The first sparks of collaboration: Participating in job interviews for faculty candidates

Abstract

As shown by many inspiring articles in C&RL News over the past few years, academic librarians are energetically seeking ways to spark collaborations with teaching faculty and build partnerships that enrich the learning experiences of our students. Librarians often have their first opportunity to meet a new faculty member when the prospective professor comes to campus for an interview. Perhaps you’re a liaison to an academic department, and the department brings faculty candidates over to the library so that you can give them a quick tour and highlight the array of information resources they could access if they accepted positions on your campus. I think these library visits are great opportunities to kindle relationships with new faculty. This article offers some questions to consider when preparing for faculty interviews, based on tips and advice that I’ve received from outstanding teaching faculty and seasoned library colleagues over the years. What are the candidate’s interests? Take an active interest in the potential faculty member’s work. Often, you can obtain a copy of the candidate’s curriculum vitae from the host department before the interview, and you can search for the candidate’s publications in your databases. Reading the abstracts of the candidate’s dissertation and articles can help you converse with them about his or her interests. Finding out what journals he or she has published in (and edited for) will help you determine what journals the candidate hopes to see in your library’s collection. Reviewing the website of the candidate’s current library can also help you prepare, because the candidate might ask if your library has some of the same services and resources. Be prepared to cover the key points about your library, but be flexible and strive for a conversational, faculty-centered approach. On the day of the interview, ask the faculty member what library-related topics would most interest him or her, and take it from there: What kinds of research plans do you have? What tools will you need for your teaching? Are there specific library services that you would particularly like to hear about? What resources have you found most useful in your past projects?