Metadata Analyst Librarian

Description

James Madison University Libraries & Educational Technologies (LET) seeks an innovative, self-motivated, service-oriented professional to serve as a Metadata Analyst Librarian. The successful candidate will have experience creating and maintaining metadata, including taxonomies, thesauri and ontologies, a solid knowledge of established and emerging metadata standards, strong technical aptitude, and the ability to work collaboratively and independently in a team-oriented environment. Qualified applicants must be technically confident and equally comfortable with interactive development, thoughtful experimentation and critical system support.

JMU is a public, comprehensive university with an enrollment of over 20,000 students located in the scenic Shenandoah Valley, two hours southwest of Washington, D.C. JMU enjoys an excellent national reputation and a strong focus on undergraduate education.

The university provides a distinct educational experience that combines a diversity of degree programs and learning opportunities offered by many larger institutions with an engaged, teaching-centered faculty traditionally found at a smaller, liberal arts college. JMU has received national recognition as one of the top public master's-level schools in the south (U.S. News and World Report) and as one of the top 100 "Best Values in Public Colleges" (Kiplinger 2014). U. S. News and World Report has also ranked ten of JMU's graduate programs nationally. For more information about the university, visit http://www.jmu.edu.

JMU Libraries is part of Libraries & Educational Technologies, which has the mission of enriching our communities by building learning and information environments where people connect with ideas and with each other to discover, create, and share knowledge. We invite candidates from diverse backgrounds who will contribute affirmatively and creatively to the university's multicultural environment. Our goal is for our employees to reflect the rich mix of backgrounds, life experiences, cultures, perspectives, and world views that is found within our university community. 

Duties and Responsibilities include:
Provides technical expertise for the creation, collection, preservation and presentation of metadata in all formats. Applies standards, indexing rules, taxonomies, thesauri and ontologies to LET's knowledgebases and access points. This includes metadata creation, authority control, quality control and other duties associated with the creation and maintenance of item- and collection-level data for a variety of print and digital materials.

Develops and expands support for technical services projects, digital scholarship, digital repository services, discovery tools, and related critical library services. Supports existing services and assists in the development of new capabilities including metadata validation tools, federated metadata management, digital repository deposit and ingest workflows, API access, data visualizations, and linked data services. Assists the Head of Metadata Services in ensuring validation and quality control of metadata in LET's various knowledgebases and systems. Employs established and emerging metadata standards, both descriptive and non-descriptive, to provide access to library resources. Assures the quality of metadata in the ILS, digital repositories, and digital scholarship projects. Assists in determining current and future library automation requirements.

Reports to the Head of Metadata Services within LET's Collections and Technical Services. Participates on LET and university committees as appropriate. Professional librarians are tenure-track faculty at JMU and participate in campus-wide initiatives and committees. Librarians are expected to continue professional development and to contribute to the profession through scholarly research and service opportunities, including publications, presentations and leadership in the work of professional associations. Faculty status requires potential to meet standards for promotion and tenure set forth in the Libraries' Promotion & Tenure Guidelines. JMU Libraries endorses the ACRL Standards for Faculty Status for Academic Libraries. 

Position Qualifications:
ALA-accredited MLS or MLIS. Excellent communication, interpersonal, organizational and time-management skills. Excellent project management, problem-solving and analytical skills. Ability to learn new technical skills quickly and to meet deadlines. Strong service orientation. Ability to adapt emerging technologies to new domains. Ability to work creatively and collaboratively in a rapidly changing environment.

Knowledge of and demonstrated experience with established and emerging national and international metadata standards and associated technologies, including indexing rules, taxonomies, thesauri, and ontologies. In-depth knowledge of library policies, practices, and the scholarly communication framework. Experience extracting, parsing, cross-walking and transforming metadata. Experience with library applications, technology, and standards, including familiarity with relevant library open source efforts and vendor knowledgebases. Experience with institutional repository software and a working knowledge of data management best practices.

Preferred Qualifications:
Degree in computer science, information science, or a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience preferred. Experience with the RDF data model, Semantic Web design principles, and related standards. Experience with Python, Ruby, or Java programming languages. Experience with Unix or Linux server platforms, related software, and basic system administration utilities. Experience with team collaboration tools and version control systems such as Git/Github or SVN.

Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background investigation.  James Madison University is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.  Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991. 

To apply go to JobLink.jmu.edu and reference posting number 0407209