APAP Career Center

Join a vibrant equity-minded campus whose excellence is reflected in its community, cultural engagement, and student success. West Chester University (WCU) Libraries invites applicants for a Full-time, 9-month, Tenure-Track, Discovery Service Librarian (Assistant Professor) position. The position begins in August 2026.

West Chester University (WCU), a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, is a public, comprehensive institution committed to offering high-quality undergraduate education, selected post-baccalaureate and graduate programs, and a variety of educational and cultural resources for its students, alumni, and citizens of southeastern Pennsylvania. The University offers more than 100 graduate and undergraduate programs in the sciences and mathematics, business and public management, arts and humanities, health sciences, education and social work, music, and interdisciplinary studies. We are a community of educators dedicated to developing graduates who succeed personally and professionally and contribute to the common good.

The mission of the University Libraries is to empower intellectual exploration through building connections, collections, and community. As an active member of the University's academic programs, the Libraries are a major contributor to WCU's core mission of student success. The faculty members serve as both instructors and of information literacy and stewards of library resources. Learn more about West Chester University's Libraries.

The faculty position involves leading discovery-related initiatives, improving access to resources, and enhancing users' experience through discovery interfaces and metadata. The ideal candidate is people-centered and thrive in collaborative environments. The incumbent is charged with serving WCU's campus community and participating in collaborative activities across campus. The faculty member will collaborate with other university faculty and staff to ensure student success. May work some evening and weekend hours.

Responsibilities include:

• Collaborate with the Resource Services Unit and other relevant stakeholders to support the Libraries' e-resource ecosystem, discovery, and the successful interoperability between systems.
• Organize and lead discovery and e-resource related initiatives and teams. 
• Collaborate with others on interface evaluation, assessment, and usability studies to improve the user experience and access to the library collections, resources, and open access content.
• Set standards, policies, and best practices for the effective use of discovery services, tools, and metadata.
• Promote discovery, e-resources, and services through educational programming, trainings, and/or materials.
• Participate in Research Help Desk rotation for on-site and virtual reference, including some evening and weekend shifts, and offer research consultations as needed
• Support faculty and students with values grounded in diversity, equity, inclusivity, belonging, and social justice 
• Serve as a subject specialist to one or more areas to be determined at the time of offer and participate in collection development and the University Libraries' instruction program.
• Engage in scholarship and service. This is necessary for tenure and promotion process.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Master's degree in a Library Science program or a closely related degree from an accredited American Library Association program.
• At least 2 years of professional experience in an academic library, consortial, or research environment.
• Ability to effectively communicate in writing and verbally, and present dynamically to a variety of constituents.
• Experience with the back-end management or operations of an integrated library system and/or discovery layer.
• Ability to collaborate or develop programs with goals that work towards equity, inclusion, and belonging.

• Demonstrated project management skills, and strong analytical problem-solving skills; and/or
• Demonstrated experience supporting cloud-based library systems and their discovery layers such as PrimoVE; and/or
• Working knowledge or educational coursework related to library metadata and/or linked data; and/or 
• Knowledge of standards and best practices for web accessibility and ADA compliance; and/or 
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a collegial academic setting; and/or 
• Second advanced degree or additional graduate coursework. Additional education is necessary for promotion; and/or  
• Record of professional service and publication/presentations/scholarly achievement; and/or
• Experience providing reference and research services in-person and/or virtually to individuals or groups of students and faculty; and/or
• Experience teaching at an academic library.

About West Chester University of Pennsylvania

West Chester University (WCU) of Pennsylvania is among the top regional comprehensive public universities in the nation, serving more than 17,500 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels with a national reputation for excellence, value, and student success. Founded in 1871 as an institute for teacher preparation, West Chester offers more than 118 undergraduate and 103 graduate programs in more than 50 fields of study. In addition to the main campus in West Chester, the University offers programs through its graduate center, the Philadelphia campus, and online. Five colleges and two schools comprise the University: Colleges of Arts and Humanities, Business and Public Management, Education and Social Work, Health Sciences, and the Sciences and Mathematics, as well as the School of Music, and the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies. Located in Chester County (25 miles from downtown Philadelphia) the area combines the best of enjoyable daily living with easy access to the full spectrum of country and city attractions. We are a community of educators dedicated to developing graduates who succeed personally and professionally and contribute to the common good.

Connections working at West Chester University of Pennsylvania