Head of Access Services

Apply now Job no:497110
Work type:Faculty Full-Time
Location:Denver, CO
Categories:Library Professionals, Business Operations / Services, Admin / Executive / Office Support, Faculty
Division: Sturm College of Law

The University of Denver Sturm College of Law is a national leader in experiential legal education, a recognized innovator in legal pedagogy, and the home of multiple nationally recognized programs, including a Top 15 program in legal research and writing. Housed in a state-of-the-art, LEED Gold facility on the campus of the University of Denver, the Westminster Law Library (“Law Library”) supports cutting-edge faculty research, trains students in legal research across multiple subject matter areas, and familiarizes students with a range of technologies relevant to modern-day legal practice.

Position Summary

A member of the Law Library’s management team reporting to the Associate Director, the Head of Access Services is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Law Library’s access services functions. Responsibilities include managing the circulation of materials, including reserves and interlibrary loan; hiring, training, scheduling, managing, and backing up the part-time hourly workers who staff the Law Library’s circulation desk; overseeing the Law Library’s part-time Weekend and Evening Circulation Supervisor; maintaining the stacks, signage, and other relevant aspects of the Law Library’s facility; assisting members of the law faculty in promoting their scholarship; serving as a liaison to various student-edited law journals to help facilitate their use of research-related materials; and forging beneficial connections within and outside the Sturm College of Law.

This position will be classified as either a faculty or staff position depending on the qualifications, interests, and corresponding responsibilities of the successful candidate. A candidate appointed to a faculty position will require a JD degree (or its equivalent) and a commitment to regular teaching in the law library’s Certificate in Legal Research Program and in an area of advanced or specialized legal research within the Sturm College of Law. At the University of Denver, faculty positions in the Professorial Series in University Libraries are eligible for a long-term contract and are subject to the University’s Policies and Procedures Relating to Faculty Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure .

Essential Functions

• Participating in the Law Library’s management team, along with the Director, the Assistant Director, and the Head of Technical Services.
• Working closely with the Assistant Director in areas such as access services planning, budgeting, monitoring, and assessment.
• Establishing and executing upon new policies, procedures, and workflows in the area of access services, as well as regularly evaluating the effectiveness of such services.
• Planning, developing, coordinating, managing, and participating in the day-to-day access services functions of the Law Library, including overseeing the circulation of materials, including reserves and interlibrary loan.
• Maintaining the stacks, signage, and other relevant aspects of the Law Library’s facility.
• Hiring, scheduling, training, managing, and backing up the part-time hourly workers who staff the Law Library’s circulation desk, including regular approval of their time in the University’s electronic timekeeping system.
• Supervising the work of the Law Library’s part-time Weekend and Evening Circulation Supervisor.
• Managing and participating in the daily operations of the Law Library’s resource sharing programs, including interlibrary loan and Prospector.
• Providing high-quality service at a combined circulation and reference desk and contributing to the Law Library’s continuing implementation of its integrated library system, including better configuration and utilization of the circulation module.
• Marketing the services and resources of the Westminster Law Library both inside and outside the Sturm College of Law, including helping faculty members promote their scholarship and serving as a liaison to student-edited law journals.
• Staying abreast of new developments in library access services, including innovative ways to use technology to improve relevant workflows.
• Serving as the primary contact for building management issues (e.g. facilities requests, technology-related troubleshooting, weather-related issues, and security) and taking a leadership role within the Law Library in addressing such issues as they arise.  
• Serving on relevant University- and unit-level committees.
• Performing other duties, as assigned.

For Faculty Appointment Only:

• Teaching in the Law Library’s Certificate in Legal Research program, an optional legal research training program reflected on student transcripts that currently supports three different legal research certificates (basic, specialized, and international).
• Teaching a law school course, preferably in an area of advanced or specialized legal research.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The following skills are critical to success in this position:  

• A strong customer service orientation and the ability to establish and maintain effective and collaborative working relationships, both inside and outside the Law Library.
• A strong commitment to innovation, including comfort with technology and proficiency in a variety of library-related technologies used to support access services, including online catalogs and interlibrary loan platforms, or a demonstrated potential for rapid growth into such skills.
• Supervisory and training skills or a demonstrated potential for rapid growth into such skills.
• Strong analytical ability and problem-solving skills and the capacity to exercise independent judgment and work on an independent basis.
• Excellent time management, organizational, and project management skills.
• Attention to detail, timeliness, and dependability.
• Flexibility, resilience, and the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• The ability to work flexibly and collaboratively with a diverse community of faculty, students, staff, and other patrons.
• An ability to work evenings and weekends.

For Faculty Appointment Only:

• Legal research proficiency, including knowledge of key legal research sources and how best to use them in a variety of formats.
• Strong presentation skills in both one-on-one and group settings, or the demonstrated potential for rapid growth into such skills.

Required Qualifications

• MLS in Library & Information Science (or equivalent) from an ALA-accredited institution. (Note: A bachelor’s degree and substantial relevant work experience may substitute for the MLS degree.)
• Prior experience supervising full-time, part-time, or hourly staff.

For Faculty Appointment Only:

• JD (or equivalent) from an ABA-accredited law school.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior work experience in an academic library or a law library.
• Prior work experience in academic services.

Physical Activities 

Working Environment

Work Schedule

Negotiable, but a nontraditional schedule will likely be required due to the scope and nature of responsibilities in the access services area.

Application Deadline

For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) March 15, 2024.

Special Instructions

Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary Grade Number:
The salary grade for the position is UC.

Salary Range:

The salary range for this position is $68,000 - $80,000, with the higher end of the range anticipated for appointments to a faculty role.

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.

Benefits:
The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver .

Please include the following documents with your application:
1. Resume
2. Cover Letter
3. Contact information for three professional references

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. The University of Denver prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University's educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; Equal Pay Act; Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Workers' Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement .

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.