
Butler University Libraries invites applications for the position of Scholarly Communication Librarian. This position provides leadership for scholarly communication and digital scholarship initiatives at Butler University Libraries, with an emphasis on managing and developing Butler’s institutional repository (Digital Commons), and the Libraries’ digital publishing initiatives. This position also supports digital humanities projects, in collaboration with the Digital Initiatives Librarian. The librarian in this position leads education and outreach to faculty and provides strategic direction for the Libraries’ support of Open Scholarship, Open Access, and open publishing initiatives by evaluating opportunities and making recommendations for redirecting collections investments to bolster open research and other publishing trends as related to metrics, tenure, and promotion. The position also serves as the Libraries’ primary resource on copyright compliance, fair use, and other intellectual property issues that pertain to library collections and services. As a library faculty member, the position also has liaison responsibilities: to provide library instruction, collection development, and research support for a selected college or department(s). This is a 12-month, continuing (non-tenured) faculty appointment and reports to the Head of Resource and Systems Strategies.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include:
- Assuming primary responsibility of the Digital Commons institutional repository of scholarly and creative works and publications by members of the Butler community; coordinating, overseeing, and assessing the processes (e.g., faculty outreach, copyright compliance) related to the repository’s maintenance and development
- Supporting and promoting library publishing initiatives, including, but not limited to open access journals, open educational resources (OER), and research data management (RDM), and leading the creation of university policy in these areas
- Providing leadership for planning and implementing digitization projects in coordination with the Head of Special Collections and the Digital Initiatives Librarian
- Promoting engagement with faculty and students around digital scholarship research and preservation initiatives hosted and supported by the library
- Collaborating with liaison librarians and members of the Butler teaching community to provide tools and educational opportunities to promote knowledge and awareness of copyright requirements and best practices in topics related to scholarly communication
- Provide oversight to the Open Access policy; making updates, reports, and presentations as necessary
- Providing leadership in the adoption of best practices in scholarly communication relevant to Butler’s academic mission
- Serving as a liaison to one or more academic departments, collection development, and faculty support
- Providing course- based information literacy instruction
- Supervising and directing the work of at least one full time staff member (Library Associate / Scholarly Communication)
Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
A person in this position should be able to:
- Understand the environment and ethics of information and information-seeking processes to structure library services for users and scholars
- Communicate scholarly communication issues in a balanced way that can be adjusted to a wide range of audiences across the disciplines
- Use marketing and outreach skills to discover and recruit institutional scholarly input, research data, and other content for inclusion in the institutional repository
- Work with the Electronic Resources librarian to identify opportunities and make recommendations for participation in publishing models that support public access to scholarship (e.g. transformative agreements)
- Apply project management skills to plan, implement, and assess digital scholarship and publishing projects
- Learn new platforms as well as learning code, or digging into existing code to solve problems on publishing or repository systems
Minimum Qualifications:
- Master of Library Science or equivalent from an ALA-accredited program. Degree must be conferred at the time of appointment.
- Demonstrated knowledge of copyright, open access, open educational resources, the research process, current issues in scholarly communication, and the role of libraries and librarians in supporting scholarly practices
- Effective communication skills, including the ability to collaborate productively with faculty, staff, and student
Preferred Qualifications:
- Demonstrates one or more years of relevant experience in an academic library environment
- Can demonstrate additional education or experience in copyright
- Demonstrates proficiency with digital content management or repository systems (such as DSpace or Pressbooks), rights management, and academic publishing practices
- Demonstrated ability to manage long-term projects successfully
- Experience providing information literacy instruction or other classroom experience
- Experience with any of the following: open educational resources, alternative publishing models, or public access requirements for research
Early career librarians are encouraged to apply. Review of applications will begin February 24, 2025. Applicants should submit:
- A letter of interest
- Curriculum Vitae
- The names and contact information for three professional references
- A reflection on how you would approach information literacy instruction (one page or less)
Butler University is a private, nationally recognized comprehensive university encompassing seven colleges: Arts, Business, Communication, Education, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Pharmacy & Health Sciences and Founder's College. Approximately 4,500 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate and doctoral students are enrolled at Butler, representing 46 states and 24 countries.
Join us at the crossroads of tradition & transformation. A career at Butler University means so much more than a job. Join the dedicated, innovative, and supportive community of faculty and staff that is moving Butler Beyond.
Butler University is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable environment for all employees. We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of age, gender, gender identity, sex, race, religion, color, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, national origin, or any other legally protected category.