Dean of the Library - Elon University

Elon University has exclusively retained Jack Farrell & Associates (www.jackfarrell.com) to find the winning candidate for this important position. Interested parties should provide a CV and 2-page cover letter by email to Jack Farrell (jack@jackfarrell.com). Please see further below for details on the letter. Thank you.

Elon University

Elon University is a nationally recognized leader in engaged, experiential learning that

prepares graduates to be creative, resilient, ambitious and ethical citizens. Nestled in a

grove of oaks, Elon was founded as "a college for the world," where students find their

calling and reach their full potential within an environment of rich and meaningful

relationships, and where they become big thinkers and creative problem solvers in every

facet of their lives.

Elon's more than 7,000 undergraduate and graduate students learn through hands-on

experiences and close working relationships with faculty and staff whose priorities are

teaching and mentoring. The Elon curriculum is grounded in the traditional liberal arts and

sciences with an emphasis on global experiences and career development. More than 70

undergraduate academic majors are complemented by professional and graduate

programs in law, business, education and health care. Elon is ranked among the top

national universities, with a No. 1 ranking in US News & World Report for excellence in

undergraduate teaching for four consecutive years.

The university's academic divisions include Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences;

the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business; the School of Communications; the Dr.

Jo Watts Williams School of Education; the School of Health Sciences; and the School of

Law, which is located in Greensboro, North Carolina, with a second campus in Charlotte.

Elon's historic 690-acre campus in central North Carolina is designated as a botanical garden and includes the 56-acre Elon University Forest, a land preserve and natural area for scientific research, and Loy Farm, a center for environmental research and sustainability.

Elon is a member of the Coastal Athletic Association. The Phoenix athletics program

includes 17 intercollegiate men's and women's sports in NCAA Division I.

Always evolving, Elon is an academic community that challenges, encourages and

empowers our students to explore their passions, achieve their goals and change their

communities for the better.

The Carol Grotnes Belk Library

Opened in 2000, the Carol Grotnes Belk Library is located at the center of the Elon campus,

close to classrooms, faculty offices, and student housing. The library supports students,

faculty, staff and community members in intellectual, scholarly, and artistic endeavors in

an atmosphere of open and honest inquiry, which reflects the traditions and values of the

university. The library has intentionally centered high-impact educational practices-

activities including service learning, undergraduate research, and internships, to name a

few, that are proven to increase learning success and that serve as a cornerstone of Elon

University's approach to engaged learning. Within the library, this focus prioritizes dynamic

partnerships across campus, close curation of collections for maximum impact,

outstanding levels of outreach and engagement, and a relationship-rich approach to

student success. Long-term building partners include the Center for Writing Excellence

and the Writing Center, the Koenigsberger Learning Center, and Teaching and Learning

Technologies, whose colocation within the building has facilitated deeper opportunities for

cooperation, joint planning, and student support. Located within the Division of Academic

Affairs, the library reports directly to the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Distinctive Library Programs

The Library Instruction and Liaison Program pairs faculty librarians with schools,

departments, and programs on campus to act as a point of contact for research,

recommendations for library purchases, and other departmental needs. The liaison

librarians also assist in the research needs of the department's students and faculty

by teaching subject-specific library research sessions and consulting one-on-one

with individuals.

The Personal Librarian Program at Belk Library matches all new Elon students with

a faculty librarian who is available to help them build the skills to successfully

navigate their academic path during their years at Elon.

The library embraces a Cross-functional Model of Librarianship where staff from

different departments, including archives, collections services, and instruction and

outreach, work together to address user needs, leveraging diverse skillsets across

the library.

Library Statistics (Yearly)

$4.2 million USD budget

22 full-time employees

404 instruction sessions to 7,355 learners

1,755 research consultations

252,455 library visitors

> 1.5 million items, including 260 databases (69,153 full-text journals, 316,015 print

books, 916,588 ebooks)

10,110 physical check-outs, 90,095 ebook and electronic media usages, and 615,788

database users

8,825 interlibrary loans

86,000 square feet of shared academic commons, plus ~4,000 square feet osite storage

Open every day of the week, except for some holidays, and stays open continuously

during the academic year, from 10 a.m-9 p.m. Sunday-Friday and from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. on

Saturday (see https://elon.libcal.com/)

The Dean's Role

Elon University is pleased to accept applications for the role of Dean of the Carol Grotnes

Belk Library. The Dean will advance the culture of engaged intellectual inquiry at Elon

University and support the goals of the university's strategic plan for 2030-Boldly Elon-

through thoughtful and intentional leadership aligned with that vision's four main themes:

Learn, Thrive, Connect, and Rise. Additionally, the Dean fosters collaboration and

experimentation with emerging tools and practices, positioning the library as a leader in

reimagining library services for the future. By embracing emerging technologies, fostering

collaborative partnerships, and anticipating future trends in library services and resources,

the Dean will guide the Carol Grotnes Belk Library in shaping a vibrant and innovative

intellectual environment for the Elon community.

LEARN

"Bold innovation in relationship-driven learning and mentoring."

The Carol Grotnes Belk Library serves as the academic heart of Elon's residential campus,

providing student- and curriculum-driven programs and services responsive to the needs

of Elon's diverse community of learners. The Dean of the Library facilitates this work by:

Ensuring an innovative and future-oriented library instruction program embedded

across the curriculum and spanning disciplines, supporting outreach initiatives that

embrace emerging trends and technologies to engage a broad spectrum of

stakeholders, with particular emphasis on the first-year experience and scaffolded

learning.

Fostering a relationship-rich culture of engagement by encouraging personal

connections with the library's users, centering engaged learning and mentoring, and

being present and available as a resource to the librarians and staff whose work

they direct.

Building and maintaining collaborative relationships with academic departments,

programs across campus, and Elon's various administrative units to align the

library's work with the evolving needs of the university.

The Dean works particularly closely with the library's array of building partners, including

the various offices of the Koenigsberger Learning Center and the Center for Writing

Excellence and the Writing Center, who together seek to serve the university as an

integrated academic commons. The Dean also collaborates closely with the Division of

Information Technology to provide innovative technology support in Belk Library and

maintains strong communication with instructional technologists in Teaching and Learning

Technologies to advance the use of cutting-edge campus technology in support of faculty

and students.

In addition, the Dean serves as a vocal advocate for the library, ensuring it remains a leader

in academic innovation and emerging practices. They bring a library perspective to

university-wide policy and decision-making bodies through membership on the Provost's

Advisory Council, the Academic Affairs Advisory Council, the University Curriculum

Committee, the Graduate Council, the Academic Technology and Computing Committee,

the Faculty Library Committee, the Joint Deans' Council, and other committees and task

forces as appropriate. By guiding the library to anticipate and respond to the rapidly

changing landscape of higher education, the Dean ensures the Carol Grotnes Belk Library

remains at the forefront of scholarly support and innovation.

THRIVE

"Build a healthier and more diverse, equitable and inclusive community, where all students, faculty, and staff experience belonging and well-being."

Elon University has made inclusive excellence a cornerstone of its 2030 strategic plan. To

that end, the Dean of the Library plays a vital role in leading initiatives that support

inclusive excellence within Belk Library, with emphasis on establishing and nurturing a

culture of belonging that welcomes and celebrates the diverse backgrounds, cultures,

experiences, and perspectives of Elon's students, faculty, and staff as well as the wider

community. Furthermore, the Dean ensures that library programs and events are

accessible and responsive to the needs of all of the library's users.

The Dean is also responsible for recruiting, recommending for hire, supervising, mentoring,

and evaluating library staff; fostering their professional development; retaining excellent

employees; and positioning individuals for successful transition to their next professional role. Through these efforts, the Dean continues Elon's tradition of hiring and retaining exceptional faculty and staff.

Among the library staff, the Dean encourages a spirit of innovation by espousing a dare-to-

fail approach to librarianship that values and rewards autonomy, creativity, and

entrepreneurship, ensuring that librarians and staff members feel empowered and

supported no matter the outcome. The Dean models a humane style of leadership that

values the whole person and a growth mindset aimed at benefiting the life and goals of the

university, including the health and well-being of all members of the community.

CONNECT

"Lifelong alumni personal and professional learning and networks, partner with local communities to enhance education, health, and economic development."

The university's commitment to inclusion and belonging extends to Elon University alumni

and the local community, with whom the Dean of the Library seeks to make long-term,

lasting connections, primarily by:

Engaging in the broader life of the Elon University community to support deeper

integration of Belk Library into the life of the campus through appropriate committee

work; support of student, faculty, and administrative events; and service activities

that traverse campus boundaries.

Working collegially with the Dean of the Law Library at the Elon University School of

Law to coordinate joint library systems, maximize benefits from shared resources,

and maintain strong bonds among Elon's distributed library staff.

Assuming responsibility for grants and donations in coordination with the

appropriate university offices.

The Dean oversees outreach initiatives to alumni and community members whose goal is

to invite them to see themselves as lifelong learners and to see the Belk Library as their

partner in that endeavor. Through participation in programs such as Life@Elon, for

community members over 50, and Elon Academy, for high school students in Alamance

County; the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, the campus's "convener of community-based

engaged and experiential learning"; and campus-wide initiatives aimed at improving the

student-athlete experience, the library seeks to leverage its resources for intergenerational

good.

In the alumni space, the Dean of the Library spearheads engagement activities-including

digitization programs in archives and special collections, targeted media, and events-that

remind former students of the rich and varied history of their alma mater.

RISE

"Position university globally, expand admissions footprint, resources for increased access and financial aid, sharply define international reputation and values."

As Elon University seeks to expand its impact globally, the Dean of the Library is called

upon to support a rapidly advancing curriculum in a rapidly changing technological

landscape, with the dual aims of maximizing student success and increasing access. The

Dean helps the library keep pace by:

Anticipating and responding to emerging trends and transformative technologies,

such as AI, machine learning, and digital scholarship tools, to make the best

resources available and accessible in all formats, in all locations, to all users.

Providing library leadership in policy setting, strategic planning, operations, and

setting spending priorities, and working closely with the library leadership team to

cultivate a culture of forward-looking, evidence-based decision making, while

fostering experimentation and creativity.

In particular, the Dean develops and administers the library's long-range plan to ensure

appropriate stewardship of available resources to meet campus needs, while also

engaging in outreach work that continues and extends the library's portfolio related to

international students and Global Studies, and scholarly communications work around

open access and open educational resources, an area supported by the library's nascent

institutional repository (IR) project. They also provide support to and advocacy for the

University Archives and Special Collections and its work around Elon University history and

memory.

The Dean participates in professional development to develop skills, build networks, and

enhance the reputation of Belk Library and Elon University and contribute meaningfully to

the profession of librarianship. They are expected to attend and present original works at

webinars, conferences, meetings, and to publish those works in journals, books, and other

formats.

Living in Elon, North Carolina

Elon's location in the beautiful Piedmont region of North Carolina provides the best of both

worlds-a small, friendly campus surrounded by large metropolitan areas that offer plenty

of opportunities for having fun, living healthy, and taking advantage of cultural attractions.

The university is located in the town of Elon, which has a downtown filled with locally

owned businesses and conveniently located parks, and is the 3rd safest city in North

Carolina.

Elon is adjacent to Burlington, a city of about 50,000 with shopping centers, restaurants,

parks, historic sites, and more. Greensboro is located 20 minutes west of the university.

This city's eco-friendly innovations and outdoor amenities are often covered by state and

national media. Winston-Salem, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh, all centers for

entertainment, sports, the arts, museums, and many other attractions, are within an

hour's drive. A 3-hour drive takes you to the beach and a 2 1/2 hour drive takes you to the

mountains-perfect for weekend adventures.

The nearest major airport is Piedmont Triad International, located in Greensboro, just 30

minutes from campus. Raleigh/Durham International Airport is also convenient, about a

50-minute drive from Elon.

Elon University has exclusively retained Jack Farrell & Associates (www.jackfarrell.com) to find the winning candidate for this important position. Interested parties should provide a CV and 2-page cover letter by email to Jack Farrell (jack@jackfarrell.com). The letter should address: 1) why am I interested?; 2) how am I qualified?, and 3) what might the Belk Library look like in several years under my stewardship and please share your broader vision of the future of academic libraries? Thank you.

The Successful Candidate

The Dean of the Library position is a full-time, 12-month, nontenured administrator with

faculty rank position. Some evenings and weekend work may be required. Relocation assistance is available to the winning candidate.

Education

An MLS degree from an ALA-accredited university is required.

An additional graduate degree is preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Ability to build relationships and work in partnership with multiple constituencies,

including university faculty, administration, staff, and students, as well as the

greater community, including other academic institutions and professional

associations.

Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including experience with decision-

making and negotiation.

Demonstrated commitment to centering diversity, equity, and inclusion as central

values of the work and organization.

Experience

A minimum of 8 years of related work experience in a higher-education library

setting.

Demonstrated progressive leadership and ability to manage a complex organization,

including human, physical, and financial resources.

A record of identifying, assessing, and successfully implementing innovative ideas,

services, and technologies.

A successful history of staff recruitment, development, and team building, and a

record of providing leadership, vision, and professional development opportunities.

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