LibraryJobline

Job Description

Position Summary

Reporting to the Associate Dean of Law Library and Information Science, the Assistant or Associate Director is responsible for planning, developing, coordinating, overseeing, and participating in the delivery of the Law Library’s public services in the realms of reference, research, instruction, and access services, including supervising five full-time and two part-time professional librarians. As a member of the Law Library’s four-person management team, the successful candidate will contribute to strategic planning, assessment, communication, personnel development, technological needs, and resource allocation, as well as participate in the management of the day-to-day operations of the Law Library. The Assistant or Associate Director will assume overall responsibility for the Law Library in the absence of the Associate Dean of Law Library and Information Science.

The successful candidate will hold an administrative title (i.e., Assistant or Associate Director) and faculty rank within the University Libraries series (i.e., Assistant, Associate, or full Professor) commensurate with their experience and qualifications and be eligible for a long-term contract. The faculty appointment is subject to the University of Denver’s “Policies and Procedures Relating to Faculty Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure.” Appointments to the University Libraries faculty series within the Sturm College of Law require colleagues to engage in regular teaching in the law library’s Certificate in Legal Research (CLR) Program – an optional legal research training program for law students, which currently supports three different legal research certificates (basic, specialized, and international) – and through an additional law school course.

Essential Functions

• Plan, develop, coordinate, oversee, and participate in the delivery of the Law Library’s public services, including reference, research, instruction, and access services, including regular reevaluation of policies, procedures, workflows, and the overall effectiveness of such services.
• Supervise professional staff dedicated to public services, consisting of five full-time and two part-time professional librarians.
• Participate on the Law Library’s management team, along with the Associate Dean of Law Library and Information Science, the Head of Technical Services, and the Head of Access Services, who collectively manage the Law Library’s day-to-day operations.
• Help manage the hiring, training, development, and oversight of student workers in public services roles, as needed.
• Oversee and participate in the CLR Program.
• Teach a law school course, preferably on the subject of advanced or specialized legal research.
• Work closely with the Associate Dean of Law Library and Information Science in areas such as public services planning, monitoring, and assessment.
• Participate on the collection development team and engage in regular evaluation of collection priorities.
• Stay abreast of new developments in library public services.
• Oversee and help provide high-quality reference service at a combined circulation and reference desk.
• Work closely with unit-level information technology staff to implement new and emerging library applications, knowledge systems, and other relevant technologies.
• Engage in regular marketing and outreach relating to the Westminster Law Library, with an eye toward potential partnerships across the broader University and relevant local, state, regional, and national legal communities.
• Assist with the identification of Law Library funding needs, as well as proposals for innovative and effective funding sources.
• Serve on relevant committees within the Sturm College of Law, University Libraries, and the broader University.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The following skills are critical to success in this position:

• Supervisory skills or demonstrated potential for rapid growth into such skills.
• Effective oral and written communication skills.
• Legal research proficiency, including knowledge of key legal research sources and how best to apply them in a variety of formats.
• Strong presentation skills in both one-on-one and group settings, or the demonstrated potential for rapid growth into such skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• The ability to work both independently and as a team member.
• The ability to establish and maintain effective and collaborative working relationships both inside and outside the Law Library.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills.
• Attention to detail, timeliness, and dependability.
• A strong customer service orientation.
• Knowledge of recent developments and emerging trends in library public services, as well as relevant professional librarianship concepts, principles, and practices.
• A strong commitment to innovation, including proficiency in a variety of library-related and other relevant technologies or a demonstrated potential for rapid growth into such skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work flexibly with faculty, students, staff, and a diverse research community.
  Nimbleness, flexibility, and the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.
• The ability to work evenings and/or weekends, as necessary.

Required Qualifications

• JD (or equivalent) from an ABA-accredited law school.
• MLS in Library & Information Science or equivalent from an ALA-accredited institution.
• A minimum of three years of substantial experience working in public services in a law library.

Preferred Qualifications

• Supervisory experience.
• Teaching experience with demonstrated success in the classroom.
• Prior work experience in an academic library.

Working Environment

1. Standard office environment.
2. Unexpected interruptions occur often and stress level is moderate to high.
3. Noise level is quiet to moderate.

Physical Activities

1. Ability to sit in front of a computer for an extended period of time.
2. Occasionally required to move about the office/campus with the capability of transporting objects up to 20 lbs.

Work Schedule
While the University’s administrative offices are open Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm, faculty schedules vary from term to term and are based on courses taught, service commitments, and research agendas. The University’s academic calendars are posted on the registrar’s website: https://www.du.edu/registrar/calendars-deadlines (the law school is on a semester system and has a different academic calendar here: http://www.law.du.edu/academics/registrar).

Benefits & Additional Compensation Info

The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver.

Additional Info & Requirements

Required Qualifications

• JD (or equivalent) from an ABA-accredited law school.
• MLS in Library & Information Science or equivalent from an ALA-accredited institution.
• A minimum of three years of substantial experience working in public services in a law library.

Preferred Qualifications

• Supervisory experience.
• Teaching experience with demonstrated success in the classroom.
• Prior work experience in an academic library.

The Community

A national leader in experiential and interdisciplinary legal education, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most innovative and ascendant law schools. The law school features an outstanding and diverse student body, a community of nationally recognized scholar-teachers, an accomplished and highly professional staff, and roughly 17,000 alumni who have achieved careers of distinction in law, business, government, public interest, and other professional domains. Located in a beautiful and economically vibrant metropolitan area, the Sturm College of Law supports a full-time JD program, a part-time weekend JD program, a range of pioneering Master’s programs, and a set of esteemed specialty programs.

Housed in a state-of-the-art, LEED Gold facility within the Ricketson Law Building on the campus of the University of Denver, the Westminster Law Library (“Law Library”) supports cutting-edge faculty research, trains students in legal research across multiple subject matter areas, and familiarizes students with a range of technologies relevant to modern-day legal practice.

HR Info

Please include the following documents with your application:
1. Resume
2. Cover Letter
3. List of 3 Professional References

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. The University of Denver prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age (40 years and over in the employment context), religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, veterans status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the university's educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended in 2008; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For the university's complete Non-Discrimination Statement, please see non‑discrimination‑statement.

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.