Florida State University has exclusively retained Jack Farrell & Associates (www.jackfarrell.com) to find the winning candidate for this important role. Interested parties should provide a CV and 2-page cover letter to Jack Farrell (jack@jackfarrell.com). Please see below for the cover letter prompts. Thank you. 

I.  About the University

One of the nation's elite research universities, Florida State University preserves, expands, and disseminates knowledge in the sciences, technology, arts, humanities, and professions, while embracing a philosophy of learning strongly rooted in the traditions of the liberal arts and critical thinking. FSU's welcoming campus in Tallahassee is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in Florida, in a community steeped in tradition that fosters research and encourages creativity, along with championship athletics, and a prime location in the heart of the state capital. The university also operates branch campuses located in Panama City, Florida, and in the Republic of Panama, and serves as steward of The Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. For more information, visit https://www.fsu.edu/about/.

II. About Tallahassee, Florida

Home to the state’s capital, two major universities, a large community college, and an array of museums, attractions, and unique experiences, Tallahassee shares a deep-rooted history and culture with unparalleled nature and outdoor recreation. Situated in the Florida Panhandle, Tallahassee is a place where college town meets community, politics meets performing arts, and history meets nature.

Tallahassee is home to FSU, ranked the nation's twenty-third best public university by U.S. News & World Report. It is also home to Florida A&M University, the fifth largest historically black university by total enrollment, and Tallahassee State College, which offers more than 100 degree and certificate programs, including an A.A. degree for transfer to a state university. As the capital, Tallahassee is the site of the Florida State Capitol, Supreme Court of Florida, Florida Governor's Mansion, the State Library of Florida, and nearly 30 state agency headquarters. The city is also known for its large number of law firms, lobbying organizations, trade associations, and professional associations, including the Florida Bar and the Florida Chamber of Commerce. It is a recognized regional center for scientific research and home to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. In 2015, Tallahassee was awarded the All-American City Award by the National Civic League for the second time. Tallahassee is currently ranked as the 18th-best college town in the nation by Best College Reviews.

III. About the University Libraries

Mission:

To support and enhance the learning, teaching, research, and service activities of FSU by providing organized access to quality information in all formats, promoting information literacy, preserving information, and engaging in collaborative partnerships to disseminate ideas to advance intellectual discovery.

The University Libraries play a vital role in ensuring academic excellence and student success as well as enhancing the University’s intellectual capital – both on campus and beyond.

Focused on success, the University Libraries are the information hub of FSU, offering dynamic learning spaces, research materials, and technological resources to support all student and faculty academic goals. The libraries provide fast, friendly service and ensure worldwide access to a substantial collection of research materials. The Libraries’ collections include about four million titles, and the website offers access to more than 1,140 databases and 125,000 electronic journals. Other services and offices frequented by faculty and graduate students include the statewide UBorrow system, offering FSU faculty and students over 15 million books from 39 other state university and college libraries not available online or via interlibrary loan. The Library Express Delivery Service delivers materials to faculty members, post-docs, and graduate teaching and research assistants daily.

With almost two million visitors each year, Strozier Library, FSU’s largest library, is open 128 hours per week during the academic semester, providing around-the-clock research assistance and other services including free academic tutoring and a robust range of academic support throughout the day and late into the night. Students and faculty have a choice of learning spaces, from the Scholars Commons’ quiet Reading Room to the coffee shop to the buzz of the Undergraduate Commons. Library faculty offer classes and consultations to teach critical research and thinking skills, reaching over 27,000 participants. Six other campus libraries offer many of the same services and resources customized to complement the disciplines they serve. For distance learners and other off-campus library users, online research services are available, and the library staff offers outreach to residence halls and buildings across campus.

FSU’s main campus is home to seven distinct libraries that are designed to meet the teaching, research, and service missions of different constituencies: the Robert Manning Strozier Library, Dirac Science Library, Claude Pepper Library, College of Music Allen Library, College of Law Legal Research Center, College of Medicine Maguire Medical Library, and the FAMU-FSU Engineering Library. Each of these libraries purchases and provides collections specific to its disciplines and provides in-person reference, research support, circulation, and other services. Library materials and services are also available at the FSU Panama City Campus, as well as International Programs study centers in London, Florence, and Panama, and a collection of art and related materials at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida.

Robert Manning Strozier Library

Strozier Library, besides housing physical collections in the humanities, arts, social sciences, education, business, and government documents, provides a wide array of information and academic support services. Strozier Library has 223,500 square feet of space and 1,482 seats. It also contains 391 computers for public use, as well as other multimedia items, and over one million volumes to support teaching and research. Strozier's study and learning spaces are heavily used by students and faculty. Strozier is a popular destination for students both because of the many services and resources it offers, but also because of its availability 24 hours a day, four days a week.

Strozier Library has two main service floors focused on the distinctive needs of different populations. The ground floor, known as the Scholars Commons, is oriented toward graduate student and faculty needs. It features a spacious, quiet study area, a large reading room for graduate students and faculty, a computer lab with software requested by graduate students, a large print reference collection including a significant collection of microfilm/fiche, and the government documents collection. The Scholars Commons librarians, who each have one or more subject specialties, work with faculty and graduate students on locating and obtaining materials for research projects. They provide research consultations for faculty and graduate students, and instruction oriented to graduate student needs.

On Strozier's first floor, the Learning Commons is designed for active, collaborative learning and offers many services specifically needed by undergraduate students, including a wide array of technology (laptops, DSLR cameras, calculators, etc.) to use in-house or to check out, an adaptive technology room, a 30-seat technology-rich instruction lab, reserve materials, and reference and research assistance. Study rooms using "Smart" technology are in great demand. Free tutoring in a wide variety of subjects is offered in the evenings, and FSU's Reading-Writing Center and Advising First services have a presence in the space. The Learning Commons serves as a one-stop shop for academic support services and is extremely popular with students.

Dirac Science Library

The Paul A.M. Dirac Science Library encompasses 74,000 square feet, contains 477 seats, has 86 computers, and contains over 200,000 volumes. This branch is located among the science buildings on the west side of campus, houses print collections for the sciences, and provides technology resources and standard library services such as reference, research consultations, instruction, interlibrary loan, and reserve reading. Also available is tutoring in related science subjects.

Claude Pepper Library

The Claude Pepper Library, located at the Pepper Center, holds political manuscript collections and is part of University Libraries' Special Collections division. Within its 5,500 square feet, the center holds 1,500 volumes, a museum focused on Claude Pepper's political career, seating for 20, and seven public computers.

College of Music Allen Library

Located in the College of Music, the Allen Music Library provides 14,800 square feet of space, seating for 122, and 114,700 volumes. The library also provides reference services, circulation, and instructional services for the College of Music population. The University Libraries' subscription to LibGuides is used by Music Library staff. The Library's webpages provide basic information on resources. Basic music reference service is available 82 hours a week during the academic semester, with specialized reference and research consultation services available by appointment.

College of Law Legal Research Center

The FSU Legal Research Center is located within the FSU College of Law. Encompassing over 30,000 square feet, the center has seating for over 400, and contains over half a million physical volumes. On-site reference service is available 50 hours per week. Legal Research Center librarians teach several optional for-credit classes including Advanced Legal Research; International and Foreign Legal Research; Environmental Legal Research; Business and Economics Legal Research; Tax Law Research; Human Rights Legal Research; American Law for Foreign Lawyers; and Environmental Law and Policy. Other instructional services for students include the Excellence in Florida Legal Research Program (weekly lunchtime workshops); Jump Start Trainings; LibGuide Research Guides; workshops and one-on-one assistance for student scholarly writing; and guest lectures by librarians (in first-year legal research and writing classes, as well as in selected upper-level classes).

College of Medicine Maguire Medical Library

The Maguire Medical Library is located on the west side of campus within the College of Medicine. It is approximately 4,000 square feet, seats 55, contains 1,228 physical volumes, and has 4 computers. The Maguire Medical Library supports the academic and research needs of clinical faculty, researchers, staff, and students through individual instruction in person, by phone, and via e-mail. With close to 100% of its resources online and many of the College's students and faculty in remote sites, the Library's website plays an integral role in providing instructional services, including one-on-one consultations, workshops, and self-directed guides and tutorials.

FAMU-FSU Engineering Library

The Engineering Library is located within the FAMU-FSU (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University-Florida State University) College of Engineering and provides information services and student-oriented technology resources similar to, but on a smaller scale, than those offered at Strozier and Dirac. The Library's popularity with students recently led to the College designating and renovating additional space for library services. It now contains 2,230 square feet, seating for 40, and 11 public computers. It has an extensive electronic collection supplemented by a print collection of 475 volumes to meet the program's needs.

The Innovation Hub

The Innovation Hub transcends the traditional, discipline-based organizational structure of universities by providing a central location, or hub, where students, faculty, and staff from all departments can innovate and collaborate. Campus-wide colleges, departments, schools and programs have all contributed significantly to the success of the Innovation Hub, which includes two library faculty. The Innovation Hub is located in the Louis Shores building, at the heart of FSU’s campus. The 14,000 square foot space is designed to support Design Thinking with the latest technologies, a Digital Fablab, Virtual Reality Lab, Hackerspace, and a variety of spaces and technologies for collaborative work supporting groups from 2 to 140.

The School of Information

The School of Information at Florida State University, founded in 1947, is the University’s iSchool. It houses academic programs in IT and Information, and includes the accredited Master of Science in Information degree (continuously accredited since 1952). The School is part of the College of Communication and Information and is a founding partner of the Innovation Hub, home to two library faculty, and is a close partner with the University Libraries due to the synergies of its academic programs.

Branch Campuses

The FSU campuses in Panama City, Republic of Panama and in Panama City, Florida have staffed, physical libraries that serve the needs of their constituents. Appropriate collections are provided along with instructional, research, and reference services and support. The physical spaces provide computer workstations and study space for patrons. Students and faculty also have full access to e-resources and virtual library services provided by FSU's central libraries, and books from the Tallahassee campus’ collections are shared via courier and/or interlibrary loan.

FSU Panama, Republic of Panama

The library located on the FSU-Republic of Panama campus has its own physical book collection of 50,000 volumes, seven workstations for student use, seating for 40, and contains 3,600 square feet. The professional librarian provides support for accessing study and research materials with help from student assistants, who also handle daily circulation, materials, and information requests. Access to FSU's online library collection is provided through FSU's Library website. Interlibrary loan is often used to access physical resources borrowed from FSU's main campus or other institutions. Recently, changes were made to the web server that allows for greater access to online catalogs and materials. The library hours were expanded and there has been an ongoing program to add new titles to the library's holdings. Patrons also have Wi-Fi access throughout the library.

FSU Panama City, Florida Library and Learning Center

The Panama City campus's library facility has 6,300 square feet, including seating for 119 within a study space and a classroom. Sixty-one computer workstations and 5,200 volumes are available for student use. A full-time librarian and several support staff offer a wide range of standard library services including reference services, instruction, research consultations, course reserves, and interlibrary loan. Book collections are housed at the library of Florida Gulf Coast College, which is located within walking distance of the FSU-PC campus. Books from the Tallahassee campus libraries are delivered four times per week. Faculty and students have access to the full suite of online information resources and virtual reference/research services offered by FSU's main libraries.

For more information about the FSU University Libraries, please visit: https://www.lib.fsu.edu/.

IV. Position Description

FSU seeks a transformative leader who is open, collaborative, and trusted, and possesses a commitment to engaging the FSU community and campus stakeholders in developing an ambitious and innovative vision for the future. The Dean will lead with passion, creativity, and excellence to cultivate an interactive environment for interdisciplinary discovery and research, acting as a transformational leader who will effectively advance FSU’s strategic initiatives. In aligning the University Libraries with FSU’s goal of remaining a “Top 25” ranked public research university, the Dean must value and exhibit a collaborative leadership style with faculty, staff, student body, community partners, alumni, and donors.

Reporting to the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean is the senior academic and administrative officer of the University Libraries, home to 138 full time employees supported by a total annual operating budget of more than $18 million. As a member of FSU’s senior academic team, the Dean of University Libraries is an active participant in the education, research, and community engagement mission of the University.

The Dean is responsible for the visionary leadership and overall administration of the University Libraries including strategic, operational, and financial matters. This includes managing organizational culture and change management; budget and resource oversight; planning and policy formulation; campus and community collaborations; and external relations to demonstrate impact. The Dean is expected to provide the open and collaborative leadership necessary to preserve and enhance the University Libraries’ commitment to scholarship and outstanding, student-centered education. Externally, the Dean has major responsibilities for the Libraries’ relationships with stakeholders, the profession, the academy, and the larger public it serves.

In addition, the Dean will be responsible for:

• Directing library operations; managing and supervising librarians and staff.
• Consulting with University faculty, in close cooperation with the Faculty Senate Library Committee, to determine library resources and service needs of academic programs and departments.
• Developing programs and policies in support of the academic program overall and in key areas such as information literacy, student and faculty research, and technology.
• Consulting with University administrators to determine budget and personnel requirements and coordinating library practices and procedures with University policies.
• Developing and administering the Libraries’ annual operating budget.
• Selecting and providing access to appropriate electronic information resources; and
• Assessing the quality and effectiveness of library programs and services.

The members of the senior leadership team who report directly to the Dean include:

• Associate Dean, Administrative Services
• Associate Dean, Resource Management and Discovery
• Associate Dean, Research and Learning
• Associate Dean, Special Collections and Archives
• Associate Dean, Technology and Digital Scholarship

Qualifications

The Dean will exhibit strong and inspiring leadership, the ability to articulate a vision and provide strategic direction for the University Libraries in the rapidly changing information and higher education environment, and provide national leadership on academic library issues. The successful candidate will bring to the role significant experience and achievement in managing within an academic research library. This individual will be committed to building and sustaining a talented workforce, will possess effective budget management skills and experience, and will exhibit knowledge of effective assessment for continuous improvement. The candidate will have a strong understanding of the Libraries’ role as an education partner and of current trends in scholarly communication, open access, and research support. The successful candidate will be a strong and effective communicator who can collaborate with internal and external university stakeholders to enhance community knowledge of and support for the Libraries.

In addition to having a Master’s degree in Library/Information Science from an ALA-accredited institution and the academic credentials to engender respect from the academy, the state university system, and the community at large, the successful candidate will possess many of the following:

• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in library administration, preferably in an academic institution.
• Significant experience managing complex library budgets, operations, and strategically allocating resources.
• Experience recruiting, hiring, managing, and leading professional and paraprofessional staff.
• Experience developing a long-range plan for financial sustainability, including fundraising via grant-writing or philanthropy, is preferred.
• Experience conceptualizing and managing an external relations program for a research library that includes development, communications, event and program planning, and forging mutually beneficial community partnerships in support.
• Strong leadership skills, including keen analytical and conceptual abilities and demonstrated ability to manage organizational change, inspire innovation, and delegate responsibility appropriately; and
• Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills.

Qualities and Characteristics

In addition, the successful candidate should possess the following qualities and characteristics:

• A well‐informed and innovative vision for the future of academic research libraries and the ability and courage to continue to evolve the University Libraries to meet FSU’s needs.
• A strong understanding of the mission, values, goals, and pedagogies employed in higher education and an innovative approach to how an academic library can partner with faculty, staff, students and community in pursuit of them.
• A proactive, collaborative, transparent and open‐minded approach to leadership and a willingness to foster a culture that includes shared decision-making.
• A demonstrated commitment to public higher education, community partnerships and engagement.
• An ability to communicate and collaborate with the many campuses and community stakeholders.
• Intellectual curiosity and a genuine eagerness to engage in the life of the community as an enthusiastic and approachable representative of the University Libraries.
• A strong and visible personal and professional commitment to support university excellence.
• The ability to see and hear how campus and community priorities can be advanced through library efforts and effectively communicate library impact.
• A capacity for listening to and communicating with the faculty and staff across the many units that comprise the University Libraries.
• A passion for thinking creatively, boldly, and flexibly about the future of academic libraries.
• An openness to and interest in exploring how new technologies such as AI might assist the Libraries and its patrons to achieve their collective goals in learning, research and instruction and more.

FSU is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

Florida State University has exclusively engaged Jack Farrell & Associates (www.jackfarrell.com) to find its next Dean of Libraries. Interested candidates should provide a CV and 2-page cover letter to Jack Farrell (jack@jackfarrell.com). The cover letter should address: 1) why am I interested?, 2) how am I qualified?, and 3) what is my vision for the