Job’o’th’Week (Experienced Edition)

Associate Director, Law Library 

Help Wanted

The Organization

University of the District of Columbia – David A. Clarke School of Law is the USA’s most clinically-oriented law school, one of the nation’s most diverse law schools, and is devoted to recruiting and training students who are committed to public service. Its legislatively mandated mission is to to recruit and train as lawyers students from racial, ethnic and other groups traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession and to do so, to the degree feasible, through the representation of low-income people and the public interest in a clinical setting.

The Position

The Associate Director is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Law Library. The incumbent uses independent judgment and demonstrates expertise in the field by recommending policies, procedures, and systems reflecting professional criteria. The Associate Director is responsible for ensuring that the resources allocated to the unit will reflect an efficient level of service.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

  • Oversees the day-to-day operations of the law library.
  • Plans, develops, coordinates, oversees, and participates in the delivery of the law library’s public services, including reference, research, instruction, and access services.
  • Supervises and evaluates all employees under his/her administrative supervision.
  • Provides vision, oversight, and leadership of public services in the law library, including regular assessment of policies, procedures, and workflows related to the effective delivery of library services and makes recommendations based on those assessments.
  • Manages the law library’s hiring, training, and oversight of student and other hourly workers in public services roles.
  • Teaches in the law school’s first-year legal research curriculum with the potential to also teach advanced legal research courses.
  • Assists in the development of the law library’s budget.
  • Participate on the law library’s collection development team and engage in regular evaluation of the law library’s collection priorities.
  • Develops performance standards for resource utilization and service based on established professional criteria.
  • Prepares reports of the law library’s public services.
  • Develops strategies for staff development and implements steps to accomplish them.
  • Reviews personnel matters and recommends actions in accordance with established policies.
  • Assists with identification of library funding needs and ideas for creative funding sources, including grants for which the law library may be eligible.
  • Assists with the planning of facilities to accommodate services and collections.
  • Performs reference duties as required, possibly including evening and weekend reference shifts.
  • Oversees faculty research support.
  • Promotes the services of the law library throughout the academic community and among cooperating institutions.
  • Engages in outreach with an eye toward possible partnerships within the larger university and the local legal community.
  • Serves on law school and university-wide committees and task forces as appointed.

Ready to make an impact in the world of higher education? Check out the posting on PSJD.