Job Details

Western Carolina University continues to rank high on Forbes Best Employers lists each year. Including:
2025 - Ranked 1st in the top 100 employers in North Carolina in Forbes Americas Best Employers by State list.
2024 - Ranking in the top 8.5% on Forbes Americas Best Midsize Employers list, WCU was ranked 34 out of the top 400 employers across all industries.
2023 - Ranked in the top 20% on Forbes Americas Best Midsize Employers list, WCU was ranked 97 out of the top 500 employers across all industries.
2022 - Ranked 14th in the top 100 employers in North Carolina in Forbes Americas Best Employers by State list.
Western Carolina University is the UNC systems westernmost campus and has been consistently ranked as one of the top 15 public regional institutions in the South.
Employees of WCU are provided a comprehensive benefits package as well as other resources, policies and programs to ensure a happy and healthy work/life balance. Benefit eligible employees have access to dental, vision and health insurance plans - eligibility begins on the first of the month following date of hire. Retirement plan contributions begin on the eligibility date following election and include employer contributions for either a defined contribution or a defined benefit plan. Optional disability plans are also available.
Eligible employees have access to tuition waivers for up to three courses per academic year; employee may enroll at any of the constituent UNC System campuses. Also offered are free group exercise classes multiple times per week, a discounted membership to the campus recreation center, free vaccine and booster shots offered on campus, pretax flexible spending accounts, 12 paid holidays and 24 hours of paid community service leave each year. Leave earning employees (staff and 12-month faculty) who work at least half of the working days of their first month of employment will begin accruing vacation and sick leave immediately. Paid parental leave after 12 months of continuous service.
WCU offers an abundance of training and development programs, certifications, workshops and conferences - many of which are offered free of charge.

The primary location of this position is on the main Cullowhee, NC campus.

Western Carolina Universitys Hunter Library seeks an enthusiastic and service-oriented individual to serve as the Special and Digital Collections Librarian.

This tenure track, twelve-month, Assistant Professor faculty position will support the university and the community by building, preserving, and providing access to historically significant collections that represent the regions history, culture, literature, and geography. The position will coordinate the planning, implementation, maintenance, expansion, and promotion of digital content, including creating new digital collections and developing digital preservation strategies. The faculty member will engage students with archival collections by teaching class groups and coordinating digital humanities projects with groups or individuals, including student interns. They will remain current with trends in special collections and archives, digital library technologies, curation practices, and preservation formats and standards.

Other responsibilities include direct supervision of 1 staff member; management of a 4-person unit, increasing diversity and representation in archival and digital collections; outreach to potential and existing community partners and donors; providing on- and off-campus support to patrons, including staffing the Special Collections reading room and related reference services.

Masters degree in library and/or information science from an ALA-accredited program or equivalent; two years of experience in a library, museum or archival setting; demonstrated customer service orientation with strong collegiality and communication skills; demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with colleagues; demonstrated ability to provide prompt and thorough reference services to patrons; demonstrated potential to meet the librarys requirement for scholarship and service.

At least one year supervisory experience; demonstrated ability to provide outreach to donors and members of the community; experience with project management; experience with grant writing; experience providing research help and instruction to individuals or groups; experience with digitization or digital collections; demonstrated knowledge of the history and culture of Southern Appalachia.

Application materials must be submitted online. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until a candidate has been selected for hire. Salary information available upon request.

Please include a cover letter, current resume and a list of three professional references with complete contact information.

For questions or additional information please contact Beth Thompson at bthompson@email.wcu.edu