Reference/Access Services Librarian

Title: Reference/Access Services Librarian

Position Type: Staff Full-Time

Days Per Week: Monday - Friday

Hours Per Week: 40

VP Area: Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs

Department: Elon University School of Law

Location: Elon - Greensboro Campus

Position Summary

The Elon University School of Law Library is located in Greensboro, NC. The Law Library attempts to fully meet the educational and research needs of the Elon Law community, including students, staff, faculty, and adjuncts. The Law Library also serves as a source of legal information for the Elon Law alumni base, practicing attorneys in Greensboro, and provides limited services to the general public. The Reference/Access Services Librarian – Law position is part of the law library staff of seven (7) positions.

Key responsibilities of this position include supervision of the Access Services department and providing reference and legal research instruction.

As the head of the Access Services department, this position plans, organizes, and directs Access Services activities including opening/closing the library, setting library hours (in consultation with the library director), circulation of library materials, managing course reserves, overseeing inter-library loans, and stack maintenance.

This librarian will manage a full-time staff member, the Circulation Paraprofessional. They will also hire, supervise, train (along with the Circulation Paraprofessional), and schedule shifts for student workers.

In addition, this position determines both the circulation and reference schedules, assigning in-person desk shifts as well as virtual reference shifts. The role will also maintain and share shift calendars for both departments with staff and student workers. They will be responsible for collecting and maintaining statistics for both service points.

This role manages all social media accounts for the library. They will serve on the library's Student Engagement Committee to support student experience initiatives in the library.

A large portion of the role requires co-teaching (and occasional individual teaching) in the library instructional program along with three other professional librarians, including the library director. This group creates and updates all library instructional materials. They also serve as reference liaisons to our faculty.

Benefits of Working at Elon

As an Elon University employee, you’ll join an internationally acclaimed university with a commitment to fostering a thriving community. Ranked among the most innovative, creative and best-run universities in the nation, Elon’s personal approach to education extends to employees, whose growth, professional development and success is a hallmark of our training and advancement opportunities.

Elon University’s home is the charming town of Elon, North Carolina, a small, friendly community located a short distance from the beach and the mountains, and among the vibrant cities of Greensboro, Raleigh and Durham. In addition to the beautiful canopy of historic oak trees iconic to our campus, you’ll find boundless opportunities for family-friendly recreation, cultural events and outdoor activities. Hiking, water sports, fine dining and entertainment are just a few of the many happenings in the Elon area, making the region one of the nation’s premier travel destinations.

Employees at Elon enjoy a generous and comprehensive benefits package that includes:

28 annual days off, including holidays and vacation.

Immediate tuition remission for undergraduate courses

Tuition remission for approved graduate-level courses after 12 months of employment.

Retirement plan with an 8 percent contribution from the university.

Immediate eligibility for health, dental and vision insurance, along with free acute care and lab services at our onsite Health & Wellness Clinic.

Free use of campus fitness facilities.

Free admission to musical and theater performances, guest speakers, religious and ethnic observances, recitals, art exhibitions, entertainment and our Division I Phoenix athletics.

Eligibility for tuition remission at Elon for spouses, qualifying domestic partners and dependents begins at two years of service. After two years of employment, eligibility begins for participation in the Tuition Exchange, a national scholarship exchange program that enables dependents to enroll in nationally recognized partner colleges and universities.

Elon values and celebrates the diverse backgrounds, cultures, experiences and perspectives of our community members. As an equal opportunity employer, Elon’s principles of diversity extend to race and gender identity, age, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, religion, and other aspects of one’s identity. At Elon, our employees respect human differences, passion for lifelong learning, emphasis on personal integrity and an ethic of service.

Minimum Required Education and Experience

Master's degree in Library/Information Science and Juris Doctor law degree are required.

Combinations of education and work experience will be considered. All applicants must have a JD degree. JD holders without an MLIS will be considered if a candidate has library experience or qualifications.

Desired 2+ years of professional library experience, particularly with some supervision experience. New graduates are also encouraged to apply.

Some flexibility in scheduling may be needed 2 to 4 weeks during the academic year. Summer months (June, July, and August) may also require some flexibility in schedule. Hours may change if the library is open for reduced hours.

As this role oversees the opening and closing of the law library, hours may sometimes vary to maintain staff coverage during hours of operation. Hours may also vary due to student worker availability.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Competencies:

• Expertise in use of legal databases and conducting legal research.
• Experience in teaching law students.
• Growth-mindset with a desire to develop leadership skills.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Strong ability to effectively and professionally communicate verbally and in writing.
• Ability to self-start with a high degree of initiative.
• Ability to work autonomously with onsite supervision and peer support available.
• Strongly value team-building, collaboration, and inter-departmental relationships.
• Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills and be willing to work effectively with others to achieve common goals.
• Demonstrate flexibility to address the unique service and support needs of the environment.
• Flexibility in scheduling and work hours.
• Demonstrate excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Ability to work well under stress and to meet deadlines.
• Ability to multitask and prioritize.
• Positive attitude towards learning and using technology.
• Ability to collect, organize, and analyze department data.
• Ability to serve in a diverse and inclusively excellent environment.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office software and basic office equipment.
• Confidence in troubleshooting technology issues as they arise.

Job Duties

• Manages Access Services and schedules all library service points
  • Supervises one full-time staff position, the Circulation Paraprofessional. The paraprofessional position will support the Access/Reference Librarian – Law in all access services responsibilities as needed and appropriate.
  • Planning, organizing, updating, and directing Access Services activities including opening/closing the library (updating hours using LibCal), setting library hours (in consultation with the library director), circulation of library materials, managing course reserves, overseeing inter-library loans, managing study room reservations, stack maintenance, and maintaining departmental documentation.
  • Hiring, supervising, training (along with the Circulation Paraprofessional), and scheduling student workers.
  • Serving as the main point of contact for any student worker or staff Circulation shift-related changes or library coverage issues.
  • Scheduling, updating, and managing library calendars with shift coverage for both Circulation and Reference Desks (including virtual reference). Collecting and maintaining statistics for both service points.
  • Actively supporting the student experience initiatives of the law library, specifically through management of the library social media accounts.
  • Other access services duties as needed and/or assigned.
• Teaches in the Legal Research program and develops instructional material for both credit-bearing and non-credit instruction.
  • Teaching first year Basic Legal Research is a requirement of regular job duties. Other teaching may be required as needed. This program uses the co-teaching model, with some opportunities for individual instruction. Co-teaching entails two professional librarians (including the director) sharing classroom instruction and grading responsibilities for a given section of first year Basic Legal Research. Individual instruction opportunities could be informal sessions with a group of students or presentations in other faculty courses. If further instructional aspirations desired, they can be proposed for approval.
  • Providing informal instruction to students, faculty, student groups, or other populations as needed. (Example: Providing a “how to select a note topic” presentation for Elon Law Review students).
  • Working with our Charlotte Flex part-time program and full-time program to provide reference and legal research instruction. Teaching first year Basic Legal Research in Charlotte on a rotating basis may be required (the course is taught over ten (10) weeks in the fall terms).
  • Collaborating with other reference librarians and the library director to create and update legal research instructional materials, with a particular focus on Artificial Intelligence developments.
  • Other instructional duties as needed and/or assigned. 
• Provides general reference and research assistance to Elon Law students and faculty.
  • Staffing specified shifts for reference desk services and virtual/chat reference.
  • Creating and updating legal reference materials (e.g. instructional infographics, LibGuides, etc.)
  • Attending regular reference meetings. Collaborating on reference projects as assigned and as needed.
  • Updating reference documentation including the reference manual and other processes or procedures.
  • Creating passwords for public computer use and troubleshooting technology issues with computer systems.
  • Providing limited reference guidance to public patrons.
  • Other reference duties as needed and/or assigned.
• Participates in the library faculty liaison program, acting as the primary contact for assigned law school faculty and adjuncts.
  • Providing in-depth research assistance to faculty members.
  • Training faculty Research Assistants.
  • Creating subject matter bibliographies.
  • Creating and updating LibGuides to supplement faculty courses.
  • Providing credentials and instruction for library database usage.
  • Other faculty service duties as needed and/or assigned.
• Participates in assigned and voluntary library committees. Contributes to policy management and development in collaboration with other library staff.
  • Participating in the library’s Collections & Acquisitions Committee.
  • Participating in the library’s Student Engagement Committee.
  • Participating in the drafting, updating, and maintaining of library policy documents with other library staff.
  • Other committee and policy duties as needed and/or assigned.
• Inclusive Community Building 
  • Community is foundational to Elon and a shared responsibility for all who work at the University. Employees should demonstrate an understanding of and engagement with Elon’s foundational commitment to relationships, mentoring, and collaboration in a close-knit community. Accordingly, employees are expected to join together and build connections in activities that foster an active and engaged campus environment and engage in professional development to support the shared responsibility of enriching diversity, equity, and inclusion through meaningful relationships and mentoring at Elon. Employees are encouraged to, for example, attend or participate in campus events such as Coffee and Conversation or College Coffee, Numen Lumen, campus cultural events, athletic events, continuing education, professional development opportunities and trainings, employee resources groups, and other university-sponsored and/or Elon Law sponsored activities to demonstrate an active commitment to the Elon community. Attending at least three (3) professional development sessions per year.

Special Instructions to Applicants: Please provide a list of three (3) professional references. References will not be contacted without applicant permission nor prior to screening interviews.