Description

Widener University Delaware Law School in Wilmington, Delaware, seeks to hire a Director of the Legal Information Center (LIC) to begin July 1, 2023. In collaboration with LIC staff, law school faculty and staff, and the broader university community, the Director oversees operations, personnel, strategic planning, external relations, technology and other initiatives, and budget, and informs curricular matters associated with legal research as one of the intellectual and research centers of the Law School. 

The Director would maintain the rank of tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor of Law, with equal expectations to teach one course per academic year as well as be a full faculty participant in faculty governance and professional service. Promotion and/or tenure is based on meeting institutional standards for teaching, scholarship, and service.   

In its sixth decade, Delaware Law School is ABA-accredited and the first and only law school in the nation’s First State of Delaware, America’s corporate capital. It has civic-minded students and staff, a top-notch faculty, and some of the best teachers and most productive legal scholars and social change agents in the nation. The large corporate community in Delaware and the varieties of legal practice opportunities in neighboring Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland offer students an unusually rich array of opportunities for experiential learning through internships and externships, a public interest law center, and numerous clinical programs. The LIC serves as the State of Delaware’s largest law library and as one of the Mid-Atlantic's finest, and plays a vital role in the teaching, scholarly, and service missions of the Law School and greater legal community.

Applicants are invited to apply at widener.edu/jobs. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Also, please include three references. Only those selected to interview will be contacted.  Please direct questions to Professor James R. May, Appointments Committee Chair. We welcome applications from those who would add to the diversity of our academic community.

Essential duties:

• Directs the planning and overall administration of the LIC, including short- and long-term strategic planning, budgeting, hiring, management and development of library staff, collection development and management, and overseeing and enhancing law library technology.
• Ensures that the LIC is organized and managed in an efficient and productive manner and models a collaborative and collegial culture.
• Promotes and creates professional development opportunities for LIC staff, particularly around technology, project management and communication.
• Maintains a collection of print and digital resources that support the mission of the law school
• Supports research by faculty, students, and staff.  

 Secondary responsibilities:

• Teach law school introductory and upper -level courses.
• Engage in research, scholarship, and academic citizenship at all levels within the university.
• Informally advise students related to law school and career success.

Requirements

Required:

• J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school and an M.L.S. or MLIS from an ALA-accredited program or equivalent.
• A minimum five years’ experience in a research law library setting or equivalent, including technological innovations, and working with law students and faculty.
• Excellent communication, project management, and planning skills.
• A proven record of accomplishment in administration and management, including library/information collection management, strategic planning, and budgeting, and directing, supervising, and motivating library staff.
• Experience teaching legal research.
• A commitment to furthering the library's culture as a welcoming and supportive environment for a diverse student body, staff, and faculty. 
• Technical skills, including legal research skills and facility with social media.   Knowledge of current and developing library technologies.
• Strong potential for making contributions to the Law School’s and University's diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.

Preferred:

• Teaching experience legal education.
• Published Scholarship.
• Demonstrated commitment to legal education.
• Clear evidence of scholarly potential. Positions are not limited by area of research specialization.