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
theworkline@american.edu
.
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.
