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Kansas State University Libraries invite applications and nominations for the position of Head of Acquisitions and Resource Management. This is a 12-month position at the rank of Assistant Professor Tenure Track or Associate Professor Tenure Track academic appointment carrying full faculty status and responsibilities. This position reports to the Associate Dean for Collections, Discovery, and Information Technology.  

The candidate must have a commitment to scholarly/creative activities and professional service necessary for pursuing tenure at Kansas State University Libraries. To be successful in this position, the incumbent must possess an ability to manage change and demonstrate excellent customer service and interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills to establish and maintain productive working relationships with all levels of staff in an environment where flexibility and collaboration are essential.

The successful incumbent will oversee acquisitions, MARC and non-MARC metadata management, electronic resource management, and print and digital preservation. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience with either a wide variety of print & electronic acquisitions or cataloging & metadata practices or both.

The head will collaborate with the Head of Content Development on workflows for a variety of purchasing models to acquire resources that support the mission of a land grant university, ensuring accuracy and interoperability between systems to maximize discovery and access.

The head will work collaboratively to ensure cataloging workflows identify and remove systemic barriers to accessing underrepresented histories in bibliographic description and access points. Their efforts will advance convenient access to the range of information constituents need, regardless of information format, ownership, and delivery and will be based on a strong commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. They will also pursue professional development opportunities to keep abreast of acquisitions, e-resource, and metadata innovations and serve on department and Library-wide committees as required, particularly those involving acquisitions issues.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and management for all technical services functions within the Libraries, including preservation.
• Supervise directly the work of full-time staff and faculty (13 people currently). Mentor pre-tenured faculty and faculty not yet fully promoted through the promotion and tenure process.
• Collaborate with the Head of Content Development and the Budget-Fiscal Officer to manage the expenditure of the library materials budget. Monitor materials encumbrances and expenditures and provides updates as requested.
• Coordinate all aspects of resource acquisitions, including overseeing ordering and receiving of library materials in all formats and various purchasing methods.
• Coordinate electronic resource management activities across units, collaborating with the Content Development department as necessary.
• Ensure efficient metadata work flows and maintain policies and procedures for metadata that is collaborative and broadly engaged in identifying, adopting, and supporting metadata, classification and descriptive solutions.
• Collaborate with the Head of Morse Department of Special Collections on strategies for description and cataloging of rare and unique collections.
• Support efficient preservation work flows and maintain policies and procedures that include preservation planning for all formats.
• Coordinate acquisitions, e-resources, and metadata projects and services to support metadata standards and creation, discovery workflows, and interoperability between formats and systems.
• Coordinate activities and manage the staff at the annex, our off-site storage facility.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program or its equivalent.
• Experience leading one or more technical services activities in an academic library.
• Demonstrated organizational ability and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with colleagues, team members, and vendors.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with library services platforms, especially ExLibris’ Alma, Alma Analytics, and PrimoVE.
• Demonstrated experience with a variety of purchasing models.
• Demonstrated experience creating metadata in a variety of formats.

Other Requirements:

• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States at the time of employment

Assistant Professor Tenure Track rank $65,000-75,000

Associate Professor Tenure Track rank $75,000-90,000

Review promotion and tenure criteria.

Combine the following documents into a single PDF file and upload it along with your completed application: 

1. A letter of application. To strengthen your application, please apply your communication skills to clearly address the position responsibilities and qualifications listed above, and demonstrated how your work style, vision, and other distinctive qualities would enhance our organization.
2. Include a statement that explains your commitment and experience to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, or belonging.
3. A resume
4. Names and contact information for three professional references