History Librarian and Head, History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• By: admin
• On: 03/10/2014 14:48:51
• In: Job & Internships

History Librarian and Head, History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library

Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor of Library Administration

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Position Available: Position available immediately. This is a 100%, twelve-month, tenure-system appointment.   Appointment rank will be appropriate to the qualifications of the candidate selected. For appointment with tenure, candidates must meet requirements for tenure at the University of Illinois, which includes expectations for librarianship, research and service. Permanent appointment as History Librarian; appointment as unit head is for a renewable term dependent on unit needs and directions.
 
Responsibilities:  Reporting to the University Librarian, the History Librarian and Head of the History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library (HPNL) will provide leadership for and supervision of library services to students, faculty, and other scholars using HPNL. The History Librarian is a member of the University Library's Arts and Humanities Division.
 
As History Librarian, the successful candidate will:
·         Serve as the Librarian for History, History of Science, Religion, Jewish Studies, and Newspapers;
·         Provide collection development by selecting materials in relevant formats and languages to support the research, teaching, and learning needs of the University Community;
·         Regularly engage in assessment to determine whether collection development activities are adequately responding to user needs and changing technologies;
·         Manage collection funds effectively and in a timely manner;
·         Provide effective, responsive reference service through all media: in-person, email, chat, phone, and other means as technology changes;
·         Monitor and understand the most recent changes in the production of knowledge in the related subject discipline and knowledge base as a whole;
·         Create and maintain a variety of guides to specialized fields within the subject specialty areas;
·         Actively participate in the Library and library information resource instruction and library-wide reference services;
·         Continue to develop an instruction program in response to faculty needs for History, History of Science, Religion, and Jewish Studies, and Newspapers;
·         Provide liaison and outreach to constituencies in the Departments of History, Religion,  the Program for Jewish Culture and Society, and other relevant user communities;
·         Keep current with theoretical, methodological, and topical trends in subject areas of responsibilities;
·         Articulate, pursue and, over time, refine an aggressive agenda in research, scholarly publication, and professional and public service activities in the Librarian's research field;
·         Contribute to the national and international reputation of the University Library through professional research, service and collaboration with appropriate colleagues and organizations.
 
As the Head of HPNL, the successful candidate will:
·         Provide leadership for the History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library for a period up to five years;
·         Oversee unit operations, including reference service, collection development and management, liaison, outreach, instruction, support for digital scholarship, and contributions to library-wide services;
·         Coach/mentor/evaluate personnel;
·         Direct the selection, training, evaluation, and deployment of support staff members and graduate assistants/hourly staff in HPNL Library;
·         Prepare regular and on-demand reports for the HPNL Library, including but not limited to strategic plans, annual goals, annual reports, and budget proposals and requests;
·         Coordinate HPNL web site management, digital projects, development and management of additional collections, specific library programs and operations, and participate in other projects and activities;
·         Participate in all aspects of newspaper digitization (both NDNP and non-NDNP), including all aspects of grant management and project management, as well as active participation in the national newspaper digitization community and providing leadership in the state for newspaper digitization initiatives;
·         Collaborate collegially and cooperatively with other personnel throughout the Library, including those in the HPNL, other unit heads, the Associate University Librarian for User Services, and the Associate University Librarian for Collections and Technical Services.
 
Environment:  The University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign is one of the preeminent research libraries in the world. With more than 13 million volumes and significant digital resources, it ranks second in size among academic research libraries in the United States and first among public university libraries in the world. As the intellectual heart of the campus, the Library is committed to maintaining the strongest possible collections and services and engaging in research and development activities in pursuit of the University's mission of teaching, scholarship, and public service. The Library currently employs approximately 90 faculty and 300 academic professionals, staff, and graduate assistants. For more detailed information, please visit <http://www.library.illinois.edu/>.  The Library consists of multiple departmental libraries located across campus, as well as an array of central public, technical, and administrative service units. The Library also encompasses a variety of virtual service points and “embedded librarian” programs.
 
The History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library (HPNL) provides subject expertise and serves the disciplines of history, philosophy, religious studies, and any discipline utilizing current and historical newspapers as a source for research. Holding and providing responsibility for the bulk of the University Library's microfilm collection (over 200,000 reels), HPNL is a destination for finding, viewing, scanning, and digitally manipulating micro content.  HPNL continues to innovate in several strategic areas, with a sustained and vibrant program of newspaper digitization, a central role in the History Department curriculum, and the development of a series of instructional videos.  This video series consolidates HPNL's role as a library for historical newspaper research, and promotes growing newspaper reference service focusing on unique primary sources.
 
The History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library clientele includes faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates at UIUC, as well as visiting scholars and a local user community. On campus, this includes well over 500 majors across the three main departments and the two programs it serves in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences including History, Religion, Philosophy, and Jewish Culture and Society.  In 2008, the African American Research Center co-located with HPNL to build on shared interests and facilitate collaboration. Currently two FTE staff, 1.5 FTE academic professionals, one academic hourly, and one graduate student report to the Head of HPNL.
 
Qualifications: Required qualifications: ALA-accredited Master's degree in Library and Information Science (MLS) OR ABD/Ph.D. in History or related discipline; Three years of relevant professional experience working full-time in a library or related setting; Management experience; For candidates eligible for appointment with tenure, evidence of research, publication, and service consonant with University standards for tenure and promotion at the level of Associate or Full Professor; For candidates eligible for appointment without tenure, evidence of ability to succeed in an environment in which academic research and meaningful professional service are considered integral to success.  Preferred qualifications: ALA-accredited Master's degree in Library and Information Science (MLS) AND advanced degree in History or closely related field; Five years of professional experience working full-time in a research library or related setting; Experience building and sustaining library or research collections in all formats;  Experience providing instruction or workshops in an academic library or similar research environment; Demonstrated commitment to undergraduate research; Demonstrated knowledge of digital humanities, digital curation, data management, or scholarly communication ; Grant writing experience and a demonstrated entrepreneurial approach to funding;  Record of participation and contribution in library, archives, or related professional organizations;  Demonstrated ability to work collegially and cooperatively with others in a team environment
 
Salary and Rank:  Salary commensurate with credentials and experience. Librarians have faculty rank, and must demonstrate excellence in librarianship, research, and university/professional/community service in order to meet university standards for tenure and promotion. For more information, see <http://www.library.illinois.edu/committee/promo/pta.html>.
 
Terms of Appointment: Twelve-month appointment; 24 annual vacation days; 11 annual paid holidays; 12 annual sick-leave days (cumulative), plus an additional 13 sick-leave days (non-cumulative) available, if needed, each year; health insurance requiring a small co-payment is provided to employee (with the option to purchase coverage for spouse and dependents); required participation in State Universities Retirement System (SURS) (8% of annual salary is withheld and is refundable upon termination), with several options for participation in additional retirement plans; newly-hired employees are covered by the Medicare portion of Social Security and are subject to its deduction.
 
Campus and Community: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a comprehensive and major public land-grant university (Doctoral/Research University-Extensive) that is ranked among the best in the world. Chartered in 1867, it provides undergraduate and graduate education in more than 150 fields of study, conducts theoretical and applied research, and provides public service to the state and the nation. It employs 3,000 faculty members who serve 31,000 undergraduates and 12,000 graduate and professional students; approximately 25% of faculty receives campus-wide recognition each year for excellence in teaching. More information about the campus is available at www.illinois.edu.
 
The University is located in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana, which have a combined population of 100,000 and are situated about 140 miles south of Chicago, 120 miles west of Indianapolis, and 170 northeast of St. Louis. The University and its surrounding communities offer a cultural and recreational environment ideally suited to the work of a major research institution. For more information about the community, visit: <http://illinois.edu/about/community/community.html> or <http://www.ccchamber.org/>.
 
To Apply:  To ensure full consideration, please complete your candidate profile at https://jobs.illinois.edu and upload a letter of interest, resume, and contact information including email addresses for three professional references. Applications not submitted through this website will not be considered. For questions, please call: 217-333-8169.
 
Deadline:  In order to ensure full consideration, applications and nominations must be received by April 7, 2014. The review of applications will continue until the position is filled.
 
 

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