Head of Acquisitions & Collections Strategy

South Carolina State Library; Clemson (SC); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Clemson University Libraries seeks a collaborative Head of Acquisitions to lead a department that manages subscriptions, monographs, and electronic resources. The role oversees a $9.5 million collections budget and directs procurement, assessment, and management across formats.

The position requires an ALA-accredited degree and demonstrated leadership, budgeting, and negotiation experience in an academic library setting. Collaboration with multiple units is essential.

Qualifications

• ALA-accredited graduate degree in librarianship.
• Minimum 3 years of professional acquisitions or collection development experience in an academic library.
• Previous management/supervisory experience.
• Experience with strategic collection development and budgeting.
• Strong oral and written communication and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to foster collegiality, trust, and teamwork.
• Experience negotiating licenses for electronic resources.
• Experience assessing print/electronic resources (usage reports, cost per use).
• Experience working with publishers/vendors of electronic resources.
• Experience with library services platforms in a consortial environment (Ex Libris Alma/Primo VE).
• Knowledge of open access and scholarly communications.
• Ability to present budget and open access information to diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Leads acquisitions operations and processes for materials in all formats.
• Manages the Acquisitions team (≈8 faculty and staff).
• Oversees expenditure of the $9.5 million collections budget.
• Develops fund allocations for collection development areas.
• Chairs the Collections Strategies Cross-Functional Team.
• Collaborates on interdepartmental workflows with Metadata, User Services and Teaching/Learning.
• Leads procurement and management of electronic resources including license negotiations.
• Oversees renewal assessment for individual subscriptions.
• Develops policies for collection development and acquisitions.
• Engages in professional responsibilities serving the Libraries, university, profession, and community.

Skills

Leadership

Budget management

Vendor negotiations

Strategic planning

Communication

Education

ALA-accredited MLS

Tools

Ex Libris Alma

Primo VE

Job description

Clemson University Libraries seeks a collaborative Head of Acquisitions to lead a department that manages subscriptions, monographs, and electronic resources. The role oversees a $9.5 million collections budget and directs procurement, assessment, and management across formats.

The position requires an ALA-accredited degree and demonstrated leadership, budgeting, and negotiation experience in an academic library setting. Collaboration with multiple units is essential.