Research and Instruction Librarian

Thomas Tredway Library, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, invites applications for a full-time (10-month, exempt, non-tenure-track faculty status) Research and Instruction Librarian position beginning in August of the 2019-2020 academic year.

Augustana College is a selective liberal arts college of approximately 2,500 students, most of whom live on a wooded 115-acre campus. Rock Island is part of the Illinois-Iowa Quad Cities along the Mississippi River, a diverse metropolitan area with 400,000 residents about three hours west of Chicago and 45 minutes east of Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa.

The Thomas Tredway Library, recipient of the ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries award and a member of the Oberlin Group of Libraries, occupies a central place in both the geography and culture of Augustana College. Located within the Gerber Center for Student Life, the library enjoys consistently high use among students and is a central meeting place for students, staff, and faculty.

The library employs six full-time faculty librarians, a library director, a full-time head of circulation, and five hourly staff. Teamwork and a sense of humor are highly valued. As its mission statement indicates, the library is learning-centric, making learning "the touchstone of all library activities and decisions."

The Research and Instruction Librarian has liaison responsibility for the Natural Sciences division; provides information literacy instruction for courses in the First Year Inquiry sequence and the Natural Sciences departments; shares responsibility for digital initiatives such as Augustana Digital Commons and open educational resources; and assists students, faculty, and public patrons at the research help desk.

This 10-month faculty librarian position emphasizes a commitment to the undergraduate teaching and mentoring roles of a faculty member in a liberal arts setting.

Responsibilities:

• Liaises with the Natural Sciences division, providing integrated information literacy and discipline-specific instruction, collection development support, and research assistance to students and faculty

• Shares responsibility for First Year Inquiry information literacy instruction

• Provides research and technology assistance to students, faculty, and public patrons at the research help desk

• Works collaboratively to support institutional awareness, promotion, and adoption of open educational resources

• Works collaboratively to develop, manage, promote, and assess the college’s institutional repository, Augustana Digital Commons

• Fosters relationships with library staff, college faculty and administrators, and other college offices to promote student learning

• Includes evening and/or weekend duties on a rotating basis as needed

• Performs other duties as assigned

Required qualifications:

• ALA-accredited MLS or equivalent, or expected completion of the degree by July 1, 2019

• Demonstrated knowledge of learner-centered pedagogy and best practices in library instruction and information literacy at the college level

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and collaboratively with diverse populations and as part of a team

• Excellent written and oral communication skills

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience or interest in developing and implementing a program that increases awareness of open access, scholarly communication, and digital collections

• Educational background or interest in a natural sciences discipline or related field

Augustana College is a selective liberal arts college of 2,500 students, including 29 percent first generation college students, 23 percent Pell Grant students, 21 percent students of color, and 9 percent international students. The college places a high priority on creating an environment supportive of ethnic minorities, women, and persons with disabilities, and we are particularly interested in candidates from underrepresented groups. Strengthening our diverse and inclusive community is central to the college’s mission and strategic plan. We seek applicants with a demonstrated commitment to fostering rigorous, inclusive, and high-impact learning environments for a diverse student body.

Augustana College is an equal opportunity employer and actively encourages applications from women and persons of diverse ethnic backgrounds. We do not discriminate based on age, race, color, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability or creed and strongly encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply for this position.

Details about Augustana College, our expectations of the faculty, the selection process, and the Quad Cities all are available at Teaching at Augustana. Questions may be directed to the director of the Thomas Tredway Library, Chris Schafer. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. It is recommended application materials be submitted by April 19, 2019, in order to receive full consideration.

A complete application includes:

• A cover letter
• A one-page statement of the applicant’s philosophy of undergraduate teaching and librarianship
• A resume or curriculum vitae
• Contact information for three professional references

To apply, please email application materials to Sherry Docherty using the subject line: Search #123-19 Library, and directed to Wendy Hilton-Morrow, dean of the college.

Alternatively, application materials can be mailed to: Search #123-19 Library, C/O Wendy Hilton-Morrow, dean of the college, Augustana College, 639 38th St., Rock Island, Ill., 61201.