Head, Terrapin Learning Commons
- Employer
- University of Maryland College Park
- Location
- College Park, Maryland
View more
- Administrative Jobs
- Student Affairs, Student Activities & Services
- Institution Type
- Four-Year Institution
Job Details
The Terrapin Learning Commons (TLC) has the mission to provide students with an inviting and supportive environment that facilitates scholarly work and helps create community across all library locations. The staff of the TLC seek to work alongside and become partners with students to increase the quality of their academic studies and enrich their university experience. The commons at the University of Maryland are a catalyst for new learning opportunities in the form of innovative spaces and services and campus-wide partnerships.
Reporting to the Director of User Services & Resource Sharing (USRS), the Head of Learning Commons will work creatively and collaboratively with partners inside and outside of the Libraries to oversee the development and delivery of services in support of student learning. The incumbent will supervise Terrapin Learning Commons and John & Stella Graves Makerspace staff in McKeldin Library, assess and continually improve their services and operations, and coordinate events and tours within these spaces. Additionally, they will collaborate with other University Libraries Commons and the Teaching and Learning Services unit to offer services and programming, innovative learning spaces, and the integration of media and emerging technologies across the Libraries.
The Head of Learning Commons is an active member of the Public Services Division (PSD), contributing to divisional initiatives and leading specific projects in collaboration with other PSD units and with other units in the Libraries. In addition, the librarian works with the Director of User Services & Resource Sharing and other USRS unit managers to enhance cooperation between units and to develop and maintain a departmental culture that is inclusive, customer-centered, and responsive to changes happening in academic libraries and higher education.
The incumbent will:
1. Provide vision, planning, and oversight of learning spaces and services offered through the TLC
2. Provides vision, planning, and oversight of the John & Stella Graves MakerSpace
3. Supervises unit employees
4. Coordinates events and tours in the TLC and John & Stella Graves Makerspace
5. Acts as advisor to subject/format based “commons” as they develop and coordinates activities with these units to ensure a maximization of resources and minimization of duplication where possible
6. Shares in the leadership of the User Services & Resource Sharing department in McKeldin Library
7. Provides public services to library users and other library staff at the TLC Tech Desk
8. Participates in library, campus, and national committees as appropriate.
9. Contributes to the profession by engaging in scholarly/creative activities
10. Performs other duties as assigned
Requirements
Education: Master’s degree in Library or Information Science from an ALA-accredited institution of higher education, or equivalent professional degree.
Experience & Skills:
o Three years of professional-level, public services experience in an academic library.
o One year of supervisory experience.
o Familiarity with current and emerging technologies appropriate to the academic library, particularly those related to makerspaces and/or media production.
o Strong verbal and written communication skills.
o Strong interpersonal skills, as evidenced by experience working with diverse staff and clientele.
o Strong customer service orientation and public service experience. o Demonstrated ability to balance and prioritize multiple activities and projects.
o Demonstrated ability to work in groups, and to build and maintain relationships with internal and external partners.
Organization
We are pleased that you are interested in learning more about the dynamic career opportunities offered at University of Maryland.
Founded in 1856, University of Maryland, College Park, is the flagship institution in the University System of Maryland. The University is committed to attracting and retaining outstanding and diverse faculty and staff that will enhance our stature of preeminence in our three missions of teaching, scholarship, and full engagement in our community and the world.
There is so much to be excited about at this great University! Today, the University of Maryland is home to three Nobel laureates, seven Pulitzer Prize recipients, and more than 40 members of the most prestigious national academies. Research grant support topped $518 million in 2008, the largest amount in our history, compared to $203 million a decade ago. The 9,000 students starting their first year in the fall of 2009 came in with an average high school GPA of 3.95 and SAT median score of 1295. As our 11,000 faculty and staff know, the University of Maryland is a vibrant community and a very special place to work.
The University of Maryland is arguably the nation's fastest rising university over the past ten years, ascending the U.S. News and World Report rankings from 30th to our most recent ranking of 18th among public universities. The University is also currently ranked 20th worldwide by Ranking Web of World Universities, and 37th in the Academic Ranking of World Universities issued by Shanghai Jiao University. Kiplinger's Personal Finance recently rated the University the "#8 Best Value" in public higher education. Among our other notable rankings and distinctions, the Association of American Universities (AAU) ranked us first among its members in the number of Ph.D.s awarded to African Americans.
Our 1,250-acre College Park campus is just minutes away from Washington, D.C., and the nexus of the nation's legislative, executive, and judicial centers of power. This unique proximity to business and technology leaders, Federal departments and agencies, and a myriad of research entities, embassies, think tanks, cultural centers, and non-profit organizations is simply unparalleled. Synergistic opportunities for our faculty and students abound and are virtually limitless in the nation's capital and surrounding areas.
The University is committed to providing competitive compensation and personal, family, and partner benefits, that for faculty are at a level of our national peers, and suitable for the cost of living requirements of this Washington metropolitan area. The importance of this is emphasized in the University's 10-Year Strategic Plan, Transforming Maryland: Higher Expectations (2008). Our staff compensation plans are market-based in the Washington-Baltimore region, from where we draw most of our professional and support employees. Regular faculty and staff earn generous leave, health insurance, and other benefits, including tuition remission for employees and their dependents, in accordance with employment category and FTE. Our employees also enjoy access to a tremendous spectrum of academic programs, cultural, and athletic events. It's no wonder, then, that the Chronicle of Higher Education named the University of Maryland a "Great Colleges to Work For" in 2008.
As you consider a career with this great University, consider the following core values we have embraced and articulated in the Strategic Plan:
- Excellence: Every part of the institution and every member of the University community shall strive for excellence, from recruiting brilliant faculty and students to keeping the campus beautiful with well-groomed landscaping.
- Diversity and inclusiveness: Maryland's rise in academic stature has gone hand-in-hand with, and been accelerated by, its increasingly diverse community of students, faculty, and staff. We are resolutely committed to fostering dialogue and collaboration among peoples of different backgrounds, orientations, and perspectives and ensuring the respectful treatment of all.
- Innovation and creativity: From the study of history to analyzing voting trends and from developing co-curricular programs to streamlining administrative functions, the Maryland community is determined to be exemplars of innovation and creativity.
- Ethical action: The academic enterprise is based on a commitment to seek higher truths and create knowledge. Honesty and the highest ethical standards will inform all university actions, whether in the classroom, the research laboratory, the playing field, the administrative office, or anywhere else on and off campus.
- Civility and collegiality: The Maryland community is home to a wide spectrum of viewpoints and personalities. The commitment to healthy debate as well as the ability to agree to disagree is vital to Maryland's determination to be a broad, welcoming, and diverse community.
- Openness and accountability: Shared governance ensures that all members of the University family have an opportunity to participate in and take responsibility for its course. A continued commitment to openness and accountability is critical to the University's success.
Thank you for your interest in the University of Maryland. With Maryland's stature as one of the nation's premier public research universities, and our exceptional community of faculty, staff, and students, there has never been a better time to be part of this great University.
Cheer the Turtle!
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