University Libraries, Head of Research and Learning Services, Non-Tenure Track

University Libraries, Head of Research and Learning Services, Non-Tenure Track

University Libraries, Head of Research and Learning Services, Non-Tenure Track

University Faculty

Full-Time

Exempt

Rogers Park-Lake Shore Campus

LIBRARY REFERENCE (02900E)

LIBRARY - CUDAHY

No

Loyola University Chicago seeks applications for the position of Head of Research and Learning Services. The Research and Learning Services Department offers user-centered and pedagogically informed research and information services and a comprehensive teaching and learning program for the Lakeside campuses of the vibrant Loyola University Chicago. Through reference, instruction, and outreach, the Department promotes and sustains excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship at all levels of the University. The Department Head leads and manages the Research and Learning Services team composed of full-time librarians and staff who provide a range of research and information services, online and in-person instruction, workshops, and research consultations.
This is a non-tenure track, open-rank Library faculty appointment with opportunities for promotion. Librarians work in a collegial and supportive environment, where individual discovery and exploration is balanced with teamwork and collaboration. Experimentation and creative problem solving are highly encouraged. Opportunities for internal and external collaborations, continuing education, and training to develop skills and competencies related to the job are available, encouraged, and supported.
The librarians in the Research and Learning Services department work in both Lewis Library and Cudahy Library and the Head of Research and Learning Services will supervise librarians in both libraries. The successful candidate will be based primarily at the Lake Shore Campus in the diverse Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago and is expected to spend at least one day per week at the Water Tower Campus located in the Gold Coast neighborhood downtown. The Head of Research and Learning Services will also supervise two staff members who work at the Lake Shore Campus libraries. Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus and Water Tower Campus are located 8 miles apart on the shore of Lake Michigan, but are conveniently connected by a Loyola shuttle service, and public transit buses and trains.
Reporting to the Associate Dean for User Services, the Head of Research and Learning Services will have the following responsibilities:

Leadership and Planning

• Plan, coordinate, and facilitate departmental activities and provide leadership in setting goals and priorities. Responsible for overall operational efficiency of the department.
• Mentor, motivate, support, supervise, and evaluate Research and Learning Services faculty and staff. Determine unit and individual work priorities and routines, assign work, and schedule staffing.
• Serve as a member of the Libraries’ Leadership and Planning Team (LAPT) and Public Service Heads (PSH), sharing in policy-making decisions, planning, and management responsibilities.
• Coordinate the liaison program for all subject specialists, including those who are not in the Research and Learning Services Department.
• Provide leadership in applying existing and emerging research and best practices for instructional technologies.
• Compile, analyze, and report on statistical data regarding research, reference, and instructional services.

• Serve as a liaison to selected academic departments.
• Provide information literacy instruction using a variety of educational pedagogies and technologies.
• Participate in collection development for selected academic departments and the general reference collection.
• Provide general research, learning, and engagement support to staff, faculty, and students.
• Oversee subject-specific research guides offering web-based instruction, as well as informational pages for both faculty and students on the library’s research and instructional services program.

• Serve on library functional committees.
• Participate in the implementation and maintenance of the library website, discovery tools, and other systems.
• Participate as an active member of the university community and promote the library and its resources.
• Develop and strengthen campus, local, statewide, and regional partnerships.
• Work autonomously and collaboratively to meet strategic goals, while consistently promoting teamwork, respect, diversity, equity, and inclusiveness.

Required qualifications

• Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program or other relevant advanced degree.
• A minimum of five years of significant library experience with responsibility in areas related to public services including research, reference, teaching, and outreach.
• Experience supervising librarians and staff.
• Understanding the higher education landscape and the library’s role as an essential component of the research infrastructure.
• Knowledge of current trends in instructional modalities, digital scholarship, open access, or scholarly communication.
• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to foster positive working relationships and build partnerships.
• Resonance with Loyola’s mission to deliver a transformative educational experience in the Jesuit tradition and a commitment to social justice and the underserved.
• Commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion in our workplace, as well as in the systems and services we build, as an equity and social justice imperative.
• Demonstrated awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a multicultural population.
  
  

• Second Master’s degree in an academic discipline.
• Demonstrated project management skills and techniques to lead teams across departments.
• Evidence of professional service and/or research, with the potential to succeed in an academic promotion process.
• Experience with the implementation and maintenance of library discovery tools and systems, especially Ex Libris’s Alma and Primo and Springshare products.

None

None

Required qualifications

• Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program or other relevant advanced degree.
• A minimum of five years of significant library experience with responsibility in areas related to public services including research, reference, teaching, and outreach.
• Experience supervising librarians and staff.
• Understanding the higher education landscape and the library’s role as an essential component of the research infrastructure.
• Knowledge of current trends in instructional modalities, digital scholarship, open access, or scholarly communication.
• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to foster positive working relationships and build partnerships.
• Resonance with Loyola’s mission to deliver a transformative educational experience in the Jesuit tradition and a commitment to social justice and the underserved.
• Commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion in our workplace, as well as in the systems and services we build, as an equity and social justice imperative.
• Demonstrated awareness of and sensitivity to the educational goals of a multicultural population.

• Second Master’s degree in an academic discipline.
• Demonstrated project management skills and techniques to lead teams across departments.
• Evidence of professional service and/or research, with the potential to succeed in an academic promotion process.
• Experience with the implementation and maintenance of library discovery tools and systems, especially Ex Libris’s Alma and Primo and Springshare products.

10/03/2022

Applicants should submit a current curriculum vitae, and a letter of interest to www.careers.luc.edu. In their letters, candidates should include their demonstrated engagement with diversity, equity, and inclusion. They also should provide the names and email addresses of three individuals prepared to speak to their professional qualifications for this position. References will not be contacted immediately but may be at subsequent points in the review process, with the candidate’s permission.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. For full consideration, applications should be received by November 10, 2022.Please direct inquiries to the chair of the selection advisory committee: Yolande WerschingLoyola University Chicago Libraries 1032 W. Sheridan RoadChicago, IL 60660(312) 915-6623[email protected]

EnvironmentFounded in 1870, Loyola is one of the nation’s largest Jesuit, Catholic universities. Loyola is a private, not-for-profit institution consisting of fourteen schools and colleges with four locations in Chicagoland and a campus in Rome, Italy, providing educational services to approximately 17,000 students in undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs. The University enjoys robust enrollments, an outstanding reputation for the quality of its teaching, and an increasing level of research activity. Recently Loyola was recognized by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for Diversity 2022” among only 500 other companies nationwide.
The Loyola University Chicago Libraries includes the award-winning Information Commons, Cudahy Library, and the Library Storage Facility at the picturesque Lakeshore Campus in Rogers Park; Lewis Library at the Water Tower Campus along the Magnificent Mile in downtown Chicago; and a library at the John Felice Rome Center in Italy. The University Libraries has an annual materials budget exceeding $6 million. Collections include nearly two million volumes, 550 databases, 60,000 journals, and a variety of physical and streaming media resources. The Libraries sponsors frequent cultural programs for the Loyola community and its neighbors.
The University Libraries is a highly valued partner in teaching, research, and learning at the University. With over a million visitors each year, the Libraries provides around-the-clock assistance to our large, diverse community. The Libraries is a member of the Chicago Collections Consortium, HathiTrust, the Center for Research Libraries, and the Coalition of Networked Information. In concert with emerging initiatives at the campus level, the University Libraries is prioritizing its commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. Librarians are actively engaged in developing resources and library instruction strategies that support anti-racist pedagogy and are partnering with teaching faculty and other campus units to integrate inclusive perspectives into the university curriculum. For additional information, please visit libraries.luc.edu.
EEO Statement: Loyola University Chicago is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer with a strong commitment to hiring for our mission and diversifying our faculty. The University seeks to increase the diversity of its faculty, staff and student populations because broad diversity is critical to achieving the University’s mission of excellence in education, research, educational access and services in an increasingly diverse society. Therefore, in holistically assessing the qualifications of each applicant, we will factor favorably an individual’s record of conduct that includes experience with an array of diverse perspectives, as well as a wide variety of different educational, research or other work activities.
As a Jesuit Catholic institution of higher education, we seek candidates who will contribute to our strategic plan to deliver a transformative education in the Jesuit tradition. To learn more about LUC’s mission, candidates should consult our website at www.luc.edu/mission. For information about the university’s focus on transformative education, they should consult our website at www.luc.edu/transformativeed

https://www.careers.luc.edu/postings/22110

8100243

PROVOST

1

01/01/2023

Yes