Library Director

Wake County Public Libraries

Wake County description

Wake County is the second-most populous county in North Carolina and consists of 12 municipalities, including Raleigh, the county seat and state capital. A unique mix of urban and rural small towns distinguishes Wake County from other counties and provides something for every lifestyle. The County is located near the center of the state, 2-3 hours away from the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian mountains. Wake County has a population of 900,000 residents in its 860 sq. miles. It is home to Research Triangle Park, six colleges and universities, and a nationally respected public school system. It is consistently rated as one of the best places to live and work in America, most recently featured in Forbes Magazine with 2 municipalities ranked among the “Top 25 Places to Move”. The county’s population is anticipated to increase to over 1 million residents by 2013.

WCPL description

The Wake County Public Library is a decentralized county library system with 21 facilities - 6 regional libraries, 13 community libraries, 1 local history library and an administrative headquarters. The library system is a division of Wake County Community Services. The library’s administrative team includes the director, two assistant directors, six regional library supervisors and system administrators for collection development and information technology. There is a Library Commission appointed by the county commissioners that serves as an advisory board.

With a total annual budget of $16 million, the library system devotes $2.3 million to its collections. As a result, Wake County has the largest public library book collection in the state with over 1.7 million books. The system is dedicated to serving children and providing recreational reading and this is reflected in its resource allocation. Over 7.6 million library visitors borrowed 11 million items and used 600 public computers over 1 million times in FY 2009. Over 250,000 people attended 4,000 adult and children’s programs. These services were provided by a staff of 212.5 FTE committed to providing excellent customer service.

The first public library in Wake County opened in January 1901. By 1982 all libraries throughout the county were united into one system and became fully financed by tax dollars collected by Wake County. There have been 4 successful voter-approved bonds with a 71% voter approval rating. This includes bonds totaling $75 million in the past 10 years. Outstanding projects currently in the design phase are the renovation of the Wake Forest Community Library and the construction of the Northeast Regional Library. Additionally, five new projects and seven renovations are to be completed within the next seven years.

Job Description

Wake County is looking for a professional library executive with a vision to take the library system to the next level of growth and service. The ideal candidate will demonstrate excellent leadership skills with an appreciation and enthusiasm for the library and its role in the community. The candidate will possess expert knowledge on current state-of-the-art library operations; a commitment to quality customer service; excellent problem solving skills; and strong communication and facilitative skills. In addition, the applicant will possess a proven record of establishing effective working relationships with both the private and public sectors, including the professional library community, other government departments and local partners.

The ideal candidate will be:

• A leader, creating an environment of trust, respect and commitment in partnership with elected officials, county administration, library staff, and the general community to develop and maintain positive relationships with the library’s stakeholders;
• A visionary and an innovator with creative, yet practical, solutions to long-term challenges;
• A passionate advocate for current and future library services;
• An excellent communicator with interpersonal strengths, political acumen, objective thinking, effective facilitation skills and sensitivity to community needs; and
• An experienced manager with solid financial and management skills, possessing a sound understanding of public library management and having a working knowledge of county government.

Expectations

Plan, organize and oversee the delivery of library services in the county, working with administrative staff to develop and analyze services to address current and future community needs.

Collaboratively establish department strategic goals and measurements using the Balanced Scorecard, a performance management tool.

Facilitate the preparation of the departmental budget and evaluate expenditures in relation to the department goals and service priorities.

Seek funding for operational and improvement programs by actively pursuing grants, gifts, and other new sources of non-tax funding for the library.

Collaboratively establish capital improvement plans to help achieve capital goals. Coordinate updates to the Library Masterplan and pursue implementation of resulting goals.

Establish and foster a public relations program to obtain a commitment from the community for library services.

Communicate missions, goals, values and initiatives to elected and appointed officials, library staff, customers and the general public.

Serve as a member of various professional, state, and national committees and task forces.

Minimum qualifications

MLS/MLIS from an ALA-accredited institution or a regionally-accredited institution in North Carolina.
A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible public library experience, with at least 5 years of executive level experience in an urban or suburban library. Possess or be eligible for North Carolina Public Library certification prior to appointment.
Go to http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ld/plcert/plcert1.html for details.

Preferred qualifications

A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible public library experience, with at least 5 years of executive level experience in an urban or suburban library. Experience planning and managing an operating budget of at least $10 million. Experience developing capital improvement and strategic plans. Experience managing an administrative team. Experience managing a multi-branch system.

Salary

Salary range $78,000 - $130,000 (negotiable, dependent upon experience and qualifications) with an expected hiring range of $90,000 - $110,000.

Questions

To help us with our screening process, please answer the following questions and include your responses in the application packet:

1. Describe a situation from your work experience where you had to use a new solution to resolve an old problem. Talk about the process you used to discover that solution, including how you determined that the old solution would not work. How did you obtain internal commitment to your decision?
2. What do you think are the three greatest challenges facing public libraries in the future? How have you started to address one of those issues in your current position?

To apply:

Submit a Wake County application form, a letter of interest, resume and response to supplemental questions. Applications may be obtained from Human Resources, Waverly F. Akins Wake County Office Building, Suite 300, 336 Fayetteville Street Mall, Raleigh, N.C. 27602 (919) 856-6090, Monday thru Friday, 8:30am - 5:15pm, except holidays. They also may be downloaded from http://www.wakegov.com . Requests for applications are also available by calling the JOBLINE at (919) 856-6115, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Wake County applications must be received by the closing date. Faxed applications are accepted at (919) 856-6256. Please indicate the job number and position title when applying.

Process:

The interview process for this position will be conducted over a period of several weeks with three separate interview panels. The top 2-3 candidates, as determined by the panels, will attend a final question and answer session with library staff.



For additional information: visit http://www.wakegov.com/libraries or contact the Interim Director, Ann Burlingame at aburlingame@wakegov.com.