Special Collections Library Manager

                           Department: Regional Services

Pay Grade: 115

FLSA Status: Exempt

JOB SUMMARY

The Special Collections Library Manager is responsible for developing, promoting, planning, organizing, directing, and overseeing the Carnegie African American Resource Library and the Kaye Kole Genealogy Room at the Bull Street Library. This position will involve establishing collection profiles and selection guidelines to build the resource collection, evaluating existing collection strengths, and fostering effective relationships with vendors, organizations, communities, individuals, and colleagues to develop collections. The Special Collections Library Manager reports to the Deputy Library Director and has two direct reports with a total of five employees.

Success in this role will require excellent relationship-building skills to ensure that the collections align with institutional priorities and that programmatic offerings impact the Savannah communities served through these collections. The incumbent will select materials for acquisition in all appropriate formats through donation or purchase in alignment with the priorities of the Live Oak Public Libraries. The librarian will attend to the big-picture goal of building the collection and the day-to-day administrative details necessary to realize acquisitions successfully. The incumbent will establish long-term relationships with donors to support the library’s financial capacity to acquire and care for its collections. The librarian will actively promote engagement with the collections in collaboration with the Branch Manager, Community Engagement, and the Communications & Marketing departments. An employee assigned to this classification, under general direction, performs professional library work, supervises the work of branch managers, librarians, and library support staff; assists the Director of Public Services in analyzing applicable policies and procedures; may chair and/or participate on system-wide committees to assist in the development of policies and procedures on a regional level; assists with training new branch managers; performs related duties as assigned. 

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS 

Collection Development and Stewardship

1. Develop library collections in accordance with current collection development strategies by selecting materials in all appropriate formats.

2. Develop and maintain relationships with donors and potential donors of collections.

3. Steward donors and sellers throughout the acquisition process, including sharing information about the process, negotiating acquisition terms, acquiring necessary paperwork (such as deeds of gift or sale), and managing relationships over time.

4. Oversees collections budgets, as allocated, and properly monitors budgets.

5. Report on collection development activities to ensure that colleagues throughout the organization are aware of priorities and new acquisitions and contribute data to library assessment and reporting activities.

Engagement and Outreach

1. Collaborates with the Communications and Community Engagement departments to promote the Carnegie collections through events, exhibitions, digital scholarship projects, presentations, publications, articles, announcements, and other means, engaging the LOPL service area community with the African American collections.

2. Leads Carnegie and Kaye Kole tours and show-and-tell sessions for individuals or small groups as requested.

3. Develop up-to-date information about African American collections for LOPL, the Kaye Kole and Carnegie Library websites, and digital projects.

4. Develops, builds, and leads programming that supports and highlights the special collections.

Reference and Instruction

1. Collaborates with Public Services and Community Engagement to plan, implement, and assess instruction sessions.

2. Schedules staff and serves on the Kaye Kole and Carnegie Library public service desks.

3. Train staff on the use of collections and archival documents of the Kaye Kole Room and Carnegie Library

4. Provides reference assistance in person and by phone to the public as needed and assigned.

Managerial Responsibilities

1. Oversight of five staff members with direct supervision of two.

2. Conduct annual performance evaluations of direct reports.

3. Coaches, mentors, and counsels staff positively and proactively, ensuring individuals can develop a broad knowledge of library operations and services and specialized skills.

Fundraising Duties

1. Collaborate closely with the library’s development and strategic partnerships offices to develop and maintain relationships with donors and foster financial support for acquiring, processing, and engaging African American collections.

2. Support or lead grant writing aligned with African American collection initiatives in the Rose

•  ALA-accredited master’s degree in Library and Information Science.
• Minimum of four years of experience.
• Ability to build and sustain generative relationships with donors, cultural institutions, state, regional, and federal agencies, and foundations to support and extend the impact of African American collections.
• Ability to build and sustain effective interpersonal relationships with library staff, board members, funders, stakeholders, partners, and community members.
• Evidence of analytical, organizational, communication, project management, and time management skills, with a demonstrated ability to set priorities, meet deadlines, and complete tasks and projects on time, within budget, and in accordance with task/project parameters.
• Demonstrated proficiency and capabilities with personal computers and software, the Web, and library-relevant information technology applications. Working knowledge of standard office computer applications, such as Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, or other productivity software.
• Commitment to fostering a diverse educational environment and workplace, with the ability to work effectively with a diverse staff and community population.
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, future-oriented environment and respond effectively to evolving needs and priorities.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience working with special collections as well as archival principles and practices. 
• Evidence of active participation, involvement, and leadership in local, state, regional, national, or international professional or scholarly associations.
• Sophisticated interpersonal skills and ability to convey and attract support for the library’s mission.
• Excellent attention to detail, administrative experience, and ability to manage and track budgets and expenses.
• Strong teamwork skills and a commitment to promoting a collaborative environment of trust, inclusion, and transparency.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in African American history and culture.
• Experience promoting engagement with African American archival and historic collections.
• Knowledge of current trends and issues in libraries, archives cultural institutions, and relevant subject disciplines.
• Experience providing and managing library services, with a progressively increasing scope of responsibility in an academic, public, or cultural heritage organization, and a successful record of leadership, demonstrating the ability to foster an organization-wide perspective that ensures effective stewardship of available resources.
• Evidence of competence in strategic planning, introducing and managing change in complex environments, budget planning and administration, human resources management, and facilities and space planning and management in complex organizations.

Licenses or Certifications:

• Possession of a Georgia State Certification of Librarian license is required, or the ability to obtain it within 6 months of hire.
• Valid driver’s license and insurability required. Must have reliable transportation to be able to travel between library locations.

Special Requirements:

• Must be able to work nights and weekends, stand for extensive periods during the workday, and perform duties at other library locations.
• An employee in this class must be physically able to operate various job-related machines and/or office equipment and move or carry job-related objects and materials

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:  

• Must possess interpersonal skills to work effectively with multi-level staff, patrons, and community group members from all socioeconomic, educational, literacy, and cultural backgrounds.
• Creates strong morale and spirit in his/her team. Fosters open dialogue. Defines success in terms of the whole team. Creates a feeling of belonging in the team.
• Empowers others and creates a climate where people want to do their best. Invites input from each person and shares ownership and visibility.
• Adept at process management; knows how to organize people and activities. Can simplify complex processes, see opportunities for synergy and integration, and apply appropriately to get more out of fewer resources.
• Uses problem-solving methods, as well as honest analysis, to solve difficult problems. Can see hidden problems and looks beyond the obvious to get to the core issue. Investigates a variety of sources for answers.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills with proven ability to lead.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Work is typically performed with the employee sitting at a desk, standing for extending periods, or bending/stooping. The employee must be able to lift and carry up to 50 pounds routinely, climb ladders, stand for extended periods, walk within and outside branch locations, reach, bend, and stoop. A full range of hand and finger motion is required for data entry purposes. The ability to distinguish color is required for network wiring purposes. Additionally, the following physical abilities are required:

• Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling while walking, standing or crouching on narrow, slippery, or erratically moving surfaces. The amount of balancing exceeds that needed for ordinary locomotion and maintenance of body equilibrium. 
• Crouching: Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine.
• Feeling: Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips. 
• Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm. 
• Handling: Picking, holding, or otherwise working, primarily with the whole hand. Must have the ability to place records, files, and boxes weighing no more than 25 pounds on shelves about head level. 
• Manual Dexterity: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling. 
• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound. 
• Hearing 2: Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound. Must have the ability to hear well enough to carry on a normal conversation with clients both in person and on the telephone. 
• Kneeling: Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees. 
• Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles. 
• Mental Acuity: Ability to make rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes. 
• Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion. 
• Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward. 
• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction. 
• Repetitive Motion: Substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers.
• Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely. 
• Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time. 
• Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles. 
• Visual Acuity 1: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading. Must have the ability to see well enough to interpret data on a computer monitor. 
• Visual Acuity 2: Including color, depth perception, and field vision. 
• Visual Acuity 3: Visual Acuity to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned or to make general observations of facilities or structures.
• Visual Acuity 4: Have visual acuity to operate motor vehicles and/or heavy equipment. 
• Visual Acuity 5: Possess close visual acuity to perform activities such as visual inspection involving small defects, handling small parts, operating machines, using measurement devices, and/or assembling or fabricating parts at distances close to the eyes. 
• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable someone with a qualifying disability to perform the essential functions of the position.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Typical office/library environment. Some fluctuations in building temperature related to HVAC problems can cause uncomfortable periods of heat or cold. Some periods of elevated noise levels. Some stress related to the type of work being performed may be encountered e.g., pressure related to periods of high-volume activity and multiple demands.

The work week is 40 hours. While after-hours and holiday availability are not typical, they are required. This is a salaried exempt position.

Live Oak Public Libraries can revise this job description at any time. This description does not represent in any way a contract of employment.

It is the policy of the Library to provide equal employment opportunities to all people in all aspects of employer/employee relations without discrimination. Live Oak Public Libraries, Georgia Prepared: