Position Information
Job Title: Virtual Services Librarian
Posting Number: 2014214
Position Type: Staff
Employment Type: Full Time
Job Description Summary
The Librarian (VSL) supports HULA’s virtual presence, library systems, and digital initiatives. Broadly, the scope of work includes:
• maintaining and enhancing information discovery tool functionality (i.e., technology that allows library users to learn about the availability of digital resources and provides users with access to the content of those resources)
• maintaining systems and services in ways that are responsive to the Hamline community’s present and future scholarly research needs
• contributing toward an overall satisfying experience for library users who access library services and resources via the Internet
• informing HULA leadership and staff of emerging technologies and providing planning, support, training, and troubleshooting of library systems
Representative Duties and Responsibilities
Virtual Presence
• Contributes to the development of an array of virtual services that meets the instructional and research needs of student, faculty, and staff.
• Constructs a cohesive, accessible, and standards-compliant user experience across HULA’s virtual services. Oversees the collection and assessment of usage data and web analytics to support decision-making.
• Participates in and occasionally leads HULA workgroups (e.g., Virtual Presence), and cross-functional project teams.
Digital Initiatives
• Collaborates with the Catalog & Metadata Librarian (CMDL) and the Scholarly Communications/Digital Initiatives Librarian (SCDIL) in the creation of new digital collections and services.
• Contributes to the development and delivery of digital course support services, including ‘digital coursepacks’, copyright compliance services, e-textbooks, and open educational resources.
Library Systems
• Administers and maintains research and discovery tools, databases, link resolver, proxy server, interlibrary loan, and other systems. Participates in the collection of metrics and usage trends across HULA’s virtual and digital services.
• Serves as a Cooperating Libraries in Consortium (CLIC) Associate Systems Administrator (ASA). Serves as chief conduit of communication from Hamline to the CLIC office and other consortium libraries regarding CLIC systems. Serves on relevant CLIC committees and subgroups.
• Serves as HULA’s functional liaison to ITS. Works closely with other HULA staff—and with ITS colleagues—to integrate library information systems with other campus technology.
Additional Responsibilities
• Participates in and occasionally leads HULA workgroups, and project teams. Serves on relevant Cooperating Libraries in Consortium (CLIC) committees and workgroups.
• Serves as backup to the CMDL and the SCDIL for various digital course support activities
• Serves on university committees, elected and assigned.
• Performs other duties as requested.
Required Knowledge, Skills and abilities
• Broad knowledge of the current and emerging virtual library environment commonly associated with academic libraries, and how that environment may be designed to enhance and optimize the library user’s experience.
• Broad knowledge of established and emerging library technologies typically used in academic libraries, the educational and service potential of new library technologies, and the ability to successfully select and support them.
• Knowledge of resource discovery systems and library digital resource management as well as next-generation information discovery systems.
• Knowledge of web design and tools, including HTML, CSS, XHTML and XML, as well as other relevant web standards and technologies.
• Knowledge of usability and user experience (UX) principles for web publishing
• Previous management of some aspect(s) of library systems, library automation, digital resource management, and/or library digital repositories.
• Familiarity with MARC cataloging format, non-MARC metadata schema (e.g., RDA, Dublin Core, EAD, and other emerging data standards), data storage, and data manipulation and query structure.
• Competence for successfully shepherding various projects and managing change, especially those tasks associated with information technology.
• Excellent time-management skills coupled with the ability to coordinate projects, resources, and collaborative effort to achieve assigned goals.
• Outstanding attention to detail and thoroughness.
• Ability to make prudent, fair, and sound decisions while anticipating results, direct and indirect.
Minimum Education/Experience
• American Library Association-accredited master’s degree in library science or equivalent, or master’s degree in information science, computer science, or related discipline with library experience.
• Three (3) years professional experience in an academic library demonstrating progressively increasing responsibility.
• Two (2) years professional experience with library systems responsibilities, as well as expertise in one or more of these service areas: digital scholarship, copyright, and/or management of digital resources.
• Two (2) years professional experience managing at least one aspect(s) of library systems, library automation, digital resource management, and/or library digital repositories.
• Two (2) years professional experience with digital asset management and institutional repository responsibilities.
Preferred Education/Experience
• Advanced degree in or extensive experience in information systems.
• Knowledge of database-driven web applications and systems, including open source, commercial, and locally-developed solutions.
• Two (2) years professional experience with relational database design.
• Familiarity with some aspect(s) of acquisitions, cataloging, and serials control.
• Two (2) years professional experience working in a comprehensive university setting that includes both liberal arts and professional academic programs.
• Two (2) years professional experience working in a library consortium environment.
• Two (2) years professional experience with seeking and administering grant-funded projects in a higher education environment.
Required Licensure/Certification/Registration
Posting Detail Information
Open Date: 02/10/2017
Close Date:
Open Until Filled: Yes
Online posting and application information