Hesburgh Libraries

Join the Hesburgh Libraries at the University of Notre Dame

The Hesburgh Libraries at the University of Notre Dame advances institutional priorities by utilizing a talent process that maximizes professional and personal potential, implementing innovative services that further intellectual inquiry, and facilitating access to knowledge across a wide range of scholarly resources in numerous disciplines and formats.

The Hesburgh Libraries system and the flagship Hesburgh Library building are named in honor of Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. (1917-2015), who served as Notre Dame's 15th president for 35 years and, according to The New York Times, "transformed Catholic higher education in America and raised a powerful moral voice in national affairs." As Father Hesburgh first envisioned, the library serves as the academic heart of the University and stands as a symbol of academic excellence and the pursuit of truth both on Notre Dame’s storied Indiana campus and with scholarly communities around the world.

Recent Progress

In 2022, the Hesburgh Libraries developed a new mission, vision, and strategic framework designed to help advance Notre Dame's aspirations to become one of the world's leading research universities, while also prioritizing human and professional flourishing. Within this new framework, each member of the library community plays a key role in advancing strategic goals and objectives, sustaining critical operations, and defining shared values.

Throughout the academic year, our workforce will envision how these values guide and help build an inclusive, diverse, and dynamic culture as we partner across the institution at all integration points throughout the teaching and research lifecycle.

In 2022, the Board of Trustees and the Office of the Provost approved elevating the chief librarian's rank to academic dean for the first time in Notre Dame’s history. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In unison with faculty, students, and staff across the campus community, the Hesburgh Libraries has developed a library-specific DEI plan in alignment with the University’s vision and values for DEI and the Notre Dame Board of Trustees’ Task Force Report on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The plan is a living document — library initiatives and projects will evolve along with our library vision and the needs of our many campus users. We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and seek candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff of all identities and backgrounds.

The Organization

As the primary library system on Notre Dame's campus, Hesburgh Libraries is a dynamic organization that features the flagship Hesburgh Library. Hesburgh Library, along with the Main Building and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, is one of three iconic buildings that define the skyline of the Notre Dame campus. It also features the world-famous Word of Life mural (affectionately known as "Touchdown Jesus"), an artistic work by Millard Sheets that has greeted visitors at the Hesburgh Library's main entrance since 1964.

The Hesburgh Library building houses the Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship, the Medieval Institute Library, Rare Books & Special Collections, University Archives, and the Visual Resources Center. The Hesburgh Libraries organization also includes three specialty libraries located across the Notre Dame campus (Architecture Library, Business Library, and Music Library). Whether online or within the nearly 500,000 square feet of library spaces, the Hesburgh Libraries engages audiences, inspires intellectual inquiry, and advances teaching and research across the campus and around the world.

Hesburgh Libraries employs nearly 200 people, including more than 50 library faculty members, and has been a long-standing member of several organizations, including Association of Research Libraries (ARL), Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), Northeast Research Libraries Consortium (NERL), HathiTrust, and the OCLC Research Library Partnership.

Library Faculty Positions

Per the University's Academic Articles (PDF), librarians at the Hesburgh Libraries qualify for library faculty appointments. Faculty appointment, salary, and rank are nationally competitive with peer ARL members and commensurate with experience and qualifications. Learn more about the Criteria for Library Faculty Appointment and Promotion.

Library faculty positions will be posted here as they become available.

Library Staff Positions

Library staff positions will be posted here as they become available.

Please also follow our Hesburgh Libraries at the University of Notre Dame page on LinkedIn for the most up-to-date news on positions.