Director, Library

Anne Arundel Community College; Arnold; On-site; GBP 91,000 - 114,000; Full time

Job summary

Anne Arundel Community College seeks a Library Director to provide executive leadership for the library and learning resources program. You will set strategic direction, lead a team, and align priorities with the college’s mission and academic programs.

You will oversee budgets, contracts, and procurement, build partnerships across the institution, and advance information literacy, OER, and student success with strong collaboration and data-driven decision making.

Qualifications

• MLS/MLIS or equivalent from an ALA-accredited institution.
• At least five years of progressively responsible library experience; minimum three in leadership roles.
• Experience directing library operations, services, collections, and initiatives.
• Experience administering budgets and managing financial resources.
• Experience supervising and developing staff; hiring and performance management.
• Experience managing electronic resources, library systems, and licensing.
• Ability to collaborate with faculty and administrators to support student success.
• Use of assessment and data-informed practices to improve services.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership, strategic vision, planning, and operational oversight for library services and facilities.
• Direct development, organization, and assessment of library collections and learning resources.
• Manage budgets, contracts, licensing, and procurement; steward resources responsibly.
• Lead recruitment, onboarding, supervision, evaluation, and professional development of library staff.
• Collaborate with faculty and partners to advance information literacy, OER, and student success.
• Direct assessment, reporting, and compliance related to library services and institutional effectiveness.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Communication

Change management

Collaboration

Education

MLS/MLIS or equivalent, ALA-accredited

Tools

Library Systems

Vendor & contracts

Job description

Title: Director, Library

Department: Library

Campus Location: Arnold/Main Campus

Salary Range: $123,469-$154,336

Work Mode: This position requires regular in-person presence on campus and at alternative locations, depending on class schedule and other assigned duties.

Hours Per Week: 40

Position Type: Full-Time Staff, Exempt

Position Summary

The Library Director serves as the administrator for the College’s library and learning resources program, providing vision, leadership, and stewardship to ensure the library advances institutional goals, robustly supports information literacy and research, and responds to the evolving needs of students, faculty, staff, and community. The position is responsible for setting strategic direction, fostering innovation, guiding organizational effectiveness, and ensuring alignment of library priorities with the College’s mission, strategic plan, and academic programs. The Library Director leads a team of library faculty and staff professionals, manages significant financial and operational resources, and cultivates collaborative partnerships across the institution and external organizations. The position serves as the library’s principal representative and advocate, providing leadership in resource development, service excellence, policy implementation, assessment, accountability, and continuous improvement while promoting equitable access to information, intellectual inquiry, and student success.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership, Administration, and Library Operations

Provide executive leadership, strategic vision, planning, assessment, and operational oversight for all library services, programs, collections, technologies, facilities, and initiatives. Establish priorities, goals, and performance measures that align with the College's mission, Strategic Plan, accreditation requirements, student success goals, and emerging trends in higher education and librarianship. Uphold and advance intellectual freedom.

Library Resources, Services, and Technology Management

Direct the development, acquisition, licensing, organization, preservation, accessibility, and assessment of library collections and learning resources. Oversee reference, instruction, collection development, systems, cataloging, and circulation to ensure effective support for teaching, learning, workforce development, research, and lifelong learning.

Financial, Contract, and Resource Management

Develop, administer, and monitor operating, capital, technology, collection, grant, and project budgets. Manage contracts, licensing agreements, vendor relationships, consortium memberships, and procurement activities. Negotiate agreements, monitor expenditures, establish funding priorities, and ensure responsible stewardship of institutional resources.

Personnel Leadership and Organizational Development

Direct recruitment, hiring, onboarding, supervision, evaluation, coaching, employee relations, succession planning, and professional development activities for library faculty, staff, student employees, and temporary personnel. Foster a collaborative, inclusive, service-oriented culture that promotes employee engagement, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Institutional Collaboration, Academic Partnerships, and Advocacy

Collaborate with faculty, academic leadership, student services, information technology, instructional design, and community partners to advance information literacy, Open Educational Resources (OER), student success, digital learning, and innovative teaching initiatives. Represent and advocate for the library on institutional committees, strategic initiatives, accreditation activities, professional organizations, consortia, and community partnerships.

Assessment, Compliance, and Institutional Effectiveness

Direct assessment, reporting, data analysis, accreditation support, policy compliance, copyright and licensing oversight, and evidence-based decision-making related to library services, collections, student learning outcomes, and operational effectiveness. Ensure protection of data privacy in library services and vendor agreements. Ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, contracts, accessibility standards, and effective professional practices.

Facilities, Community Engagement, and External Relations

Oversee library facilities planning and operations, including coordination of maintenance, security, emergency preparedness, and capital improvements. Promote awareness of library services, support donor and grant opportunities, and maintain relationships with external organizations, professional associations, and community stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Library Science (MLS), Library and Information Science (MLIS), or equivalent graduate degree from an American Library Association (ALA) accredited institution.
• At least five years of progressively responsible professional library experience, including a minimum of three years in a leadership, management, or supervisory role within an academic library.
• Experience directing library operations, services, collections, technologies, and strategic initiatives.
• Experience administering budgets and managing financial resources in a complex organizational environment.
• Experience supervising, developing, and evaluating employees, including responsibility for hiring, onboarding, performance management, and professional development.
• Experience managing electronic resources, library systems, vendor relationships, contracts, and licensing agreements.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with faculty, academic administrators, students, and staff to support teaching, learning, information literacy, and student success.
• Experience using assessment, analytics, and data-informed practices to evaluate services and support decision-making.
• Knowledge of legal, ethical, and professional standards related to academic libraries, including copyright, accessibility, privacy, and intellectual freedom.
• Demonstrated leadership, communication, organizational, and relationship-building skills with the ability to influence and build consensus among diverse stakeholders.
• Demonstrated commitment to the mission of a community college and the role of a library in supporting instruction and lifelong learning.

Preferred Qualifications

• Seven or more years of progressively responsible academic library leadership experience.
• Community College experience.
• Additional graduate degree in higher education administration, business administration, leadership, management, instructional technology, or related discipline.
• Experience leading accreditation activities, institutional effectiveness initiatives, and strategic planning processes.
• Experience with Open Educational Resources (OER), scholarly communication, open access initiatives, and alternative licensing models.
• Experience securing and administering grants, donor funding, or external funding sources.
• Experience working with library consortia, resource-sharing networks, and cooperative purchasing organizations.
• Experience working in a unionized environment.
• Experience managing emerging technologies that support digital learning and library operations.
• Record of professional service, scholarship, presentations, publications, or leadership in regional, state, or national library organizations.
• Proficiency in Spanish or another language that supports engagement with diverse populations.

Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) is committed to enriching the educational experience it offers through the diversity of its faculty, administrators, and staff members. The college seeks to recruit and support a broadly diverse team who will contribute to the college's excellence, diversity of viewpoints and experiences, embrace concepts of equity and inclusiveness, and support the equal rights of all people by advancing the understanding and appreciation of differences including age, race, gender, ability, religious convictions, socio-economic status, ethnic heritage, or sexual orientation.

While we appreciate your interest in employment with Anne Arundel Community College, applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. on a full-time basis. Employment-based visa sponsorship (including H-1B sponsorship) is not available for any position.

Pay dates occur on the 7th and 22nd of each month. If those dates fall on a weekend, the pay date occurs on the Friday prior to the 7th and 22nd. As an employee of the college, you are eligible for a comprehensive benefits package.

In the best interest of the College, only individuals who are residents of Maryland or one of the following states will be eligible for employment at the college: Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia or the District of Columbia. The college will annually review this restriction and, if appropriate, expand the list of states of employment eligibility.