The Texas A&M University Libraries seeks to expand our team in the Office of Scholarly Communications (OSC) by recruiting three librarians. The OSC leads the Libraries’ efforts to explore alternative means of assessing scholarly output and impact; increase recognition of TAMU research; expand awareness and acceptance of open access and open educational resources on campus; support digital scholarship initiatives; strengthen author/faculty rights; and support digital data services. We often work through partnership with other library units as well as national organizations such as Duraspace and the Texas Digital Library to achieve our goals. These are tenure-track academic appointments carrying full faculty status and responsibilities including research, publication, and service to meet both the Libraries’ and University’s requirements for tenure and promotion.
We seek to recruit three innovative librarians who can design and implement systemic programs that couple outreach, education, tools and policies that effectively advance library initiatives in one of three specialties:
Copyright/Fair Use: Coordinates the activities of the Copyright Team, a group of librarians from all campus libraries providing copyright and fair use services to the campus; leads efforts to inform TAMU authors of their rights and responsibilities. This position will partner with the Libraries’ Learning & Outreach unit and the TAMU Office of Graduate and Professional Studies for training and support on copyright and fair use.
Researcher Information Systems (RIS): Manages the outreach, operation, and improvement of the Libraries’ RIS platforms and services that support scholarly identity, including VIVO (vivo.tamu.edu), ORCIDs (orcid.org) and the TAMU PlumX (plumanalytics.com); manages metadata associated with research profiles; contributes to national community efforts to improve and shape researcher information systems. This position works closely with application developers based in Digital Initiatives, a cross-unit metadata team, and other library units to expand the functionality and use of the libraries’ researcher profile systems.
Digital Repositories: Manages, plans, and administers the University’s Dspace digital repository, OAKTrust (oaktrust.library.tamu.edu); partners with key stakeholder groups within the Libraries and across campus in developing the University’s digital repository strategy to meet the needs of the campus community; leads the development and implementation of new repository services, workflows, and associated technical infrastructure to enhance the access, discovery, and preservation of Texas A&M scholarship; engages with the Libraries’ metadata efforts to improve discoverability and metadata quality for repository objects; contributes to open source communities seeking to develop and expand repository functionality; serves as an active team member in efforts to rethink and grow TAMU’s digital asset management ecosystem. This position works closely with application developers based in Digital Initiatives, a cross-unit metadata team, and other library units to expand the functionality and use of OAKTrust.
General Position Responsibilities
All OSC librarians are expected to participate in the following activities:
- Outreach efforts that promote open access and the use of open educational resources
- Explore alternative means of assessing scholarly output and impact, and increasing recognition of TAMU research
- Partner with the campus community to advance digital scholarship and new models of scholarly communication
- Assess and recommend standards, policies, and workflows for the collection and management of scholarly digital objects
- Promote the collection development of digital objects in the Libraries’ repository and digital asset management system
- Advise TAMU researchers on digital data management
Qualifications
Required Qualifications for All Positions:
- American Library Association (ALA)-accredited Master’s degree (or international equivalent);
- Knowledge of open access, the research process, current issues in scholarly; communication, and the role of libraries and librarians in supporting scholarly practices;
- Experience designing, implementing, or managing an innovative project, program, or tool;
- Understanding or experience in documenting workflows and policies;
- Excellent written and oral communication skills;
- Strong customer service orientation, positive interpersonal skills, and ability to work in teams;
- Experience working successfully with individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds.
Desired Qualifications for Copyright/Fair Use Librarian:
- Coursework or work experience related to copyright, intellectual property rights, and fair use;
- Experience in teaching, instruction, and workshop design on copyright/fair use;
- Juris Doctorate or other law degree.
Desired Qualifications for Researcher Information Systems (RIS) Librarian:
- Experience in the analysis of scholarly impact metrics and altmetrics;
- Knowledge of standards and practices related to digital object management, authority control and data;
- Experience or training in metadata crosswalks and Resource Description Framework (RDF) metadata standards.
Desired Qualifications for Digital Repositories Librarian:
- Experience or training in managing and/or developing repositories and digital collections;
- Knowledge of scripting languages and/or XML.
Environment
The University:
Founded in 1876 as a land-grant institution, Texas A&M University is the sixth largest university in the nation. The signature Aggie Spirit captures and embodies the university’s traditions and core values: Excellence, Integrity, Leadership, Loyalty, Respect, and Selfless Service. The university has an enrollment of more than 55,000 students and 2,800 instructional faculty. Based on Vision 2020, the institution’s goal is to become a premier, tier-one research university and to be ranked among the top 10 public universities nationwide by 2020.
The Libraries:
In an effort to provide relevant customer service in an ever-changing environment, the Texas A&M University Libraries is developing a core culture representing flexibility, innovation and risk-taking. In addition, the Libraries recognize the value in creating a culture that draws from the richness and strength reflected in the diversity of our state and our nation and has created an actionable Diversity Plan.
The Libraries currently rank 8th in materials expenditures ($23.6 million) and 4th in ongoing expenditures ($16.6 million) among all ARL libraries. Additionally, the Libraries typically rank near the top 10 for starting librarian salaries among ARL U.S. Public Academic Libraries. Currently the staffing includes 242 individuals which includes 75 librarians holding faculty status.
The Community:
Texas A&M is located in Bryan-College Station, a friendly community where the ubiquitous “howdy” greets friends and newcomers alike. The community boasts excellent medical facilities, live entertainment and the arts, fine-to-casual dining, outdoor recreation, a local airport, and a low cost of living, as well as easy proximity to Austin and Houston. Additionally, Texas residents enjoy the benefit of having no state or local income tax.
Salary/Benefits/Rank
Faculty rank and salary are commensurate with qualifications and experience; minimum starting salary will be $50,500. Excellent benefits include health plan and paid life insurance; several retirement plans including TIAA-CREF; paid holidays and vacation; no state or local income tax. Funding is available for professional travel and development activities.
Applications
Applications received by August 17, 2015 will be given first consideration. The letter of application should identify the position(s) for which you are applying, and address the responsibilities, qualifications, and experiences listed for the position(s). Please submit application letter, vita, and the names, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers of three professional references. References will not be contacted without contacting the candidate first and verifying permission. Send nominations and applications via email to LibrarianJob@library.tamu.edu or mailed to Pixey Mosley, Associate Dean for Administrative & Faculty Services, Texas A&M University Libraries, 5000 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-5000.
An Equal Opportunity Employer, TAMU Libraries is committed to employing quality faculty who will enhance the rich diversity of our academic community. In that regard, we are particularly interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of qualified people who are representative of the state’s diversity.
For more information about the library, see http://library.tamu.edu, about the university, http://www.tamu.edu, and about the communities, http://www.visitaggieland.com.
