Instructor/Access Services Librarian

POSITION SUMMARY:

Date application must be received for priority consideration by: October 4, 2024
Anticipated Appointment Begin Date: January 6, 2025
Closing Date or if blank, Open Until Filled:
Job Family Group: Faculty
Division/Department: School of Undergraduate Studies and the University Library /Library
Compensation Range: $53,373 – $56,641 (Instructor YIR 1-4) commensurate with experience in a comparable faculty appointment and according to the SOU faculty collective bargaining agreement
Faculty Classification of Instruction Programs (CIP) Code anticipated: 25.01, Library Science and Administration
FLSA Status: Exempt
Appointment Basis: 9 month
Time Type: Full-time
Benefits Eligible: Yes
Renewable/Non-renewable/Grants/Limited Duration: Renewable
This position is designated as a critical, security-sensitive or safety-sensitive position; therefore, the incumbent must successfully complete a Criminal Background Check: Yes
Work Location Type: On campus
Worker Status: Must be able to legally work in the United States without visa sponsorship

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANT:

• Each applicant is required to provide (as attachments to the online application) the following supplemental documents: (1) a letter providing some detail of the applicant’s qualifications and interest in the position; (2) current resume/CV; (3) unofficial copies of all post-secondary transcripts; (4) at least three professional references. If you are unable to attach the supplemental materials to the online application please contact Human Resources for assistance.

• For inquiries and additional information, please contact: Human Resource Services via email at hrs@sou.edu or by phone at (541)552-8553.

• To view SOU’s very generous benefits and pension programs available to eligible positions, please visit https://inside.sou.edu/assets/hrs/Benefits/Benefit_Flyer/2024_Prospective_Candidate_Benefit_Overview_012024.pdf

• Our benefits package is an important complement to the offered salary and our Total Compensation Calculator, https://inside.sou.edu/hrs/comp-calc.html, demonstrates our value and commitment to our employees.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

Hannon Library at Southern Oregon University (SOU) is seeking candidates for a full-time, nine month, professional-track, Access Services Librarian/Instructor.

Reporting to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies and the University Library, the Access Services Librarian oversees the Access Services department at Southern Oregon University’s Hannon Library including Circulation, Interlibrary Loan, Course Reserves, and Stacks Maintenance. The librarian has a high degree of fluency in multiple library and administrative technologies, such as Alma, Rapido, and others. Setting the tone for excellent public services at Hannon Library to students, faculty, staff, and community members, the librarian leads by example and ensures the effective functioning of the Access Services team by supervising three classified staff members. This position reports directly to the University Librarian and is a professional-track (non-tenure) faculty position. The librarian will be expected to participate in service for the library, university, and/or region.

The Access Services Librarian uses data gathered from Access Services units to communicate the library’s alignment with institutional goals to the campus and to work with library staff and faculty to propose policies, services, and initiatives to support student success and retention. In addition, the librarian provides analytics data to library faculty to support data-driven decision making.

Hannon Librarians are an integral part of teaching and education at Southern Oregon University. The Access Services Librarian provides research guidance at the Research Help desk (4-6 hours/week), via email, and in one-on-one consultations to a culturally diverse faculty and student body with increasingly interdisciplinary research interests. The librarian may teach instruction sessions for lower-division classes as needed. May need to work occasional evenings and weekends for events, classes, or desk coverage. Additional contract for summer hours may be available.

Hannon Library is a collaborative library environment where staff and faculty work together on programs, planning, services, collections, and more. The Access Services Librarian serves on library, university, and/or regional committees and participates in varied library initiatives as appropriate.

Librarians play an important role in making students feel at home and also helping them move toward the successful completion of their studies. As the leader of the Access Services department, the librarian in this role also works with campus stakeholders, library faculty and staff, and administration to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion at Hannon Library. We aspire to a positive and inclusive climate and culture. We strongly encourage applications from individuals who are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, or members of other marginalized communities.

We offer excellent comprehensive health and retirement benefits. The anticipated start date is January 6, 2025. The position is open until filled with a priority deadline of October 4, 2024.

Southern Oregon University is a public liberal arts institution of approximately 4,000 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students. The surrounding area is known for cultural offerings such as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Ashland International Film Festival, and the Britt Music Festival. The region is noted for its unparalleled biodiversity and the university lies in close proximity to the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. The Rogue Valley is renowned for outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, and biking.

Minimum Qualifications

• Initial appointment at the rank of Instructor requires an ALA accredited Master’s Degree in Library or Information Science

• Applicants should have at least one year of professional experience working in a library, preferably in an academic or research library.

• Proficiency with the circulation module of a shared ILS, preferably Ex Libris Alma, and other library-related software and technologies.

• Experience solving complex circulation problems.

• Strong public service orientation with the ability to interact effectively with faculty, students, staff, and the public.

• Experience supervising staff.

• Demonstrated ability to adapt to change and work effectively and creatively both independently and in a collaborative and collegial environment.

• Demonstrated ability to interact with a diverse population.

• Commitment to professional growth and development in librarianship.

• Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience as an administrator in Alma, particularly in the fulfillment module.

• Experience with Alma Analytics.

• Experience providing quality reference/information services.

• Experience applying quantitative and qualitative assessment methods to the improvement of library services.

Essential Functions

Duties - The following examples are typical work activities that are meant to illustrate the general range of work functions and are not meant to be all-inclusive or restrictive

(100%) The primary responsibilities of all faculty members are: teaching, professional development, and service.

• Teaching encompasses normal instructional activities beyond the teaching of assigned courses such as academic advising, working with students outside of class, posting and maintaining appropriate office hours, course and curriculum planning, etc.

• Professional Development includes maintaining currency in the discipline taught.

• Service includes program and institutional administrative, committee, and student support and retention activities

• Librarianship

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Demonstrated excellence in written, verbal, and technical communication skills and with a high degree of personal integrity and standards

• Ability to facilitate an innovative, transformative curriculum and pedagogy to enable students to be prepared for the future

• Excellent communication skills; demonstrated ability to effectively communicate information in a clear and understandable manner, both verbally and in writing

• Demonstrated experience requiring a very high level of diplomacy and professionalism to effectively handle a broad range of sensitive interpersonal situations

• Demonstrated ability to interpret and consistently apply a wide variety of complex policies and procedures where specific guidelines may not always exist

• Demonstrated ability to work with frequent changes in policies and procedures, sometimes under pressure and a fast-paced environment

• Strong analytical and research skills; demonstrated ability to gather, evaluate, and to develop well-reasoned conclusions and recommendations

• Demonstrated ability to proactively assess work operations and anticipate potential problems; ability to develop and implement strategies for preventing/resolving problems

• Ability to independently analyze software functionality and design and document efficient/effective work processes

• Excellent organizational and time management skills with the demonstrated ability to set own priorities to coordinate multiple assignments with fluctuating and time-sensitive deadlines

• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with community leaders, business leaders, and donors to advance the mission and vision of the institution.

• Demonstrated ability to effectively perform work of a highly sensitive and confidential nature that requires access to information.

• Must be able to exercise sound judgment and discretion, tact, and diplomacy

• Ability to take initiative in independently planning, organizing, and performing work assignments within broadly defined parameters

• Demonstrated ability to work with a high level of productivity and accuracy/attention to detail

• Proficiency with a variety of computer applications including word-processing, spreadsheets, databases, internet/online systems (e.g., calendaring and email), social media platforms, Learning Management Systems, etc.

• Demonstrated ability to initiate, establish, and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive, cooperative, productive work atmosphere internally and externally, and to establish and maintain effective working relationships within a diverse population and with those from various cultural backgrounds

Physical Demand

• Regular public service activities, including standing, sitting, and using a computer.

Special Conditions

• Workload expectations are outlined in the Association for Professors, Southern Oregon University (APSOU) Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 19.

• Teaching assignments may include First Year Experience, online and/or hybrid courses, Medford and Ashland campus classes, and day, evening, and weekend courses.

• Must be willing to travel and attend training programs off-site for occasional professional development. 

• Must be able to work additional hours and adjust working hours to meet special jobs. May be called back periodically to perform work as needed on an emergency basis. 

• Must be able to successfully pass a pre-employment background check. 

• Under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), this position classification is defined as exempt and is not subject to overtime regulations.

• The person holding this position is considered a “mandated reporter” under the Oregon Revised Statutes and is required to comply with the requirements set forth by the Oregon Department of Human Services. 

• Compensation: Any formally approved and authorized salary change shall automatically amend this contract.

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SOU is an equal access AA/EOE committed to achieving a diverse and inclusive workforce

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Southern Oregon University will provide, if requested, reasonable accommodation to applicants in need of accommodation in order to provide access to the application, interviewing, and selection process. You are not required to note the presence of a disability on this application. If, however, you require a reasonable accommodation in the application and/or interview process due to disability, requests must be made in a timely manner to Human Resources.

Diversity Statement:
Southern Oregon University is a welcoming community committed to inclusive excellence and the celebration of diversity. Without diversity, our educational process is diminished. Working together in support of our commitment to diversity, we strengthen and enrich our role as learners, educators and members of a tightly connected global community. We encourage those who share in our commitment to diversity, to join our community and we expect all our employees to demonstrate an ability and desire to create an inclusive campus community.

SOU Land Acknowledgement
We want to take this moment to acknowledge that Southern Oregon University is located within the ancestral homelands of the Shasta, Takelma, and Latgawa peoples who lived here since time immemorial. These Tribes were displaced during rapid Euro-American colonization, the Gold Rush, and armed conflict between 1851 and 1856. In the 1850s, discovery of gold and settlement brought thousands of Euro-Americans to their lands, leading to warfare, epidemics, starvation, and villages being burned. In 1853 the first of several treaties were signed, confederating these Tribes and others together – who would then be referred to as the Rogue River Tribe. These treaties ceded most of their homelands to the United States, and in return they were guaranteed a permanent homeland reserved for them. At the end of the Rogue River Wars in 1856, these Tribes and many other Tribes from western Oregon were removed to the Siletz Reservation and the Grand Ronde Reservation. Today, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (https://www.grandronde.org) and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (https://www.ctsi.nsn.us/) are living descendants of the Takelma, Shasta, and Latgawa peoples of this area. We [you may say I or the name of a program/department] encourage YOU to learn about the land you reside on, and to join us in advocating for the inherent sovereignty of Indigenous people.

Notice to Prospective Employees
Section 485 of the Higher Education Act, and The Federal Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 (now referred to as the “Clery Act”), require that prospective employees be notified of the availability of SOU’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. The report provides the annual statistics and campus policies for the reporting of and responding to campus crimes and fires; access to campus facilities; conduct code and campus policies on the use, possession, and sale of drugs/alcohol; and educational/information programs to inform the campus community about campus security procedures and crime prevention.

An electronic copy of the Annual Security Report (ASR)can be accessed at the following link:
https://inside.sou.edu/security/statistics.html. A physical copy of the ASR is available at no charge upon request. To request a copy please visit the Campus Public Safety Office at 382 Wightman Street, Ashland OR 97520. For more information call 541-552-6258, or email clerycoordinator@sou.edu.