Career Center

Bard College invites applications from dynamic, collaborative and innovative library leaders to serve as Director of Libraries.
 

Bard is a private liberal arts college with 1,800 undergraduate students based in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Ninety miles from New York City, the beautiful 1,000-acre campus sits along the Hudson River with views of the Catskill Mountains. In addition to the college, Bard has a conservatory, as well as eight graduate programs offering over 20 graduate degrees in the arts and sciences, and is home to the Fisher Performing Arts Center and the Hessel Museum of Art. The college has a network of over 35 affiliated programs, institutes, and centers throughout the United States and around the world. This includes the Bard Prison Initiative, the largest college-degree-granting prison education program in the U.S. With a reputation for scholarly excellence and civic engagement, Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow's thought leaders. The College seeks to inspire curiosity, a love of learning, idealism, and a commitment to the link between higher education and civic participation.
 

The Director is responsible for the management of library services, facilities, collections and critical partnerships. The Director will be an active partner in and contributor to campus life and administration; a leader in developing new ways to respond to and to anticipate the diverse needs of students, faculty, and staff; an advocate of the thoughtful application of emerging technologies toward equitable access to collections and services. They will lead a flexible, responsive, collaborative team. The Director will develop a budget infrastructure that balances comprehensive annual operating budgets with an active pursuit of alternative funding sources (experience, for instance, with grant writing).
 

The Director oversees the Stevenson Library and Annandale sites including the Levy Economics Institute Library, the Bard Visual Resources Center and the Historical Collection and Archives at the Montgomery Place Campus, coordinates programs, policies and operations with Bard's libraries and collections housed at locations other than the main campus (New York City, Berlin and Palestine), and acts as an active library services advisor to the college's affiliated national and international programs, including Open Society University Network. The Director reports to the Dean of the College. 

Essential Duties

• Directs all aspects of library operations including: program and policy development, collections, finance, personnel, long-range planning, and facilities (including a projected library extension)
• Works closely with campus leadership
• Works closely with Bard Information Technology especially on expanding digital initiatives related to collections, collection access and instruction
• Represents library practice and policy to a variety of campus constituents, and others in the wider community
• Supports the library's core mission in supporting student preparation for learning by maintaining and expanding important partnerships with college staff engaged with instruction and student services
• Focuses on eliminating opportunity gaps, advancing student success, and promoting racial equity, social justice, and intercultural engagement
• Maintains and expands collaboration with consortia and other groups for resource sharing, print archiving, group purchasing, and other initiatives
• Coordinates staff development toward preparing the staff to be adaptive, imaginative, appropriately skilled, and self-critical
• Collaborates with other key campus leaders concerning assessment, metrics and data use

• Master's degree in Library and Information Science required; additional graduate degree in an academic discipline desirable
• Five or more years of experience with increasing administrative responsibilities in an academic library
• Commitment to generous and energetic campus service
• Exemplary and demonstrated oral and written communication skills
• Deep understanding of the use of technological systems, including emerging technologies, integrated library systems, Open Education Resources, and archival collections management systems
• Strong commitment to liberal education and to advancing the college's stated goals for diversity, equity and inclusion
• Experience working with diverse audiences and leading DEAI work, both relating to library collections development and user engagement and outreach
• Command of best practices in library science and archival management and willingness to iterate upon them to enhance accessibility and discoverability

Desired Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience with grant-seeking to advance library special projects
• Proven track record of effective resource management and experience with library planning and renovation
• Experience promoting and fostering a supportive environment built on appreciation, recognition, learning and professional growth

Please submit a CV, cover letter, diversity statement and list of three professional references to Interfolio at: http://apply.interfolio.com/119367

Applications will be reviewed as received.

Bard College is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from those who contribute to our diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, mental, or physical disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, familial status, veteran status, or genetic information.

Bard is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for all individuals in employment practices, services, programs, and activities.

About Bard College

Building on a 150-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College's mission has expanded across the country, around the world, and to meet broader student needs.Now, approximately 2,000 undergraduates study in Annandale and more than 200 graduate students study in Bard programs, plus nearly 1,000 students in our early colleges. Total enrollment for Bard College and its global affiliates is approximately 5,000 students. The undergraduate program at our main campus in the Hudson River Valley of upstate New York retains a reputation for scholarly excellence and civic engagement. We are committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow's thought leaders.

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