APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process . Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.
If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants .
Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants .
POSITION SPECIFICS
Head of Library Experience and Services
Responsibilities
The Penn State University Libraries seeks a collaborative and engaged Head of Library Experience and Services at Associate or Full Rank to advance a culture of service quality, collaboration, and student success at Penn State University Libraries. This position will lead a newly aligned portfolio and provide strategic leadership and operational responsibility for most of the public service points across University Park Libraries spaces, including service points at Pattee & Paterno Libraries and multiple branch library locations. This newly established portfolio consolidates previously distributed service functions under unified leadership to ensure consistent, high-quality, values-driven service experiences for students, faculty, staff, and community guests across all Libraries facilities.
The Head of Library Experience and Services serves as an academic administrator responsible for setting departmental vision and standards and manages and mentors service point supervisors and employees. Additionally, the Head of Library Experience and Services closely collaborates with University Libraries colleagues, stakeholders, and partners to cooperatively develop and advance the Libraries' strategic priorities and values, including equitable access, inclusion, user-centered design, and continuous improvement, through the daily experience students and other patrons have at our service points. The Head of Library Experience and Services will collaborate closely with library partners and units that manage complementary programs and services within Libraries spaces on the University Park campus, managing these relationships and connecting our partners’ programmatic goals with the Libraries’ programmatic goals.
This position reports to the Associate Dean for Learning and Engagement and is a member of the Learning and Engagement Leadership Team and the University Libraries’ Leadership Council. This position is located at the University Park campus in State College, PA and the University expects regular onsite presence to fully participate in their university workspace or on-campus intellectual and educational community.
The successful candidate will be responsible for the following
Set strategic direction for the Library Experience and Services portfolio, establishing its vision, structure, and operational expectations, and leading change management efforts to unify distinct service cultures into a cohesive, values-aligned department;
Supervise and develop employees, directly managing service point managers, supervisors, and coordinators while fostering accountability, collaboration, and professional growth;
Oversee service operations, including scheduling, staffing models, cross-training, and coverage planning, to ensure consistent, flexible, and resilient service delivery, including foundational reference services, across all University Park library service points and spaces;
Drive evidence-based improvement by developing and applying assessment tools, user feedback, and service data to evaluate quality, identify opportunities, and demonstrate impact, championing a user-centered, inclusive…