Chief Officer: Acquisition Librarian (Post Level 8) Library and Information Services (Job ID: 6423) at University of the Free State

Duties and responsibilities:

• Participate in the creation and regular review of the library's collection development policy.
• Apply adaptive strategies using assessment data to make strategic adjustments to collection development policies and practices.
• Manage the selection, procurement, and processing of print, electronic, and multimedia library assets.
• Continually assess the strengths and weaknesses of the library's collection to pinpoint areas in need of - Implementing plans for digital collections' long-term preservation to guarantee continuous access.
• Ensure that the collection upholds ethical standards in the selection and acquisition of content and represents a wide spectrum of opinions.
• Contribute to the selection and acquisition of resources, ensuring alignment with the university’s academic priorities and the diverse needs of its users.
• Evaluate, select, and acquire materials (books, journals, databases, multimedia resources, etc.) that support the academic and research needs of the university.
• Modify collection assessment procedures to stay up with users' rapidly evolving information needs and technological advancements.
• Prepare for the future by providing information for optimal decisions on resource allocation, digital transformation, and collection growth proactively.
• Monitor the spending patterns based on the budget allocated.
• Analyse spending patterns and making recommendations for financial efficiency.
• Adapt to changing financial circumstances, such as currency fluctuations.
• Navigate budgetary restrictions and difficult resource distribution decisions to ensure good practice standards.
• Prioritize other access models, such as and demand-driven acquisitions and patron driven acquisitions, and give priority to purchases that will benefit the university community the most.
• Ensure the budget cycle is forecasted by taking into account variables such as user input on existing collections, projected expansions of academic programs, and rates of inflation for scholarly resources.
• Analyse past purchasing patterns, evaluating the pricing trends of different kinds of goods (books, multimedia), and spotting possible new purchases.
• Ensure that the budget is aligned with the academic goals of the university and the particular resource needs of various departments.
• Participate in dividing the budget among several categories (such as, journals, electronic resources, databases and special collections) and take the need into account for adaptability in the face of unforeseen circumstances, such as sales of essential resources or new demands in research; bargain with publishers and vendors to get the best terms on purchases and licensing agreements.
• Monitor spending in relation to the budget in order to make any required modifications and make sure that spending stays on course
• Generate reports on the state of the budget, spending, and how the library's acquisitions have impacted the funding of educational and research endeavours.
• Conduct selection of materials to the collection based on user needs, financial constraints, and the library's collection development policy.
• Collaborate with faculty librarians, academics and students to ensure that the collection responds to the needs of the university community.
• Apply the DRM (Digital Rights Management) restrictions to electronic resources in line with publisher and vendor agreements.
• Ensure correct authentication processes are applied for the resources to be accessed by the end users.
•  Ensure that high quality acquisition standards are maintained at all times to ensure effective and efficient workflows.
• Ensure that the UFS LIS implements technologies that will ensure that the rise in digital formats, open resources are accessible to the university community.
• Mitigate problems associated with the digital divide and making certain that every user has equitable access to both physical and digital resources.
• Ensure that the collection advances the academic and research goals of the university or other establishment.
• Evaluate the collection's return on investment while taking impact and usage into account.
• Collect and evaluating information on the frequency of material access or checkout.
• Examine the checkout and renewal information to find patterns, trends, and unused items that should be weeded.
• Follow accessibility guidelines to guarantee that both digital and physical collections are usable by people with disabilities as well as by everyone else.
• Conduct collection development benchmarks to find areas that need improvement, compare against industry norms or peer in the sector.
• Report and present the evaluation assessment results to relevant parties to highlight the importance of the library's collection.
• Maintain continuous communication with suppliers to learn about new products, terms, and any problems.
• Forge deeper relations for insightful information about the operations of vendors and future goods and services.
• Maintain goals and restrictions, collect usage data, user feedback, and budget information prior to engaging in discussions with vendors.
• Fully grasp goals and restrictions, collect usage data, user feedback, and budget information prior to engaging in discussions with vendors.
• Proactively strive for agreements that foster long-term partnerships and mutual benefits.
• Provide a helpful critique to supplier to prepare them to modify their offerings in order to make them better.
• Ensure full compliance with service level standards for quality service by the vendor.

Inherent Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree on NQF Level 7 in Library and Information Studies, OR any bachelor’s degree, Advanced Diploma/B. Tech degree/Postgraduate Certificate on NQF Level 7 PLUS a Postgraduate Diploma in Library and Information Studies on NQF Level 8.
• A minimum of three (3) years’ relevant working experience in acquisitions within Library and Information Services. 

Recommendations:

• Honours degree/Postgraduate Diploma on NQF Level 8 in Library and Information Studies.
• Experience within the higher education environment
• Knowledge of university systems, policies, procedures
• Member of a or registration at a professional body (eg., LIASA)(attach a copy).