University Librarian (and Director of Library Services), University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Posted August 30, 2016
The University of Cambridge is seeking to appoint its next University Librarian (who will also be the Director of Library Services). Cambridge’s University Library is one of the world’s foremost university and research libraries. With approximately 8 million volumes, 120,000 e-journal titles and numerous materials in other formats, the University Library is a major scholarly resource, not only for the whole of the University of Cambridge’s academic community, but also for researchers nationally and internationally. The University Library is one of the six legal deposit libraries in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and has held this copyright/legal status since 1710. It currently consists of the main University Library and 21 affiliated libraries.
Following the appointment of the current postholder, Anne Jarvis, to the post of University Librarian at Princeton University, the University of Cambridge has commenced a global search for its next University Librarian. The position is recognised internationally as one of the most senior in the library profession. It is an excellent opportunity for an experienced individual with drive and imagination who wishes to lead 21st century library services within a world-renowned institution.
The University Librarian will provide strategic leadership for the University Library, articulating a compelling vision for the development of its resources and services that align with the University’s mission and core values. The University Librarian will have an in-depth understanding of the changing needs of a sophisticated user community. The postholder will also need to maintain a sense of common purpose across the staff of the University Library to deliver a flexible, responsive and exemplary library service. The University Librarian will have a strategic understanding of the role of IT, electronic content and the services that can be delivered in the digital environment, particularly in support of teaching, research and wider scholarly endeavour. In pursuit of this, the University Librarian will play a central role in jointly exploring a vision for a partnership with the Cambridge University Press, the world’s oldest and second largest university press, with a catalogue of 50,000 books and 350 journals.
The successful candidate will have considerable negotiating skills and the political acumen to gain adequate funding for library services, seeking external, as well as internal, income. The University Librarian will also have the ability to build and maintain productive relationships across and beyond the University, being expected to represent the Library and the University around the world and to engage with philanthropic individuals and organisations. Location: Cambridge. Salary: Competitive. To express an interest in the post of University Librarian (and Director of Library Services), upload your application to Perrett Laver’s website www.perrettlaver.com/candidates quoting reference 2690.
The closing date for applications is midday (BST) on Tuesday 27th September 2016.
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