Senior Librarian and Director of the Goddard Library

Overview

Gordon-Conwell is a multidenominational, Protestant graduate school, unique with its broad array of over 2100 students and 200 faculty and staff from 98 denominations and over 64 countries. We offer a residential model of education at South Hamilton, MA (our main campus); an urban context in Boston, MA; adult educational models in both our Charlotte, NC campus and our offerings in Jacksonville, FL; in addition to online and cohort models involving students from around the world.

Our mission is to prepare men and women for ministry at home and abroad. Rooted in the gospel and God’s Word, the seminary seeks to develop Christian leaders who are thoughtful, globally aware, spiritually mature, and ready for a broad array of ministries. While being historically orthodox and evangelical, we seek to address the issues of our times with both relevance to the culture and faithfulness to Christ and God’s truthful Word.

Position Summary

This co-responsibility role combines leadership of the GCTS Library System with day-to-day operational oversight of the Goddard Library in South Hamilton, MA. In alignment with Gordon-Conwell’s strategic plan, and in coordination with the Vice President of Graduate Programs and the Provost, the Senior Librarian side of the role serves as a member of the Vice-President’s Academic Operations Leadership team, leads the seminary’s library team, and represents the library to the broader GCTS faculty and administration. The Director side of the role includes responsibilities in collection development, reference, and instruction for the Goddard library. This position will also serve as a key player in the Goddard library’s alignment with the faculty’s “Life Together” model of education within the residential community. In addition, the Library Director will have responsibilities related to reconfiguring the Goddard library space and services, ensuring the library remains in line with the seminary’s commitment to High Academic Standards while remaining committed to sustainable operations.

Key Responsibilities

Senior Librarian

• Serves on the seminary’s Academic Operations Leadership team, representing the operational, financial, staffing, physical, digital, and human resources interests of the GCTS Library system.

• Develop an annual budget in cooperation with the VP of Graduate Programs, other library budget directors; monitor the budget monthly along with the library team.

• Coordinate with the Provost to represent the library to the GCTS faculty, involving the library in the academic planning of the institution, serve on (or send representatives to) the various academic committees that may require library representation.

• Coordinates with the VP to represent the library to visitors and donors, as needed.

• Set acquisitions policies for accepting pertinent manuscript collections of significant individuals and organizations that align with GCTS’ evangelical heritage and in consultation with the Provost, VP, and related GCTS stakeholders.

• Chair the library professional staff meetings; develop necessary library policies (i.e. collections management, professional staff job descriptions and responsibilities, continuing education, ranking of library roles, etc.), adequate staffing, and other operational issues of the GCTS library system.

• Oversee the triennial library qualitative evaluation (the most recent qualitative evaluation was completed in June 2020) with special emphasis on collecting student user data in alignment with current ATS and NECHE accreditation standards; assess evaluation in partnership with the library professional staff, develop three-year goals and key performance indicators.

• Provide opportunities for team building and staff development (traveling as necessary to build relationships with library staff).

• Represents the Library to professional organizations, library consortia, and scholarly societies.

• Represent the library to the Trustee’s Academic and Student Affairs Committee.

• Completion of annual reports needed by Seminary administration for accreditation requirements. Preparation of library portions of the decadal accreditation self-study and required interim library reports.

Director of the Goddard Library

• Manage the day-to-day operations of the Goddard and Center for the Study of Global Christianity Libraries at the South Hamilton campus, ensuring a balance of graduate and post-graduate theological and counseling library services with operational efficiency.

• Actively participate in collection development, reference, and instruction of residential library resources that align with GCTS’ degree learning outcomes as set by the faculty.

• Supervise Goddard Library staff, conduct annual performance reviews including professional development of direct reports.

• Oversee and monitor the Goddard monthly budget.

• Integrate the faculty’s “Life Together” model of education within the residential population, actively engaging students in the life of the library and creating spaces for community growth.

• Develop and manage the Goddard library space and services, bringing the physical library space and resource in line with the seminary’s commitment to High Academic Standards while remaining committed to sustainable operations.

Key Competencies

• Clear knowledge of library trends and developments, especially in areas related to library technology and access to online materials.

• Demonstrated ability to supervise, coordinate, and support the work of library staff.

• Successful budget and management of financial resources in coordination with institutional leaders.

• Demonstrated ability to work with special collections, i.e., manuscript collections and antiquarian books.

• Familiarity with Global Christianity, domestic/international publishing, and international students.

• An ability to work with Spanish, Portuguese, Korean or other Asian languages is highly valued.

Education and Experience

• MLIS degree or equivalent, required (or in progress if PhD in theology or clearly related discipline).

• Master’s degree in Theology, required.

• Clear evidence of evangelical faith and Christian character, with a readiness to sign the Seminary's Statement of Faith and Community Life Statement, required.

• Previous library leadership experience preferred.

• PhD in theology or related discipline, preferred (with requisite academic approval, the Senior Librarian may teach in his/her area of specialization, as a two-course per year load, in consultation with the Provost and VP of Graduate Programs).

Application Process

Please apply through Gordon-Conwell’s Career Center available here:

https://www.gordonconwell.edu/employment/

Please include these documents in either Microsoft Word or PDF formats:

• A cover letter addressed to Bradley Howell, VP of Graduate Programs, and Seong Park, Provost, explaining your interest in the position.

• A formal CV that includes the names of at least three references.

No hard copy materials, please. Opportunities to interview will be made available at the search

committee’s initiative. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.