Digital Scholarship Metadata Librarian

Description

Position Rank: Contractually Limited Appointment

Discipline/Field: Digital Scholarship

Home Faculty: Libraries

Home Department/Area/Division: Scott Library

Affiliation/Union: YUFA

Position Start Date: August 1, 2018

Position End Date: July 31, 2020

Digital Scholarship Metadata Librarian

York University Libraries (YUL) seeks a highly motivated and collaborative individual for a 2-year contractually limited appointment to lend support to a number of metadata projects in the area of digital scholarship.

York is Canada's third largest university with a thriving community of over 60,000 students, faculty and staff who share a rich diversity of perspectives and a strong sense of social responsibility. Located in Toronto, Canada's most multicultural city, York is recognized for its commitment to interdisciplinary knowledge, social justice, equity, access, diversity, and sustainability.

The successful candidate will be situated in the newly established Digital Scholarship Infrastructure Department and will report to the Director of Digital Scholarship Infrastructure. The incumbent will also work very closely with the newly established Metadata, Discovery and Access Department and Library Digital Systems and Initiatives as the work of these departments is highly interconnected.

The Digital Scholarship Infrastructure Department centralizes staffing and support for digital scholarship within the Libraries and makes these supports available to the campus through the Digital Scholarship Centre. It supports the Libraries' scholarly publishing program, the YorkSpace (DSpace) and York University Digital Library (Islandora) repositories, digital authoring and exhibits, digital preservation, and furthers library initiatives including research data management and open educational resources (OER). The incumbent will work collegially with departmental members to manage assigned projects but will also contribute to the wider responsibilities of the Digital Scholarship Infrastructure Department. This will include sharing of expertise with faculty, staff and students.

The Digital Scholarship Metadata Librarian will primarily be responsible for metadata projects related to the YorkSpace and York University Digital Library repositories. These projects involve standardizing metadata for OpenAIRE compliance and preparation for Fedora migration. Project work may include providing assistance with metadata migration for other descriptive metadata projects, including AtoM archival descriptions and data cleanup in anticipation of OCUL Collaborative Futures. It is expected that the incumbent will be comfortable with experimenting with a number of tools and working with colleagues across departments to find creative solutions. The Libraries recognizes that this position is ambitious and the responsibilities are significant. Time and resources will be allocated to allow for on-the-job learning, team support and skill development to ensure candidate success. The ideal candidate will be a creative problem solver, will be comfortable with technology and have a keen attention to detail.

Areas of responsibility include:
• Planning and overseeing ongoing and finite projects that include metadata creation, conversion and standardization for digital projects
• Ensuring compliance with local policy, project requirements, and evolving national and international metadata standards
• Working closely with colleagues to develop and maintain metadata-related policies and procedures
• Developing and implementing effective metadata methodologies and workflows
• Aiding in the training of staff and conducting regular quality control over descriptive metadata outputs
• Developing skills and expertise as a consultant and technical liaison for the broader campus by providing advice and direction on metadata policies, procedures, and best practices
• All librarians and archivists are participating members in a disciplinary cluster depending on their educational background and/or subject expertise
• All librarians and archivists engage in research and professional development activities

The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:

• An ALA-accredited Master's degree in Library and Information Science or equivalent
• Applied experience managing aspects of metadata creation for digital content, including selecting, implementing, and documenting metadata standards, overseeing quality control, data clean up, and mapping between datasets
• Familiarity with current cataloging principles and standards as defined in FRBR, RDA and MARC formats
• Demonstrated knowledge of, and ability to apply, implement and analyze, metadata standards (including MODS and DublinCore)
• Familiarity with machine actionable languages, such as XML and JSON
• Familiarity with linked data principles and standards
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills combined with a capacity for complex, detail-oriented work
• High level technical troubleshooting acumen with demonstrated evidence of continuous learning
• Evidence of professional initiative
• Demonstrated project management skills and ability to balance and prioritize competing work and time constraints
• Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communications skills
• Demonstrated ability to be flexible, creative, and work effectively in a fluid and dynamic institutional environment
• Ability to work collegially and effectively with a diverse population of colleagues, faculty, staff, and students.

This contractually limited appointment with the designation of Adjunct Librarian and is available as early as August 1, 2018. York offers a competitive salary commensurate with qualifications and an exceptional benefits package. All York University positions are subject to budgetary approval.

Librarians at York University have academic status and are members of the York University Faculty Association bargaining unit (http://www.yufa.ca/).

York University is an Affirmative Action (AA) employer and strongly values diversity, including gender and sexual diversity, within its community. The AA program, which applies to Aboriginal people, visible minorities, people with disabilities, and women, can be found at http://acadjobs.info.yorku.ca/ or by calling the AA office at 416-736-5713. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. Temporary entry for citizens of the U.S.A. and Mexico may apply per the provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or citizens of Chile may apply per the provisions of the Canada Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA).

People with disabilities and Aboriginal people are priorities in the York University Libraries Affirmative Action Plan and are especially encouraged to apply. Consideration will also be given to those who have followed non-traditional career paths or had career interruptions.

Applicants wishing to self-identify can do so by downloading, completing and submitting the forms found at: http://acadjobs.info.yorku.ca/ . Please select the "Affirmative Action" tab under which forms pertaining to Citizenship and Affirmative Action can be found.

York University resources include centres relating to gender equity, race and ethnic relations, sexual harassment, human rights, and wellness. York University encourages attitudes of respect and non-discrimination toward persons of all ethnic and religious groups, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

Deadline for complete applications is Friday, June 1, 2018.

A letter of application with a current curriculum vitæ and contact information for three references should be sent to:

Chair, Metadata Librarian Search Committee
York University Libraries
516 Scott Library
4700 Keele St.
Toronto, ON
M3J 1P3
Fax: (416) 736-5451
Email: yulapps@yorku.ca

Reference letters will only be requested for shortlisted candidates. Interviews will be scheduled between Monday July 23 through Thursday July 26, 2018.