LibraryJobline

Job Description

We’ll be blunt. We’re not looking for someone whose idea of a dream job is to hole up in a dark cubicle all day, interacting ONLY with online systems and avatars.

A large organization may find value in employing talented individuals with a single-minded technology focus. But at CLiC, we can’t afford such pure specialization. We need people who can shift gears, who are equally capable of tinkering under the hood of an ILS as they are brainstorming with staff at a rural library about strategies for community engagement.

In short, we want candidates with a balanced blend of public service, backroom operations AND solid ILS system experience.

Key aspects of the position: you would use CLiC’s ILS (a LibLime Koha hosted system), with its exciting and evolving set of features and services, as a springboard for plunging headlong into diverse interactions with libraries across Colorado (and a particular focus on the northeast parts of the state).

You would leverage your expertise with online systems alongside your talent for listening and researching and problem solving. You would utilize your communication and customer service skills hand-in-hand with your tech chops.

Imagine diverse tasks including (but not limited to):

• ILS system administrative duties (NOT server administration)
• Interactive communication with vendors and other library partners
• Receiving customer service inquiries and responding to those questions using several systems: phone, email, web, and Jedi mind control (in beta)
• Training (online and in the field) library staff members in how to use various aspects of the ILS as well as other diverse topics
• Testing new product releases, replicating and documenting problems, and tackling other system tasks that sound boring when you describe them to your relatives, but when you have a breakthrough will make you exclaim mentally, “Victory!” (and perhaps even do a little celebration dance).
• Generating statistical reports that actually mean something to library decision makers and offer insights to trends surrounding the ILS, patron discovery, and resource sharing.
• Translating what you hear from library staff about desired system improvements into recommendations that actually become funded and are pursued.

We’re seeking experienced library zealots with a gift for understanding the complexities behind an ILS AND enjoy human interaction, which is where the regional consultant side of this position comes in. Driving out into pastoral NE Colorado to visit libraries, the consultant promotes library cooperation and provides guidance to library staff. An effective consultant will have specific knowledge and subject expertise, and may not be an expert in ALL things “library” but WILL offer targeted resources and smart referrals.

Our organization provides a humane and supportive work environment, rich in experiential opportunities for people who embody the combined roles of Listener and Doer and Thinker and Connector.

Additional Info & Requirements

Required:

• Familiarity with challenges facing small and rural libraries. Passion about working with diverse individuals: the capable leaders and staff members of such libraries.
• Experience bending an ILS to your will.
• Demonstrable experience communicating and using technology tools. If you dislike listening, talking, writing, interacting with people or using technologies related to communication, this job isn’t a good fit.
• Ability to provide customer service that consistently exceeds customers’ expectations.
• Knowledge of library trends, and a burning desire to stay abreast of those trends.
• Strong technical aptitude.
• MLS/MLIS and a minimum of three years of post-graduate work experience relevant to our position.
• Flexibility in dealing with non-life-threatening regular tasks as well as unscheduled assignments, while efficiently meeting a mix of deadlines.
• Shoes (need not be sensible), with or without laces.

Strongly preferred:

• Multi-type library experience. If you’ve jumped the boundary between different types of libraries, we’re interested.
• Curiosity about the world. Interest in one or more topics not DIRECTLY “library” related (though in some regards, nearly everything in the world can be connected back to a library).
• Again, attention to detail. Read our application procedure. Read the full job description, too! If you find your professional library background is captured in the words above and in the official description, we’d love to receive your application.

The Community

If you’re a library professional and chomping for an opportunity to see your work impact libraries across Colorado, then consider working at CLiC. Here, the state is your playground. This position operates from our office in Centennial, but involves some travel.

HR Info

Apply by sending your material to HR Manager Andrea Pettegrew via email: apettegrew@clicweb.org. Professional references are not required for initial-stage applicants, but will be required of finalists for the position. Should you have any procedural questions, please address those to the HR Manager via email or call 303-422-1150. Application DEADLINE is 9:37 p.m. Sunday, September 7, 2014.

Please submit a non-form cover letter and a professional resume. If your letter begins with “Dear Hiring Manager,” then you’re already off to a bad start. Please include within your letter an answer to this question: “What is it about library work that fuels your spirit?” Also, tell us about yourself as it relates to this job opportunity. Not all of the places you’ve worked (hello, that’s in your resume…), and not the trite “I’m a hard-working, dependable, enthusiastic, and experienced person who will make a positive contribution to your organization.” If you’re indeed such a person, believe us, we’ll ferret that out.