Description

Butler University Libraries invites applications for the position of Head of Resource & Systems Strategies. This position provides leadership and vision for Butler Libraries’ collections, systems, and scholarly communication work. They lead a six-person department responsible for library acquisitions, resource sharing, electronic resource management, collection management, and scholarly communication. This position collaborates with the Dean of Libraries and department heads in strategic planning, the setting of library priorities, policy formulation, personnel management, budget allocation, and the development and implementation of strategies to best carry out the mission of the Libraries. As a library faculty member, the position also has liaison responsibilities: to provide library instruction, collection development, and research support for a selected college or department(s). This is a 12-month, continuing (non-tenured) faculty appointment and reports to the Dean of Libraries.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Coordinate the workflows of librarians and staff in the Resource & Systems Strategies (RSS) department (Electronic Resources, Interlibrary Loan, Collection Management, Acquisitions, and Scholarly Communication), to operate as a cohesive team supporting user-centered information access for the Butler community
• Effectively steward and manage the Libraries' collections budget
• Provide oversight for library systems and technology platforms, including advocacy for user-centered and accessible online interfaces, collaboration on the continuous improvement of existing systems, and vision for future system development
• Lead the Libraries’ strategy for providing access to content and collections in support of the academic and student community as indicated by the Collection Development Policy, including management and maintenance of physical collections, management of license agreements, oversight of the technical administration of electronic resources, as well as resource sharing and publishing
• Collect, maintain, and interpret statistical data relating to library collections, systems, and scholarly publishing to inform strategic goals and decision-making
• Represent the library in a leadership capacity at the University level; communicate the library's strategic priorities and collaborate on university-wide committees and initiatives to support and further the university's strategic vision
• Serve as liaison librarian to assigned departments/programs, delivering course integrated instruction, collection development support, and reference/research services to students, faculty, and staff of the assigned areas
• Demonstrate a commitment to improving professional skills and awareness of current issues and trends in academic librarianship through professional development activities such as: participation in and contribution to professional library organizations at the local, state, regional, or national level; developing research and/or presentation and publication projects in an appropriate area of expertise
• Other functions as requested by the Dean of Libraries
• Engage and collaborate within the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) consortium, which provides the Libraries’ core systems, by contributing to consortia initiatives and providing expertise to other PALNI libraries
• Work with the Dean of Libraries and department heads in the development of strategic and operational initiatives and continuous assessment of programs

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Master’s of Library/Information Science from an ALA-accredited institution
• Minimum of 5 years of academic library experience in acquisitions, systems management, e-resources, or scholarly communication with increasing levels of responsibility
• Experience with or demonstrated understanding  of e-resource knowledge bases, open access repositories, MARC/RDA, LC Classification, and core library systems (e.g. ILS/LSP, discovery systems)
• Knowledge of copyright, intellectual property, and other policy issues affecting the management and licensing of scholarly content
• High-level project management experience
• Personnel supervision or management experience
• A strong service orientation and a demonstrated commitment to staff development and equal opportunity in the workplace
• Professional and scholarly achievements appropriate for appointment at the Assistant or Associate Professor rank

Preferred Qualifications:

While not everyone may meet all preferred qualifications, the ideal candidate will bring many of the following:

• Five or more years of post-MLIS professional academic library experience with increasing levels of responsibility, in two or more of the following areas: acquisitions, systems management, e-resources, and scholarly communications
• Collaboration on consortia-wide projects, including system migrations or shared print retention agreements
• Budget management experience 
• Demonstrated understanding of or experience with institutional repositories, scholarly publishing, or open access
• Familiarity with relevant emerging technologies (e.g. generative artificial intelligence tools for research and/or discovery)
• Experience delivering information literacy instruction 
• Reading knowledge of another language besides English
• Previous academic promotion to rank of Associate Professor, meeting guidelines in Butler's Library Faculty Bylaws

Required Materials:

Applicants for the position should submit:

• A letter of interest
• Curriculum Vitae
• The names and contact information for three professional references
• A reflection on how you would approach information literacy instruction (one page or less)

Inclusive and evidence-based pedagogy is expected at Butler University. Please indicate your previous experience with or commitment to these practices in your information literacy instruction reflection.

Review of applications will begin October 20, 2025 and continue until the position is filled. The earliest anticipated start date is January 2026.