librarianship. |
4. Current active participation in the profession of librarianship. |
5. Highly effective communication and training skills within the various areas of acquisitions librarianship, including staff management, vendor negotiations, strategic planning, and customer service within the organization. |
5. Must be an effective communicator and trainer within one or more of these various areas. |
6. A detailed familiarity with the national and international publishing and vending marketplace for scholarly research materials. |
6. General knowledge in this area. |
7. Multi-year experience managing serial, electronic resource and monographic acquisitions at increasingly greater levels of responsibility. |
7. Some experience managing one or more these areas. |
8. Must have experience with approval plan management. |
8. Experience in this area is desirable. |
9. History of work with consortial purchasing. |
9. Some experience with consortial purchasing. |
10. History of successful budget management within a complex funding environment. |
10. Some experience managing budgets within this type of environment. |
Required:
Desirable:
|
In conformance with University of California policy, continuing employment will be contingent upon completion of satisfactory background investigation.
DEADLINE : First consideration will be given to applications received by December 15, 2008. This position will remain open until filled.
The Library at the University of California, Berkeley is committed to the support and encouragement of a multicultural environment and seeks candidates who can make positive and imaginative contributions in a context of ethnic and cultural diversity.
The University seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the people of California, to maintain the excellence of the University, and to offer our students richly varied disciplines, perspectives, and ways of knowing and learning.
Professional librarians at UC are academic appointees and are represented by an exclusive bargaining agent, University Council – American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT). This position is not in the bargaining unit and is eligible for an administrative stipend.
Librarians are entitled to appropriate professional leave, two days per month of vacation leave, one day per month of sick leave, and all other benefits granted to non-faculty academic personnel. UC has an excellent retirement system and sponsors a variety of group health, dental, vision and life insurance plans in addition to other benefits. Relocation assistance is provided.
Applicants should apply in writing, including with their letter a complete statement of qualifications, a full resume of their education and relevant experience, and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of three references who are knowledgeable about their qualifications for this position. Send applications to:
Barbara Kornstein
Academic Personnel Specialist
Library Human Resources Department
110 The Library
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
Or FAX to: 510.642.8675
Or EMAIL: librec@library.berkeley.edu
Applications received via email preferred.