Data Curation and Scholarly Communications Coordinator

Description

The McGill Library seeks a Coordinator, Data Curation and Scholarly Communications to grow the
Library’s campus-facing research data support services and advance emerging scholarly communication practices across academic disciplines.

This search is being conducted in tandem with searches for a Scholarly Communications Librarian, and for a Head, Copyright Office in the McGill Library. The incumbents in these positions will work\ closely together, each in their own area of specialization.

The Library is committed to the delivery of innovative information products, services and programs of the highest quality focused on client needs in support of the University's strategic mission and directions. The Library proactively supports the teaching, learning and research needs of faculty and students to ensure that the university’s strategic mission of excellence as a research intensive, student-centred university is satisfied. Collection building is based upon the premise of preference for electronic versions.

McGill Library has the largest collection in Quebec and is one of Canada’s largest academic libraries with over 6 million monographs and 80,000 online serials and databases. The library is a member of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Bureau de coopération interuniversitaire (BCI, formerly CRÉPUQ), the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), and is the first Canadian member of the HathiTrust Digital Library.

Primary Purpose of Position

Leads the formalization, expansion, and implementation of Library-based research data curation services to the campus, and provides these services to researchers. Supervises members of the Data Curation and Scholarly Communications team within Library Digital Initiatives.

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Design and guide the implementation of research data curation services in the Library. Grow these services so that they meet funder, publisher, and disciplinary requirements, expectations, and norms, and are in accordance with emerging best practices for data curation in research libraries.
• Provide outreach and individual consulting to campus researchers on data curation and scholarly communications issues, including data management planning, open access, funding agency requirements, and project design.
• Lead needs assessment for technology supporting the preservation of and access to research data, publications, and other forms of scholarly output produced by the McGill community. Serve as a key member of the team implementing a research data repository within the Library.
• Set policies, practices, and workflows for Library hosting of campus research products, including research data, ETDs, deposited research papers, and other forms of scholarly output.
• Work closely with the Data Reference Services Librarian to increase knowledge of research data curation practices and issues among Library staff, especially liaison librarians. Provide support to public services staff in their interactions with researchers that involve research data.
• Supervise two staff members, including the Scholarly Communications Librarian.
• Maintain an active and up-to-date awareness of initiatives and offerings in area of expertise, and apply this knowledge to local work.

Reporting relationship

The Coordinator, Data Curation and Scholarly Communications reports to the Associate Dean, Digital Initiatives.

SELECTION CRITERIA

1. ALA-accredited Master of Library or Information Science degree
At least four years of experience in academic libraries with a job portfolio including one or more
relevant aspects of scholarly communications, such as research data management, institutional
repositories, open access, scholarly publishing, or in-depth subject expertise in a heavily data-focused discipline.
3. Demonstrated in-depth knowledge of research data curation trends and issues in the academic
environment, including disciplinary and institutional repositories, funder and publisher mandates,
data citation principles and practices, and data management planning.
4. Experience building awareness, advocacy, and education programs, and assessing their effectiveness.
5. Experience working with programmers and/or other technical staff in a team environment.
6. Highly developed oral and written skills, particularly the ability to explain complex concepts to a
wide variety of users in individual and group settings, and the ability to interact effectively and work
collaboratively with diverse stakeholders, including academics and technology staff.
7. Demonstrated project management skills.
8. Creative and analytical thinking skills and good problem solving ability.
9. Preferred: Working knowledge of French.