Head Librarian

Department: William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
Rank and Salary: Associate Librarian - Librarian ($73,602 – $159,380)
Position Availability: Immediately
Application deadline for first consideration: October 23, 2024

The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library seeks a highly collaborative and inventive Head Librarian.

Position Duties

Reporting to the Director of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library and of the Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies at UCLA, the Head Librarian establishes priorities, policies, and workflows for all library operations, including collection development and management, cataloging and archival processing, preservation and conservation, research services, digitization, instruction, and outreach. The incumbent works with the Director to provide strategic leadership for the library as a whole; works with other colleagues in planning activities and programs based around the Clark’s collections, and in budgetary planning, and fundraising and development efforts.
The Head Librarian oversees the day-to-day operations of the physical plant, including monitoring security procedures and policies to safeguard staff, collections, historic buildings and grounds, and working with UCLA’s Facilities Department as well as independent contractors to preserve and improve the historically significant library building and the property as a whole.

The Head Librarian performs the following duties:

• Supervises the work of 4 FTE professional librarians, 3 FTE library assistants, 1 FTE site manager, and a varying number of student assistants and temporary staff.
• Oversees the day-to-day operations of the Clark Library and monitors security procedures and policies to safeguard the staff, collections, historic buildings, and grounds.
• Sets high level priorities and strategy for all library services including: collection development, library outreach to the Los Angeles and UCLA communities, events and programming, digital collection policies, public services and instruction, reference services, preservation and conservation, and technical services.
• Working in collaboration with the librarians at the Clark Library, selects books, manuscripts, and other items in all formats as appropriate for purchase and considers offers of in-kind gifts.
• Works with the Facilities Manager to preserve and improve the historically significant library building and the property as a whole; pursues grounds and garden initiatives that promote the physical site as a source for research.
• Consults with the Center’s Assistant Director regarding relevant matters of staff, budget, insurance, and similar areas that fall under the duties of that position.
• Describes library activities including recent acquisitions for the Quarterly Newsletter and provides semi-annual reports for the Faculty Advisory Committee.
• Plans and participates in activities and programs based around the Clark’s collections and services, in collaboration with other librarians at the Clark as well as with the Director, faculty, and other Clark/Center staff.
• Participates in the conferences and other public programs organized by the Center.
• Initiates grant proposals and a variety of fund-raising activities.
• Works closely with the Director to identify and steward donors, collections, and endowed gift funds.
• Participates in various standing committees operated by the Center, the UCLA Library, and the Librarians Association of University of California, Los Angeles (LAUC-LA).
• Represents the Clark at various local, national, and international conferences, meetings, and professional organizations.
• Maintains a current knowledge of the collecting interests of peer institutions in the greater Los Angeles area.

General Information

Professional librarians at UC are academic appointees. This is a non-represented position. Within the UC System, most librarians are represented by an exclusive bargaining agent, University Council – American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT). As academic appointees, librarians are entitled to appropriate professional leave, two days per month of vacation leave, one day per month of sick leave, and all other benefits granted to non-faculty academic personnel. UC has an excellent retirement system and sponsors a variety of group health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans in addition to other benefits. Relocation assistance may be provided.

Appointees to the librarian series at UC shall have professional backgrounds that demonstrate a high degree of creativity, teamwork, and flexibility. Such background will normally include a professional degree from an ALA-accredited library and information science graduate program. In addition to professional competence and quality of service within the library in the primary job, advancement in the librarian series requires professional involvement and contributions outside of the library, and/or university and community service, and/or scholarly activities. Candidates must show evidence or promise of such contributions.

Subject to locating an appropriate department and a positive faculty vote, the incumbent may hold a 0% (without salary) adjunct faculty appointment in an academic department or program.

Under federal law, the University of California may employ only individuals who are legally authorized to work in the United States as established by providing documents specified in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Employment is contingent upon completion of satisfactory background investigation.

Description of Unit

The UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library is a rare book and manuscript library that is open to all researchers who wish to conduct research with its holdings. The Library specializes in the study of England and Western Europe from the Tudor period through the long-eighteenth century and from the mid-Victorian to late-Edwardian periods, with a focus on Oscar Wilde and his circle. Other collection strengths include modern book arts; fine printing and the history of the book; and Montana and the West.

The Clark Library is affiliated with the UCLA Library and administered by the Center for 17th- and 18th century Studies, a statewide Organized Research Unit within UCLA’s College of Letters and Science. Further information about the Center can be found at http://www.1718.ucla.edu.
More information about the UCLA Library can be found at https://www.library.ucla.edu/about/.

The Clark Library is located in a 1926 Beaux Arts building on five landscaped acres in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, and is listed as Los Angeles City Historic-Cultural Monument #123. Built by William Andrews Clark, Jr. and bequeathed to the university upon his death in 1934, the Clark Library houses a collection of more than 130,000 printed books, pamphlets, broadsides, manuscripts, maps, scores, and related documents and over 3,000 linear feet of archival materials. Holdings can be found in UC Library Search and the Online Archive of California, the English Short Title Catalogue, and UCLA’s Digital Library.

In addition to the UCLA academic community, the Clark Library works with students and faculty from neighboring institutions, visiting scholars, resident fellows, and the general public. The Library hosts a variety of academic and public programs that bring its collections to a wider audience and its librarians into dialogue with the wider library profession. Previously, these programs have included professional conferences on the special collections field, collections-focused multisensory workshops, and public lectures focused on such topics as printing history and book collecting. The Center organizes academic conferences, lectures, and workshops as well as chamber music concerts and theatrical performances relevant to the library’s collections, most of which take place at the Library.

In keeping with UCLA’s primary purpose as a public research university to create, share, and preserve knowledge for the betterment of our global society, and in accordance with William Andrews Clark, Jr.’s vision for the library and its grounds as resources for the public good, the Clark Library is dedicated to making the shared cultural record as widely available as possible. We support UCLA’s mission of openness and inclusion and are committed to empowering broad research and engagement within special collections.

To learn more about the Clark Library, please visit https://clarklibrary.ucla.edu/.

To learn more about the Center for 17th- and 18th-century Studies, please visit https://www.1718.ucla.edu/.

Description of Institution and Library

As one of the world's great public research universities, UCLA integrates education, research, and public service so that each enriches and extends the others. From its beautiful neighborhood campus in a uniquely diverse and vibrant city on the Pacific Rim, teaching and research extend beyond the classroom, office, and lab through active engagement with communities, organizations, projects, and partnerships throughout the region and around the world.

UCLA’s diverse community of scholars encompasses nearly 30,000 undergraduates pursuing 125 majors, 13,000 graduate students in fifty-nine research programs, and 4,000 faculty members including Nobel Laureates; Rhodes Scholars; MacArthur Fellows; winners of the Fields Medal, National Medal of Science, Pritzker Prize, and Pulitzer Prize; and recipients of Oscars, Emmys, Tonys, and Golden Globes. UCLA ranks tenth in the Times of London Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, twelfth in the Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and fifth in the U.S. by Washington Monthly. The National Research Council ranks forty of its graduate and doctoral research programs among its top ten.

To enable these accomplished students, faculty, and staff to create, disseminate, and apply knowledge for the benefit of global society, the UCLA Library is re-envisioning how it is acquired, synthesized, and shared across academic audiences and with the public. It was among the first academic libraries to develop subject-specialist librarians and to launch a program to enhance students’ research skills. Its Special Collections pioneered the acquisition by public institutions of rare and unique books, children’s literature, pulp and detective fiction, works by or about women and minorities, screenplays, architectural plans, and Los Angeles-related materials and today leads the way in collecting archival resources in digital format such as emails and manuscripts. It has launched innovative data management services and an affordable course materials initiative that have served as models for other libraries.

The Library serves UCLA students, faculty, and staff whenever and wherever they need its resources and expertise. Reconfigured, high-tech spaces and services in its ten campus libraries enable users and librarians to explore and work with print and digital materials collaboratively or individually, pursue new lines of inquiry, and develop new pedagogical approaches as well as novel forms of scholarship. More than 3.5 million people visit annually, while an additional 3.4 million visitors enter online through its virtual front doors.

Whether on campus or online, the Library forms the intellectual heart of UCLA, a hub for cutting-edge discovery, scholarship, and instruction.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California policy on discrimination, harassment, and affirmative action see: University of California – Policy Discrimination, Harassment, and Affirmative Action in the Workplace at https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/DiscHarassAffirmAction

Under federal law, the University of California may employ only individuals who are legally authorized to work in the United States as established by providing documents specified in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Employment is contingent upon completion of satisfactory background investigation.

Visit the Jobs @ UCLA Library website at: https://www.library.ucla.edu/about/jobs/

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.

For the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy, please visit https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-035.pdf.

For the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy, please visit https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination.