ARL Libraries – DigitalKoans

Vice-Provost (Libraries) and University Librarian at University of Manitoba

The University of Manitoba is the province’s only medical doctoral institution and is a member of Canada’s U15 group of research-intensive universities. The University offers a robust and diverse suite of over 100 graduate programs taught by award-winning professors and in partnerships with over 40 research centres and institutes. The University generates more than $1.7 billion in annual economic activity and attracts 200 million dollars annually in sponsored research income. The University’s culturally diverse community is home to over 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students, of which 21.3% are international students representing over 122 countries. . . .

In this role, the Vice-Provost (Libraries) serves as the principal expert on libraries, archives, and digital technologies, ensuring UML remains a dynamic hub of knowledge, discovery, and academic support.

https://tinyurl.com/4yt8bt27

University Librarian at Georgetown University

Georgetown University, the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher learning, invites applications and nominations for the position of University Librarian (UL). The University seeks a dynamic, collaborative, and innovative library professional to lead the organization as it evolves and grows. The first phase of renovations to the main campus library, Lauinger Library, will be completed in December 2025 as Pierce Reading Room is transformed; subsequent phases and fundraising will be critical priorities for the next UL. In addition, a new library space on Capitol Campus will serve students and faculty in a soon-to-be-completed (later in 2025) multi-use education facility.

https://tinyurl.com/2shv2pvm

“Tracking the AI Evolution in Research Libraries: Findings from ARL’s Third AI Quick Poll”

Optimism about generative AI is evident among respondents. Over a quarter (28%) described their outlook as “very positive,” envisioning significant enhancements to library services in the next year. The majority (63%) expressed a “somewhat positive” view, acknowledging the potential of AI while being mindful of challenges. Only 10% maintained a neutral stance, reflecting a general trend toward growing confidence in AI’s role within libraries. . . .

Engagement with AI technologies shows steady growth. Nearly one-third of respondents (28%) reported that their libraries are actively implementing AI solutions. The largest group (53%) is in the exploratory phase, investigating potential applications, while 19% indicated plans to consider AI in the near future.

https://tinyurl.com/y7js666m

Dean & University Librarian at University of Florida

The University of Florida (UF) seeks a dynamic and visionary Dean of University Libraries to lead the George A. Smathers Libraries in advancing research, learning, and innovation. Reporting to the Provost and serving as a member of the Council of Academic Deans, the Dean will oversee evolving library technologies, maintain excellence in collections and services, and collaborate with campus and library leaders to meet the needs of UF’s academic community. The Dean plays a pivotal role in supporting faculty and student research while ensuring UF’s libraries remain a world-class resource.

https://tinyurl.com/yc834c94

John Unsworth to Retire: “After Managing UVA’s Biggest Library Challenges, Dean Turns Final Page”

When Unsworth accepted the dean position at UVA, he knew the main library on Grounds would close for a nearly four-year renovation. What he didn’t know is that the COVID-19 pandemic would shutter the facility – and all of Grounds – even earlier.

When the virus was thought to spread through touch, he oversaw a book quarantine where recently handled volumes were kept out of circulation long enough to let any viral remnants die. As the understanding of the virus evolved, Unsworth’s staff began separating students in the then-Alderman Library’s spaces, a challenging task in a space where Hoos like to study together.

Finally, when the University switched to online learning, more than 50 members of the library staff volunteered to ensure the technology worked correctly. The staff also ramped up its plans to digitize library resources to assist remote professors and students.

https://tinyurl.com/2msyecpv

“AI Is Reigniting Decades-Old Questions Over Digital Rights, but Fair Use Prevails”

A publisher recently provided UC Berkeley’s Library with an elusive explanation for their AI ban on a subset of their licensed materials, claiming that they would “require new and different AI terms [that] would be significantly higher in price,” and that “individual client requests [would] need to be evaluated [to] determine whether or not they will be permitted.” However, when prompted to provide said new terms and price, the publisher was unable, or perhaps unwilling, to provide any additional information, noting that there is “no set pricing model or terms to share.” . . .

Charging extra to secure AI rights is likely to be cost-prohibitive due to increased financial burdens on libraries and institutions of higher education; if publishers are successful, it could lead to less academic output as researchers may have to independently foot the bill for the right to conduct research using AI.

https://tinyurl.com/42nmfwm2

University Librarian at University of California Riverside

As chief executive officer for the UCR Library, the UL provides strategic vision and operational leadership for the Library, with overall responsibility for collection development and management; library services; budget and planning; application of emerging information technologies; personnel; fundraising, public relations; and state and national cooperative efforts. Reporting to the executive vice chancellor and provost, the UL is a member of the Academic Senate and serves on the deans’ council, collaborating with campus leadership at UCR and across the University of California system.

https://tinyurl.com/mr2jm7ws

Vice Provost and Director of the University of Texas Libraries at The University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas Libraries, with nine campus locations, is one of the greatest libraries worldwide. A member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), UT Libraries’ collections are the 14th largest among ARL institutions, with more than 24 million total library materials, including physical volumes, electronic resources, and other items, and the UT Libraries have been ranked 14th in the ARL Library Investment Index. UT Libraries’ excellence reflects 140 years of dedication by librarians, staff, faculty, students, and donors to build a top academic research library by assembling distinctive and comprehensive collections, offering exceptional services, and creating dynamic spaces to support and inspire students and scholars.

The next Vice Provost and Director will join UT at a time when the University aspires to become the world’s highest-impact public research university. The University’s strategic plan aims to make UT the best place to learn, grow, and work; prioritize community impact through partnerships; and change the world through transformative learning, research, and experiences for students, faculty, and staff. UT Libraries is a critical contributor to and driver for the success of this plan. Working with colleagues across the University and within UT Libraries, the next VP and Director will extend the extraordinary record of the UT Libraries, championing and advancing the work of the organization and UT writ large.

https://tinyurl.com/4sft4v5x

"Cancelling the ‘Big Deal’ at a Public University: A Discussion of STEM Faculty Perceptions of Cancellation and Post-Cancellation Usage Data "

This article discusses how faculty, staff, and students at the University at Buffalo (UB), a public Carnegie R1 university, were impacted by the cancellation of the Elsevier ScienceDirect Big Deal package. After the cancellation, UB participated in a multi-site study which included interviewing faculty about the effect of the cancellation on their research and teaching. In general, the faculty were supportive of the cancellation. There was frustration expressed with the current structure of the publishing industry, particularly with the exorbitant pricing of journal subscriptions. Later analysis of usage data at UB post-cancellation was conducted; unsurprisingly, the data showed a decrease in usage on the ScienceDirect platform and increase in requests for unavailable articles. Although the cancellation of the ScienceDirect Big Deal package had a direct impact on UB, the initial outcome was not exceedingly harmful and could be addressed through mitigating measures such as the quick fulfilment of requests for unavailable articles.

https://tinyurl.com/4duy8k8f

Dean of Libraries and University Librarian at University of Virginia

Reporting to the Executive Vice President and Provost, Ian Baucom, the Dean of Libraries will direct a library system known internationally for historically significant collections in many disciplines, and including the notable Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. The Dean will supervise the deployment of digital resources, specialized laboratories and service centers that support research, scholarship, and online publications. They will oversee the strategic development and implementation of policies, programs, and services that enhance the academic and research endeavors of the University community. The Dean of Libraries sits on the Dean’s Council with the deans of the University’s 12 Schools. The Dean is also responsible for the success of Library Advancement and represents the Library serving as a strategic leader in state, regional, and national library leadership discussions. The Dean of Libraries oversees seven library locations and a staff of approximately 225, as well as collections that include more than 5 million print books, 2.9 million E-books, hundreds of thousands of journal subscriptions, and substanial holdings in many other formats. The Dean leads a senior leadership team of dedicated professionals and directs the allocation of a budget of more than $40M.

https://executivesearch.virginia.edu/dean-of-libraries

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: "Research Data Service Extended Review"

Building upon the first 5-year review in 2019, this report presents an extended review of the Research Data Service at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 2018-2023, assessing its current efforts and future directions.

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124781

University College Librarian at University of Toronto Libraries

The University of Toronto Libraries system is the largest academic library in Canada and is consistently ranked in the top ten among academic research libraries in North America. The system consists of 40 libraries located on three university campuses: St. George, Mississauga, and Scarborough. This array of college libraries, special collections, and specialized libraries and information centres supports the teaching and research requirements of over 300 graduate programs, more than 70 professional programs, and about 700 undergraduate degree programs. In addition to more than 12 million volumes in 341 languages, the library system currently provides access to millions of electronic resources in various forms and over 31,000 linear metres of archival material. More than 150,000 new print volumes are acquired each year. The Libraries’ data centre houses more than 600 servers with a storage capacity of 1.5 petabytes.

https://tinyurl.com/mwvsnyrb

University Librarian at University of California Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Library is the geographic and academic heart of the campus and an intellectual hub for the University, serving over 25,000 students, 1,200 academic faculty, 3,000 academic staff, and 8,000 non-academic staff. The Library welcomes over 2.2 million visitors annually, and its website receives over 1.3 million sessions each year. With annual expenditures of approximately $23 million, the Library is supported by approximately 130 librarians and staff, along with 140 student employees.

https://tinyurl.com/56j8uf6u

Dean of Libraries at University of Massachusetts Amherst

The next Dean will join UMass Amherst at a transformational moment. The University has recently welcomed a new Chancellor and Provost who join the vibrant community of dreamers, innovators, creators, and scholars. New leadership inspires new strategic direction, and a new strategic plan is being developed with the release set for Fall 2024 . . . .

The Dean will have the opportunity to build upon the Libraries’ excellent reputation for data management and preservation, its on-going development of open educational resources and software in collaboration with UMass Amherst faculty, its pioneering work on transformative licensing agreements for scholarly resources, its active national role in open science, its contributions to the international development of the open-source library services platform FOLIO, and the continued growth of the Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center and the W. E. B. Du Bois Center.

https://tinyurl.com/yc3xdfzn

Virginia Tech and UC Riverside: "University Libraries Receives Grant to Create Generative Artificial Intelligence Incubator Program"

University Libraries at Virginia Tech and the University of California, Riverside, received a $115,398 Institute of Museum and Library Services grant to create a generative artificial intelligence incubator program (GenAI) to increase the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the library profession and academic libraries. . . .

[Yinlin] Chen [assistant director for the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship at Virginia Tech] will use his expertise in advanced GenAI techniques and multidisciplinary AI research in his collaboration with Edward Fox, co-principal investigator and director of the digital library research laboratory at Virginia Tech and computer science professor, and Zhiwu Xie, co-principal investigator and assistant university librarian for research and technology at the University of California, Riverside, to create the generative artificial intelligence incubator program. They will build training materials, workshops, and projects to assist librarians in becoming AI practitioners.

https://tinyurl.com/3sysn284

"New Open Access Agreement Between the University of California and Taylor & Francis"

The University of California (UC) and Taylor & Francis today announced a memorandum of understanding for a four-year read and publish agreement that will make it easier and more affordable for UC researchers to publish open access (OA) articles in nearly 2,500 Taylor & Francis journals. . . .

Under the agreement, the UC Libraries will automatically cover the OA fees in full for any UC corresponding author who chooses to publish OA in Taylor & Francis and Routledge journals. Authors of articles accepted for publication in a hybrid or full OA title will have the opportunity to choose OA at no cost to them. . . .

To maximize the number of UC researchers who can benefit from the newly signed agreement, authors of qualifying articles published since January 1, 2024, will be given the opportunity to retrospectively convert their article to open access, with the OA fees fully covered. Authors who have already published OA since January 1 will be offered refunds for OA fees already paid.

https://tinyurl.com/y8zutk9m

Dean of the University Libraries at University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland Libraries comprise eight distinct libraries holding more than 3.5 million volumes and representing a diverse array of special collections, digital collections, and electronic resources: McKeldin Library (general collections), and separate branch libraries for architecture, performing arts, arts, special collections and archives, library media services, chemistry, engineering/physical sciences, and the Shady Grove branch. The Dean occupies a critical place in the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) consortium of libraries, which shares services among sixteen institutions. The Libraries is an active member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), Center for Research Libraries (CRL), the HathiTrust, OCLC, and the Northeast Research Libraries Consortium, as well as state, regional and national consortia and organizations.

https://ejobs.umd.edu/postings/122588

"Director of University of Texas Libraries and Open Access Champion Lorraine Haricombe Announces Retirement"

Lorraine J. Haricombe, an innovating leader in academic libraries, has announced her retirement as Director and Vice Provost of the University of Texas Libraries, marking the conclusion of a distinguished career spanning decades. . . .

Among her many achievements, she expanded the development of Texas ScholarWorks, the university’s digital repository, which has significantly enhanced the accessibility and impact of the university’s scholarly output. Haricombe also championed the implementation of advanced data management services, providing critical support for the university’s research community in managing, preserving, and sharing their data. . . . .

One of Haricombe’s most notable accomplishments as a library leader was her advocacy in advancing open access initiatives. She played a key role in the establishment of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Working Group, which has been instrumental in reducing the cost of educational materials for students and promoting the adoption of OER across the campus. . . .

Before her tenure at The University of Texas at Austin, Haricombe served as the Dean of Libraries at the University of Kansas from 2006 to 2015. At Kansas, she was a driving force behind the implementation of the university’s open access policy, making it one of the first public universities in the United States to adopt such a policy.

https://tinyurl.com/2296efah

"Big Ten Academic Alliance welcomes UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington"

The Big Ten Academic Alliance is thrilled to welcome the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Southern California (USC), the University of Oregon, and the University of Washington. This expansion increases our membership to 18 institutions and includes a historic affiliation with the University of Chicago. . . .

With the new members, Big Ten Academic Alliance institutions now boast 75,000 instructional staff, 810,000 students, $17.4 billion in annual research expenditures, and 145 million library volumes—25% of all print titles in North America.

https://tinyurl.com/3re7py7s

"Big Ten Academic Alliance + Next Generation Library Publishing Announce the Launch of a Pilot Project"

The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) is excited to announce a partnership with the Next Generation Library Publishing (NGLP) project. This collaboration aims to test and enhance infrastructure solutions for academy-owned scholarly publishing programs that are open source, community-led, and rooted in academic values. The pilot project will create a unified discovery layer for the diverse publishing platforms of participating libraries, presenting them as a single, shared collection of open access materials.

Through this BTAA-funded initiative, Penn State University Libraries and Indiana University Libraries will work with the NGLP team to implement the Meru display layer, enhancing infrastructure and service models specifically for the BTAA. The project will involve migrating select content from the partners’ catalogs into the NGLP ecosystem, improving interface design, and expanding the types of content displayed. The goal is to support and strengthen academy-owned scholarly publishers with scalable solutions.

https://tinyurl.com/ychk5hc2

Associate Vice Provost for Collections & Scholarly Communications at University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries invites applications for the position of Gershwind & Bennett Family Associate Vice Provost for Collections & Scholarly Communications. This senior strategic leadership role, reporting directly to the H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of Libraries, is pivotal in overseeing a wide array of outward-facing services. These encompass academic and student engagement, research services, community engagement, collection strategy, scholarly communications, and the administration of eleven departmental libraries and centers that serve professional schools and specific subject areas.

Job Ad

"ARL & CNI Release Deluxe Edition of AI-Influenced Future Scenarios for Research Environment"

This Deluxe Edition of the ARL/CNI AI Scenarios includes:

The Final Scenario Set: This final scenario set explores potential futures where AI plays a pivotal role, providing critical insights into the evolving challenges and opportunities for the research environment.

The Strategic Context Report: This report summarizes community feedback gathered through focus groups and interviews about an AI-influenced future for the research environment that were held in winter 2023–24 and spring 2024.

The Provocateur Interview Report: Featuring forward-thinking dialogues with industry leaders, these interviews challenge conventional wisdom and stimulate stretch thinking with regards to an AI-influenced future.

https://tinyurl.com/5n7xwc8c

University Librarian and Dean, University Library at University of Saskatchewan

Reporting to the Provost and Vice-President Academic, and as one of the senior leaders in the university, the University Librarian and Dean plays a central role in setting strategy and overall direction; advises the President, the Provost, and other Vice Presidents; works collaboratively with and supports other leaders to achieve university goals; uses influence to align the University Library with university priorities; and models institutional values and competencies. With six locations across campus, the University Library is essential to students and researchers’ success. The University Library operates in an environment where its services and resources are multi-faceted, technologically rich, and continuously changing. The successful candidate will lead a team of approximately 115 faculty and staff members to meet and exceed the needs of a university that is a member of the U15 group of major research-intensive universities in Canada, one that welcomes more than 26,000 students from over 130 countries..

Job Ad

"Kara Whatley Appointed Mu Vice Provost and University Librarian"

Whatley is currently the university librarian at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and serves as the chief executive of the Caltech Library system.

Whatley’s previous roles include positions of increasing leadership at Texas Tech University Libraries and New York University Libraries.

https://tinyurl.com/42nxuvpd

"Rob Ross Named Dean of University Libraries for Ohio University"

Ross currently serves as the executive director for NC LIVE for the NC State University Libraries. In this position, he serves as the chief administrative officer for the 209-member library cooperative that provides electronic resources, library software, and professional development to all UNC System universities, private colleges, community colleges, and public libraries in North Carolina. . . .

Before joining the NC State University Libraries, Ross served as the director of implementation programs for OCLC, Inc., in Dublin, Ohio; as interlibrary loan supervisor for Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts; and as library associate for the University of New Orleans.

https://tinyurl.com/f8kr8v4w