Associate University Librarian for Special Collections and Archives

Associate University Librarian for Special Collections and Archives

Washington and Lee University (W&L) seeks a creative, innovative, and service-oriented leader to serve as the next Associate University Librarian for Special Collections and Archives (AUL). The search is being launched as the current AUL, Tom Camden, will retire following more than a decade of service at Washington and Lee.

The AUL for Special Collections and Archives is an excellent opportunity for a thoughtful and pragmatic leader with an imaginative vision for the field of special collections. Washington and Lee seeks an individual who can provide organizational leadership while also collaboratively designing new and innovative services that demonstrate the value of the University’s distinctive collections to the intellectual work of a global community of scholars, teachers, students, researchers, and the broader public.

Washington and Lee is a top-ranked, private institution in Lexington, Virginia, where it integrates the rigorous inquiry and critical thinking of a liberal arts curriculum with nationally accredited undergraduate programs in business and journalism, and a graduate School of Law. Washington and Lee’s graduates, mentored by a faculty of teacher-scholars, are ready to make a meaningful impact wherever they go in the world.

Washington and Lee is the ninth-oldest institution of higher education in America and its historic campus, situated in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, is home to a vibrant, welcoming community distinguished by an entirely student-run Honor System that pushes students to take responsibility and realize their potential as citizens, peers and leaders.

The University Library supports Washington and Lee’s central mission of teaching, learning, and research in the liberal arts by providing a wide range of materials in all formats for use in the classroom, in student learning, in faculty research and preparation for teaching, and by offering a highly skilled staff to assist faculty, students, and other users in their knowledge inquiries.

In addition to more than 650,000 volumes housed onsite, students and faculty both on and off campus have 24-hour access to the library’s website and more than one million electronic resources. Participation in a strong resource-sharing system allows the Library to obtain needed materials from other libraries all over the nation.

Our two-dozen library faculty and staff support teaching, learning, and research of the W&L community. In addition to providing traditional library reference and instruction services, the University Library is the home of the Digital Culture and Information (DCI) undergraduate minor degree program. Courses in DCI allow students to deeply explore how the digital age impacts knowledge and society.

Reporting to the University Librarian, the Associate University Librarian for Special Collections and Archives provides strategic and operational management of the acquisition, description, access, assessment, outreach, and instruction programs related to the University Library’s special and archival holdings. The AUL is responsible for the leadership, management, and development of one faculty librarian, 3.5 staff members, and several student staff members. Educational outreach is a core value of the unit. The AUL is a member of the collaborative Operations and Strategy Group, which shares responsibility for the overall management and direction of the library with the University Librarian.

The ideal candidate must hold an ALA-accredited degree or equivalent relevant terminal degree, as holding a terminal degree in a relevant field is a requirement of faculty status, as well as demonstrate effective leadership and management experience within libraries, archives, museums, or cultural institutions, leading to an understanding of best practices in all aspects of special collections and archives management and use.

To view the full position profile, please visit Storbeck Search’s https://diversifiedsearchgroup.com/search/washington-and-lee-associate-librarian/

For best consideration, please send all nominations and applications to:

Matthew Bunting, Managing Director
Storbeck Search

WashingtonandLeeAUL@storbecksearch.com

In compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and all other applicable non-discrimination laws, Washington and Lee University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran's status, or genetic information in its educational programs and activities, admissions, and with regard to employment.