Numeric and Geospatial Data Services Librarian

Description

The Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research (CISER) seeks an innovative, collaborative, and service-oriented numeric and geospatial data services librarian.

CISER has strengths in social and economic data, computational infrastructure, secure data storage and remote access, and a robust data-sharing environment including a data archive that dates to 1981.  The successful applicant will spearhead efforts to further develop CISER’s data-rich environment, notably via enhancements to CISER’s Data Archive and by participating in data-intensive collaborations with researchers and other librarians on campus.

Cornell social scientists are on the cutting edge of interdisciplinary research questions using complex data resources.  Growing recognition of the value of interdisciplinary and data-driven research affords CISER and its Cornell partners with opportunities to support numeric and geospatial research and a lifecycle approach to data management.  The individual in this position will play a key role in anticipating, developing, and implementing services to support these activities.

The CISER Numeric and Geospatial Data Librarian position will encompass many skills, capacities, and knowledge areas:

Responsibilities

Manage and Enhance CISER’s Data Archive:

• Develop and manage the collection of social and economic datasets in CISER's Data Archive, including acquisition of new datasets.
• Lead CISER working group to design and implement ongoing structural improvements and innovations in the CISER Data Archive.
• Contribute to efforts to promote and enable the adoption of metadata standards in the social sciences.

Provide and Collaborate on Research Data Management across Cornell:

• Serve on the consultants group of Cornell's Research Data Management Services Group (RDMSG) to assist social science researchers in the writing and implementation of grant-required data management plans.
• Serve on selected RDMSG implementation teams, per the RDMSG Management Council.

Establish and Grow CISER’s Data and GIS Outreach:

• Provide training and support in the use of numeric, geospatial, and GIS data
• Provide mapping strategies for large and/or complex sets of data
• Locate and acquire digital numeric, geospatial and GIS data sets and associated software
• Support data management efforts for numeric and geospatial data
• Expand data curation services to include numeric, geospatial and GIS data sets
• Liaise and form productive partnerships with other numeric and geospatial experts on campus, including Cornell University Library (CUL), the Cornell University Geospatial Information Repository (CUGIR), and the Program on Applied Demography (PAD).

Maintain and Expand Outreach and Professional Engagement:

• Promote the resources and services of the CISER Data Archive through announcements, presentations, webinars, etc., to the Cornell community.
• Participate in the writing of proposals to funding agencies and in the execution of accepted proposals for innovations in social science data management.
• Establish and maintain professional relationships between CISER and other organizations and individuals engaged in the pursuit of similar or complementary goals.
• Conduct, present, and publish applied research in areas related to discovery, organization, and usability of social science data resources across their lifecycle.

Coordinate with Other CISER Data Services Professionals in the provision of all aspects of data-related services to the Cornell community and external users.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will be a dynamic individual with a strong proclivity to explore new methods for enhancing the services CISER provides to researchers.  She or he will not fear experimentation, innovation, change, success, or occasional failure in developing research data management services and will understand how to build successful teams and how to coach staff as they build new skills.   She or he will thrive in a field that will continue to experience constant change and will be comfortable to leave behind methods that no longer support the goals and mission of a social science research support unit.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Library and Information Science or relevant social science discipline.
• Minimum of two years experience working with large social science datasets and familiarity with major data resources such as ICPSR and the U.S. Census Bureau.
• Knowledge and experience with social science data and statistical software such as SAS, Stata, SPSS, or R.
• Knowledge or experience of GIS data and software, such as ArcGIS.
• Demonstrated evidence of excellent communications and interpersonal skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with metadata practices and standards such as DDI, OAI-PMH, MODS, METS, PREMIS, FGDC or MARC.
• Knowledge of qualitative data analysis software such as Atlas.ti.
• Experience teaching workshops of a technical nature.
• Demonstrated interest in cutting-edge web-based technologies for augmentation, presentation, or manipulation of research data; an enthusiasm to promote use of such tools to empower Cornell social scientists.
• Two years plus of supervisory experience.

Cornell University, located in Ithaca, New York, is an inclusive, dynamic, and innovative Ivy League university and New York's land-grant institution. Its staff, faculty, and students impart an uncommon sense of larger purpose and contribute creative ideas and best practices to further the university's mission of teaching, research, and outreach.

Cornell University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action educator and employer.