Metadata Strategist

Description

Cornell University Library’s Technical Services Metadata Services unit seeks a Metadata Strategist who will, under the general direction of the Head of Metadata Services, provide strategic and technical guidance on metadata practice for Cornell University Library's (CUL) digital, physical and virtual collections within the broader context of CUL's digital and programmatic needs.  The Strategist will provide consultation and advocacy to both CUL colleagues and the community more broadly; this effort demands a strong knowledge of well-established and evolving metadata standards as well as their practical implications.

CUL has a history of innovative metadata practice on which the Metadata Strategist will collaborate to advance. A key responsibility will be to develop long-term strategies for improved MARC and non-MARC metadata management, interoperability and resource discovery based on principles of integration and reusability of metadata across platforms and collections. The Strategist will play a central role in positioning Library Technical Services (LTS) in strategic CUL initiatives such as the the Kuali OLE implementation and its development in relation to CUL’s Blacklight discovery and other systems and the Andrew W. Mellon funded Linked Data for Libraries project, as well as in assessing and expanding on their long-term impacts.

In cooperation with other library staff, the Strategist provides metadata expertise to CUL while monitoring external developments and changing needs in these areas. The Strategist participates in the library's research and development efforts and in local and national discussions relating to access, retrieval, description and management of library resources. The Strategist plays an active role in professional organizations inside and outside of the Cornell University Library community.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Metadata Management and Coordination (70%)
• Develops standards, performs data modeling and engineers ontologies for local and community use
• Strategically assesses best practices and standards for interoperability
• Identifies and monitors national areas of interest in metadata development (e.g. BIBFRAME), particularly focusing on institutional participation and engagement with strategic partners
• Serves on CUL research and development efforts related to metadata discovery and interoperability (e.g. Kuali OLE, Linked Data for Libraries)
• Serves on library projects addressing better discovery solutions for library users

Metadata Outreach and Consultation (20%)

• Builds and maintains strong working relationships with staff throughout Library Technical Services (LTS) and CUL, fostering collaborative efforts between Cataloging and Metadata Services (CMS) and other CUL units
• Serves as a metadata consultant to larger library projects and initiatives
• Initiates, develops and provides training and continuing education to LTS and other library staff regarding linked data, resource description and metadata management
• Collaborates with faculty on projects to address data modeling and other metadata issues
• Participates in the strategic alliances with partner institutions (e.g. 2CUL, LD4P) on cataloging and metadata initiatives

Professional Activities (10%)

• Monitors and contributes to local, national, and international forums on metadata standards and policies
• Actively participates in CUL and professional working groups, task forces, instruction programs, and committees
• Conducts research and contributes to professional publications and forums in areas related to metadata, access to information, and digital libraries

Qualifications

• ALA-accredited MLIS or equivalent advanced degree and experience
• Strong and diverse metadata background
• Ability to bridge knowledge between technical services staff and information technologists; a high comfort level with evolving technology landscape and cataloging practices
• Understanding of linked data technologies and methodologies (e.g. ontology development, semantic tools and best practices)
• Aptitude for learning and applying new technologies and metadata standards
• Strong service orientation and interest in library users' values and needs
• Excellent organizational and project management skills
• Excellent communication and analytic skills, including the ability to work well in a team-based environment

Preferred Qualifications

• 3-5 years of progressive experience with metadata projects
• Proven history of strategizing creative solutions to meet demonstrated user needs
• Demonstrated skills with scripting languages and/or tools for data manipulation (e.g. OpenRefine, Python, XSLT, etc.)
• Demonstrated experience creating and/or working with authority data (e.g. LC authorities, Getty vocabularies, ISNI, etc.)
• Demonstrated experience with linked data and semantic web applications