CIRCULATION MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

Daily library access never stops. When circulation breaks down, course reserves go unfulfilled, and interlibrary loan queues stall entire research workflows. Circulation Managers in academic settings own the operational layer that keeps patron access reliable. At institutions ranging from law school research centers to university digital media facilities, this role governs service desk coverage, stacks maintenance, reserve administration, and the budget oversight that funds it all. Student and full-time staff supervision falls squarely here, making it one of the few non-faculty positions with direct accountability across both personnel and physical collections access.

As the Circulation Manager, you will oversee all daily access services operations within an academic library environment, ensuring patron-facing workflows, staff supervision, and resource circulation consistently meet institutional standards. You will report to a Director of Public Services or Student Engagement executive while coordinating directly with librarians across research, bibliographic, and ILL units to maintain integrated, audit-ready service delivery.

Career Impact: Demonstrated expertise in academic access services administration, including ILL policy and integrated library system oversight, establishes a distinct operational profile that supports advancement into Associate Director or Head of Access Services roles.

Business Impact: Reliable circulation and reserve operations directly determine whether students and faculty can access course materials, interlibrary loans, and specialized equipment on schedule, with failures measured in patron complaints and unfulfilled academic deadlines.

Growth Opportunity: Managing multi-tier staff structures spanning full-time employees and rotating student cohorts builds the supervisory track record that opens doors to library administration and cross-departmental operations leadership.

• Supervise and develop a team of full-time staff and part-time student assistants, including hiring, scheduling, training, and performance evaluation.
• Oversee daily service desk operations, including opening and closing procedures, to maintain continuous patron access coverage.
• Administer course reserve, interlibrary loan, and document delivery workflows in compliance with institutional copyright policies.
• Monitor stacks maintenance activities, including shelving, shifting, and inventory control, to ensure organized and retrievable collections.
• Collect, analyze, and report circulation and access statistics to support departmental assessment and resource planning.
• Manage departmental budget functions, including purchasing card reconciliation, invoice verification, and temporary staff allocation tracking.
• Coordinate with Research Services and Bibliographic Services librarians to align circulation policies with broader collection and access strategies.
• Review access procedures and recommend policy updates based on patron feedback, service trends, and staff observations.

• Bachelor's degree in Library Science, Information Studies, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 3 or more years of access services or circulation experience in an academic or large public library, with demonstrated supervisory responsibility.
• Knowledge of copyright compliance practices as applied to course reserves, interlibrary loan, and digitization requests.
• Experience administering an integrated library system or library services platform, including circulation and resource sharing modules.
• Proven ability to manage competing priorities, staff schedules, and workflow demands across variable service hours including evenings and weekends.
• Strong interpersonal skills with experience resolving patron concerns using sound judgment across a diverse academic constituency.
• Proficiency in data reporting tools for compiling activity statistics, preparing periodic reports, and supporting service assessment cycles.

• Graduate degree in Library and Information Science (MLS or MLIS) from an ALA-accredited program.
• Familiarity with resource sharing platforms and interlibrary loan workflows at a regional or national consortium level.
• Experience managing physical facilities access systems, room reservations, or equipment lending programs within a higher education environment.
• Background in financial systems administration, including budget monitoring, reconciliation, and purchasing compliance within a university setting.

• Desk coverage rate, measuring the percentage of scheduled service hours with fully staffed patron-facing coverage.
• ILL turnaround time in days, reflecting how efficiently interlibrary loan requests are processed and fulfilled.
• Course reserve compliance rate, tracking the proportion of reserve items cleared for access before the semester deadline.
• Staff training completion rate, measuring onboarding and refresher training completion across full-time and student staff cohorts.
• Budget variance percentage, reflecting accuracy of departmental spending against allocated temporary staff and supply budgets.
• Typical tools: integrated library systems (commonly Alma or similar LSP); resource sharing platforms (commonly ILLiad or equivalent).

• Base Salary Range: $48,000 to $68,000 annually, depending on institution size and location
• Bonus: Uncommon in academic library roles; merit increases through annual review cycles
• Equity: Not applicable in higher education settings
• Health Benefits: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage through university benefits programs
• PTO: 15 to 22 days annually, plus institutional holidays and sick leave
• Common Perks: Tuition remission, retirement contributions, professional development funding for conference attendance and continuing education

Figures are estimates based on general US market benchmarks and may be outdated. Adjust based on location, company size, and seniority level.

Successful completion of a background check and, where applicable, a drug screening is required as a condition of employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation to participate in the hiring process or to perform the essential functions of this position are encouraged to contact Human Resources. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.

The Circulation Manager delivers optimized direct mail campaigns and a rolling 24-month print contact strategy within the marketing team, reporting to senior management. Working with creative, brand, and CRM partners, the Circulation Manager shapes list selection and campaign analysis to minimize customer acquisition costs and redirect spend to the highest-converting segments.

Key Responsibilities

• Analyze, execute, test, and optimize print campaigns to improve marketing return on investment.
• Execute all direct mail list selects utilizing marketing automation tools.
• Manage and drive execution and optimization of a rolling 24-month print marketing contact plan.
• Develop familiarity with file segments to optimize circulation of print campaigns based on segment performance.
• Present key performance indicators in weekly and monthly reporting meetings to senior management and channel owners, with recommendations.
• Run all performance reporting and ad hoc circulation analysis using analytical tools.
• Collaborate with creative and brand teams to determine the right audience for each campaign based on its goals.
• Generate and implement test strategies to drive improved conversion rates and redirect spend to better-converting campaigns and segments.
• Provide competitive analysis on current and future product and feature offerings.
• Work closely with the marketing database and CRM function to drive synergy and share insights on customer and new-to-file performance.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with coursework in marketing, data science, finance, or business analytics.
• 4 or more years of experience with campaign management, list selection, and marketing automation tools.
• Experience in marketing automation best practices and driving better list selection to minimize cost to acquire.
• Intermediate knowledge and experience with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, including developing and executing list selects.
• Excellent knowledge of analytical tools including Excel, SQL, Tableau, and PowerBI.
• Creative thinking and exceptional analytical skills coupled with a solid business foundation, particularly in campaign automation.
• Strong oral and written communication and presentation skills.
• Innovative, positive, resilient, and self-directed approach to problem-solving.

Embedded within the library's Access Services unit, the Circulation Manager leads service desk and unit operations, managing a team of direct reports and temporary staff while overseeing interlibrary services, course reserves, and policy documentation. Working closely with colleagues in non-library units and patrons from partner institutions, the Circulation Manager builds consistent, high-quality patron services through sound judgment and ongoing staff development.

Core Functions

• Serve as service desk and unit operations supervisor, and act as backup for managers from other teams when absent.
• Apply sound judgment to resolve problems and promote patron satisfaction.
• Ensure customer communication channels meet high service standards and respond to complaints and special requests.
• Interact with a wide constituency including management, department colleagues, technical staff, non-library units, and patrons from other institutions.
• Recruit, hire, train, coach, supervise, and evaluate staff including direct reports and temporary staff.
• Monitor staff schedules and workflow to ensure adequate desk coverage and achievement of department goals.
• Review and approve timecards and provide premium pay documentation to Human Resources as needed.
• Consult with Human Resources on employee relations matters when appropriate.
• Foster teamwork, collaboration, and unity across units and departments, and share staff development opportunities with direct reports.
• Suggest improvements to policies and procedures based on user feedback, experience, statistics, and staff observations.
• Oversee internal policy and procedures documentation and lead training, including refresher training.
• Ensure public-facing web pages related to operational policies are current and suggest changes to the web team.
• Participate in evaluating and implementing new tools for streamlining department workflow and services.
• Create and analyze statistical reports to identify service trends and monitor unit activities.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree plus three or more years of experience in an academic library, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Experience working in an academic or large public library system.
• Demonstrated supervisory experience in complex environments with proven day-to-day oversight of a highly variable workplace.
• Knowledge and experience of copyright best practices as needed for interlibrary services, course reserves, and digitization requests.
• Knowledge and experience with financial systems and budget management for materials and personnel.
• High degree of comfort with computers in a networked environment, including word processing, spreadsheets, database management, and financial systems.
• Strong analytical skills and proven ability to apply sound judgment and seek constructive solutions to problems.
• Ability to take initiative, plan and prioritize work, and meet deadlines, including managing projects independently and as part of a team.
• Strong communication skills and demonstrated ability to learn and synthesise new information quickly.
• Ability to work in a dusty or mouldy environment.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Student Engagement, the Circulation Manager owns the acquisition, maintenance, and circulation of advanced media equipment while supervising approximately 25 student staff, including 3 student managers. Partnering with campus faculty and staff, the Circulation Manager supports orientation sessions and programming aligned with departmental learning outcomes.

Primary Duties

• Develop and implement policies and procedures to enhance operations, including instructional materials, check-out and check-in procedures, equipment fine policies, and risk assessment.
• Oversee maintenance of existing equipment and resources, as well as purchase, deployment, and removal of circulating resources.
• Manage patron services including determining eligibility, authorizing equipment access, and communicating with members about fines.
• Manage sales and services including poster and photo printing, 3D printer services, and consumable media.
• Train, assess, and improve student staff proficiency on systems management, including reservations, check-out, and inventory, and maintain internal and external wiki documentation.
• Manage computer lab and makerspace facilities including door access, climate, electrical, maintenance, room reservations, and space transitions.
• Oversee financial management for all circulation and lab services, including budget preparation, monitoring of departmental expenses and revenues, reconciliations, purchasing, billing, and fines management.
• Supervise approximately 25 student staff, including 3 student managers, encompassing recruiting, hiring, training, daily management, and performance evaluations.
• Create and maintain work schedules and coverage systems to ensure staffing at all times, including breaks and unanticipated shortages.
• Collaborate with campus partners, faculty, and staff to provide orientation sessions, programming, and resources aligned with departmental mission and educational goals.
• Research and stay informed of peer institutions and national trends and best practices in emerging media circulation programs.
• Assess student employee program success and manage the assessment cycle, including member satisfaction and departmental learning outcomes.
• Advise students and student groups on appropriate use and availability of resources, and support marketing efforts across social media, web, and other channels.

Skills & Qualifications

• Master's degree in a media or technology field, or Bachelor's degree plus equivalent experience in running an equipment lending library.
• 3 years of related experience in a higher education setting, or up to 2 years of small business management as a substitute.
• Proficiency in advanced organisational management tools including inventory control suites and ticket tracking systems.
• Strong organisational, communication, and interpersonal skills with the ability to work in a fast-paced, student-oriented environment.
• Ability to work in a complex, data-driven environment with demonstrated analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to develop and implement short- and long-range plans, manage multiple complex projects simultaneously, and resolve operational problems effectively.
• Strong commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, with a demonstrated ability to relate to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the public.
• Knowledge of SAP and familiarity with creativity software in graphics, audio, and video disciplines.

Sitting at the intersection of distribution operations and workforce management, the Circulation Manager shapes daily field operations at distribution centres, overseeing contractor agreements, route structures, and staff scheduling to ensure deadline adherence. Operating across owned and contracted delivery networks, the role builds a safe, organised workspace and maximises operational efficiencies while driving sales opportunities alongside fellow managers.

Duties

• Manage, train, schedule, and direct staff to ensure superior customer service.
• Recruit and hire staff and independent contractors, and initiate and maintain contractor agreements.
• Ensure deadline adherence for owned and contracted products.
• Develop and maintain efficient and economically feasible route structures.
• Work closely with other managers and employees to maximise operational efficiencies and sales opportunities.
• Ensure the physical property is operated and maintained in good order, utilising best practices to provide a safe and organised workspace.

Requirements

• 3 to 5 years of experience leading a distribution or transportation and logistics team in a deadline-oriented environment.
• Solid computer and software skills with the ability to quickly master and train others on company-specific programmes.
• Proven ability to direct and motivate staff and contractors.
• Strong understanding of financial plans and schedules.
• Strong and concise written and verbal communication skills.
• Valid driver's licence in good standing.