Acquisitions and Licensing Librarian

Description

The Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries invites applications and nominations for the position of Acquisitions & Licensing Librarian. The Acquisitions & Licensing Librarian will (1) provide oversight and direction for the Resource Acquisition unit which includes four staff positions; (2) forecast, manage, and reconcile the VCU Libraries collections budget in excess of twelve million dollars; (3) interpret and negotiate licenses for the Libraries' collections in accordance with the VCU Libraries Values in Publisher Relations; (4) and cultivate close collaboration with all stakeholders across the collection management and electronic resource management lifecycles. The Acquisitions & Licensing Librarian will join 5 faculty and 6 professional staff as a member of the Resource Acquisition and Metadata Services (RAMS) department. The successful candidate will join a culturally and academically diverse faculty of the highest caliber.

Located in culturally diverse, historic, and dynamic Richmond, Virginia, convenient to the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the recreation destinations of the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Commonwealth University is one of Virginia's largest universities and among the nation's leading research institutions. VCU Libraries, one of Virginia's outstanding research library systems, advances the University's teaching, research, service, and patient care mission with comprehensive digital and print collections and nationally recognized innovation in its facilities, advanced media and technology resources for its community. In February 2018, the Association of College and Research Libraries recognized VCU Libraries with the ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award.

Diversity and Inclusion

VCU's commitment to diversity is one of the institution's unique strengths. Our student body is one of the most diverse in Virginia in terms of race and ethnicity and socioeconomic status, and one of the four themes of our Quest 2028 Strategic Plan is "Diversity driving excellence." The United States Department of Education has designated VCU as a minority serving institution effective July 1, 2022. VCU is committed to building an increasingly diverse faculty and leadership team, and is actively engaged in partnerships with diverse communities in the Richmond metro area. VCU Libraries is purposeful in our efforts to advance diversity and inclusion and expects that the Acquisitions & Licensing Librarian will be a leader in fostering a welcoming atmosphere for all members of the VCU community. The successful candidate will receive support for research, service, and professional development and will have ample opportunity to pursue diversity and inclusion related opportunities in those areas.

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Head of Resource Acquisition & Metadata Services, the Acquisitions & Licensing Librarian provides oversight and direction for all acquisition staff and workflows, and performs the licensing of electronic resources. This position will:

• Supervise and develop a staff of four, three direct and one indirect reports, who are responsible for ordering, receiving, and accounting for all library collection resources.
• Exercise budget oversight over all collections funds, including those from varied sources and with various expenditure rules.
• Collaborate with Department Head, consortial partners, and University Procurement Services in negotiations with publishers and vendors to secure terms aligned with our VCU Libraries Values in Publisher Relations and national best practices in library licensing (i.e. Library Accessibility Alliance, ASERL Eleven).
• Develop and compile expenditure analyses to ensure transparency and fiscal compliance with all university, state, and federal requirements and annual external statistics.
• Design and continuously improve efficient processes to leverage the workflow engine of the libraries integrated library system, Alma, including integrations between Alma and third-party vendor platforms and systems such as book vendors (i.e. GOBI, ProQuest, Midwest), serials vendors (i.e. EBSCONET), OCLC, etc.
• Design and continuously improve accurate processes for the stewardship of collections funds and expenditures across complex enterprise systems, including e-procurement (i.e. Jaggaer/Realsource), purchase card (i.e. Bank of America Works) and finance (i.e. Banner, SAS, Blackbaud) systems.
• Manage license agreements, including Alma's license repository.

The faculty of the Resource Acquisition and Metadata Services department are educators. This position will advance library acquisition and licensing education through hands-on training, intern supervision, and other professional development activities. Faculty with the VCU Libraries are evaluated, and promoted, on the basis of job performance, scholarship, and service.

Qualifications

Required:

• ALA accredited graduate degree or accredited graduate degree in another appropriate discipline;
• Supervisory experience;
• Experience in acquisitions, in collections, or e-resources management in libraries; or, experience in non-profit accounting, in contract administration, or in public procurement;
• Experience reading and interpreting contractual clauses;
• Advanced knowledge and experience using spreadsheets (Excel, Google Sheets, Smartsheet);
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment or commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU.

Preferred:

• Experience with Alma library management system and Alma Analytics;
• Experience developing and sustaining productive vendor relationships;
• Experience in negotiation;
• Experience leading projects with collaborative teams, workflow development, and writing documentation;
• Experience with the acquisition of print and electronic books as well as knowledge of workflows and best practices in the changing landscape of library acquisitions;
• Knowledge of relevant library technical standards and protocols such as MARC, EOD (Embedded Order Data), and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange);
• Familiarity with trends in acquisitions within research library collections, the role of consortia, and academic publishing.

Candidates need not meet preferred qualifications to be fully considered. We value many individual and unique skills that would strengthen the VCU Libraries and our teams.

Salary: Salary commensurate with experience, not less than $70,000 annually. This is a full-time, non-tenured faculty position. 12-month faculty benefits apply, including 24 vacation days annually and choice of retirement and annuity plans. Relocation assistance, as well as a professional development allowance is also available. For more information about benefits, see the Faculty Benefits page.

Interviews: Initial interviews will be conducted virtually. We anticipate inviting finalists to campus.

Learn about the position in an online information session:
We are hosting information sessions for interested applicants in advance of the January 31, 2025 review date.

Please consider joining one of these sessions to learn more about the position, meet the supervisor, Amanda Echterling; and get answers to your questions about the position.

Join one of our information sessions via Zoom:

Friday, January 17, 2025 from Noon to 1pm EST.

Monday, January 27, 2025 from Noon to 1pm EST.

The attendee list for each Zoom session will be hidden and those asking questions may do so anonymously. Live captioning will be provided. To attend a session, please complete the confidential form to receive a Zoom link.

Questions? Please contact Amanda Echterling, Head, Resource Acquisition & Metadata Services, at [email protected]

Virginia Commonwealth University and the VCU Libraries

As one of only 71 public universities with academic medical centers to be designated by the Carnegie Foundation as "Community Engaged" with "Very High Research Activity," Virginia Commonwealth University ranks among Virginia's largest research universities, enrolling over 29,000 students. Located in the heart of Richmond, VCU offers 42 doctoral, 68 masters, 3 professional, and 68 baccalaureate degree programs. Thirty-four of VCU's graduate and professional programs are ranked by U.S. News & World Report as among the best in the nation, with 29 programs ranking in the top 50 and sculpture and nurse anesthesia ranked number one. Over 2,500 faculty comprise the University's teaching force. Research strengths at the University include health and life sciences, education, engineering, social work, behavioral sciences, public affairs, advertising and design, and the fine arts. Sponsored research funding totals over $360 million, placing VCU among the top 100 research institutions in the United States.

Libraries at Virginia Commonwealth University, including the James Branch Cabell Library on the Monroe Park Campus and the Health Sciences Library on the MCV Campus, employ over 65 professionals and 80 staff with annual expenditures exceeding $22 million. VCU also operates academic programs in Doha, Qatar, supported by a library there, and in various locations throughout the U.S. and the world. The VCU Libraries is a member of the Association of Research Libraries, the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, Center for Research Libraries, Coalition for Networked Information, National Digital Stewardship Alliance, Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, and the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA), a statewide networking consortium for shared access to electronic and print resources, as well as a Resource Library in the Network of the National Library of Medicine, among others. The VCU Libraries uses the following packages for its system architecture: Alma, Primo, Islandora, Digital Commons, ArchivesSpace, ILLiad, and Omeka.

The Monroe Park Campus of VCU is located in Richmond's Fan District, a large, residential neighborhood of townhouses, shops, and cafes. The campus is home to most of the University's undergraduate and many of its graduate programs, including the School of the Arts, the Colleges of Humanities and Sciences, and Engineering and the Schools of Business, Education, and Social Work. The School of Social Work also offers the Masters of Social Work at the Northern Virginia Campus in Alexandria, Virginia. In addition, VCU's Qatar campus in the Middle East offers degree programs through the School of the Arts.

For more information about the VCU Libraries, please visit our home page at http://www.library.vcu.edu/. Review of applications will begin February 7, 2025 and will continue until the position is filled. To apply, go to https://www.vcujobs.com/, complete the application and submit a cover letter, CV/resume, and the names, email addresses, and telephone numbers of three professional references.

Virginia Commonwealth University is an urban research institution with a richly diverse university community and commitment to multicultural opportunities. Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to education and employment without regard to age, race, color, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, veteran's status, political affiliation or disability.