Student Success and Outreach Librarian

Location: Hickory, North Carolina

General Description/Primary Purpose

The Carl A. Rudisill Library of Lenoir-Rhyne University seeks a dynamic and student-centered individual to serve as the Student Success and Outreach Librarian. This is a full-time, 12-month, non-tenure-track faculty position located on the Hickory, North Carolina, campus. In this role, the librarian will lead efforts to enhance student engagement, support academic success, and foster a welcoming and inclusive environment through proactive programming and services. This position also provides critical oversight of evening staffing, supervises student library assistants (SLAs) and graduate assistants (GAs), and contributes to library instruction and outreach initiatives that align with the university’s mission and strategic priorities. Rank is based on experience and determined by the provost; promotion per the Lenoir-Rhyne University Faculty Handbook.

The Student Success and Outreach Librarian will:  

• Support all Lenoir-Rhyne University faculty, students, and staff, as well as community members with library privileges, by providing access to appropriate resources and services.
• Promote a culture of student engagement and success through inclusive programming and collaboration with campus partners.
• Supervise and mentor SLAs and GAs, providing training and oversight to ensure effective library support during both day and evening hours.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to build a library environment that prioritizes excellence in library services.
• Operate within the guidelines of applicable laws, university policies and national library standards.

Lenoir-Rhyne University promotes a welcoming campus environment that is integral to the university's commitment to excellence in engagement and education. We are particularly interested in candidates who have demonstrated experience nurturing a welcoming community, working with faculty, staff, and/or students from all walks of life and/or incorporating varied perspectives and traditions in their current or previous positions. This commitment is rooted in our Lutheran tradition of fostering wisdom, nurturing vocation, and preparing students for lives of purpose while serving the common good.

Specific Job Functions

• Student Success and Engagement
• Lead student success initiatives that integrate library services into the academic and co-curricular lives of students.
• Develop and deliver programming that supports information literacy, academic resilience, and campus belonging.
• Engage in cross-campus collaborations with units such as academic support offices, residence life, multicultural affairs and student affairs to promote library services.

Supervision and Staffing

• Hire, train, and supervise SLAs and GAs.
• Oversee training of SLAs by using the LMS for materials, organizing pre-semester training sessions, regularly updating training content, and annually hiring and training of a GA.
• Manage student worker employment functions via the payroll system and monitor the SLA budget to ensure spending aligns with available funds.
• Oversee day-to-day student worker scheduling, coverage and coordination of replacements as needed to ensure continual coverage of the service desk, filling in as needed.
• Coordinate evening coverage by assigning SLAs and/or GAs and serve as evening librarian as needed.
• Ensure library service continuity and support after traditional business hours.

Instruction and Research Support

• Collaborate with faculty and other librarians to integrate information literacy into academic programs.
• Teach library instruction sessions and workshops using best practices in pedagogy and the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.
• Maintain LibGuides and other instructional resources related to student success.
• Provide reference and research assistance in a variety of modalities, including in-person, video calls, chat, and email.

Outreach and Communication

• Plan and execute outreach events and marketing efforts that promote library services and student engagement.
• Maintain a strong campus presence to raise awareness of the library as an academic and social resource.
• Record and report annual statistics and outcomes of hosted events.

Service and Professional Development  

• Pursue continuing education and professional development activities to strengthen individual competencies, improve library operations or contribute to the field.  
• Fulfills university expectations for campus participation and shared governance and engages in community service.

Additional Duties and Tasks

• Participates productively in shared collection development responsibilities, particularly collection management of health sciences resources.
• Participates productively in library-wide planning, assessment, and special projects.
• Provides circulation, technology troubleshooting, and other general assistance as needed.
• Supervises the library in the night and weekend rotation as necessary.
• Provides circulation and other general assistance as needed.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Education:  

• Required: Master's degree from an ALA-accredited library/information science program.

Experience:  

• Three or more years of professional library experience is preferred but not required, preferably in an academic environment.
• The position is open to recent MLS/MLIS graduates.

Other preferred requirements:

• Considerable knowledge of library collections and operations.  
• Commitment to the continuing improvement of high-quality services to library users.
• Demonstrated experience using effective assessment tools and analyses.
• Experience with current reference practices and technologies and proficiency in providing reference assistance, utilizing a wide array of online and traditional library resources.
• Familiarity with online catalogs, electronic library collections, chat services, course-management systems, social media, and web-authoring tools.
• Knowledge of marketing and outreach and current trends in libraries in higher education.
• Knowledge of and use of ACRL's Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, and of general library instruction theory and practice.
• Demonstrated teaching experience and familiarity in a variety of pedagogical techniques and with creating instructional and information materials such as online tutorials, surveys, and research guides preferred; interest required.  
• Experience with instructional or educational technology.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, are required.
• Strong problem-solving and team-building skills are required.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively both independently and collaboratively.  

Application Process

While completing the application, candidates will be prompted to submit a:

• Letter of Application specifically discussing how one’s professional experiences and perspectives relate to the needs of the position.
• Resume or Curriculum Vitae, including the names and addresses of three references
• Brief statement (one page maximum) about how the candidate would contribute to the mission of the Lenoir-Rhyne University Libraries to “advance academic excellence across the Lenoir-Rhyne community by providing access to knowledge, research support, and welcoming spaces that foster intellectual growth, curiosity, and lifelong learning” and to “serve as an essential partner in fulfilling the university’s commitment to holistic student development”.

The university’s mission, vision and values statements may be reviewed on the university's About page. To ensure full review, completed applications must be submitted by August 22 and the search will continue until the position is filled. Any questions regarding the position or the search process should be submitted electronically to the Dean of the Lenoir-Rhyne University Libraries, Dawn Behrend, at dawn.behrend@lr.edu.

About the Lenoir-Rhyne University Libraries

It is the vision of the Lenoir-Rhyne University Libraries to be the destination for information for our communities. In support of the mission of the University, the Lenoir-Rhyne University Libraries provide exceptional physical and virtual environments to engage our communities in learning.  

About Lenoir-Rhyne University 

Lenoir-Rhyne University is a co-educational, private, comprehensive liberal arts institution founded in 1891, with its traditional campus located in Hickory, North Carolina, a city of more than 40,000. The university has additional graduate centers in Asheville, N.C., and Columbia, S.C. Situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Lenoir-Rhyne is less than an hour’s drive from Charlotte, and the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population of about 365,000. The university now offers more than 45 undergraduate and 20 graduate degree programs to approximately 2,400 students. Lenoir-Rhyne University seeks to liberate mind and spirit, clarify personal faith, foster physical wholeness, build community, and promote responsible leadership for service to the world. Affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Lenoir-Rhyne is open to people from all religious and non-religious backgrounds.

Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity Policy

Lenoir-Rhyne University is committed to providing a workplace and educational environment, as well as other benefits, programs, and activities that are free from discrimination, harassment and retaliation.  

LR is committed to creating a safe campus environment for all members of the LR community, including, but not limited to, those who identify as transgender and gender non-conforming. To that end, LR does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex (including sex stereotypes and sex characteristics), ethnicity, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, marital status, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran or military status or any other characteristic or status protected by applicable law.

To ensure compliance with federal and state civil rights laws and regulations and to affirm its commitment to promoting the goals of fairness and equity in all aspects of the educational program, activity and employment, LR has developed internal policies and procedures that provide a prompt, fair and impartial process for those involved in an allegation of discrimination or harassment, and for allegations of retaliation.

LR values and upholds the equal dignity of all members of its community and strives to balance the rights of the parties in the grievance process during what is often a difficult time for all those involved. 
 

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