Head of Collection Services and Strategies, Butler Libraries

Position Overview 

Butler University Libraries invites applications for the position of Head of Collection Services & Strategies. This position sits on the Library Leadership team and provides leadership and vision for a six-person department responsible for library acquisitions, resource sharing, management of electronic and print collections, and scholarly communication. As a member of the library faculty, the position also includes liaison responsibilities such as instruction, collection development, and research support for designated academic programs. Butler Libraries encourages the exploration of innovative approaches to this work and seeks candidates who can thoughtfully advance emerging models of creating, accessing, and disseminating information. The ideal candidate is a communicative, collaborative leader, who values expertise, genuinely listens, and builds strong relationships within the department, library, and campus community. This is a 12‑month, continuing (non‑tenured) faculty appointment reporting to the Dean of Libraries.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of librarians and staff, fostering a culture of excellent service, professional growth, and workplace equity.  
• Set priorities and coordinate the department’s responsibilities: 
  • Oversee physical and electronic collections, 
  • Manage license and resource‑sharing agreements, 
  • Guide the improvement and future development of library systems that support user‑centered discovery and access, and 
  • Interpret data relating to operating budget and scholarly publishing to inform strategic goals and decision-making. 
• Represent the library in a leadership capacity at the University level: 
  • Communicate the library's strategic priorities, 
  • Collaborate on university-wide committees and initiatives to support and further the university's strategic vision, and 
  • Build connections across campus to inform collection development priorities. 
• Serve as liaison librarian to assigned departments/programs: 
  • Deliver course integrated instruction, 
  • Support collection development, and  
  • Provide reference/research services to students, faculty, and staff.  
• Engage and collaborate within the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) consortium, which provides the Libraries’ core systems, by contributing to consortium initiatives and providing expertise to other PALNI libraries. 

Required Qualifications 

• Master’s of Library/Information Science from an ALA-accredited institution. 
• Minimum of 5 years of library experience with two or more years of experience in an academic setting. 
• Personnel supervision or management experience that focuses on collaborative and communicative environments (may include the supervision of student workers). 
• Experience in one or more of the following areas: acquisitions, e-resources, resource sharing, scholarly communication or systems management, with knowledge of or interest about the others.  
• Evidence of scholarly activities such as presentations, publications, and/or grants.   

Preferred Qualifications 

 We recognize that strong candidates may not meet every qualification. We encourage you to apply and highlight how your experiences align with Butler Libraries’ needs. 

• Five or more years of post-MLIS professional academic library experience with increasing levels of responsibility, in two or more of the following areas: acquisitions, e-resources, resource sharing, scholarly communication, systems management. 
• Awareness of responsible and ethical use of emerging technologies. 
• Knowledge of repositories, open access initiatives, copyright, and intellectual property. 
• Experience managing a professional budget. 
• Experience with Koha ILS or EBSCO Discovery Service. 
• Experience delivering information literacy instruction. 
• Reading knowledge of another language besides English. 
• Previous academic promotion to rank of Associate Professor or has the professional and scholarly portfolio to merit an Associate Rank. 

Applicants for the position should submit: 

• A letter of interest 
• Curriculum Vitae 
• The names and contact information for three professional references 
• A reflection on how you would approach information literacy instruction (one page or less) 

Inclusive and evidence-based pedagogy is expected at Butler University. Please indicate your previous experience with or commitment to these practices in your information literacy instruction reflection. 

Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.   

For questions about the position, please contact Liz Lang at llang@butler.edu. All applications must be submitted through Butler University’s hiring portal to be considered.