Los Angeles - UCLA - Assistant Professor of Information Studies with an emphasis in Library Studies

https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF04839

Salary 

Commensurate with qualifications and experience. UCLA also has an attractive benefits package.

Close Date

Sunday, Dec 1, 2019 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)

DESCRIPTION

The Department of Information Studies of the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSE&IS) at UCLA invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor of information studies specializing in Library Studies (LS). The Department of Information Studies’ LS specialization focuses on the role of libraries and the profession of librarianship, and stresses the core values of the profession: access, confidentiality and privacy, democracy, education and lifelong learning, intellectual freedom, preservation, professionalism, the public good, service, and social responsibility. The successful applicant will have research and teaching interests in information studies that relate to any aspect of librarianship. These interests might include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• libraries in the Information Age, including their roles in the political, cultural, and information economies;

• children and youth services, such as literacy and learning;

• libraries’ various social contexts and civic commitments, including digital inclusion, intellectual freedom, and critical information literacies and pedagogies;

• libraries' engagements with diverse communities, particularly the underserved;

• the cultural stewardship of, and access to, non-traditional collections and materials;

• the management of libraries, including evaluation and outcomes assessment;

• issues of professionalization in librarianship, including ethics, cultural competence, and diversity.

Within the school, the Department of Information Studies is an innovative, interdisciplinary locus for theory and research in information studies, where library studies is situated within a broader landscape that includes archival, community, and museum informatics, cultural preservation, data science and curatorship, information ethics and policy, new media and Internet studies, and textual and visual studies, among other areas. The Department’s faculty is among the most productive and highly-cited in the field, and at UCLA, has close ties with the Center for Digital Humanities, the Digital Library Program, the Ethnomusicology Archive, the Film & Television Archive, the Institute for Digital Research and Education, and Library Special Collections, among other units. The Department also has strong connections to local-area libraries, archives, and museums, which host students for internships and fieldwork.

The Department offers the Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree with specializations in archival studies, informatics, library studies, media archival studies, and rare books / print and visual culture. The Department also offers the Ph.D. in Information Studies, and a growing undergraduate program. The appointee will teach four four-unit courses per year or their equivalent, in accordance with the Department’s workload policy, including core courses in the MLIS and Ph.D. programs, core seminars in the LS specialization of the MLIS, and undergraduate courses as applicable. Other duties include graduate student advising and mentoring; active engagement in research, scholarship, and/or creative work; and active participation in administrative and governance responsibilities for the Department, the School, and the University. For more information on degrees and courses offered by the department, visit https://is.gseis.ucla.edu/programs/.

Rank: Assistant Professor.

Starting date: July 1, 2020. (Teaching duties begin late September 2020.) This position is contingent upon final budgetary approval.

Qualifications

Ph.D. in Information Studies or related field is required by date of hire. A terminal degree in other relevant fields will also be considered. Candidates should demonstrate a strong record of (or potential for) scholarly publication and/or creative work; a well-developed agenda for continuing research, scholarship, and/or creative work; university-level teaching experience or potential for teaching excellence; and the ability to engage with external audiences to advance research and teaching, including the possibility of seeking extramural funding.

To apply: Please apply online at JPF04839 with a letter of application outlining scholarly background and current and future research plans; a curriculum vitae; a teaching statement outlining your contribution to the teaching mission of the Department at the undergraduate, Masters and PhD levels; and 2-3 samples of publications. All UCLA faculty applicants must provide a statement of contributions to diversity through research, teaching, and/or service. Please also include a list of at least three people who can write confidential letters of recommendation.

For informal inquiries, please contact the Search Committee Chair, Jonathan Furner or the Departmental Chair, Jean-François Blanchette .

Application deadline: Review of applications will begin on December 1, 2019. To ensure full consideration, applications should be complete and letters of recommendation received by this date. The position will remain open until filled, but not later than June 30, 2020.