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Senior Librarian

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Senior Librarian

Salary

$83,428.80 - $101,483.20 Annually

Location

Carlsbad, CA

Job Type

Full-Time

Job Number

2290-2026

Department

Library & Cultural Arts

Opening Date

12/12/2025

Closing Date

1/9/2026 5:00 PM Pacific

+ Description

+ Benefits

+ Questions

The Position

The Community

The City of Carlsbad is ideally situated in north San Diego County where a great climate, beautiful beaches and lagoons, and abundant natural open space combine with world-class resorts, family attractions, well planned neighborhoods, excellent schools, and a charming village atmosphere to create the ideal California experience. Covering nearly 40 square miles, the City of Carlsbad is currently home to about 115,000 residents. Thanks to an award-winning growth management plan, the city's infrastructure and services keep pace with development and promote an excellent quality of life.

The Library

The Library &Cultural Arts Department provides educational, informational, and cultural arts services for all community residents, which contributes to a high quality of life by supporting lifelong learning, the pursuit of knowledge, and creating community gathering places. The Library & Cultural Arts Department operates three public facilities that include the Carlsbad City Library, the Georgina Cole Library and the Library Learning Center, along with presenting public art in various formats throughout the community. The Carlsbad City Library is also home to the Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium and the Cannon Art Gallery which support a variety of visual and performing arts programs, arts education and cultural arts services.

The Position

Under general direction, performs work of considerable difficulty in planning, coordinating, and supervising a variety of library service programs; to supervise the work of library employees; and to do related work as assigned.

The Senior Librarian of Public Services reports directly to a Deputy Library Director and plans, organizes and administers services within a library location. Incumbents are expected to exercise creativity and analytical skills to not only oversee day-to-day operations, but to also provide leadership toward continually improving department-wide services and processes.

The ideal candidate will be an experienced supervisor with a history of working with library and program vendors, patrons, colleagues and internal staff to deliver excellent services. The Library is looking for an enthusiastic professional with excellent interpersonal, empathetic and respectful communication skills. The individual should be forward thinking, an optimistic go-getter and should exhibit flexibility. They will also be able to receive and internalize feedback from multiple sources, understand confidentiality, assume positive intent and react to stressful situations in a professional manner.

You Belong in Carlsbad

The City of Carlsbad embraces and recognizes the vital relationship of an inclusive, engaged work environment and innovative excellence. An equitable and inclusive work climate comprises personal experiences, values, and views shaped from differences of culture and circumstance. Our organization appreciates belonging, creativity, recognition and retention of its employees and is committed to hiring and developing motivated, productive and talented employees who provide services and enhance our quality of life. We work to embrace open and equitable access to opportunities for learning and development as our responsibility and goal.

Panel interviews are tentatively scheduled for either the week of January 19, 2026 or January 26, 2026.

Key Responsibilities

Plan, organize and direct a variety of library services, including reference services, digital makerspace services, and children's programming.

Supervise and assist in maintenance of library materials, performing a variety of professional library work including selection and de-selection and requiring a thorough knowledge of library materials and resources, and participate in the preparation of reference materials lists and bibliographies.

Supervise personnel in all areas of library service including charging and discharging of materials, public service desks, customer service, outreach, programming and handling incidents.

Respond to citizen requests for information.

Represent the City Library in the community and at professional meetings as required.

Assist in providing a variety of staff assistance services to the Assistant Library Director, Library Director, Library Board of Trustees, Friends of the Library, and others such as the preparation of written reports and oral presentations, complex analysis regarding library service and personnel policies, and similar work.

Coordinate library-related activities with other city departments and divisions, and with outside agencies as assigned.

Qualifications

Knowledge of:

+ Principles and practices of professional library work

+ Use of standard tools and practices in processing library materials

+ Standard reference materials

+ Principles of supervision and public relations

Ability to:

+ Communicate clearly and concisely, orally and in writing

+ Perform technical library tasks

+ Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with those contacted in the course of work

+ Select, supervise, train and evaluate staff

Experience & Education

Any combination equivalent to experience and education that could likely provide the required knowledge and abilities would be qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Completion of a Master of Library Science degree from an American Library Association accredited library school and;

Three years of professional library work experience, preferably including two years of prior library supervisory experience.

+ Medical Insurance

+ Dental Insurance

+ Vision Insurance

+ Flexible Spending Account

+ Life Insurance

+ Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance

+ Retirement under the CalPERS program, 2% @ 62 formula, Classic Members (those who are enrolled in CalPERS at another local agency) have the 2% @ 60 formula

+ Bilingual Pay

+ Holidays - 11 scheduled

+ Floating Holiday- 2

+ Paid vacation

+ Computer purchase loan

+ Tuition reimbursement

A detailed list of our benefits can be found here: Carlsbad Benefits (https://www.carlsbadca.gov/departments/human-resources/compensation/full-time-benefits)

Additional CalPERS information can be found here: CalPERS (https://www.calpers.ca.gov/page/about/laws-legislation-regulations/public-employees-pension-reform-act)

01

Initial in the box below that you acknowledge "see application" and "see resume" are not valid responses to the questions below.

02

What is your highest level of education?

+ Associate's Degree

+ Bachelor's Degree

+ Master's Degree or Higher

+ None of the above

03

How many years of professional library work experience do you have?

+ None

+ Internship and/or volunteer work only

+ Less than 1 year

+ 1 - 2 years

+ 3 or more years

04

How many years of professional library work experience do you have in a supervisory capacity?

+ None

+ Less than 1 year

+ 1 - 2 years

+ 2 or more years

05

Please limit to 300 words or less: Describe your supervisory experience and style and include number of staff managed and for how long. What is different, if anything, about managing supervisors vs. managing front-line staff? If you do not possess this experience, indicate N/A.

06

Please limit to 300 words or less: Tell us what excites you about public libraries, or what about the current role of public libraries most interests you?

Required Question

Employer

Carlsbad, City of (CA)

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