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Access Services Librarian, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Posted March 24, 2017

Schedule Tuesday-Saturday 9-5
Salary Grade 056
Union 00 – Non Union, Exempt or Temporary

Duties & Responsibilities

Access Services supports the Harvard Library mission by delivering a high standard of service; cultivating a welcoming environment that is supportive of academic research and inquiry; stewarding the university collection; and connecting the academic community to the vast array of library resources. We support the teaching and scholarly mission of the University through collaborative partnerships with the community of students, scholars and professionals at Harvard and beyond.

Reporting to the Associate Director of Access Services for Faculty of Arts & Sciences (FAS) Libraries, the Access Services Librarian leads a team of Access Services staff at the Harvard Fine Arts Library, Chemistry Library, and Physics Library to provide access to Harvard Library and its collections. In addition, the Access Services Librarian assists the Associate Director of Access Services for FAS Libraries and a fellow Access Services Librarian in coordinating daily operations and maintaining services across the FAS library system. The Access Services Librarian performs a variety of managerial and operational duties requiring substantial knowledge of library systems and procedures to provide access to collections, process library materials, and assist patrons in the use of library resources. This highly visible position operates in a busy environment and involves actively assisting users and monitoring multiple library functions.

The regular schedule for this position may include work on holidays, inclement weather and official University closings. Assigned hours may change throughout the year based on the Academic Calendar. Approval for requests for time off during these periods is at the discretion of the supervisor based on business need. The schedule of this position is Tuesday through Saturday 9am-5pm; scheduled hours subject to change based on annual academic cycle and department needs.

  • Management and Leadership: Direct and supervise the daily Access Services operations of Harvard’s Fine Arts Library, as well as operations at Harvard’s Physics and Chemistry Libraries; lead day-to-day activities for a group of 5.6 FTE (full-time employees); manage public service, circulation, reshelving, and resource sharing activities, setting high patron service standards and solving complex and time-sensitive problems; responsible for ensuring that unit meets operational expectations, including hours of operation and service standards; plan and prioritize daily workflows; assign tasks and projects to team members; approve reported time and paid time off requests for staff; communicate departmental goals, policies, procedures, and best practices in staff meetings and through written documents; collect and monitor information about library usage, workflows, and processes; develop, document, and refine procedures and workflows; coordinate activities with other Access Services units, work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve common goals; offer input into hiring staff, manage performance evaluations of team staff
  • Circulation: Oversee the Access Services work areas; oversee tasks associated with the automated circulation system (charge/discharge and renew materials, create holds and recalls, change item statuses); communicate and enforce library policies; assist patrons with the use of the HOLLIS catalog and the library system to manage patron account information; process item requests; manage requests for off-site Depository materials; process incoming Harvard Depository materials and transfers from other libraries; support security measures; supervise student workers.
  • Course Reserves: Manage course reserve operation at the Harvard Fine Arts Library; organize workflow and distribute work to staff and student workers; process course reserve requests and perform physical processing of reserve materials; supervise student workers processing reserve materials, communicate reserve policies and procedures to students, faculty, and teaching staff
  • Library Equipment: Oversee,maintain, troubleshoot, and coordinate service maintenance for public photocopiers and scanners, public computer workstations, public printers, and microform readers; assist patrons in using Crimson Cash and/or local School-based print accounts
  • Student Workers: Hire, supervise, train, adjust schedules, and assign tasks to student workers; oversee performance of daily tasks; address coverage gaps; approves reported time for student workers
  • Information Services: Answer informational and directional questions about the Harvard Fine Arts Library and other Harvard Libraries; use the HOLLIS catalog and Aleph to locate materials and answer user questions; appropriately refer patrons with questions that require significant subject expertise; maintain an awareness of role of Access Services and its function within the Harvard Library and the University as a whole
  • Stacks Maintenance & Reshelving: Process materials for reshelving and reshelve materials; monitor and maintain collection stacks in proper order and oversee arrangement of items on shelves; supervise and assign tasks to student workers charged with reshelving and stacks maintenance projects; participates in collection management projects
  • Resource Sharing: Support resource sharing activities, including processing Scan & Deliver, Borrow Direct, Interlibrary Loan workflows, and overseeing student workers; help troubleshoot workflow or equipment problems
  • Physical Facility: Monitor building; maintain awareness of physical condition, use of space, etc.; identify and resolve/report problems as appropriate; conduct periodic building walkthroughs and clear building at closing time; assists users with disabilities in accessing library materials
  • Fines & Billing: Oversee the provision to patrons of basic information regarding overdue fines owed and refers patrons to the library billing office as appropriate.
  • Other: Resolve high-level problems for users through the exercise of sound judgment and the interpretation of established guidelines; develops and implements procedures and workflows, initiates improvements; collect and record information about library usage, workflows, and processes and create reports; effectively communicate with library patrons and colleagues in person, by telephone, and through email and other electronic media; work cooperatively with other library departments on projects and to coordinate routine workflows; participate in committees and working groups; support Access Services activities in other units; other tasks and duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications

  • Masters of Library Science or equivalent education or work experience required
  • Minimum of three years of academic library experience and strong public service orientation required
  • Three or more years’ supervisory experience with demonstrated commitment to mentoring, training, and staff development.

Additional Qualifications

  • Ability to successfully deliver excellent customer service and prioritize service needs in a busy, dynamic public service environment required
  • Facility with standard office software (Microsoft Word and Excel, email, calendaring applications, etc.) required
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills required MSLIS degree or equivalent experience strongly preferred
  • Study in history of art/architecture or arts-related field strongly preferred
  • Academic library experience is strongly preferred
  • Experience with an online library catalog and management system (particularly Ex Libris’s Aleph or Alma systems) and familiarity with electronic academic library resources preferred
  • Bibliographic facility in western European languages preferred
  • Sensitivity to working in a diverse user environment
  • Ability to solve problems effectively and exercise discerning judgment
  • Ability to prioritize multiple tasks and work productively in a team environment
  • Ability to perform repetitive work tasks with overall accuracy, effectiveness, and attention to detail
  • Adaptable, able to flexibly adjust to changing workplace needs. Please note that this an all hands on deck environment so flexibility regarding the range of daily activities is critical.
  • This position involves regularly lifting and moving loads weighing up to 50 pounds; must be able to push heavy library book trucks
  • This position requires bending, squatting, stretching, and climbing small step stools when needed to retrieve books and shelve them

Additional Information

Learn more about our contributions to the academic enterprise by visiting us at http://lib.harvard.edu/about-us and about the Harvard University community at http://hr.harvard.edu/why-Harvard.

To learn more or apply for either of these roles, please visit: http://hr.harvard.edu/search-jobs

After selecting Administrative/Staff Jobs (either internal or external), click ‘search openings’ and then enter the  Requisition ID 42107BR in the Auto Req ID Field.  

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EEO Statement We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by law.

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