EAST Project Manager, Boston Library Consortium, Boston, MA

Posted July 23, 2015

The Eastern Academic Scholars Trust (EAST) is a major new program launched in June 2015 to implement a distributed shared collection agreement among 47 university and college libraries across New England, New York and Pennsylvania. EAST will be administered by the Boston Library Consortium (BLC) with important grant support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Davis Educational Foundation. A website describing the EAST project, including the proposal to the Mellon Foundation, is available at https://www.blc.org/east-project.

EAST seeks a full-time grant-funded Project Manager to play a key role overseeing the two-year implementation project. The EAST Project Manager will be employed by BLC and will report to Project Director Susan Stearns, Executive Director of the Boston Library Consortium.

During implementation, EAST libraries will conduct a collection analysis and secure retention agreements, design and analyze two sample-based validation studies, plan for future EAST membership, and begin to explore reciprocal agreements with other regional and national shared print programs.

Major responsibilities:

The EAST Project Manager will have primary responsibility for these activities:

• Coordinate the work of the project team, EAST member libraries, contractors and consultants to meet the objectives and timetable of the project, including:
  • Manage a process to analyze EAST member monograph collections and develop monograph retention proposals by coordinating the work of EAST member libraries, OCLC Sustainable Collections Services (SCS), and the EAST Data Librarian (to be hired)
  • Manage a process to design, conduct, and analyze a two-part sample-based validation study (to be led primarily by a Statistical Consultant)
  • Convene the Journals Working Group to recommend a process to identify journals for retention 
  • Establish and maintain a website clearinghouse describing offsite shelving options for EAST members.
• Administer EAST membership agreements and budget
  • Coordinate activities of working groups and the EAST Planning Consultant to review and revise EAST policies and develop final MOU document
  • Manage a process to secure executed MOU’s between the EAST Administrator (BLC) and EAST members
  • Review EAST expenditures in comparison to the EAST budget and prepare periodic analyses as requested to support fiduciary responsibility of the EAST Project Director.
• Manage internal and external communications about the EAST program
  • Develop and maintain project documentation including a project website; prepare and disseminate communications to EAST members and other interested parties
  • Recommend agenda topics and prepare background materials as needed to support quarterly meetings of the EAST Executive Committee and annual meetings of the EAST membership.

Qualifications

Required: Five or more years’ experience working in some combination of collection development, metadata, or library systems in an academic library, or as staff of a library consortium; excellent speaking, writing and presentation skills.

Highly desirable: M.L.S. (or equivalent) from an accredited institution. Experience working in a library consortium or multi-campus system; project management experience.

Position details and application process:

The EAST Project Manager will be a full-time employee of the Boston Library Consortium (BLC) and will be eligible for standard BLC employee benefits including: 

• Vacation – 22 days per year  Sick Leave – 12 days per year
• Holidays – 12 per year
• Short-term and long-term disability, life insurance and accidental dismemberment and death coverage.
• Medical and dental health insurance
• TIAA-CREF pension plan.

The first two years are funded through a combination of grants and membership dues, and the position may or may not be funded after the grant ends. The Project Manager is expected to work at the BLC office in downtown Boston, MA but telework will be considered. The position will include some travel, primarily local to the Northeast.

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume by email to Susan Stearns: [email protected].

Review of applications will begin on August 10th .