Director of Information and Library Resources, West Texas A&M

Deadline: FILLED as of Feb. 24, 2010.

West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) announces a nationwide search to recruit a new Director of Information and Library Resources. We seek an academic leader with experience and vision to lead a vibrant, evolving Cornette Library and extend its services throughout the campus. The position is currently open with a flexible start date.

Qualifications: The Director of Information and Library Resources is responsible for providing strong, forward-thinking leadership of the Cornette Library. Applicants must hold an ALA-accredited MLS degree, a second master’s degree or doctorate, and have significant administrative experience in an academic library, including increasing managerial experience, budgeting, and personnel management. Applicants must have knowledge of library automation systems, information technologies, and computer applications in academic libraries.

The applicant must also demonstrate: excellent leadership; superior communication and interpersonal skills; analytical skills; an ability to work collaboratively with both on-campus and off-campus constituencies; a commitment to patron service; active participation in library professional organizations; and an appreciation for current issues and technology trends in academic librarianship, with a vision of how they apply to the services provided through an academic library. A record of scholarly publication or teaching, successful grant writing and other fundraising activities, and strategic planning is preferred.

Application: Electronic submission of applications is required. Review of applications begins immediately, and continues until search is closed. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. Submit your application, vita, cover letter with statement of purpose, and the names of three professional references to: https://www.wtamu.edu/employment. WTAMU is an EO/AA employer. For further information please contact Russell Lowery-Hart, Search Committee Chair at rhart@wtamu.edu.

About Cornette Library: Located in the center of campus, the James and Mary Elizabeth Cornette Library opened in 1974 and has as its mission to provide the University community with access to information resources and to secondarily serve as a cultural and intellectual resource for the regional community. It is a popular and busy student-centered facility with a reputation for providing excellent service and is an integral part of the University’s curriculum and services.

With 100,000 square feet of space, the library offers seating for 300 and houses approximately 350,000 books and bound periodicals and 650,000 government documents. Cornette Library is a depository for both U.S. and Texas documents. It also includes the University Archives and rare book collections in the Texas Poets’ Corner and the Frank M. Blackburn Reading Room. The Hastings Electronic Learning Center, which contains the student computer lab, TTVN classrooms, and teaching labs for faculty and staff, is located in the basement of the library. For further information, please visit http://www.wtamu.edu/library.

About WTAMU: As a member of The Texas A&M University System, one of the largest and most prestigious academic systems in the world, West Texas A&M University enjoys a firmly established reputation as a stable yet progressive, mature, unpretentious institution committed to serving the educational needs of every student.

West Texas A&M University, a state-assisted regional institution founded in 1910, offers 1 doctoral program, 43 master's programs and 60 undergraduate degree programs within a five-college, one-school structure. The University's tree-lined 135-acre residential campus accommodates approximately 800 full-time faculty and staff members and 7,500 students (80 percent undergraduate) representing about 30 states and 35 countries.

West Texas A&M University is located in the heart of the Texas Panhandle in the safe, friendly community of Canyon, population 13,000. This central location makes WTAMU the most accessible university for many residents of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Oklahoma as well as Texas. And the converse is also true - the mountain lakes and ski slopes of the surrounding states provide Panhandle residents with convenient weekend getaways.

Closer to home, Palo Duro Canyon, the nation's second largest canyon measuring 120 miles long and up to 1,200 feet deep and the spectacular setting for the award-winning musical drama "TEXAS", is only 12 miles east and the perfect outdoor playground. If you are seeking bright lights and night life, Amarillo, the region's economic, medical, transportation and cultural center, is only 12 miles north.

Residents enjoy a mild climate with four distinct seasons, yet temperatures remain comfortable most of the year. We receive about 20 inches of precipitation and 270 sunny days annually, and our altitude, 3,600 feet, and constant breeze means clean air and low humidity year round. For further information, please visit http://www.wtamu.edu/about/about-wtamu.aspx.