Boston Medical Library has exclusively retained Jack Farrell & Associates (www.jackfarrell.com) to find the winning candidate for this important hire. Interested parties should contact Fiona Foley-Croft ([email protected]). Thank you. 

Westborough, MA

Background

The Boston Medical Library (BML) was created by physicians nearly 150 years ago to provide practitioners with the widest possible access to current medical knowledge. It has had a long-standing relationship with the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS), and today is an independent corporation serving as a supporting organization of MMS.

After 60 years of an alliance with the Harvard Medical School that formed a joint library known as the Countway Library, the BML is now rebuilding as an independent library. Going forward, the BML will continue to provide access to up-to-date medical knowledge and library services to practicing healthcare professionals in Massachusetts. It will also seek to make its unparallelled special collections available to a wider audience, both physically in Massachusetts and digitally for unlimited access world-wide. The current major source of income for the BML is its endowment. In support of this initiative, the BML seeks a highly experienced librarian and executive leader to plan, manage, and oversee its transition to a 21^st century global resource. 

The Position

The BML has established the new position of Librarian Executive Director (LED) to provide executive leadership of the organization. BML has an alliance with UMASS Chan Medical School which serves as its current library services provider and the LED will facilitate those services to the BML’s constituencies, BML Fellows and MMS members, manage a deposit collection at UMASS Chan and offsite depository collections, and help develop medical history and medical humanities programs for students of medicine, dentistry and allied health sciences. In the immediate future the LED will play a key role in providing vision and expertise to optimize the transition. The LED will oversee the sorting of collections and work with the Collections Committee to execute the Collections Management Policy. The LED reports to the President of BML. The position is located in Westborough in central Massachusetts. Relocation assistance is available to the winning candidate. Presence in the Westborough offices, the Worcester LSP or the offsite depository in Windsor, CT, is required three days per week with two days per week work-from-home on average. Evening hours for meetings of board, committees and special programs will be required.

Responsibilities:

• Working closely with the leadership of the BML, the LED will provide executive leadership to further define and realize the BML’s new future.
• Coordinate with UMASS Chan to ensure practicing physicians and dentists in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have access to library resources and services.
• Work closely with the BML Board through its standing and ad hoc committees.

Financial:

• Manage the BML budget, working in collaboration with BML’s President, Treasurer, Finance Committee members, and accountants. 
• Monitor expenditures and project future expenses and income to ensure that the BML retains a strong financial position. Explore new funding sources, including grants.
• Write and submit grant applications to support BML activities and coordinate fundraising.

Collection management:

• Develop and oversee an ongoing preservation plan for rare books, other special collections, and artifacts.
• Oversee creation of a virtual library of BML rare books and special collections, including previously digitized materials.
• Provide oversight for ongoing inventory process of all BML materials.
• Coordinate and oversee digitization and metadata creation of collections items.
• Coordinate deposit & loan agreement(s) for BML collections.
• Coordinate off-site storage and retrieval of BML collections.
• Collate and refine bibliographic data from inventories, packing lists, MARC records, and other sources of descriptive information for use in newly formed and/or adopted discovery systems.
• Advise on future collections development, management, access, and engagement strategies in coordination with BML partners, peers, and affiliates.

Marketing:

• Market the BML brand and services, expanding outreach activities and mounting exhibits at medical schools, professional meetings and for the public; recruit fellow.
• Serve as a spokesperson for the BML as appropriate, to communicate the BML’s mission, plans, and goals.
• Cultivate, develop, and sustain collaborations with service providers, peer library systems, and other organizations from the scholarly community.
• Conduct outreach and information gathering from partners, members, and patrons/users to help inform service goals and strategies.

Online presence:

• Oversee development of a robust, useful, and responsive website and online resources for BML users.
• Establish and maintain an online social media presence to engage new user groups.

Support staff:

• Locate, hire and supervise an administrative assistant (probably half-time) and consultant curators for special exhibits.

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation commensurate with qualifications and experience.

A competitive benefits package is available to the winning candidate and includes relocation assistance to the Massachusetts office of BML.

NOTE: BML has engaged Jack Farrell & Associates (www.jackfarrell.com) to find the winning candidate for this position. Interested candidates should provide a resume by email to Fiona Foley-Croft ([email protected]). In addition to a resume, candidates should supply a 2-page cover letter that addresses: 1) why are you interested?; 2) how are you qualified?; and 3) what might the BML look like in several years under your stewardship?

Thank you.   JO 202410047

Skills and experience:

Required

• At least five years of substantial, successful, and progressively responsible administrative and supervisory library/archives/special collections experience, including supervising librarians as well as paraprofessional staff.
• Demonstrated successful leadership experience with a collaborative, responsive management style that fosters trust, respect, and effective working relationships.
• Demonstrated successful project management experience.
• Current knowledge of digital technologies and their applications to libraries.
• Good understanding of public and private university institutional culture and environment, with particular experience in librarianship and data management. 
• Experience working with rare books and manuscripts collections; understanding of trends and issues in the changing world of rare book libraries and libraries in general.
• Proven ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate, manage, and resolve complex library, communications, and organizational issues and problems. 
• Impeccable integrity, high energy, and professional demeanor.

Highly desirable

• Knowledge of medical libraries and/or medical history.
• Academic library management experience.

Education

• American Library Association accredited master’s degree or equivalent is required.