Director of the Library

Job Summary

Bowdoin College, a residential liberal arts college founded in 1794 and located in Brunswick, Maine, seeks its next Director of the Library. The Library, established in 1802, is central to Bowdoin’s educational mission and is highly valued for its rich collections, extensive services, and outstanding staff. The Director reports to the Senior Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs.

About the Library

The Bowdoin College Library comprises Hawthorne-Longfellow Library, which houses the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, and three branch libraries: the Pierce Art Library, the Beckwith Music Library, and the Hatch Science Library. The Library Annex, a short distance from campus, provides climate-controlled, high-density shelving for 200,000 volumes. Together, the Library has over 900,000 volumes in its physical collections and almost 4 million volumes in E-collections. The Library is a selective depository for federal and state government documents and participates in the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin and MaineCat shared catalogs. The operating budget of the library is $4,750,000 of which $3,850,000 is for library materials. There are also a number of restricted endowments that support the operating budgets as well as special projects.

The Library employs 43 staff members (including part-time) and more than 100 student assistants each semester. Staff work in functional teams and collaborate regularly with colleagues across campus, including those in Information Technology, the Baldwin Center for Learning and Teaching, Student Affairs, and academic departments and programs.

Connection with the campus community in support of teaching, learning, and scholarship is the foundation of the Library’s work. The Research and Instruction Librarians have developed a collaborative, inclusive approach to student learning: they partner with faculty to design research assignments and instruction sessions and work with students, individually and in groups, on coursework, independent research, research design and methods, copyright, open access, and data management. Special Collections & Archives offers object-based instruction, mounts exhibitions and programs drawn from its rich collections, supports the administration of the College through records management and archival services, and serves researchers in person and remotely. Access and User Services along with Collections are vital partners across the college.

The Role of the Library Director

We seek a proven leader with the capacity to advance strategic priorities and advocate for the library. The next Director will understand the opportunities and challenges facing academic libraries today, as well as the goals of a liberal arts education. They will bring demonstrated team-building experience and thrive in a genuinely collaborative environment. The next Director also will serve as a leader in conversations about AI in a liberal arts context, both within the Library and across the College. Looking ahead, experience with library space planning or renovation is desirable.

Working with library staff, College administration, and campus partners, the Director oversees all areas of library operations. Direct reports include the four Associate Librarians (Access and User Services; Collections; Digital Initiatives and Special Collections & Archives; and Research, Instruction, and Outreach), the Operations and Budget Administrator, the Web Manager and Communication Specialist, and the Administrative Coordinator. The Director works closely with colleagues across the College, including the directors of the Museum of Art and the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum; serves ex officio on the Faculty Library Committee; facilitates the Student Library Advisory Committee; and participates in faculty meetings as a voting member.

The Library Director will:

• Provide strategic vision, direction, and leadership for the Library;
• Recruit, supervise, evaluate, and develop outstanding staff, fostering cooperation across functional areas;
• Lead planning and implementation of the library components of the campus master plan, which includes a new or renovated library facility;
• Collaborate with faculty and academic administrators to support academic programs, faculty instruction and scholarship, and student learning;
• Oversee all operating, general, and endowed budget lines and prepare the annual budget with future needs and long-term strategic initiatives in mind;
• Provide leadership on emerging technologies and on the production, use, and distribution of information in the academy, including scholarly publishing, open access and copyright, and ensure compliance with the standards of the American Library Association, the Federal Depository Library Program, and other appropriate bodies;
• Represent Bowdoin in the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin (CBB) consortium, the Oberlin Group, and statewide, regional, and national professional organizations; and pursue cooperative and resource-sharing agreements with other libraries, archives, and repositories;
• Partner with the Office of Development and Alumni Relations on donor relations; and
• Contribute to institutional leadership as appropriate, and perform other responsibilities as assigned.

This is a full-time, year-round, benefits-eligible position with an anticipated start date of February 1, 2027. The anticipated hiring range is $186,000-$210,000 annually.

Benefits and Perks

• A variety of health insurance plans (Medical, Vision, Dental)
• Generous Retirement Plan – 401(a) and 403(b)
• Life and Disability Insurance
• Paid Time Off: 20 days of vacation per calendar year, 12 days of personal/sick time
• Paid Holidays and Special Days Off: https://www.bowdoin.edu/hr/our-workplace/college-holidays-and-special-days-off.html
• Paid Parental Leave (Available after one year of service)
• Household access to many of the College’s facilities including the gym and pool
• Free fitness and wellness classes!
• And more: https://www.bowdoin.edu/hr/benefits-perks/index.html

About Bowdoin

Bowdoin embraces diversity in all forms, and the College is home to talented students, faculty and staff—with a variety of racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds; religious beliefs; and gender identities, among other factors.

We encourage applications from candidates committed to the support of an inclusive campus community and those who will enrich and contribute to the College’s multifaceted diversity. We value a community in which individuals of all backgrounds are warmly welcomed and encouraged to succeed.

Founded in 1794, Bowdoin has maintained its commitment to the liberal arts for well over 200 years. Bowdoin’s reputation as a preeminent liberal arts college rests on the excellence of its faculty, students, and staff; intimate size; strong sense of community; and connections to the people, history, and natural beauty of Maine.

Bowdoin’s campus is situated in a beautiful natural setting. Located in Brunswick, Maine, a town of approximately 20,000, the College is a short drive from the Maine coast, twenty-five miles from Portland and 120 miles from Boston.

Accessibility during the application and interview stages, and once employed, is a priority of the College: https://www.bowdoin.edu/accessibility/index.html.

EEO Information

Bowdoin College complies with applicable provisions of federal and state laws that prohibit unlawful discrimination in employment, admission, or access to its educational or extracurricular programs, activities, or facilities based on race, color, ethnicity, ancestry and national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, age, marital status, place of birth, genetic predisposition, veteran status, or against qualified individuals with physical or mental disabilities on the basis of disability, or any other legally protected statuses.