"Senior Library Specialist"

Senior Library Specialist

Company: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Job Location: Urbana, 61820

Category: Libraries

Type: Full-Time

Senior Library Specialist

International and Area Studies Library / History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Function: As circulation/public service desk supervisor, responsible for overseeing the personnel management and operation of circulation and user assistance functions in HPNL and IASL, including recruiting, hiring, training, directing, and supervising the work of assigned personnel, resolution of employee relations issues and maintenance/approval of records, overseeing complex circulation activities (including resolving and responding to circulation problems), assisting library users by conducting reference interviews, and facilitating access to library equipment and materials; coordinates library emergency procedures relating to HPNL and IASL. Support a dynamic and evolving team environment that seeks to align reference and user services across the two units, participating equally within both units while seeking opportunities to streamline services and improve collaboration to improve patron centers services. Responsible for overseeing preservation activities associated with print newspapers, microforms, and the print circulating collection, including the training of library users and staff in correct handling procedures of large-format materials in both units; liaison to Preservation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Library Management

• Manages operations at both the IASL and HPNL circulation/public service desks, including scheduling student employees, and coordinating staff schedules to ensure coverage during periods when student employees are not available.
• Recruits, hires, cross-trains, supervises, and disciplines undergraduate student assistants to work at both HPNL and IASL. Manages student timesheets and monitors student hourly wage budgets.
• Coordinates library emergency procedures relating to HPNL and IASL.
• Meets regularly with Head of IASL and Head of HPNL.
• Attends IASL and HPNL staff meetings to help coordinate services across units and participate in collective planning and decision making within each unit.
• Promotes increased collaboration between the two units by aligning workflows and policies, and making recommendations for changes that will prepare the units for potential merger.

Preservation and Collection Maintenance Area

• Works with Library's Collections Care Coordinator and other Preservation staff in updating, and implementing, both units' policies and procedures related to the use and preservation of collections.
• Trains staff, student employees, and library users on correct procedures for handling special format and fragile materials.
• Performs initial condition appraisal of building-use only materials that have been requested by library users. Determines whether requested materials are physically stable enough for use.
• Evaluates books and other print resources for preservation/conservation needs, and performs basic repairs.
• Monitors the environmental conditions of the microform stacks and recommends changes as needed in order to maintain the physical integrity of the Library's microform collections.
• Maintains liaison with Preservation supplies coordinator to ensure appropriate expenditure of supplies funds budgeted by Preservation for both units.
• Performs other activities associated with collection maintenance, as assigned.

Public/Information Services Area

• Conducts basic reference interviews with library users, and explains how to access information resources. Monitors student employees' public services interactions and provides support when needed.
• Exercises judgement in referring users to subject specialists for in-depth reference or research assistance, based on subject, format, language, script, and region of information need. Trains students to make appropriate referrals.
• Conducts bibliographic searches for materials to meet user requests and to clarify library holdings using the online catalogs and databases accessible through the LIbrary's web site.
• Guides library users to access information resources in the format that best balances user needs with the preservation needs of the collection.
• Explains library policies to users, including complex policies relating to use of fragile and special format materials.
• Assists library users in using library equipment (including scanners and microfilm readers). Explains technical information such as bit depth, image resolution, file format, file size, and storage options. Works with Digitization Services and Preservation Services to meet user imaging needs that cannot be met with HPNL or IASL equipment.
• Assists library users in determining availability and location of library materials and collections within the library and in other libraries and agencies, and in accessing information from reference sources including print reference materials and online databases. Uses specialized reference tools (and familiarity with idiosyncratic nature of newspaper publishing, collecting, and digitization) to verify and correct inaccurate or incomplete citations to newspaper and other periodical literature, and to refer users to alternative formats when appropriate.
• Acts as liaison to interlibrary loan to fill requests for articles from inadequately or incorrectly cataloged microfilm sets, and to fill requests for articles from newspapers.
• Maintains knowledge of microform collections that have been consolidated in the Stacks Sub-Basement.
• Works with faculty and academic professional and graduate students of both IASL and HPNL to promote each unit's services, events, and collections.

Circulation Area

• Works regular shifts at both the IASL and HPNL fulfillment points, and monitors student employees' work throughout the workday to ensure that library users receive courteous and prompt service.
• Ensures that student workers understand and enact the Library's commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
• Supervises all pick slip requests for on-campus holds, mail option, and off-campus library users.
• Administers, interprets, and implements circulation policies, including fines and lost book billings. Resolves and responds to circulation problems.
• Runs regular reports to identify circulation-related problems requiring resolution.

Minimum Qualifications:

1. High school diploma or equivalent.
2. Any combination totaling two (2) years (24 months) from the following categories:
   1. work experience in a library or equivalent setting.
   2. college course work in any field as measured by the following conversion table
      • 30 semester hours equals one (1) year (12 months)
      • Associate's degree (60 semester hours) equals eighteen months (18 months)
      • 90 semester hours equals two (2) years (24 months)
      • Bachelor's Degree (120 semester hours) equals three (3) years (36 months)
3. A total of two (2) years (24 months) work experience in a library or equivalent setting performing progressively more responsible work consistent with the next lower level of this series.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The job requires a knowledge base in several areas of library operations, including library and university policies that govern the supervision of student workers. Understanding of microform preservation issues, including physical properties of the common twentieth-century film bases and film emulsions, and of preservation and conservation issues relevant to newspaper and similar large-format serial publications, including physical properties of nineteenth- and twentieth-century newsprint, and techniques used by commercial binderies to bind newspapers for libraries. Willingness to learn about non-Roman-language materials. Knowledge of Alma fulfillment. Knowledge of Alma analytics. Knowledge of policies governing document deliver/interlibrary loan and Digitization Services. Knowledge of resources and techniques associated with specialized reference services. The incumbent must have the ability to apply methods, practices and policies developed for the library setting, and the skill necessary to synthesize, supervise and train others in them. Importance is placed on good verbal and written interpersonal skills to interact with a diverse community of coworkers and users. Competence with and the initiative to learn, computer-based skills used in the performance of the different duties of the job are essential. Knowledge of both digital and print resources is critical to success in this position.

Responsibility

A. Supervisory Controls: Priorities are based on observed and expected needs assessed in the context of the Library's mission. Incumbent organizes their own work and that of student workers, based upon immediate needs of the library users and the units.

B. Guidelines: This position operates under guidelines derived from manuals, instruction materials, written regulations, and policy statements issued by the University, the Library Administration, and the unit Heads of HPNL and IASL from time to time as applicable and specific to the performance of the job.

Difficulty

A. Complexity: Day to day demands require the ability to assess workflow needs, adjust scheduling accordingly, and effectively balance and perform many tasks concurrently, across two units in separate physical locations. The supervisory duties of the position require leadership skills appropriate to managing workers who are full-time students. The position requires careful evaluation and judgment to identify correct bibliographic entries using the Library Catalog and other bibliographic tools as an expert user. It also requires the ability and willingness to develop specialized knowledge about library materials and collections. Providing for user needs and interpreting needs that are not always fully or coherently articulated, is very important. Using judgment in determining the need for referring to subject and functional specialists in assisting users with their information needs is also very important.

B. Scope and Effect: The purpose of the job is to provide services to library users, to participate in the library operations, to help ensure the long-term integrity of the Library's collections, and to support the professional staff in the orderly rendering of circulation, reference, and computer and technology services as provided by the unit, which in turn affects the Library as a whole.

Personal Relationships:

Personal Contacts: Frequent face-to-face, telephone) and written (via email or paper) contact takes place with a wide variety of library users and during a range of duties. Interpreting the needs of the units includes proposing, organizing and chairing meetings or training sessions with librarians, library staff and student workers. Ability to work with a diverse group of faculty and staff distributed across two complementary units of the library.

Purpose: These contacts are made for the purpose of providing technical support, answering circulation and reference questions, providing information, giving instruction, and working closely with users, librarians, library staff and student workers.

Environmental Demands:

Physical Requirements: Some moving and lifting of books and other library materials is necessary. Ability to handle oversized print newspapers, including bound print newspapers, wrapped print newspapers, and individual print newspaper issues.

Work Environment: The job is performed in an office and in a reading room environment. The Senior Library Specialist works in close proximity with a variety of others, including co-workers, students and faculty, library users from the community, and visiting researchers.

Appointment Information

This is a 100% full-time Civil Service Traditional Non-Exempt, Senior Library Specialist position, appointed on a permanent basis. The expected start date is as soon as possible after the close of the search. The budgeted salary for the position is $55,243.50.

Sponsorship for Work Authorization Not Available.

For more information on Civil Service classifications, please visit the SUCSS web site at https://www.sucss.illinois.gov/pages/classspec/default.aspx.

Application Procedures & Deadline Information

Applications must be received by 6:00 pm (Central Time) on August 14, 2025, to ensure full consideration. Please create your candidate profile, upload a cover letter, your curriculum vitae or resume, and the names and email addresses of four professional references by the close date. If required by the position, transcripts or other documentation of credentials are to be provided no later than the first day of employment. In order to be considered as a transfer candidate, you must apply for this position. Applications not submitted through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered. For further information about this specific position, please contact Amy Dannowitz at amydanno@illinois.edu. For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.

The University of Illinois offers a very competitive benefits portfolio, depending on the position. Click for a complete list of Employee Benefits.