Law Library Director

Overview

American University is a student-centered research institution located in Washington, DC, with highly-ranked schools and colleges, internationally-renowned faculty, and a reputation for creating meaningful change in the world.

Washington College of Law

Full time

Exempt

Summary
:
American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) seeks applications for the  academic year for the position of Director of the Pence Law Library. The Law Library Director is responsible for managing all aspects of the law library’s operations, including determining and administering library policies, programs, technologies, and budget to accomplish the library’s mission of supporting the research, curricular, and scholarly needs of the Washington College of Law community.

The position of Law Library Director is a full-time faculty position within the School of Law. The Director will be a tenured or tenure-track member of the library faculty and hold law school faculty status consistent with ABA Standard 603.

This position supervises full-time library faculty and staff members, as well as any necessary part-time employees. All library faculty and staff report to the Law Library Director. The position reports to the Dean of the Law School.

• Coordinate the Law Library’s financial and budget activities.
• Maintain familiarity with law-school-wide purchasing, accounting, and other financial policies and procedures and assist in administering those policies and procedures for the library.
• Develop long-range plans for the library’s collections, personnel, space, and technology needs.
• Collaborate with law school administration and faculty to identify, evaluate, and implement law library programs and services that support the mission and goals of the Washington College of Law to produce practice-ready graduates.
• Build and maintain relevant collections and services to meet the law school community’s research needs—including law faculty research, scholarship, and teaching activities—in accordance with collection development policies.
• Work with library personnel to develop and support engaging programming for students.
• Work with and assist members of WCL’s law reviews as well as students in, and instructors for, our Legal Rhetoric program.
• Provide legal research, reference assistance and instructions to students, faculty, staff and members of the public at the Pence Law Library, including participating in the Library Liaison Program and other reference services.
• Maintain overall responsibility for the recruitment, management, and professional development of library personnel.
• Serve on library, law school, and university committees.
• Participate in law school governance/management.
• Represent the library to the law school and the broader community, and coordinate functions between these groups.
• Promote the library’s activities and programs to the law school’s students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and to outside groups.
• Collaborate with representatives of the American University Bender Library in providing library resources and services to the American University community.

Candidates must hold a JD from an ABA-accredited law school, a degree in library or information science (MLS/MLIS or equivalent) from an American Library Association (ALA) accredited master’s degree program, plus at least five years of progressively responsible work experience in an academic library, including experience successfully managing a law library budget. The candidate must have demonstrated ability or potential to engage in scholarly publication and professional service to meet library faculty tenure and promotion requirements.

Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills are required, as is the ability to plan and direct the work of others, motivate library faculty and staff, provide training, and evaluate library faculty and staff performance. Additionally, the ability to work collaboratively and collegially in a dynamic, complex, and rapidly evolving library environment is essential.