Manager, Metadata & Discovery Services

Description

The University of Virginia Library seeks an expert in library description and discovery with leadership experience and a vision for the future of the discipline for the role of Manager, Metadata and Discovery Services (MDS) Team.  Reporting to the Director, Digital Strategies and Scholarly Communication within the Scholarly Resources and Content Strategies (SRCS) division, the MDS Manager leads a production-oriented team, oversees operations and workflows for MARC and non-MARC description and discovery for analog and digital resources, and participates in regional and national consortia and initiatives.  Directly supervises a staff of 7.5 FTE.  This is a mid-career professional librarian job opportunity.

University of Virginia Library staff recognize that many of our materials result from, are created by, or represent marginalized groups of people. We are committed to describing all people accurately and respectfully. We also acknowledge that many of the subject headings used to describe marginalized communities are biased and harmful. We support efforts underway throughout the profession to change these terms, and we are implementing local workflows to replace harmful and racist terms with acceptable headings in our own catalog. In support of our library’s reparative efforts, we seek an individual who is prepared to collaborate and lead to redress bias and structural racism in our metadata.

After an initial period the position is eligible for up to 2 days per week telecommuting.

What you will do:

• Manage and prioritizes timely creation and enhancement of standards-based description for analog and digital resources using replicable and sustainable workflows.

• Understand and integrate Library Mission, Values, and Strategic Directions into a vision for library discovery.

• Establish goals and evaluates the work of assigned staff members in accordance with established timelines and requirements, ensuring accountabilities are clear, well communicated, and relate to the goals and objectives of the department or unit. 

• Provide vision and shared leadership for the Library’s Subject Access Enhancement Initiative with a mission to improve subject access to University of Virginia Library resources with a focus on under-represented and marginalized communities. 

• Develop and document community-of-practice-aligned metadata standards to ensure that discovery platforms used by the Library meet minimum metadata standards, will be interoperable with internal and external systems, and provide for the integrity of description created by the Library.

• Primary contact for colleagues, vendors, and scholars in support of description workflows as well as  research and scholarly initiatives throughout the Library and University.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Library Sciences from an ALA accredited program

• 5 years of professional experience in cataloging, metadata, or descriptive operations in a library or cultural heritage organization

• 3 years’ professional experience building/leading teams and workflows

• Experience with MARC and non-MARC standards and description and application of technology/tools in this work

• Demonstrated success working cooperatively and independently as part of a team.

• Demonstrated success managing projects while meeting deadlines and managing multiple priorities.

• Ability to communicate in writing to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging, and anti-racism through participation in educational sessions, creation of policies, or implementation of practices in support of an inclusive workplace or reparative description.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience formally supervising permanent staff positions.

• Experience managing a diverse team.

• Experience with PCC NACO, BIBCO, CONSER or SACO programs.

• Experience providing description for at least one non-English language.

The UVA Library supports career development and provides opportunities for both formal and informal training as part of professional development. We are interested in reviewing candidates with a broad range and combination of experiences, education, and qualifications. We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and dynamic workplace, so if you are excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every preferred qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway.

Please visit UVA job board: https://uva.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UVAJobs and search for R0052860