Electronic Resources Librarian

Electronic Resources Librarian

Appalachian State University Belk Library

Location: Boone, North Carolina, United States  (On-Site)

Job Type: Full-Time

Job Duration: Indefinite

Salary: $54,,000.00 - $75,242.00

Library or Company Type: Academic/Research (College/University)

Min Education: Master's Degree

Required Travel: None

Salary - Type: Yearly Salary

Job Category: Electronic Resources

• ALA-accredited master’s degree or equivalent advanced degree.

Areas of Interest (No Minimum Level Required)

Seeking a candidate with strong communication skills especially in regards to presenting. The ability to build interpersonal relationships with publishers, vendors, faculty, and students is valued.

Candidates who can demonstrate one or more of the following are desired:

• Ability to work independently, and collaboratively with varied internal and external stakeholders.
• Knowledge of current practices and trends in acquiring and managing varied electronic library resources.
• Demonstrated knowledge of e-resource management to improve access and identify trends or patterns. Relevant experience may include e-resources or collections experience, analyzing e-resource usage or other collections data, sharing data for decision making, and giving external reports & presentations.
• Willingness and ability to negotiate cost, access, and preservation terms with vendors and other stakeholders.
• Experience providing services for accessibility, copyright issues, scholarly communication developments, or open access initiatives.

License/Certification Required

• N/A

Description of the Department or Unit

Appalachian State University Libraries are essential teaching and research partners, inspiring and guiding all who pursue knowledge. The University Libraries welcome nearly 800,000 visitors every year. We connect with the students, faculty, and staff of Appalachian State University as well as community members, researchers from all over the world, and K-12 school teachers. A large and vibrant organization composed of 35 faculty and 50 staff, the Libraries are a partner in the campus learning community, providing curated collections, a curriculum focused on information literacy and research methods, and engaging spaces and services centered around new media and technology, digital scholarship, and community engagement.

 

We encourage candidates to explore information about the Libraries, the University, and the surrounding area through http://www.appstate.edu, https://library.appstate.edu/about, and https://hr.appstate.edu/hr-services/employment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The University Libraries at Appalachian State University seeks a proactive and creative Electronic Resources Librarian to work closely with the Collection Management and Resource Acquisition and Management (RAM) Teams.

In 2024-2025, Appalachian State University Libraries will begin migrating to Alma as our new Integrated Library System and Discovery Service. This position will play a lead role in implementation and management of the new system’s e-resources workflows and modules.

The purpose of this job is to evaluate and negotiate with publishers and vendors to curate the best possible collection for the curriculum and scholarship of faculty and students. The E-Resources Librarian plays a key role in student success by providing great breadth and depth of collections aligned with the undergraduate and graduate curriculum. Through its connection with research, grant, and student success, this role is pivotal to the Libraries’ relationships across campus and throughout the scholarly communication community.

This librarian will support our electronic resource purchasing and management. They will be the primary liaison with publishers and library database and e-resource vendors and negotiate pricing, licensing, and usability issues with them on behalf of the best needs of students and faculty and under guidance from the Collection Management Team and Coordinator.

Major areas of responsibility include maintaining excellent relationships with publishers and vendors to resolve major challenges, advocate for increased open access to information, and communicate to publishers the needs and objectives of faculty and students at the University.

This position reports to the Coordinator of the Collection Management Team in the University Libraries.

Additional responsibilities include:

• Analyzing products, negotiating pricing and terms with vendors, and handling renewals and cancellations directly with multiple vendors in positive, proactive ways aligned with University and consortial initiatives and processes.
• Identifying and setting up trials for new databases and e-resources with vendors.
• Identifying complex problems with access, usability, or licensing and resolving them proactively.
• Reviewing vendor contracts, negotiating terms on behalf of student & faculty needs, and sharing information with colleagues about our subscriptions.
• Serving as primary point of communication with vendors, publishers, consortiums, and library faculty and staff on e-resource collections issues.
• Bringing inflation and vendor information to Coordinators to forecast future budget year projections, with a goal of building sustainability into our collection budget.
• Sharing new and relevant research and products related to scholarly publishing and communication, as well as e-resource access and discovery.
• Partnering with the Data Analysis Librarian to collect and analyze publisher and vendor trends and data related to budget, usage, quality, and student/faculty needs.
• Presenting data regularly to team members and stakeholders.
• Collaborating with the electronic resources problem-solving group.

University Libraries faculty work in a collaborative, team-based environment with students, staff, and faculty across campus. Members of the faculty participate in the Library’s instruction program and engage in active programs of scholarship and professional service. The University Libraries offer strong support for professional development activities and for scholarship and professional service.

All Assistant and Associate level employees are expected to meet the criteria for appointment to the rank, and engage in ongoing programs of scholarship and service (requirements are described in Chapter 3 of the Faculty Handbook).

Type of Position: Full Time Position

Appointment Type: 1.0

Number Of Months Per Year: 12

Physical Demands of Position

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Posting Details Information

Proposed Date of Hire: 01/06/2025

Suggested Salary Range

Estimated salary is $54,000- $61,716 for Assistant level and $68,500-$75,242 for Associate level

ABD Consideration:

N/A - ABD is not applicable for this position. See Minimum Qualifications.

ABD Description

ABD with reduction in rank and salary: ABD will be considered for this position. Evidence of successful defense of the dissertation must be received by July 31 for a fall hire or November 30 for a spring hire. If confirmation of defense is not provided by the deadline, the candidate will receive a new one-year fixed-term contract and be hired at the rank of Instructor. The candidate’s salary will also be reduced to a lower rate commensurate with other full-time instructors in the same department. However, if degree verification is provided before the end of the one-year fixed-term contract, the candidate will be returned to the rank of assistant professor with commensurate compensation beginning July 1 of the following academic year.

No ABD consideration: Only candidates with an earned doctorate or terminal degree from an accredited institution will be considered for the position. Since ABD will not meet the minimum requirements, ABD will not be considered.

Special Instructions to Applicants

Applicant must submit:

(1) a cover letter addressing the minimum qualifications and additional areas of interest,

(2) a full C.V. including education and relevant experience,

(3) the name, address, email, and telephone number of three to five references who are knowledgeable about your qualifications for this position

(4) 1 or 2 PDF documents to serve as a sample of the applicant’s work in e-resources or educational data. Examples might be presentations, MLS/MLIScoursework, academic scholarship or research pieces, spreadsheets or assessment tools, or public relations/marketing/communication pieces authored or co-authored by the candidate.

We invite all applicants for employment with Appalachian State University to complete our voluntary Affirmative Action data collection survey. This brief survey can be accessed at https://appstate.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bvFuP3vj6gEUvHf.

Please note this position is based on student enrollment and subject to available university funding.

Estimated salary is $54,000- $61,716 for appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor and $68,500-$75,242 for appointment at the rank of Associate Professor level.

UNC System Code (Section 610(2)) Special Faculty Hires

The continued employment of a special faculty member during the term appointment may be made expressly contingent on items such as the continued availability of funding from any source, on enrollment levels, or any other contingency established by the institution.

UNC System Code (Section 610(2)) Special Faculty Hires

The continued employment of a special faculty member during the term appointment may be made expressly contingent on items such as the continued availability of funding from any source, on enrollment levels, or any other contingency established by the institution.

Posting Date: 08/28/2024

Closing Date: 09/29/2024

Open Until Filled: No

Evaluation of Applications Begins: 09/11/2024

Search Chair Name: John Wiswell

Search Chair Email: wiswellj@appstate.edu

Quick Link: https://appstate.peopleadmin.com/postings/47671

Posting Number: FA00439P