Head of Libraries, University of Alaska Fairbanks Libraries, Fairbanks, AK

University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF):

UAF is a Land, Sea, and Space Grant university, the world leader in Arctic research, and a Carnegie Doctoral University: Higher Research Activity. Established as the original site of the University of Alaska in 1917, UAF is a multi-campus university based in Fairbanks, the state’s second largest city, with seven campuses located across two-thirds of the state. The population of approximately 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students includes a high percentage of Alaska Native, Native American, and international students, a wide variety of other ethnic backgrounds, and a substantial number of non-traditional students, making UAF a richly diverse academic setting. Fairbanks, a modern and close community of approximately 100,000 residents, is located in Interior Alaska between the Alaska and Brooks mountain ranges and is noted for the scope of its unique outdoor activities (hunting, fishing, dog mushing and five months of Nordic skiing in the winter, among others) and temperature extremes (ranging from +90F/32C in summer to -40F/-40C in winter). UAF is one of three universities in the University of Alaska system, which includes the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS). 

Elmer E. Rasmuson Library:

The Elmer E. Rasmuson Library is the largest research library in the state. The library provides the collections and services expected at a first-tier research-oriented Land, Sea, and Space Grant institution. Rasmuson Library houses more than one million print items and subscribes to a full complement of library databases, journals, and eBook collections, serving the diverse needs of undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and researchers. The internationally recognized Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives (APRCA) have extensive holdings pertaining to Alaska and the circumpolar north. APRCA manages the Alaska Digital Archives containing digitized material from libraries, museums, and archives throughout the state. The library provides services to rural UAF students and faculty who do not have access to needed information resources in their town or village. The library is part of a unique statewide collaboration between different types and sizes of libraries, and is a member of the international Polar Libraries Colloquy. Rasmuson Library is the oldest federal depository in Alaska. The library has recently migrated to SirsiDynix Enterprise and is part of the Alaska Library Catalog Consortium, which consists of over 77 public, academic, special, and K-12 libraries who serve 65% of the population of Alaska.

Library Departments:

• Acquisitions & Technical Services (ATS) orders, catalogs and processes all library materials. Staff maintains and updates the library’s OPAC, Discovery Tool, electronic resources, and the Institutional Repository (ScholarWorks@UA). The department is also responsible for administering the federal government documents and maps depository program.
• Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives (APRCA) is one of the world’s preeminent collections of Alaskana and Arctic/Antarctic materials. It serves an extensive user community with book and serial holdings, archives and manuscripts, historic photographs and film, rare books and maps, the Alaska Native Language Archive, and an oral history program. A growing online presence includes Alaska’s Digital Archives (vilda.alaska.edu), Oral History and Project Jukebox (jukebox.uaf.edu), the Alaska Film Archives YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/alaskafilmarchives), and the new APRCA portal (being unveiled to the public mid-2018).
• Collections & Access Services (CAS) provides reference services, circulation, reserve, interlibrary loan/document delivery, collection development, extensive off-campus library services, equipment/film checkout, the intra-library courier service, and public areas throughout the library, including public computers, printers and copiers. Collections & Access Services manages the staffing and services for the main reference desk and the virtual reference service, and coordinates public services with other library departments. The library’s current collection strategy is access over ownership, and provision of materials through evidence-based acquisition, while retaining vital works in every discipline. The library participates in local, statewide, and regional cooperative collection development.
• Library IT maintains public and staff desktop machines, department and personal shared drives, digital archival storage of special collections in varied formats, and a computer instructional lab, and are the primary support for printing. LibIT provides server support and administration for library web servers, and for the statewide digital archive and statewide institutional repository.
• Library Science is an academic department. Instruction is delivered primarily through a required curriculum one-credit course in library and information research, as well as through library instruction tailored to meet the needs of individual courses, as requested by university faculty and instructors. A tenured and elected library faculty member serves as Library Science Department Chair, and administers the credit course teaching program through the Rasmuson Library.

Minimum Qualifications:  

The Dean or Director will have:

• A master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program or foreign equivalent
• At least five years professional experience in positions of increasing responsibility in an academic library, including at least three years of administrative experience
• Demonstrated record of fiscal responsibility including developing and managing a complex budget, directing and implementing strategic planning and assessment of library services
• Effective written communication skills as demonstrated by the candidate’s application materials, and other examples of written work and/or publications
• Proven ability to communicate effectively and build and maintain relationships with colleagues across disciplines, both within and outside of the library
• Demonstrated ability to recruit and effectively manage faculty and staff, maintain a collaborative environment and create a culture of respect and intellectual rigor that encourages retention and professional development and productivity of a strong, service-oriented library faculty and staff  
• Familiarity with current trends in academic librarianship, emerging technologies, innovative library services, information technologies and management, scholarly communication, and public access and care of special collections
• Demonstrated record of service, scholarship, and professional achievement   

Additional Minimum Qualifications for Dean Position: 

• A minimum of five years of experience as a faculty member.
• Faculty rank of at least Associate Professor (or equivalent), either in the current position or previously.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience serving the diverse needs of undergraduates, graduates, and post-docs in an academic library setting
• Demonstrated record of successful fundraising and grant writing
• Experience with advocacy and public relations, including donor relations
• Excellent organizational, analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Successful participation in collaborative partnerships to provide content and services to a statewide constituency
• Experience providing library and information services to students and faculty in a multi-campus setting (using an online environment and/or distance delivery of services)
• Experience serving on decision-making bodies at a university-wide level
• Experience working in a library that houses significant archival collections or special collections; or related master’s coursework
• Additional graduate degree

To Apply:

Please attach a resume or vitae, cover letter, three professional reference (names and contact information), and any transcripts/certifications.

Review Date:

Applications must be received prior to 11:55 PM Alaska time on July 1, 2018 to be considered. Applications received after this time and date may not be considered for this position.

This position is designated as an officer of the university or senior administrator at the discretion of the president.

Background Check:

The successful applicant is required to complete a background check. Any offer of employment is contingent on the background check. This position is designated a senior administrator at the discretion of the president.

Training Policy:

It is the policy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks that all employees are required to attend training to meet the requirements of the positions they hold, and to complete the required training within a specified period of time to remain employed at UAF. The policy can be located at: http://www.uaf.edu/chancellor/policy/04.07.010/

Tobacco-Free Campus:

UAF Campus is a tobacco free campus. For more information, please go to: http://www.uaf.edu/tobaccofreecampus/

Notice of Nondiscrimination:

The University of Alaska is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution. The University of Alaska does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, age, sex, physical or mental disability, status as a protected veteran, marital status, changes in marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, parenthood, sexual orientation, gender identity, political affiliation or belief, genetic information, or other legally protected status. The University’s commitment to nondiscrimination, including against sex discrimination, applies to students, employees, and applicants for admission and employment. Contact information, applicable laws, and complaint procedures are included on UA’s statement of nondiscrimination available at www.alaska.edu/nondiscrimination