Job Summary
Biola University is seeking an individual with strong aptitudes for collaboration, connecting well with faculty and students, thriving in a classroom setting, and proactively serving a thriving learning community. A candidate may be as much as two years away from the completion of an MLIS program. Everything else can be learned on the job as a member of the Biola library team. This fall, Biola is enjoying its third consecutive year of enrollment increases as students are drawn to Biola’s unique learning community where all faculty, staff, and students are professing Christians focused on truth (patterns of thought), transformation (patterns of heart) and testimony (patterns of action). This position will actively advance Biola’s mission of “biblically centered education, scholarship and service — equipping men and women in mind and character to impact the world for the Lord Jesus Christ.” In more formal language, the Assistant Librarian for Research and Instruction holds a key role in a collaborative library team to ensure that the Biola community develops skills in discovering, evaluating, and using scholarly resources by providing research support and instruction and assisting in curating the library collection needed to support research assignments within assigned liaison schools’ curriculum. Salary depends upon rank. Example: Assistant Librarian 1 ($6,703 per month) or Assistant Librarian 2 ($7,154 per month).
Job Responsibilities
The person who fills this position must be someone who personally agrees with Biola’s Articles of Faith and Statement of Biblical Principles and who is supportive of the positions taken by Biola as contained in its Eschatology Teaching Position.
Essential Duties include:
- Teaching research strategies to students through providing no fewer than eight (8) hours per week of posted availability for research consultations or support including any assigned desk shifts.
- Designing and delivering library instructional content on the research process to support course assignments, including in-class instruction sessions, online research and self-service modules, and research consultations.
- Managing online research support tools including LibGuides and LibWizard.
- Initiating outreach to faculty, especially in assigned liaison school(s), to recommend and support relevant library resources and instructional services.
- Providing research instructional strategies for faculty regarding the changing information landscape including open scholarship and artificial intelligence.
- Contributing to the ongoing evaluation of physical and digital library resources needed to support the curriculum and creating recommendations for enhanced support and stewardship through collaboration with Library and faculty stakeholders, especially in assigned liaison areas.
- Engaging with students to enhance library instructional services through outreach, assessment efforts, and creating new connection points.
- Supporting ongoing assessment and data-driven improvements of library resources, policies, services, student and faculty user experiences, outreach efforts, and broader library initiatives and resources.
- Participating in library and university service committees and projects including preparing recommendations or updates, leading or supporting projects, and contributing to achieving goals as well as institutional effectiveness.
- Assisting in creating and fostering welcoming spaces and services for students and faculty to encounter and engage with scholarly resources.
- Compiling data specific to research and instructional services, including managing data integrity in Springshare’s Ref Analytics.
- Submitting monthly expense reports for approved purchases.
- Contributing to promoting a spiritually and professionally nurturing environment for Biola faculty, staff, students, and community members.
- Maintaining a lifestyle in consonance with sound Christian principles and those promulgated by the institution.
- All other duties as assigned that the supervisor determines are appropriate.
Educational/Experiential Requirements
- MLIS or equivalent from an ALA-accredited program or international equivalent (completed or provisional employment with requirement to complete within 2 years. A candidate who has not completed the required library master’s degree will be awarded the Library faculty salary and rank of Assistant Librarian 1 on the July 1st following degree completion).
- Library experience, including providing research support and teaching information literacy skills.
- Ability to work a schedule aligned with the needs of the Library and the assigned schools served within the University, which may include a regular evening shift.
- Google Workspace Proficiency: Familiarity with Google products including Gmail, Google Calendar, Docs, Sheets and Slides, Google Drive and Google Meet.
- Typing: Proficiency in keyboarding (typically 50 to 80 words per minute).
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Initiative: independently starting a process or action that supports broader goals.
- Leadership: positively exercise influence on others including those in senior, supervised (if applicable), and collegial relationships.
- Team Player
- Communication skills
- Problem-Solving skills
- Time Management skills
- Organization skills
- Adaptability
- Confidentiality
- Resourcefulness: Finding creative solutions and adapting to changing situations.
- Ability to lift 20 lbs to library shelf height, to move boxes and other library material, bend to reach items at floor height, stand for long periods of time, and to push a loaded book cart.
Job Application Instructions
Please apply at www.biola.edu/employment. Should you have any questions about the position or wish to learn more about Biola University, its library, or this job opportunity, please contact Jeremy Labosier, University Librarian, at jeremy.labosier@biola.edu.