Collections Strategist

The Ohio State University Libraries aspires to be the model library advancing the educational, research, and engagement missions of a 21st century public, land grant, urban, community engaged university. We seek a dynamic, growth-oriented, and values-driven leader to provide strategic direction and vision for University Libraries’ licensed and purchased collections in a rapidly evolving scholarly communication environment. Reporting to the Associate Dean for Content and Access, the Collections Strategist has Libraries-wide responsibility for building and managing the Libraries’ collections.

The Collections Strategist coordinates strategic collection building with innovative management of existing content to embrace new models in scholarly publishing and communication.

As a leader within the Libraries, the Collections Strategist demonstrates in-depth knowledge of trends and emerging solutions in areas relevant to collection building; engages and leads in appropriate consortial, national, and international partnerships; and contributes to the field of librarianship through active professional engagement. The Collections Strategist works in a highly collaborative organization to create and implement innovative approaches to providing effective stewardship of print and electronic collections.

The Collections Strategist provides fund oversight for the over $17 million-dollar materials budget and manages collection building with materials budget funds.

Collaborating with subject specialists, curators, and leaders across the Libraries, the Collections Strategist works to define problems, provide solutions, and support professional development in collections building and management. They consistently demonstrate commitment to our values and promote an organizational culture that models The Ohio State University’s shared values. The Collections Strategist manages, supervises, and provides direction for staff in the Collection Strategy unit, including two direct full-time staff reports.

Partnerships with other libraries are integral to collection strategy for University Libraries. The Collections Strategist advances an environment of active engagement within the university collaborating with the Health Sciences, Law, and regional campus libraries on collection development and management strategy. The Collections Strategist leads Libraries’ participation in consortial engagement for collections activities in OhioLINK, the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA), Hathi Trust, the Center for Research Libraries, and other cooperative programs, serving as the collection development officer representative.Responsibilities

• Develop and lead innovative program activities critical to the Libraries' collection strategies such as engaging in consortial purchasing; building and stewarding collections; pursuing sustainable publishing models and open access initiatives that align with university research and teaching objectives; periodic and on-going review of continuations; integrating new kinds of purchased or licensed content into collection building; and making selection decisions for relocation of print materials, retention, and de-duplication.
• Provide leadership and coordination for collections-related projects and
• Encourage a culture of innovation, collaboration, and shared stewardship responsibilities.
• Develop and implement collecting and fund management strategies in alignment with the university’s needs and the Libraries' strategic
• Facilitate effective and appropriate use of all funds in a materials budget of over $17 million dollars, including monitoring and developing strategy for managing all central funds in the materials Manage special purpose funds and selected endowments as needed. Create allocations and delegate responsibility as needed for collections funds to other Libraries employees and provide training and leadership for them.
• Provide leadership for all space planning affecting Libraries
• Engage with partners within the Libraries, with other campus constituencies, and with consortial partners to advance strategic activities in collection development and management.
• Deploy a program of data analysis to inform…