Public Services Unit Supervisor: Professional Faculty / Manager-Librarian I: https://jobs.oregonstate.edu/postings/79152
Position open through August 15 – for full consideration please apply by August 1.
The Special Collections and Archives Research Center at Oregon State University Libraries seeks a service-oriented, user-focused Public Services Unit Supervisor with a strong commitment to access to lead our public services operations. Reporting to the Director of the Special Collections and Archives Research Center, the Public Services Unit Supervisor has primary responsibility for managing and coordinating all reading room and remote reference activities. In conjunction with department colleagues, this position provides effective research support, optimizes access systems, and proposes new services and workflows as appropriate.
The successful candidate will demonstrate ability for and commitment to providing responsive, personable, and expert public service. The Public Services Unit Supervisor will join a dynamic team of professionals dedicated to collaboratively advancing the Center’s educational and access missions. Working closely with curators and other department staff, the Supervisor interacts positively and inclusively with students, faculty, and the public, guiding users in how to find, use, and evaluate relevant resources, explaining techniques, policies, and procedures, and empowering individuals to conduct archival research. The Supervisor is a professional faculty member in the Oregon State University Libraries and Press, developing and nurturing relationships with colleagues inside and outside the library, and participate in shared governance of OSULP and OSU.
The position supervises one Library Technician 3 classified position and a rotation of student assistants with public service duties. The position mobilizes these resources and others to establish a welcoming and secure environment, data-driven operations, and public service excellence in a lively special collections environment.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree
- 2-5 years experience providing effective and efficient public services in a special collections, archives, or cultural heritage environment, including using physical and digital collections to answer reference questions
- Minimum 2 recent years supervisory experience
- Currency with professional best practices and current standards for reference and access services in special collections settings, including a thorough understanding of privacy, confidentiality, copyright and use issues; ability to work with sensitive information with integrity and discretion
- Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team; commitment to fostering a collaborative and communicative work environment
- Demonstrated ability for data-driven decision making; working with spreadsheets and statistics reporting
- Positive attitude, flexibility, and enthusiasm for fostering public understanding of and access to cultural heritage collections
- Commitment to civility, diversity, equity, and inclusion in interactions, practice, and relationships
- Excellent oral communication, writing, and organizational skills, including the ability to problem-solve and enforce policies through diplomatic, adaptable, and pragmatic approaches
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from an ALA-accredited library school or equivalent experience
- Supervisory experience in a cultural heritage environment
- Knowledge of Ex Libris’ Alma and Primo
- Thorough knowledge of library and archival standards and vocabularies, including EAD, DACS, MARC, RDA, LCSH, and the RBMS/SAA Standardized Statistical Measures and Metrics for Public Service
- Familiarity with archival content management systems, such as Archon, Archivists’ Toolkit, or ArchiveSpace
This position is designated as a critical or security-sensitive position; therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a Criminal History Check and be determined to be position qualified as per OSU STANDARD 576-055-0000 et seq. Incumbents are required to self-report convictions and those in Youth Programs may have additional Criminal History Checks every 24 months. Offers of employment are contingent upon meeting all minimum qualifications including the Criminal History Check Requirement.
This position is not eligible for OSU’s dual hire initiative; this position is not represented by a union.
OSU commits to inclusive excellence by advancing equity and diversity in all that we do. We are an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, and particularly encourage applications from members of historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, women, individuals with disabilities, veterans, LGBTQ community members, and others who demonstrate the ability to help us achieve our vision of a diverse and inclusive community.
Salary, Rank, and Benefits:
Appointment Type: Administrative / Professional Faculty (non tenure track)
Class: Manager I - Library and Museum
Salary: $51,000 (Salary range for classification $47,820--$81,372)
Environment: The Special Collections and Archives Research Center is located on the 5th floor of The Valley Library, and features secure, climate-controlled storage, exhibit spaces, a lively reading room, dedicated classrooms, and professional digital production unit. SCARC faculty and staff work to maximize discoverability and use of our collections for a broad range of researchers, through teaching, expert public services, digitization, and more. SCARC stimulates and enriches the research and teaching endeavors of Oregon State University through primary sources. As part of the University's land grant mission, SCARC makes these resources available to the OSU community, Oregonians, and the larger community of scholars and independent researchers. As the repository for and steward of the Libraries' rare and unique materials, we build distinctive and unique collections in our signature areas: natural resources, the history of science, university history, and Oregon's multicultural communities; we are also home to the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives and the OSU Queer Archives. These collections encompass manuscripts, archives, rare books, oral histories, photographs, ephemera, audio/visual materials, electronic and born digital records.
To achieve this mission, the Special Collections and Archives Research Center:
- Provides unique opportunities for teaching and learning
- Facilitates discovery through online access to SCARC collections
- Provides responsive, personable, and expert public service
- Assists communities in collecting, managing, preserving, and making their histories accessible
- Promotes access to and preservation of SCARC collections by collaborating within the OSU Libraries, the University, and regional primary resource communities
- Engages high-achieving students through experiential learning opportunities
OSU Libraries and Press (OSULP) is uniquely positioned at the heart of the university, and the collective efforts of its 100 faculty and staff reach across traditional boundaries between colleges and disciplines, students and faculty, the academy and the public. OSULP faculty use their professional experience and expertise to make contributions and build relationships across the OSU community and beyond. OSULP's resources - in the form of collections, spaces, services, faculty and staff - support learning, world-class research, and scholarship in all disciplines. OSULP provides employment and critical skill-building experiences for approximately 100 student employees, while OSULP faculty also offer numerous mentored experiential learning opportunities that give students a chance to deploy and develop their growing disciplinary knowledge in new and impactful ways.
In all of its activities, OSULP strives to support and grow OSU's diverse community and provide an inclusive environment where equity of access fosters equality of opportunity. All OSULP faculty are responsible for helping ensure that these goals are addressed within the unique context of their primary responsibilities.
