DIRECTOR, ONLINE LIBRARY ENVIRONMENT
University of Virginia Library
The University of Virginia Library seeks a strong technical leader for the position of Director of our “online library environment,” a comprehensive suite of tools and services to provide access to the Library’s physical and digital collections. We seek candidates who can successfully architect and implement solutions providing faculty and students a cohesive, innovative environment for accessing information used in research, teaching, and learning.
Environment: The University of Virginia Library (http://www.lib.virginia.edu) is a leader in innovative customer service, an international leader in digital library research and digital scholarship, and is recognized for the strength and variety of its collections. The Library system consists of twelve libraries, with independent libraries for health sciences, law, and business. The libraries support 12,000 undergraduates, 6,000 graduate students and 1,600 teaching faculty. The University and the Library have a strong commitment to achieving diversity among faculty and staff. The Neoclassical buildings of founder Thomas Jefferson’s Academical Village still serve as the center of the University’s Grounds (http://www.virginia.edu/uvatours/slideshow/) and as a unique backdrop for teaching, learning, and research.
Responsibilities: The Director of the online library environment is responsible for leading the development and implementation of emerging information technologies as well as managing daily operations for the Library’s access and delivery applications. The Director will head a newly formed department of software developers and librarians in carrying out this activity. She or he will have oversight of all aspects of the Library’s Integrated System (ILS – Sirsi/Dynix Unicorn) and will lead development of an information architecture that provides cohesive access and delivery. She or he will assess, architect, and implement new ways to provide content and workflow services traditionally provided by an ILS and develop gateways to other information resources such as the Library’s electronic resources and institutional repositories.
The Director will:
- provide leadership and vision that ensures easy, reliable online access to a wide array of collections, information, and services in support of research, teaching and learning;
- provide technical leadership in the design and implementation of all aspects of the software and infrastructure for ongoing development projects. Provide technical guidance to developers and systems administrators on project requirements as needed.
- manage the daily operations environment for the Library’s access and delivery applications; design and implement technical enhancements to the Library’s ILS infrastructure to meet current and future needs.
- supervise the daily work of both faculty and classified staff positions;
- collaborate with and provide technical guidance to partners within the Library and among entities that require access to Library content;
- and engage professionally in activities related to librarianship and digital scholarship.
Qualifications: Master’s degree in Library Science or master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Information Sciences or related area. Successful candidates should have demonstrated significant and progressively responsible experience managing positions with a range of technology-specific and administrative responsibilities. Experience in libraries or information organizations is preferred. Preferred candidates will also have:
- demonstrated understanding of digital library concepts and standards (e.g., metadata standards, media-specific standards);
- experience in systems design and systems architecture;
- demonstrated experience in the implementation of Open Source software and tools; these tools include, but are not limited to:
- Enterprise Java development
- Ruby scripting language or equivalent
- Ruby on Rails
- Solr
- Tomcat
- Unix, Linux, AIX preferred
- an understanding of and commitment to library technologies;
- the ability to communicate clearly, both verbally and in writing;
- demonstrated ability to manage and lead information technology staff and projects as well as departmental priorities;
- demonstrated knowledge of emerging technologies and related research; these include but are not limited to:
- Blacklight
- Fedora/DuraSpace
- Evergreen
- Koha
- other Open Source and proprietary systems related to online library environments
- strong interpersonal skills;
- and a customer-service orientation.
Salary and Benefits: Competitive depending on qualifications. This position has general faculty status with excellent benefits, including 22 days of vacation and TIAA/CREF and other retirement plans. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants must apply through the University of Virginia online employment website at https://jobs.virginia.edu/ Search by position number FP674, complete application, and attach cover letter and resume, with contact information for three current, professional references. For assistance with this process contact Library Human Resources at (434) 924-3081.
The University of Virginia is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer strongly committed to achieving excellence through cultural diversity. The University actively encourages applications and nominations from members of underrepresented groups.