Reference Librarian

Reference Librarian

Department: Law Library

Rank and Salary: Associate Librarian to Full Librarian ($75,964 – $116,341)

Position Availability: July 1, 2021

Application deadline for first consideration: June 23, 2021

Functional Title: Reference Librarian, Law Library

The UCLA Law Library seeks a Reference Librarian to join a team that provides reference and research services at the Law Library, which serves the Law School faculty and students as their basic library and study resource for instruction and research.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion are core values of the University of California and key components of the University’s commitment to excellence. 

Position Duties

Under the general direction of the Director, Reference & Research Services, Reference Librarians provide a high level of in-depth research assistance to the UCLA Law faculty, staff, and students, including Law School departments and deans. This level of commitment offers the librarian an opportunity to work closely with many different individuals and units within the Law School.

In addition, Reference Librarians supervise faculty research assistants, provide reference desk service, prepare and maintain research guides, and actively participate in the teaching of legal research courses and workshops throughout the year. Reference Librarians may be assigned to an area of concentration or to projects that vary according to library needs and the Librarian's individual talents and interests. This position may also serve as a liaison to selected deans, department heads, clinics, and/or faculty members. There is the potential for the Librarian to lead the Reference Department’s outreach efforts.

To effectively perform the above duties, Reference Librarians must possess a vast, in-depth knowledge of complex legal resources, covering a variety of jurisdictions in a variety of formats, in addition to a familiarity with research tools and applications in non-law academic disciplines.

Specific duties and responsibilities may include:

• Provide in-depth research assistance to Law faculty, departments, committees, and students,
• Prepare research memos and provide cite checking and editing services to support faculty research and scholarly projects,
• Serve as library research liaison to selected Law School deans, departments, clinics, programs, and/or faculty,
• Assist in the training of research assistants,
• Provide ongoing support and supervision to a group of research assistants,
• Participate in library orientation programs,
• Prepare and maintain research guides,
• Perform reference desk service,
• Teach legal research classes as needed, including Advanced Legal Research, 1L instruction, undergraduate instruction, LLM/MLS training, journal editor training, research refreshers, and other workshops, clinics, and seminars,
• Work on outreach efforts, such as marketing reference and research services to the law school community and overseeing the social media presence of the reference and research services group,
• Contribute to the profession and represent the UCLA Law Library in the academic, scholarly, and professional community,
• Serve as a member of the Law Library team and work to further the overall goals of the Law Library, and
• Perform other duties as assigned

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science or equivalent
• D. from an ABA-accredited law school
• Minimum five years’ experience working as a law librarian or as a legal practitioner
• Demonstrated knowledge of legal information sources and related technologies
• Demonstrated proficiency in computer applications for legal research
• Demonstrated competence in delivering legal research services and knowledge of legal bibliography and scholarly research
• Firm commitment to law librarianship and to a high level of service for faculty and students in a demanding academic environment
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work effectively with library colleagues, faculty, students, and other library users and to contribute to making the library hospitable and responsive to the needs of the Law School community
• Ability to teach in large and small group settings, provide individualized instruction, participate in curriculum development, use a wide range of educational technologies, and contribute to the development of instructional services for faculty, students, and library staff.

Applicants with all the above basic qualifications and any of the following preferred qualifications or professional experiences are strongly encouraged to apply: (1) Experience supervising research assistants; and (2) Experience in outreach and social media.

General Information

Professional librarians at UCLA are academic appointees. Librarians at UCLA are represented by an exclusive bargaining agent, University Council – American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT). This is a represented position. They are entitled to appropriate professional leave, two days per month of vacation leave, one day per month of sick leave, and all other benefits granted to non-faculty academic personnel. The University has an excellent retirement system and sponsors a variety of group health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans in addition to other benefits. Relocation assistance may be provided.

Appointees to the librarian series at UC shall have professional backgrounds that demonstrate a high degree of creativity, teamwork, and flexibility.  Such background will normally include a professional degree from an ALA-accredited library and information science graduate program.  In addition to professional competence and quality of service within the library in the primary job, advancement in the librarian series requires professional involvement and contributions outside of the library, and/or university and community service, and/or scholarly activities.  Candidates must show evidence or promise of such contributions.

Application Procedures

Anyone wishing to be considered for this position should apply here: https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF06488

Applications must include:

• a cover letter describing qualifications and experience;
• a current resume/vitae detailing education and relevant experience; and
• the names and contact information for three professional references, including a current or previous supervisor.

Candidates applying by June 23, 2021 will be given first consideration for this position.  UCLA welcomes and encourages diversity and seeks applications and nominations from women and minorities.  UCLA seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the people of California, to maintain the excellence of the university, and to offer our students richly varied disciplines, perspectives, and ways of knowing and learning.

Description of Library Unit

The UCLA School of Law has approximately 1,100 law students, 100 full- and part-time faculty, and more than 150 law school staff. The School has a varied and demanding curriculum, highly productive faculty, an extensive clinical and externship program, more than a dozen research centers and programs, and 15 law journals.

The Law Library serves the Law School faculty and students as their basic library and study resource for instruction and research. The Law Library also supplies legal resources for other UCLA faculty, students, and staff. The Law Library is one of the larger professional school libraries on campus and has 18 librarians and 13 staff members. The library offers users an impressive collection that contains more than 600,000 bound volumes, more than 20,000 microform titles, and access to more than 1,000 databases. The day-to-day functions of the Library are divided into five sections, each headed by a Director: Access and Information Services; Bibliographic Services and Collection Management; Empirical Research Group; Research Assistant Program; and Reference and Research Services. The Law Library has a beautiful facility that opened in the fall of 1998.

Description of Institution and Library

As one of the world's great public research universities, UCLA integrates education, research, and public service so that each enriches and extends the others. From its beautiful neighborhood campus in a uniquely diverse and vibrant city on the Pacific Rim, teaching and research extend beyond the classroom, office, and lab through active engagement with communities, organizations, projects, and partnerships throughout the region and around the world.

UCLA’s diverse community of scholars encompasses nearly 30,000 undergraduates pursuing 125 majors, 13,000 graduate students in fifty-nine research programs, and 4,000 faculty members including Nobel Laureates; Rhodes Scholars; MacArthur Fellows; winners of the Fields Medal, National Medal of Science, Pritzker Prize, and Pulitzer Prize; and recipients of Oscars, Emmys, Tonys, and Golden Globes. UCLA ranks tenth in the Times of London Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, twelfth in the Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and fifth in the U.S. by Washington Monthly. The National Research Council ranks forty of its graduate and doctoral research programs among its top ten.

To enable these accomplished students, faculty, and staff to create, disseminate, and apply knowledge for the benefit of global society, the UCLA Library is re-envisioning how it is acquired, synthesized, and shared across academic audiences and with the public.  It was among the first academic libraries to develop subject-specialist librarians and to launch a program to enhance students’ research skills. Its Special Collections pioneered the acquisition by public institutions of rare and unique books, children’s literature, pulp and detective fiction, works by or about women and minorities, screenplays, architectural plans, and Los Angeles-related materials and today leads the way in collecting archival resources in digital format such as emails and manuscripts.  It has launched innovative data management services and an affordable course materials initiative that have served as models for other libraries.

The Library serves UCLA students, faculty, and staff whenever and wherever they need its resources and expertise. Reconfigured, high-tech spaces and services in its ten campus libraries enable users and librarians to explore and work with print and digital materials collaboratively or individually, pursue new lines of inquiry, and develop new pedagogical approaches as well as novel forms of scholarship.  More than 3.5 million people visit annually, while an additional 3.4 million visitors enter online through its virtual front doors.

Whether on campus or online, the Library forms the intellectual heart of UCLA, a hub for cutting-edge discovery, scholarship, and instruction.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status.  For the complete University of California policy on discrimination, harassment, and affirmative action see:  University of California – Policy Discrimination, Harassment, and Affirmative Action in the Workplace

Under federal law, the University of California may employ only individuals who are legally authorized to work in the United States as established by providing documents specified in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.  Employment is contingent upon completion of satisfactory background investigation.

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