User Experience & Design Librarian

Description

Description

The Middlebury College Libraries seek a user experience and design-focused librarian to join the Research & Instruction Workgroup. The ideal candidate will feel passionate about design aesthetics, care deeply about the way all students, faculty, and staff experience our library both in person and online, and work with the rest of the library and other partners to improve how our library is experienced.

As the intellectual heart of campus, the Middlebury Libraries are valued for their collections, dedicated staff, and vibrant spaces. Critical thinking and independent exploration of primary and secondary sources is a valued component of Middlebury’s commitment to a liberal arts education. The Research & Instruction Workgroup is a small team of service-oriented librarians who specialize in research and instruction support. We thrive on collaborative work, and we enjoy learning from one another. All Middlebury librarians provide a high level of individualized assistance to students and faculty, including outreach to liaison departments. Every day, we’re able to help students learn how to find, critically evaluate, and use a wide array of information sources in their academic work. We’d love to have you join us.

Middlebury is a nationally recognized liberal arts college that offers graduate and specialized programs operating around the world. Middlebury's employees enjoy a high quality of life with top-notch facilities for education, research, and recreation. As a librarian at Middlebury, you would have opportunities to excel both personally and professionally. We offer excellent compensation with competitive wages; generous health, dental, life, and disability insurance; a retirement plan; and training and educational assistance.

Nestled in the scenic Green Mountains and just a few miles from Lake Champlain, Middlebury offers all that is special to Vermont: friendly communities where people know and value one another; high quality schools; and a vibrant arts scene with music, film, and food festivals, museums, and local theater productions. Middlebury also offers direct train service to New York, and Montreal and Boston are within easy driving distance.

This is considered a full-time salaried benefits eligible position. The hiring range for the position is $58,900 to $ 66,300 per year. This is a full-time, on-campus position. 1-2 days of remote work per week is a possibility most of the year.

Middlebury is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we are committed to increasing the diversity of the college community, the curriculum, and our library collections.

Although this position will remain posted until filled, applicants are strongly encouraged to apply by end of day on December 6, 2022.

Requirements

Position Responsibilities:

The User Experience & Design Librarian (UX Design Librarian) applies user-centered, universal design principles to library print and digital content in a team-based work environment. Under the direction of the Director of Research & Instruction, the UX Design Librarian provides a variety of library and technology services to students, faculty, and staff.

The UX Design Librarian leads the library’s efforts to consistently create through graphic and digital design a friendly, inviting, and highly usable experience for all of our community. This is accomplished through the design of library web interfaces including guides and databases, outreach materials including posters and handouts, signs and wayfinding materials including maps and self-guided tours, and promotional giveaways including bookmarks, buttons, and library mugs.

Working in close collaboration with colleagues, the UX Design Librarian also teaches information skills and provides drop-in and scheduled research and technology assistance. As the liaison for assigned academic departments, the person in this position maintains and develops subject-specific and cross-disciplinary areas of the library’s print and digital collections. The UX Design Librarian builds strong relationships with students, faculty, and staff to ensure that the library continues to meet the needs of our increasingly diverse community.

Essential Functions:

User Experience and Design

• Design accessible interfaces for library web content, systems, and digital projects, for example the library website, the library catalog, and other online library initiatives.
• Produce engaging graphics and print materials, for example handouts, guides, posters, signs, and maps.
• Develop assessments to understand and improve how users experience library spaces.
• Provide outreach and instruction on user experience research and design to faculty, students and staff.
• Promote a culture of accessible, user-centered design at Middlebury by contributing to relevant campus initiatives.
• Stay current on developments in the fields of user experience, design, and accessibility.
• Serve as the academic librarian for assigned departments and programs.
• Develop strong working relationships with faculty and students through regular communication and outreach. Promote and seek feedback on library services and resources.
• Educate students and other researchers in library and information skills through course-related workshops that use active learning exercises to achieve learning goals.
• Conduct research consultations and provide research assistance at public service points. Regularly consider how these services could be improved.
• Create and maintain research guides, library web pages and other online instruction materials in assigned subject areas. Make content and design decisions based on user needs.
• Align library collections with College curriculum through collaborative collection development in specific subject areas and for general research use.
• In close collaboration with colleagues across library, technology, and academic departments, participate in ongoing efforts to establish a core infrastructure to support digital scholarship activities at Middlebury.
• Shared participation in evening and weekend hours may be required.

Research and Instruction

• Serve as the academic librarian for assigned departments and programs.
• Develop strong working relationships with faculty and students through regular communication and outreach. Promote and seek feedback on library services and resources.
• Educate students and other researchers in library and information skills through course-related workshops that use active learning exercises to achieve learning goals.
• Conduct research consultations and provide research assistance at public service points. Regularly consider how these services could be improved.
• Create and maintain research guides, library web pages and other online instruction materials in assigned subject areas. Make content and design decisions based on user needs.
• Align library collections with College curriculum through collaborative collection development in specific subject areas and for general research use.
• In close collaboration with colleagues across library, technology, and academic departments, participate in ongoing efforts to establish a core infrastructure to support digital scholarship activities at Middlebury.
• Shared participation in evening and weekend hours may be required.

General Responsibilities:

• Contribute expertise, enthusiasm and creative thinking to the Research & Instruction Workgroup, the library, and Middlebury. Work cooperatively with others, and accept direction from supervisors.
• Provide positive representation of the library across Middlebury by attending relevant workshops, meetings and events.
• Maintain expertise in a rapidly evolving field through ongoing education, professional development, and scholarly activity.

Qualifications

Education:

• Graduate degree in library or information science from an accredited institution, or its equivalent, required.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

• Understanding of user experience, usability testing, and universal design principles required.
• Demonstrated knowledge in the techniques of graphic design required.
• Working knowledge of graphic design software packages, for example Adobe Creative Suite, strongly preferred.
• Creativity, flexibility and a willingness to develop new competencies required.
• Ability to work in a team oriented environment required.
• Foreign language preferred, but not required.

Experience:

• Experience with web design, graphic design, and user experience analysis, either on-the-job or through coursework, strongly preferred.
• Experience teaching workshops or courses required.
• At least 2 years of experience working in an academic library, including instruction, preferred.

Other:

Offer is contingent upon successful completion of a criminal background check.

Covid-19 vaccination, including booster if eligible, is a condition of employment. For more information follow this web link:

https://www.middlebury.edu/office/covid-19-updates/covid-19-vaccine-requirements

Benefits

As an employee of Middlebury College, you will enjoy being part of a vibrant supportive community.

• Middlebury Colleges offers its employees excellent compensation and competitive health, dental, life, disability, generous retirement matching, and vision benefits, Middlebury offers a generous time-away program - up to 34 days per year during the first two years of service, increasing as the term of service lengthens. Middlebury employees are eligible for robust educational assistance programs as well as free or reduced rates for cultural events and use of sporting facilities (including the College's golf course and Nordic and alpine ski area). The result is a very high quality-of-life in a gorgeous setting.
• Middlebury Colleges offers its employees excellent compensation and other perks of employment including:

A full listing of our benefit offerings can be found on our website by following this web link:

• MiddCard Privileges: access to athletic facilities, discounts at the College store, library privileges, and discounts at cultural and sporting events. In addition, the card allows door access to certain campus buildings. Spouses or domestic partners of benefits-eligible employees are eligible to receive a Spouse/Partner card with the same privileges as the employee card (except door access).
• Discounts on season passes at Middlebury College Snow Bowl, the Ralph Myhre Golf Course and the Rikert Ski Touring Center.
• Access to our Partner Inclusion Program that provides comprehensive support services to the spouses and partners of Middlebury employees.
• A full listing of our benefit offerings can be found on our website by following this web link: https://www.middlebury.edu/office/human-resources/self-service-resources/2022-benefits-information

Come join us and be a part of our team!