Director of Collections #00018

DHRM•Richmond, VA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Library of Virginia is seeking applicants for the Director of Collections position. This is a leadership role which provides strategic leadership for the stewardship, development, description, and discovery of the library’s collections across all formats and content types, including special collections and the Virginia newspaper program. Reporting to the Deputy State Librarian/Chief, Collections and Archives, the Director oversees institution-wide acquisitions, cataloging, and metadata services—including print, audiovisual, microform, and electronic and digital resources—and leads a comprehensive, data-informed approach to both collections assessment and ambitious expansion with a unit of 15+ employees.

Requirements

ALA-accredited graduate degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Demonstrated experience in acquisitions, cataloging/metadata services, collections management, special collections, or related technical services functions.
Supervisory experience managing a diverse team of library, archives, or cultural heritage professionals.
Experience working in both general collections and special collections environments.
Experience assessing, managing, and improving complex library technical services.
Knowledge of current and emerging bibliographic, archival, and metadata standards.
Strong communication, analytical, and organizational skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Alma, Primo, and Alma analytics.
Knowledge of Virginia history, literary, and cultural heritage landscape.

Responsibilities

Lead development, implementation, and ongoing evaluation of a comprehensive collections strategy.
Collaborate with various stakeholders on regular review and refinement of collections workflows.
Use data, analytics, and user feedback to identify collection strengths, gaps, and priorities, supporting evidence‑based decision‑making.
Oversee all acquisitions operations, including vendor relations, procurement workflows, licensing coordination, and budget management for library-wide resources.
Provide strategic direction for acquisitions, cataloging, and metadata activities for all library collections, excluding state and local records.
Ensure high-quality bibliographic and archival description following current standards.
Collaborate with digital initiatives and IT teams to maintain effective system integrations supporting acquisitions, cataloging, metadata, and digital resource workflows.
Direct the arrangement and description of personal papers and other archival materials using appropriate national standards and best practices.
Oversee acquisition, cataloging, management, and access strategies for Virginia newspaper collections in all formats.
Collaborate with Research Engagement staff to enhance discovery tools, support user inquiries, and promote collections through outreach and instruction.
Partner with digital initiatives and IT units to integrate acquisitions, metadata, and archival description seamlessly into digital repositories, discovery layers, and archival management systems.
Supervise professional and technical staff engaged in acquisitions, cataloging, metadata creation, processing, and description across diverse media types and collection formats.
Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and innovative working environment that supports communication, professional development, and staff engagement.
Represent collections-related priorities and perspectives in institutional planning, policy development, and cross-departmental initiatives.