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Associate Director, Biomedical Library, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Posted March 3, 2014

The University of Pennsylvania Biomedical Library seek a dynamic, energetic, and service-oriented Associate Director, with clinical and educational expertise, to lead and coordinate clinical outreach activities, reference and instructional services, and Patron Services (access services and document delivery). Supervise 5 professional librarians and indirectly 5 support staff and 3 Reference Interns. Serve as a member of the Health Sciences Libraries leadership team. Report to the Associate Director of the Health Sciences Libraries/Director, Biomedical Library. Partner with information services/research and instructional services librarians across the Penn Libraries to ensure collaborations for new and improved services.

The Associate Director supervises 5 professional librarians and indirectly 5 support staff and 3 Reference Services interns, serves as a member of the Health Sciences Libraries leadership team, and reports to the Associate Director of the Health Sciences Libraries/Director, Biomedical Library.   The Associate Director also partners with information services and research and instructional services librarians and other colleagues across the Penn Libraries to ensure collaborations for new and improved services.

The services and resources of the Biomedical Library support research, education, and patient care for the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) (http://www.pennmedicine.org/), the Perelman School of Medicine (http://www.med.upenn.edu/), including Biomedical Graduate Studies; the School of Nursing (http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/); and other graduate programs such as Biology (http://www.bio.upenn.edu/graduate) and the interdisciplinary Master of Public Health (http://www.publichealth.med.upenn.edu/).  This dynamic community consists of over 2,000 full-time health sciences faculty, consistently leaders in research funding and discovery.

The Biomedical Library is centrally located near — and has well-established relationships with — UPHS and the schools and communities it serves.   For example, our librarians partner with Penn’s Center for Evidence-Based practice (http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/cep/) and with UPHS nursing leadership in support of evidence-based practice and research, as well as with Penn’s global health programs, particularly in Botswana (http://www.med.upenn.edu/botswana/) and Guatemala (http://www.med.upenn.edu/globalhealth/guatemalapartners.shtml and http://www.med.upenn.edu/ghi/).

The Biomedical Library is also a short walk across our historic urban campus to the Van Pelt Dietrich Library Center and has the benefit of operating as part of the overall Penn Libraries system. The Penn Libraries include fifteen libraries and an off-site high density storage facility. System-wide scholarly resources number nearly 7 million books, 96,000 current serials (of which 82,000 are e-journals) and 800 databases. The library is a leader in the development of digital library services and collections and is aggressively experimenting with and adopting new technology in research and teaching.

Responsibilities include:

  • Serve on the Health Sciences Libraries’ Leadership Team along with the Heads of the Dental and Veterinary Libraries, the Collections Librarian, and the Health Sciences Libraries Liaison, to participate in long-range planning of information services to be provided by the Health Sciences Libraries.
  • Supervise:
    • Head of the Patron Services (access services and document delivery), coordinating service desk activities with the library’s reference services.
    • Digital Media Services Coordinator, leading the establishment of new services
    • Evidence-Based Health Care/Clinical Liaison Librarian
    • Clinical & Graduate Research Librarian
    • Garfield Resident in Science Librarianship
  • Coordinate and prioritize, and participate in providing, clinical outreach services.
  • Coordinate, and participate in providing, reference and research services, onsite and online, including email and live chat, as well as consultations and instructional and liaison services for Biomedical Library constituencies.
  • Oversee the collecting and reporting of library statistics, establishing goals and objectives. 
  • Seek opportunities for curriculum and clinical integration through teaching, embedding of resources in virtual learning environments and mobile technologies.
  • Partner with information services/research and instructional services librarians, access services librarians, and document delivery librarians across the Penn Libraries to ensure collaborations for new and improved services.
  • Promote library services and resources.
  • Lead weekly research and instructional services staff meeting.
  • Designate librarian supervisors for three Reference Interns.
  • Participate on committees and task forces at the schools and centers served by the position as well as within the Penn Libraries.
  • Represent the Library on campus, local, regional, and national committees.
  • Contribute to the library profession and encourage staff to engage professionally.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • MLS from an ALA-accredited program with course work related to the health science and at least 5 years of experience in a hospital, academic health sciences library or relevant healthcare setting or equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • Health sciences subject expertise.
  • Supervisory experience.
  • Teaching experience or demonstrated ability.
  • Demonstrated collaborative and organizational strength and strong communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Understanding of the potential of developing technologies for enhancing services and demonstrated knowledge of the latest trends and available tools for teaching and electronic delivery of information.
  • Ability to work independently as well as operate within a collegial framework of faculty, staff, students and administrators to deliver desired outcomes.
  • Demonstrated commitment to professional growth and active involvement in professional activities.

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience, and includes a generous benefits package, additional information available at http://www.hr.upenn.edu/jobs/benefits.asp.

To Apply:

Potential candidates are invited to submit a letter of application that addresses the needs and qualifications of the position, along with their resume and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of three references who can address the suitability of the candidate for the position described, as well as complete an on-line employment application at: http://jobs.hr.upenn.edu/postings/1771.

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