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Position Description

The University of California, Berkeley, is seeking a creative, self-motivated, user-oriented, and collaborative Acquisitions and Collections Control Librarian to join the technical services team at The Bancroft Library. Reporting to the Associate Director and Head of Bancroft Technical Services, and in collaboration with archivists, curators, UC Berkeley Library Collections Services Division, Scholarly Communications and Information Policy, Library Business Services, and other internal and external stakeholders, the Acquisitions and Collections Control Librarian leads the Acquisitions and Collections Control unit’s operations within Bancroft Technical Services division. They will be responsible for leading unit operations and staff; managing and reporting on collection budget expenditures; ensuring appropriate collections control over acquired materials in all formats; working with curators to identify appropriate materials and secure them through coordination with multiple internal and external colleagues, donors, and dealers; coordinating the pre-custodial workflow process; ensuring ethical practices and accurate documentation; and leading or participating in appropriate meetings and working groups.

The Environment

The UC Berkeley Library is an internationally renowned research and teaching facility at the nation's premier public university. A highly diverse and intellectually rich environment, Berkeley serves a campus community of 30,000 undergraduate students, 11,000 graduate students, and 1,500 faculty. The Library comprises 20 campus libraries, including the Doe/Moffitt Libraries, The Bancroft Library, the C.V. Starr East Asian Library, and numerous subject specialty libraries. With a collection of more than 13 million volumes and a collections budget of over $15 million, the Library offers extensive collections in all formats and robust services to connect users with the collections and build their research skills. Discover more about our collections and services at the UC Berkeley Library website.

The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley, is one of the largest and most heavily used libraries of rare materials in the West. Its holdings include more than 800,000 volumes, 210 million manuscript items, 9 million photographs and other pictorial materials, 86,000 microforms, 9.4 million digital files, and 25,000 maps, as well as numerous other categories of unique material. The two largest collections are the Bancroft Collection of Western and Latin Americana and the Rare Books Collection. The archival and rare book materials of the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life are also part of the Bancroft holdings. Bancroft is home to three research groups: the Oral History Center (formerly the Regional Oral History Office), the Mark Twain Papers, and the Center for the Tebtunis Papyri. The Bancroft Library is an active center of teaching and research. Supporting the programs of about 30 campus departments annually, it mounts a regular series of public exhibitions, roundtable lectures, and open houses.

For additional information, please visit the Bancroft Library website.

Responsibilities

The Acquisitions and Collections Control Librarian is responsible for leading the Acquisitions and Collection Control Unit within the Technical Services Division of The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley. Responsibilities include:

• Management of the Acquisitions and Collections Control unit operations, including work processes, overseeing and coordinating activities of the unit, making work assignments, providing quarterly reporting, and ensuring compliance with Library policies.
• Overseeing collection acquisitions via purchase, gift, transfer, or deposit and ensuring initial physical and intellectual control over acquired materials, including overseeing the coordination and management of logistics and field work (listing collections, packing, shipping, receiving, tracking, and insurance).
• Monitoring acquisitions expenditures, providing bi-weekly expenditure reports, managing the allocation of restricted and unrestricted funds for the purchase of collection materials.
• In close consultation with curators and selectors, implementing and monitoring approval plan purchases and ensures acquisitions align with collection development policy.
• Cultivating and maintaining excellent working relationships with all vendors, dealers, sellers, donors, and depositors, as well as colleagues across the Library, including Bancroft curators, main library selectors, UC Berkeley Library Collection Services Division, and other campus stakeholders.
• Coordinating with Bancroft curators through the pre-custodial process and managing the workflow for contracts and agreements in coordination with the Library Business Services, Library Development Office, Scholarly Communication and Information Policy, and University Librarians Office.
• Ensuring and promoting ethical practices in the acquisition of library materials, guided by the UC Berkeley Library statement of values.
• Maintaining accurate acquisition and donor records.
• Overseeing the preparation of orders, correspondence, and spending reports, serving as an Alma ordering manager with high level responsibilities for collection fund allocations and continuing service order records.
• Providing gift information to the Library Development Office and University Development and Alumni Relations (UDAR).
• Ensuring invoices are approved and paid in a timely manner.
• Participating in standing committees and meetings, including The Bancroft Technical Services Management Committee and The Bancroft Collection Committee and/or assists on projects for committees.
• Serving as supervisor for acquisitions and collections control unit staff, including assisting with recruitment, onboarding, training and development of unit staff; fostering a team approach to the work; establishing metrics, tracking progress, and regularly reporting on the unit’s work; and ensuring team’s work and efforts achieve operational and strategic goals and align with Library priorities and vision.
• Other duties as assigned.

UC Berkeley librarians are expected to participate in Library-wide planning and governance, and work effectively in a shared decision-making environment. Advancement is partially based upon professional contributions beyond the primary assignment; the successful candidate will show evidence or promise of such contributions to the Library, campus, UC System, and profession.

The UC Berkeley Library is committed to supporting and encouraging a multicultural environment and seeks candidates who can make positive and imaginative contributions in a context of ethnic and cultural diversity.

This librarian-manager position is not represented by a bargaining unit and is covered by the UC Academic Personnel Manual (APM).

Librarians are entitled to appropriate professional development leave, vacation leave, sick leave, and all other benefits granted to non-faculty academic personnel. The university has an excellent retirement system and sponsors a variety of group health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans in addition to other benefits.

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The excellence of the institution requires an environment in which the diverse community of faculty, students, and staff are welcome and included. Successful candidates will demonstrate knowledge and skill related to ensuring equity and inclusion in the activities of their academic position (e.g., teaching, research, and service, as applicable).

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

Please refer to the University of California’s Affirmative Action Policy and the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy.

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.