Teaching and Learning Librarian, Special Collections and Archives

The Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries invites applications and nominations for the position of Teaching and Learning Librarian. This position works in a collaborative environment in James Branch Cabell Library’s Special Collections and Archives department to provide instruction for a range of collections, primarily with artists’ books, rare books, and primary source materials. The Teaching and Learning Librarian also will take lead to expand and enhance the department’s instruction program and to oversee its dedicated instruction room. The successful candidate will join a culturally and academically diverse faculty of the highest caliber.

Located in culturally diverse, historic, and dynamic Richmond, Virginia, convenient to the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the recreation destinations of the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Commonwealth University is one of Virginia's largest universities and among the nation’s leading research institutions. The VCU Libraries, one of Virginia’s outstanding research library systems, advances the University’s teaching, research, service, and patient care mission with 2.5 million volumes, 61,000 serials, 600,000 e-books, and nationally prominent collections in the health and biological sciences, social work, the arts, the history of medicine, and comic and book arts.

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Head of Special Collections and Archives, and working closely with the Assistant Head and Curator of Books and Art, the Teaching and Learning Librarian is responsible for developing, enhancing, and promoting the department’s instruction program. Additional responsibilities include:

• Working with faculty, designs, teaches and assesses instruction sessions, primarily with artists’ books, rare books, and primary source materials.


• Manages the department’s dedicated instruction room; leads and implements plans to enhance the space.


• Collaborates with department staff to develop a framework for instruction services that includes workflows, guidelines, and pedagogical values/uses of special collections and archives.


• Leads the expansion of the department’s instruction services to include content and tools that support traditional and virtual environments. 


• Develops and conducts workshops, presentations, and other outreach efforts to promote instruction services for faculty and students using special collections and archives.


• Partners with other library departments engaged in teaching and learning to identify areas where special collections and archives can support course instruction.


• As needed contributes to the department’s efforts to enhance access to collections.

The Teaching and Learning Librarian is expected to be active professionally and to contribute to developments in the field. Faculty with the VCU Libraries are evaluated, and promoted, on the basis of job performance, scholarship, and professional development and service.

Qualifications

Required: ALA-accredited graduate degree or accredited graduate degree in another appropriate discipline. Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment or commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU.

Preferred: Experience in an academic research library, archives, or museum setting with significant responsibilities in instruction and education. Knowledge of contemporary artists’ books and their application in academic curriculum. Knowledge of visual literacy standards. Demonstrated experience with current trends and practices for instruction with primary source materials. Knowledge of document analysis techniques. Excellent interpersonal, communication, and organization skills. Experience with collection discovery systems. Familiarity with preservation, copyright, and privacy issues. Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a production-oriented, team environment. Demonstrated oral and written communication skills. Ability and willingness to shift boxes weighing up to 40 lbs.

Virginia Commonwealth University and the VCU Libraries

As one of only 28 public universities with academic medical centers to be designated by the Carnegie Foundation as “Community Engaged” with “Very High Research Activity,” Virginia Commonwealth University ranks among Virginia’s largest research universities, enrolling over 31,000 students. Located in the heart of Richmond, VCU offers 40 doctoral, 74 masters, 3 professional, and 63 baccalaureate degree programs. Thirty-four of VCU's graduate and professional programs are ranked by U.S. News & World Report as among the best in the nation, with 22 programs ranking in the top 50 and sculpture ranked number one. Over 3,300 faculty comprise the University's teaching force. Research strengths at the University include health and life sciences, education, engineering, social work, behavioral sciences, public affairs, advertising and design, and the fine arts. Sponsored research funding totals over $260 million, placing VCU among the top 100 research institutions in the United States. VCU’s strategic plan embraces an acceleration in the growth of VCU’s library system and includes a new Master Site Plan that envisions additions to both library facilities operated by the VCU Libraries. A new building connecting to the existing James Branch Cabell Library opened in 2015. Construction updates to the Tompkins-McCaw Library for Health Sciences will begin in 2016.

Libraries at Virginia Commonwealth University (including the James Branch Cabell Library on the Monroe Park Campus and the Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences on the MCV Campus) employ over 55 professionals and 90 staff with annual expenditures exceeding $20 million. VCU also operates academic programs in Doha, Qatar, supported by a library there, and in various locations throughout the U.S. and the world. The VCU Libraries is a Resource Library in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and a member of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, SPARC, CNI, BioMed Central, NDSA, and the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA), a statewide networking consortium for shared access to electronic and print resources. The VCU Libraries has adopted Primo as its discovery layer and is one of the first libraries worldwide to have implemented Alma as its next generation cloud-based system for library management. CONTENTdm, Digital Commons, and Omeka supplement the foundation of its system architecture to enhance access to its collections and services.

The Monroe Park Campus of VCU is located in Richmond's Fan District, a large, residential neighborhood of townhouses, shops, and cafes. The campus is home to most of the University’s undergraduate and many of its graduate programs, including the School of the Arts, the College of Humanities and Sciences, and the Schools of Business, Education, Engineering, and Social Work. The School of Social Work also offers the Masters of Social Work at the Northern Virginia Campus in Alexandria, Virginia. In addition, VCU’s Qatar campus in the Middle East offers degree programs through the School of the Arts. 

Salary: Salary commensurate with experience, not less than $50,000 annually. This is a full-time, non-tenured faculty position. Normal faculty benefits apply, including 24 vacation days annually and choice of retirement and annuity plans. For more information about benefits, see VCU Human Resources' benefits guide.

For more information about the VCU Libraries, please visit our home page. Review of applications will begin September 12, 2016 and will continue until the position is filled. Apply via VCUJobs. Complete the application and submit a cover letter, resume, and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three references.

Virginia Commonwealth University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.