About Our Job
The Denver Public Library (DPL) is a growing urban library system that serves the residents of the City & County of Denver. DPL sees more than 4 million visitors every year across its 27 locations, serves Denver’s most vulnerable communities through outreach and mobile services, hosts thousands of programs a year and manages a collection of more than 1.4 million physical and digital materials. We believe a strong library is vital for a strong community. DPL is committed to serving the evolving needs of Denverites through inspired programming, diverse collections, culturally-representative spaces, and equitable policies & procedures.
DPL is hiring a Librarian to provide outstanding reference service as a member of our Reference Services department. In this position, you will foster curiosity by providing professional reference service, one on one appointmentsand collection maintenance. Members of our team strengthen connection by sharing in staffing busy service points, including switchboard phones, chat reference and the reference desk, serving a diverse clientele of all ages. You will challenge inequity and share in upholding our excellent customer service reputation by welcoming customers with thorough and culturally sensitive reference interviews, teaching customers of all backgrounds information literacy skills and promoting our library resources and services. We are looking for strong internal customer service skills to honor the public trust through effective communication about issues and initiatives with customers, coworkers, and administration. If you enjoy collaborating with other librarians in continually expanding knowledge of reference resources and creating staff learning opportunities to support library-wide reference skills development, this may be the job for you!
About Our Branch/Department
The role of Reference Services is to provide professional reference service to the city and region, further information literacy skills and lifelong learning for our customers, and support staff system-wide in the acquisition of reference skills. We are located at the Central Library and our collection includes over 20,000 reference books, 120,000 bound periodicals, 1.5 million federal government documents and a wide range ofelectronic resources. We are aFederal Selective Depository Library, aPatent and Trademark Resource Centerand aFunding Information Network of Candidfor grant-seekers. Our department supports students from middle school through college and lifelong learners in developing research skills. The successful candidate will demonstrate passion and innovation in providing exemplary reference service to adults and teens. This is an outstanding opportunity to work alongside and learn from a team of highly experienced colleagues.
About you
Our ideal candidate has:
Excellent customer service skills
Knowledge of a wide variety of reference resources, including subscription databases and authoritative free websites
Skill in conducting effective reference interviews and information literacy instruction for customers with different levels of literacy or technology abilities
Skill in interpreting, communicating and presenting information, both orally and in writing
Excellent time-management skills
Ability to self-motivate in constantly learning and sharing about new reference resources
Ability to effectively provide reference service to people from all backgrounds and age groups in a variety of formats (in-house, telephone, online chat, mail and email)
Ability to thrive working in an environment with constant public contact
Ability to demonstrate a positive attitude, excellent interpersonal skills, cultural sensitivity, teamwork, flexibility and a sense of humor in working with customers, coworkers and the community
Ability to creatively problem-solve, negotiate and handle stressful situations in a positive manner
Ability to multitask and prioritize
Interest in providing small business entrepreneurs with industry, market and consumer information in order to help them start or grow their business
Interest in providing middle school through adult students with research assistance one on one and in groups
Experience in providing chat reference and high volume reference service
Other things to know:
Master's Degree in Library Science from an American Library Association accredited program is required for this position.
Candidates are required to submit a cover letter with their application.
Reference Services is open seven days a week. The schedule will be determined by the needs of the department and will include a regular weekend rotation and some early evening shifts.
The Central Library is currently under major renovation, and only Floor 1 is open for limited hours. During this renovation, Reference Services librarians staff the Switchboard phones, chat reference, email reference, and remote one-on-one appointments from the Floor 3 Reference Workroom.
There is no free parking for staff at the Central Library and staff who drive to work must make their own parking arrangements. Free RTD passes are available to staff.
Spanish language fluency is preferred.
The City and County of Denver benefit package will be offered.
We expect this position to close on 8/20/2024. Please submit a resume and cover letter at your earliest convenience.
About Everything Else
Job Profile
LA1280 Librarian
To view the full job profile including position specifications, physical demands, and probationary period, click here.
Position Type
Unlimited
Starting Pay
55,000.00-72,875.00
Agency
Denver Public Library
Assessment Requirement
The City and County of Denver provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or any other status protected under federal, state, and/or local law.
It is your right to access oral or written language assistance, sign language interpretation, real-time captioning via CART, or disability-related accommodations. To request any of these services at no cost to you, please contact Jobs@Denvergov.org with three business days’ notice.
Applicants for employment with the City and County of Denver must have valid work authorization that does not require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S.