Assistant Librarian (Subscriptions Librarian)
About the role
The Utah State University (USU) Libraries seeks a collaborative, innovative, and service-minded individual for the position of Subscriptions Librarian. This position is responsible for providing leadership for the Subscriptions Team, and will work collaboratively with University offices overseeing procurement, contracts, and payments; Library colleagues within the Collections & Discovery department, Information Technology (LIT) team and liaison teams; and faculty and student stakeholders. Reporting to the program chair for Collections and Resource Sharing in the Collections Strategies section, this 12-month, tenure-track faculty appointment will supervise full-time staff supporting the work of e-resource acquisition, serials management, and licensing/invoicing coordination.
Responsibilities
Designing, implementing, and overseeing successful procurement processes and renewals for library subscriptions
Managing and negotiating license agreements and contract renewals with both internal and external stakeholders
Ensuring compliance with all the University’s procurement policies and procedures
Working with a team, evaluating usage statistics and cost-per-use metrics to guide budgeting and renewal decisions
Developing and maintaining a collection mapping tying library resources to research needs, accreditation requirements, and workforce readiness
Serving as the primary point for ongoing vendor relations, maintaining connections with suppliers and publishers, and staying current on emerging products
Maintaining the electronic resources management (ERM) system
Working with library technology and liaison teams to ensure digital resources are integrated into the library's discovery layers, catalog, A-Z database lists, and instruction spaces
Working with colleagues in LIT and liaison and service point teams to design and implement troubleshooting workflows for online access and train/oversee team responding to electronic resource access issues
Developing and maintaining policies, procedures, and other types of documentation
Supervising and mentoring the subscriptions team
Participating in professional development, research, and service activities related to above responsibilities
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications: ALA-accredited MLS/MLIS, or equivalent degree by December 2026
Familiarity with academic library resources/systems, particularly serials and online subscription-based resources
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
Excellent analytical, organizational, and time management skills with meticulous attention to detail
Interest and ability to engage in ongoing professional development, research, and service activity to achieve promotion and tenure
Preferred Qualifications
Supervisory experience
Experience working in an academic library
Experience working with EBSCO ERM systems (FOLIO, Holdings & Link Management, Usage Consolidation, EBSCO Discovery products, etc.)
Experience reading, managing, and negotiating license agreements
Experience with or working knowledge of subscription usage standards such as COUNTER
Experience working with and troubleshooting OpenURL resolvers and proxy servers such as EZProxy and SSO
Strong understanding of scholarly electronic resources, including online journals, databases, and e-books