Reporting to the Dean of Barnard Library and Academic Information Services (BLAIS) and incorporating values of equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility into all practices, the Director for Teaching, Learning, & Research Services leads the Personal Librarian (PL) team, who provide specialized reference and instruction services for all Barnard students and serve as subject liaisons to all academic departments. The Director works with the PLs to develop and deepen the library’s programs and services for instruction, reference, and research; and, in collaboration with the Director for Collections Strategies and Library Operations, coordinates the work of the PLs in collection development.

The Director is liaison to the Center for Engaged Pedagogy and engages with all the Academic Centers in the Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning, developing collaborations with a focus on pedagogy, library collections, research methods, and digital scholarship.

As a member of the BLAIS management team, the Director engages in strategic planning and collaborates with all library departments, the Academic Centers in the Milstein Center, and colleagues across the College to establish, implement, and assess services, projects, and policies  that manifest the BLAIS and Barnard College values, priorities, and mission.

Duties & Responsibilities

1. Lead the Personal Librarian Program 

• Manage the Personal Librarian team, including 1 student staff and 5 FTE subject specialist librarians who conduct approximately 400 consultations and 75 curricular instruction sessions each semester, serve as liaisons to all College academic departments. Work with the team to develop and achieve annual goals that align with BLAIS strategic initiatives and staff’s professional development goals. 
• Provide strategic direction for robust and sustainable instruction, reference, consultation, and outreach programs and services for the Barnard Community, based on innovative and known pedagogy, critical librarianship, and a deep understanding of faculty and student needs. Conduct assessment of these programs.
• Develop and monitor a budget for the PL program to support its strategic priorities.
• In collaboration with the Director for Collections Strategy and Library Operations, coordinate the Personal Librarians in selecting collections materials for designated academic fields, in alignment with the Barnard curriculum and the BLAIS collection development policy.
• Engage with faculty across the College to ensure that the TLRS team effectively supports curricular programs including the First-Year Writing program and the Modes of Thinking represented in the Barnard Foundations Curriculum, including Thinking Digitally, Thinking Computationally, and others.
• Provide instruction, teach workshops, and conduct outreach for students and faculty. May serve as liaison to selected academic departments, including teaching, consultations, and collection development. 

2. Serve on the leadership team for the Barnard Library and Academic Information Services

• With the Dean of BLAIS and other members of the leadership team, develop, implement, and assess library-wide strategic initiatives that support the mission, values, and priorities of BLAIS and Barnard College.
• Support a culture and practices of equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in BLAIS.

• Participate in BLAIS budget management meetings, ensuring that the TLRS budget supports library strategic priorities and values.
• Represent BLAIS on Barnard-wide and Columbia University Libraries committees as appropriate. 
• Actively represent BLAIS in professional associations at the national, regional, and local levels; maintain currency with new, emerging, and established standards and best practices in access services, technical services, and collections management; share knowledge and expertise within the division and with other colleagues.
• Work with the leadership team to establish professional development goals and initiatives that reflect the mission, values, and priorities of BLAIS and Barnard College. 

3. Collaborate with the Academic Centers in the Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning. 

• Serve as liaison to the Center for Engaged Pedagogy.
• Collaborate with the Center for Engaged Pedagogy and the Personal Librarians to develop and support programs to advance pedagogical practices at Barnard, through coordination of the Instruction Working Group and other methods. 
• Collaborate with the staff of the Academic Centers in the Milstein Center to support services and foster partnerships and resource-building between the Library and the Centers.
• Design and implement training and frameworks to ensure effective referrals between PLs and the Centers, enabling students and researchers to benefit from the multidisciplinary methods, research skills, and collections available in the Milstein Center.

4. Perform additional duties and responsibilities as needed.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Demonstrated initiative and the ability to create and maintain an equitable and inclusive work environment.
• Demonstrated supervisory experience and management skills essential. 
• Ability to perform detailed analytical work as well as a talent for strategic planning and implementation of long term goals. 
• Excellent communication skills and ability to interact effectively with faculty, staff, students, alums, librarians, vendors, and publishers as well as College leadership and external stakeholders. 
• Demonstrated experience with the design and development of instructional materials. 
• Demonstrated experience with instruction and inclusive pedagogy. 
• Demonstrated initiative and the ability to create and maintain a collaborative work environment. 
• Fluency in database searching, office applications, and digital scholarship tools. 

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Library Science from an ALA-accredited institution, or relevant advanced degree combined with academic library leadership experience. 
• 7-10 years of related work experience and 5+ years of progressively responsible management experience in academic library liaison or instruction work.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, particularly as they inform pedagogy, collection development, and library labor practices. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Skills and experience with digital humanities, data visualization, maker spaces, or other  methods and approaches to scholarship represented in one or more of the Academic Centers.

This job description is intended as a summary of the primary responsibilities of and qualifications for this position.  The job description is not intended as inclusive of all duties an individual in this position might be asked to perform or of all qualifications that may be required either now or in the future.

We strongly encourage those who will further advance Barnard’s commitment to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community, including those from historically underrepresented groups, to apply for this position. We welcome applicants with a range of experiences, including those who come from a less traditional background. Applicants are encouraged to think broadly about and communicate how their skills and experiences transfer to the qualifications in ways that may not be obvious.

EEO Statement

Barnard College is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is actively committed to creating a diverse and inclusive community. We especially encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, and individuals from more than one of these and other underrepresented groups.

Apply online here