Supervisor of Youth Services, Medford Public Library, Medford, MA

Posted October 12, 2022

Full time, 35 hour per week union position.  Average of one Saturday per month, one or two nights per week as necessary.  Master’s in Library Science and 3-5 years’ experience including administrative responsibility.  Starting salary of $63,149.16 – $76,882.34 in six steps.

Broad Description:  The Supervisor of Youth Services coordinates and supervises day-to-day operations of the Youth Services Department, which consists of separate Children’s and Teen sections. Supervision includes department scheduling, budgeting, circulation, interlibrary loan, programming and outreach, collection management, research and information services, and other administrative functions.  Serves as the head children’s librarian.  Plans and implements programs for children ages infancy to twelve. Fills in at public service desks as required. 

Job Duties

Administrative

·        Performs daily supervision of YS staff.  Supervises circulation and clerical staff; supervises part-time staff and pages.

·        Prepares and updates weekly work and desk schedules for YS staff; with the Director, reviews vacation, personal, sick, and schedule change requests.

·        Handles maintenance issues in the Youth Services areas; works with the custodian with regards to cleaning and maintenance situations.

·        Supervises YS circulation staff and procedures; handles patron issues and complaints.  Trains circulation staff on new procedures and policies; keeps staff up to date on changes in circulation policy and procedure.

·        Supervises YS interlibrary loan staff and procedures.

·        Participates in the hiring of applicants for vacancies; assists the Director with employee evaluations and the creation of job descriptions. 

·        Supervises children’s volunteers.  Keeps track of volunteer hours.  Recruits volunteers for specific projects and programs. 

·        Supervises orientation and training of all full and part-time YS staff.  Creates and updates training materials. Instructs all employees about changes to library and network rules and procedures.

·        Works with the Director and other staff on strategic planning.

·        Works with children individually and in groups; Works with parents, teachers, and schools.

·        Maintains awareness of trends in youth services and of issues affecting youth.

Programming

·        Plans and implements programming for children ages infancy to twelve; works directly with children and parents in programs.

·        Coordinates outreach to schools and teachers.

·        With other YS Staff, collaborates with community organizations on programming and initiatives.

·        Assists with grant seeking and applications to support programming.  Works with the Library Foundation and Friends of the Library to fund and sponsor programs.

·        Supervises publicity and social media promotion for children’s programs.

Collection Management

·        Oversees children’s collection management; with other staff selects fiction and non-fiction and media; tracks high demand items; monitors usage and circulation statistics; weeds collections as necessary.

·        Oversees Reader’s Advisory and collection promotion services for children; create RA brochures and displays and online booklists; responsible for the children’s RA portions of the library website; seeks out book-based programming opportunities.

Minimum qualifications
Master of Library Science degree.  Experience as a youth librarian is essential.  Must have a good knowledge of children’s programming and awareness of trends in youth services. Must like children and teens and have a passion for children’s literature. Must have a Driver’s license.

Special working conditions

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Work is performed in a busy library environment with frequent interruptions.  Work may include sitting or standing at a counter for extended periods of time. The employee may be required to move full and empty book carts, shelve and retrieve library materials and office supplies from high and low settings. Employee is frequently required to bend, reach, and move throughout the library.  The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 pounds.  Sufficient vision or other powers of observation are essential to permit the employee to read, sort and shelve library materials and maintain patron and cataloging records. 

Submit cover letter, resume and the Standard Employment Application.  Employment Application can be found at:https://medfordma.org/departments/personnel/jobs/

ADDRESS ALL COVER LETTERS AND RESUMES TO Human Resources Department City of Medford – Room 204 85 George P. Hassett Drive Medford, MA 02155. Or send cover letter and resume with the job title in the subject line to [email protected]