Librarian

Job Overview

Dallas International School (DIS) is accredited by ISAS (Independent Schools Association of the Southwest), France's Ministry of Education, and the International Baccalaureate Organization.  

With approximately 700 students of over 30 nationalities, DIS is an international school on a human scale and the only one with a French and multilingual curriculum in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, a city of seven million inhabitants which is in full demographic and economic expansion. DIS is proud to be one of the few schools globally to offer both the IB's Bilingual and Advanced Bilingual Diploma programs in a variety of languages. In addition to English and French, other languages currently taught in the school are Spanish, German and Mandarin Chinese.

The school offers a rigorous curriculum integrating the best practices of French and American education. Upon completion of the French Baccalaureate or the IB Diploma program, our students go to college in the United States or internationally in countries such as France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain or Australia, among others.

Desired Profile:

• You view education as an emancipatory journey in which all students seek to realize their full potential so that they can one day contribute to the progress of humanity.
• You are passionate about your subject and are able to transmit your enthusiasm for the acquisition of knowledge.
• You enjoy supporting students not only academically, but also in their evolution as individuals, citizens and humans.
• You wish to contribute to the dissemination of the mission and values of DIS.
• You want to be deeply involved in the life of the school by offering a range of stimulating educational activities.
• You possess strong communication skills to interact successfully with our students' families.
• You have an excellent intercultural capacity to adapt to the diverse and enriching environment of an international school.

Our upper campus is seeking a full-time librarian to serve our bilingual (French/English) community of students (grades 5-12) and faculty. This position includes collection development, instruction, programming, and day-to-day library operations. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable cataloging a new acquisition, teaching a research skills lesson to a high school English class, and creating a themed window display.

Job duties include but are not limited to the following:

Collection Management and Technical Services

•        Oversee acquisitions across French and American vendors, identifying cost-effective sourcing strategies to maximize the collection within budget
•        Catalog new materials, importing bibliographic records via Follett Destiny and OCLC 
•        Process incoming materials: barcoding, ownership stamps, covering, and basic repair
•        Order and maintain preservation/processing supplies 
•        Conduct regular shelf reads, weeding projects, and collection quality checks; identify and fill gaps in the collection
•        Maintain school's material selection/reconsideration policy; monitor age-level appropriateness of materials
•        Receive, catalog, and coordinate distribution of textbooks and departmental class sets; train faculty on checkout/check-in procedures

 Circulation and Daily Operations

•        Manage circulation for students and faculty, including shelving and reshelving
•        Assess fines for missing or damaged materials, coordinating with the Accounting department
•        Keep library circulation statistics
•        Supervise students during recess, lunch, and after-school hours 
•        Supervise make-up testing as needed

Instruction and Curriculum Support

•        Deliver information literacy instruction across all grade levels: evaluating sources, research strategies, and citation practices
•        Deliver AI and digital literacy instruction across all grade levels, aligned with school AI policies
•        Lead subject-specific research sessions for high school classes (database use, open-access scholarly resources, navigating paywalls, topic development), coordinated with faculty
•        Provide dedicated library instruction time for 5th grade classes 
•        Lead study sessions for classes studying specific topics (e.g., 7th grade Medieval Fair unit)
•        Curate and gather resources to support faculty-led thematic or literary units
•        Coordinate research field trips (e.g., to UT Dallas libraries), liaising with partner institution staff

Programming and Community Engagement

•        Design and rotate seasonal, holiday, and genre-based displays (in both English and French) to promote reading across the collection
•        Oversee weekly Library Club, training student volunteers in library operations
•        Organize a biannual Faculty/Staff Book Club themed around the school's "country of the year," including title selection, promotion, and event logistics
•        Research and coordinate author visit tied to the country-of-the-year theme, including budgeting and cross-departmental planning
•        Recruit and coordinate parent volunteers
•        Champion new initiatives to raise the library's visibility (bulletin boards, student book clubs, reader-review cards, library ambassador program, building-wide signage across all five floors)
•        Coordinate with marketing department to keep library webpage updated

Subscriptions and Budget

•        Manage all print and online subscriptions; evaluate usage and needs annually to inform renewals, additions, or cancellations
•        Distribute subscription access information (logins/passwords) to students and faculty
•        Track and report on the library budget across books, subscriptions, and materials

Professional Responsibilities

•        Attend faculty and administrations meetings as needed 
•        Engage in ongoing professional development to stay current on school librarianship, YA literature trends, and library technology
•        Liaise with the Lower Campus librarian (pre-K-4th grade) to ensure continuity in collection development

Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:  

•        Master's in Library and Information Science (MLIS) or equivalent
•        Proficient in ILS use (preferably Follett Destiny)
•        3-5 years of experience as a Librarian are required. 
•        Advanced computer skills are required including word processing, excel/data-entry, e-mail and Internet usage. 
•        Strong organizational skills required. 
•        Advanced languages skills in French and English.

 Preferred Qualifications:

•        MLIS concentration or focus in school/youth services librarianship, with current knowledge of YA literature.
•        5-7 years of experience as a Librarian.
•        Strong cataloging skills.
•        Experience working with youth in a school environment.
•        French language proficiency (spoken and written).
•        Familiarity with Spanish, German, or Mandarin.
•        Desktop publishing skills for promotional materials and displays.
•        Work experience and exposure to diverse languages and cultures strongly preferred.

Required Documents: 

In order to complete the application process, interested candidates must forward the following documentation:

•        A resume or curriculum vitae.
•        A cover letter. 
•        A minimum of two recommendation letters (at least one from a former or current supervisor).
•        A copy of official transcripts (these must be provided if offered the position).

Benefits:

•        Medical insurance – health, dental, vision.
•        Time Off - paid time off, sick time, and very generous vacation.
•        403(b) with employer matching.

This job description is not necessarily a comprehensive definition of the post. It may be subject to modification or amendment at any time at the discretion of the Head of School.

The above responsibilities are subject to the general duties and responsibilities contained in the employee’s Conditions of Employment. This job description allocates duties and responsibilities but does not direct the particular amount of time to be spent carrying them out and no part of it may be so construed. 

Dallas International School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs. Dallas International School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in its hiring of faculty and staff members.