Circulation Manager

American University is a student-centered research institution located in Washington, DC, with highly-ranked schools and colleges, internationally-renowned faculty, and a reputation for creating meaningful change in the world. Learn more about American University

Department:
Washington College of Law

Time Type:
Full time
Job Type:
Regular

FLSA Status:
Non-Exempt

Work Modality:
Full On Campus Presence

Union:
SEIU Local 500 - Provost & Enrollment Division

This position is part of a collective bargaining unit represented by SEIU Local 500 - Provost & Enrollment Division. That means the terms and conditions of your employment are governed by university policy (including the Staff Personnel Policies Manual) and any collective bargaining agreement entered into between American University and SEIU Local 500 - Provost & Enrollment Division.

Job Description:

Summary:

The Circulation Manager coordinates day-to-day access services operations at the Pence Law Library and provides senior on-site coverage during assigned shifts, including evenings and weekends. Working with the Access Services Librarian and the other Circulation Manager or Managers, as applicable, the position supports the delivery and continuous improvement of circulation, course reserves, interlibrary loan, consortium lending, patron account services, collection access, study-space and equipment services, marketing, outreach, and related patron services.

The Circulation Manager supervises assigned part-time staff and provides day-to-day direction, training, and support to part-time and student employees. The position uses Ex Libris Alma, interlibrary loan and consortium systems, Microsoft 365, social media platforms, Springshare products, and other library technologies to manage workflows, maintain accurate records, communicate with patrons, promote library resources and services, and support departmental assessment. The position exercises independent judgment in resolving routine service, staffing, facilities, technology, and patron concerns; documents and escalates significant matters; and contributes recommendations concerning policies, procedures, communications, and departmental priorities.

Essential Functions:

1.) Access Services Operations and Patron Experience

- Coordinates daily circulation desk operations and provides direct desk coverage, including opening and closing responsibilities as assigned.
- Performs and resolves circulation, patron-account, room-use, equipment, course reserve, and collection-access transactions.
- Provides directional and informational assistance, basic research triage, and referrals to librarians and other law school offices.
- Serves as the senior library staff member on site during assigned evening and weekend shifts, responds to routine incidents, and contacts appropriate personnel when a matter exceeds delegated authority.
- Applies library policies consistently, resolves routine exceptions, addresses service concerns, and communicates recurring patron needs or operational problems to the Access Services Librarian.

2.) Staff Supervision, Scheduling, and Training

- Directly supervises assigned part-time non-student employees and provides day-to-day work direction to student employees.
- Participates in recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, scheduling, work assignment, timekeeping review, and semester staffing transitions.
- Develops and delivers training, cross-training, procedures, checklists, and service standards for circulation desk employees.
- Provides coaching and performance feedback, documents attendance or performance concerns, and supports employee evaluation and performance-management processes as assigned.
- Coordinates shift coverage and communicates staffing, training, supply, and operational needs to the Access Services Librarian.

3.) Resource Sharing and Course Reserves

- Processes borrowing and lending requests through interlibrary loan and WRLC consortium systems and ensures that materials move accurately and promptly through each workflow.
- Pulls, scans, ships, receives, and processes requested materials; monitors requests; resolves routine exceptions; and communicates with patrons and partner institutions.
- Receives and tracks faculty course reserve requests, creates and updates reserve records, processes materials, and removes outdated reserve items at the end of each term.
- Coordinates with faculty, liaison librarians, acquisitions, cataloging, and other library units when materials must be located, purchased, described, or made accessible.
- Follows established copyright, licensing, privacy, and document-delivery procedures and refers unusual requests for librarian review.

4.) Library Systems, Patron Accounts, and Workflow Administration

- Uses Ex Libris Alma and related platforms to maintain accurate patron, item, loan, request, fulfillment, and course reserve records.
- Resolves routine patron-account matters involving borrowing status, overdue, lost, damaged, billed, or replacement materials within delegated authority.
- Troubleshoots routine library-system, printing, scanning, reservation, and service technology problems and refers complex or recurring issues to the appropriate unit.
- Creates and maintains internal procedures, forms, tutorials, guides, webpages, FAQs, shared files, and other documentation for circulation and resource-sharing services.
- Supports testing and implementation of new systems, technologies, policies, and workflows and helps train staff on approved changes.

5.) Marketing, Outreach, and Social Media

- Develops and contributes accurate, accessible, audience-appropriate content for library social media, webpages, digital signage, newsletters, email communications, and printed promotional materials.
- Maintains a departmental content calendar and coordinates scheduled communications with the Access Services Librarian and other library personnel.
- Promotes library resources, services, collections, spaces, programs, events, course reserves, interlibrary loan, study aids, and other student-support initiatives.
- Participates in orientations, tours, tabling, welcome programs, student organization events, and outreach to faculty, journals, clinics, programs, and law school offices.
- Tracks basic engagement and participation information, gathers user feedback, and recommends adjustments to outreach and communication strategies.

6.) Collections, Spaces, Equipment, and Facilities

- Monitors study rooms, reservation compliance, public service areas, library equipment, displays, signage, and furniture to support a safe, accessible, and effective learning environment.
- Responds to and documents routine facilities, technology, accessibility, safety, security, and building-access concerns and promptly reports matters requiring additional assistance.
- Performs and coordinates shelving, shelf-reading, inventory, shifting, collection relocation, and related stacks-maintenance projects.
- Identifies and helps resolve problems involving item records, labels, signage, physical condition, availability, lost or damaged materials, and collection organization.
- Maintains departmental supplies and service equipment and collaborates with Access Services, Technical Services, facilities, and technology personnel on related workflows.

7.) Assessment, Planning, Projects, and Professional Responsibilities

- Compiles and verifies circulation, interlibrary loan, course reserve, room-use, seat-count, staffing, outreach, and social media statistics.
- Identifies patterns, recurring problems, and opportunities for improvement and prepares reports or recommendations for the Access Services Librarian.
- Participates in policy and procedure development, departmental planning, service assessment, workflow review, and implementation projects.
- Participates in library and university meetings, training, and professional-development activities and maintains awareness of developments in access services, resource sharing, library technology, and user engagement.
- Performs other related duties and special projects as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibility:

- Each Circulation Manager indirectly helps supervise part-time staff. Helps assist with supervising day to day work of part time staff and provides day-to-day direction, scheduling, training, coaching, and performance feedback to student employees. The position participates in hiring, onboarding, timekeeping review, evaluation, and documentation of employee performance as assigned.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

- Full-time.
- 35 hours per week, with full on-campus presence.
- Regular evening and weekend hours are required.
- The established schedule may vary during examination periods, summer sessions, university breaks, holidays, staffing shortages, and emergencies.
- Depending on the shift, the Circulation Manager may serve as the sole law library or law school staff member on site.
- The position must be able to work independently, exercise sound judgment, follow emergency and incident-response procedures, and communicate significant matters promptly.
- This position enables the library to maintain a full-time staff presence during extended operating hours.
- The position is considered essential and may be required to provide coverage for open shifts or emergencies in accordance with university policy.

Salary Range:

- $23.21 - $27.00 per hour.

Required Education and Experience:

- Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant experience.
- 1 - 3 years of relevant experience
- Experience in library services, higher education, customer service operations, or comparable environment.
- Experience training employees, coordinating workflows, or leading shifts is required.

Preferred Education and Experience:

- Juris Doctor.
- Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS); or a comparable graduate degree. For library and information science degrees, graduation from an American Library Association-accredited program is preferred.
- 2 - 4 years of relevant experience
- Experience in an academic, research, or law library.
- At least one year of formal supervisory or staff-management experience.
- Experience using Ex Libris Alma, particularly fulfillment, circulation, patron services, requests, or course reserves.
- Experience with interlibrary loan, document delivery, consortium resource sharing, or course reserves.
- Experience developing marketing, outreach, social media, digital signage, or public engagement content.
- Experience with Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Springshare products, Canva or comparable design tools, web content management systems, or online reservation systems.
- Familiarity with legal education, legal research, or law library services.

Additional Eligibility Qualifications:

- Advanced proficiency with word processing, spreadsheets, email, shared-document platforms, online databases, and other office productivity applications.
- Ability to learn and effectively use integrated library systems, interlibrary loan systems, room-reservation platforms, social media tools, content-management systems, and other library technologies.
- Strong written, oral, interpersonal, organizational, customer-service, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to create clear, accurate, accessible, and audience-appropriate instructions, promotional materials, and digital communications.
- Ability to manage competing priorities, maintain accurate records, protect patron privacy, and handle challenging individuals or situations with tact, professionalism, and poise.
- Ability to work independently as senior staff on site and to make timely decisions within established policies and delegated authority.
- Ability to lift and move library materials, equipment, and packages weighing up to 50 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Other Duties:

- Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Benefits

AU offers a competitive benefits package.  Click here to learn about American University's unique benefit options .

Other Details

- Hiring offers for this position are contingent on successful completion of a background check.
- Employees in staff positions at American University must deliver their services to the university from either the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or perform work on-site at the university.
- Please note this job announcement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
- American University is an E-Verify employer.

Current American University Employees

American University current employees must apply through their employee Workday account. If you are a current employee at American University, please log into Workday and select the Find Jobs report which will take you to our internal career listings.

Contact Us

For more information or assistance with the American University careers site, email  [email protected] .

American University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution that operates in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The university does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, personal appearance, gender identity and expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, source of income, veteran status, an individual’s genetic information or any other bases under federal or local laws (collectively "Protected Bases") in its programs and activities.