Vice Provost & Director of Libraries

(05-DEC-02)

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) seeks to appoint a Vice Provost and Director of Libraries.

Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Penn is one of the nation's great research universities, noted for the excellence of its undergraduate experience, its strengths across a wide array of schools and fields, and its ability to foster innovative connections among disciplines, faculty, students, and the larger community. The University of Pennsylvania Library, one of the oldest academic libraries in the nation comprises fourteen libraries that serve the teaching and research needs of Penn's schools and academic centers. These Libraries collectively house more than 5.2 million volumes, 38,000 serials, nearly four million microforms, 56,000 sound recordings, and distinctive rare book and manuscript collections. The University's Digital Library provides access to some 10,000 full-text journal and databases, more than 100,000 electronic books, an online catalog of more than three million records, and digitized images numbering in the tens of thousands.

A fully networked campus, Penn has been aggressively experimenting with and adopting new technology in research and teaching, including courseware support, which the Library manages for eight of Penn's twelve schools. In combining the most sophisticated and productive tools of information technology with the best traditional methods and collection, Penn has been transforming the definition of the library and how its collections are accessed. A continuing challenge and opportunity for the Library's new leader will be to promote the Library's transformation as a learning environment and the recognition of its role in enabling the University's core mission for research and teaching.

To guide the Library, the University seeks a leader of drive and imagination. The Vice Provost and Director will understand the balance of traditional library services and new forms of access and scholarship; will convey with passion the role of the Library in supporting the academic mission of the University; and will embrace with enthusiasm the Library's responsibility for the diffusion of knowledge. The Vice Provost and Director will enjoy working creatively to shape the Library's cutting-edge virtual and physical learning environments while marshalling the discipline to maintain its fiscal responsibility. The successful candidate will hold an advanced degree and articulate a broad and forward-looking vision for research libraries as well as for the management of information resources. She or he will also demonstrate strategic leadership skills that derive from having implemented a vision; engaged and won support from a variety of stakeholders; set strategic direction for an organization; managed a professional staff and a complex budget; and successfully developed external funding sources.

Nominations and application (including a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and names of five references) should be directed in confidence to:

Kim M. Morrisson, Ph.D., Managing Director or
Jo-Ann Zoll, Vice President & Senior Associate
The Diversified Search Companies
One Commerce Square, 2005 Market Street, Suite 3300
Philadelphia, PA 19103
jzoll@divsearch.com
Fax: 215-568-8399

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.

For more information:
Full text of the position description (pdf format)