Library Director and Assistant Professor of Law, New England Law (Boston, MA)

Posted February 5, 2025

Job Summary:

New England Law | Boston, originally founded in 1908 as Portia Law School, is located in the heart of downtown Boston. As a law school originally founded to provide women with opportunities for legal education, New England Law has a rich history and dynamic present. The Law Library’s mission is to support the academic program and scholarship of the New England Law community. We are actively committed to the success of our students. New England Law is accepting applications for a Director of the Law Library and Assistant Professor of Law to head up our Law Library team and carry out the objectives of the Law Library consistent with the goals and mission of the Law School. The Director will be a part of a welcoming community devoted to providing exceptional academics as well as real world experience.

Under the general direction of the Dean of the Law School and in coordination with the Associate Dean, the Director provides leadership and vision for the Library, considering both the future of legal education and the current needs of the New England Law community. The Director manages all library administrative and operational matters. This position is responsible for strategic planning, budgeting, and the hiring, management, and development of library staff, as well as the oversight of library facilities and technology. The Director ensures that New England Law | Boston has a dynamic, responsive, and service-oriented library that maintains and exceeds the standards of the ABA, AALS, and AALL. This is a faculty position.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Oversee all operations of the New England Law Library, including budgeting, staffing, services,
  planning, collections development, and facilities, while also participating in the Law School
  community as a member of the faculty.
• Develop and manage an annual budget that reflects the goal of maintaining a budget-conscious
  collection that is responsive to the diverse needs of New England Law faculty and students.
• Recruit, hire, train, supervise, and evaluate library staff, including student staff.
• Support the research, scholarship, and curricular needs of the faculty and students, including by
  regularly participating in reference work and ensuring coverage of reference services.
• Orient new full-time faculty and adjunct faculty to library services.
• Guest lecture on research in doctrinal classes at the request of faculty, participate in training of
  incoming Law Review associates, and support the Legal Research and Writing Program, working
  with the Director of the Program.
• Oversee student orientation to library resources and services, including presenting at the first
  year orientation program and coordinating Westlaw and Lexis training for all first year students.
• Coordinate the acquisitions process with the Reference Librarians.
• Plan all library projects, develop policies and procedures, and coordinate appropriate staff to
  carry them out.
• Oversee the Library’s responsibility to house, preserve, organize, and provide access to the
  historical records of the Portia and New England School of Law archives.
• Attend all faculty and Department Heads meetings and serve at the request of the Associate Dean
  on faculty committees.
• Gather library statistics for all national questionnaires and reports, including ABA, US News and
  World Report, and IPEDS.
• Ensure compliance with ABA, AALS, and AALL standards for libraries.
• Keep current with technology, digital resources, developments in legal education, and law library
  innovation.
• Take an active role in regional and national library organizations and build relationships to foster
  cooperative resource development and enhance the reputation of the Law School.
  Supervisory Responsibilities:
• Oversee all library personnel, including full and part-time professional and paraprofessional staff.

Direct reports include: the Technical Services Librarians, the Reference Librarians, and the part-time Administrative Assistant and Interlibrary Loan position, and all student desk assistants.

Qualifications:

• J.D. degree from an ABA-approved law school and MLS from an ALA-accredited institution
• Significant administrative experience in a law library
• High-level legal research skills
• Ability to attract, develop, and retain library staff
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills

How To Apply:

Please e-mail a cover letter, résumé, and the contact information for three references to New England Law | Boston, addressed to: [email protected].

The subject line should be “Director of the Law Library.”

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis and résumés received without cover letters will not be reviewed.

We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an Employment Visa at this time. It is the policy of New England Law | Boston to provide equality of opportunity for all persons, including faculty and employees, with respect to hiring, continuation, promotion, tenure, and any other terms or conditions of employment, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender (including identity and expression), genetic information, military service, age, or disability. The law school complies with all applicable federal, state, and local nondiscrimination laws, including Title IX.