Reference & Outreach Librarian

Company: American Association of Law Libraries
Location: Berkeley
Posted on: June 2, 2025

Job Description:

The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Berkeley Law) is one of the nation's premier law schools, located at one of the world's great universities. The Law Library holds one of the largest law collections in the world. It houses an extensive collection of Anglo-American, international, foreign, and comparative law. The Law Library serves a faculty of more than 100, including tenured and tenure track, clinical, adjunct, and visiting professors and lecturers; more than 1000 J.D. students; 250 LL.M. students; 150 Professional Track LL.M. students in the summer; graduate students from the School of Jurisprudence and Social Policy; more than 100 visiting scholars each year; as well as researchers from other scholarly and legal communities. These include members of the University of California community, private attorneys, and members of the general public. Berkeley Law is the home of the prestigious Robbins Collection, which specializes in religious and civil law, and includes rare books and manuscripts. The Law School has a wide variety of research centers, clinics, and student-initiated projects.The UC Berkeley School of Law Library seeks a Reference & Outreach Librarian (R&O Librarian). Working under the supervision of the Law Library's Director of Research & Reference Services, R&O Librarian serves as a key member of the Reference team, providing a high level of research and library support to the law school and university community. The position will also plan, develop, coordinate, and direct library outreach activities to Berkeley Law School students, faculty, and staff. These activities include new and recurring programs, events, and publications aimed at apprising Law Library users of the library's collection and services, electronic/digital research resources, reference assistance and research instruction. As an R&O Librarian, you assist in providing one-on-one instruction during research consultations as well as supporting classroom instruction by delivering ad hoc instruction for our clinics, law reviews, Student-Initiated Legal Services Projects and other student groups.The R&O Librarian will be a core, collaborative member of the Reference team. In addition to other assigned responsibilities, the position includes the following duties:Reference ResponsibilitiesAssess and identify the needs of the library's primary users for research methods instruction in law and other relevant disciplines.
Participate in library instruction, including recurring and ad hoc law school class appearances.
Support the Law School's teaching and research missions, including its emphasis on experiential education, designed to prepare practice-ready law graduates.
Provide research consultation for individual faculty, students, and scholars in the UC Berkeley community.
Collaborate with faculty on complex, innovative research projects, providing in-depth research support and integrating new research methodologies.
Contribute to the development and maintenance of research and reference instructional tools, including online research guides, video tutorials, and handouts for presentations and programs.
Participate in student, faculty, and staff orientations to the library and its services.
Contribute to the supervision and training of law student research assistants.
Serve regular and as-needed assigned in-person desk hours at the library's Reference Desk with occasional assignments on weekends.
Serve regular and as-needed virtual Reference chat service hours.
Participate in regular Reference team, committee, and other law library meetings.OutreachPlan, develop, and implement targeted outreach initiatives to engage students, faculty, and staff with library services and resources.
In cooperation with other library staff, provide expertise in the development, implementation, and assessment of outreach methods, policies, and procedures to the library, while monitoring external developments, best practices, and changing needs respecting outreach.
As needed, serve as a point of contact for licensed database access and registration for new students and faculty.
UC Berkeley librarians are expected to participate in library-wide planning and governance, and work effectively in a shared decision-making environment. Advancement is partially based upon professional contributions beyond the primary assignment; the successful candidate will show evidence or promise of such contributions to the Library, campus, UC System, and profession.We welcome a range of backgrounds - we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every listed qualification.QualificationsBasic qualifications(required at time of application)Candidate must hold an advanced degree
Additional qualificationsMinimum three years of direct experience with integrated library systems (e.g., TIND, Alma, Sierra) and circulation modules.
Minimum three years of experience in Research and Outreach
Preferred qualificationsDegree in library science, law, or or related field.
Demonstrated knowledge of and skill with outreach and marketing.
Demonstrated ability to plan, develop, and teach legal research methods and tools.
Familiarity with the Law Library collection's core subject areas and with relevant bibliography to support research in these areas.
Demonstrated ability to work both collaboratively and independently in a team environment.
Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and ensure regular workflows.
Evidence of strong interpersonal and communication skills, as well as initiative and flexibility.
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Keywords: American Association of Law Libraries, Redwood City , Reference & Outreach Librarian, Other , Berkeley, California