Metadata Librarian #372

The University of Southern California (USC) Libraries invite innovative, service-oriented, and outstanding candidates to fill the following 12-month contract librarian position as Metadata Librarian with an anticipated start date of May 2022.

USC Libraries

USC Libraries faculty and staff work to advance consequential engagement with our academic, research and arts communities. We are committed to USC’s unifying values of accountability, integrity, excellence, open communication, well-being, and diversity, equity, and inclusion as we support the university’s students, faculty, and staff. USC Libraries take pride in our Digital Library, the Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Study with its Ahmanson Lab, our data and visualization services, and the library’s strong primary source collections including the history of Los Angeles and Southern California; LGBTQ history and culture, particularly relating to West Coast activities and activism; Cinematic Arts; and the Holocaust and genocide and exile studies. For more information on how our libraries support critical, creative, and ethical habits of mind at USC, visit libraries.usc.edu/facts-and-figures and libraries.usc.edu. Visit USC’s website for information about our students, academic programs, campuses, and research.

Position Summary

We are looking for candidates who will apply knowledge of metadata, digitization, and technical expertise to incorporate new content into USC’s digital library management system as part of the CLIR grant project Restoring the Visual Record of Mesoamerican and Spanish Colonial Cultures: Hidden Artifacts, Rare Books, and Photography Collections at Cal State LA and the USC Libraries. This work involves the description of materials; the transformation of metadata into standard schemas; the training of student assistants and contributors in best practices related to metadata creation, digitization, and digital library practice; and in reviewing the work of contributors to ensure that it adheres to relevant standards and best practices.

Position Responsibilities and Duties

Reporting to Director, Digital Library, the Metadata Librarian will:

• Collaborate with USC faculty and external contributors to develop services and collections in support of their research. Work with contributors to develop tools and processes to create metadata for their projects. Develop appropriate resources and services to further the academic and research endeavors of USC faculty, staff, and students.
• Manage projects that result from the digitization and description of materials from USC Libraries and other institutions throughout their life cycle, coordinating digitization and description activities to ensure efficient use of library resources
• Develop metadata crosswalks from nonstandard approaches to standards such as Dublin Core and MARC, and convert metadata to standard schema using scripting and/or coding and import metadata into digital library management systems and/or make metadata available for harvesting
• Review metadata created by contributors for completeness and accuracy, and troubleshoot metadata issues
• Describe objects in the Digital Library following best practices using library standards such as Dublin Core
• Stay up to date on relevant library and scholarly information trends and practices and be able to apply this knowledge to have a significant, positive impact on the USC Digital Library, and the advancement of the USC Libraries’ strategic plan and the University’s strategic vision
• Participate in library and other committees as assigned
• This position may be required to work evenings and/or weekends
• Other duties as assigned.

Experience and Qualifications

Minimum qualifications:

MLS from an ALA-accredited program or international equivalent is typically required for a librarian appointment at USC. In addition, candidates must provide examples of:

• Experience using metadata standards, especially Dublin Core and MARC and techniques used to transform nonstandard metadata to standard metadata
• Experience using digital library management systems or digital asset management systems in a hosted environment
• Knowledge of current professional trends, especially those relating to discovery, digital libraries, digital humanities, scholarly communication, digital curation, and digital preservation
• Evidence of a strong customer-service orientation within an academic or research library setting
• Effective oral and written communication skills
• Experience independently and collaboratively solving problems

Desirable qualifications:

• Experience managing projects in a library, academic, or information environment
• Experience engaging with end-users to develop project requirements
• Experience teaching and developing teaching or training materials
• Proficient in Spanish language reading and writing
• Supervisory experience
• Understanding of copyright and related rights and how they are applied in a digital library setting
• Engagement in professional and/or subject discipline organizations, research, or publishing that will have a significant, positive impact on the provision of service to the USC Libraries

Faculty Appointment Rank and Salary Rank:

Contract Librarian

This position is full-time on a fixed-term, one-year, non-continuing appointment contract, renewable as needed. Starting minimum salary for faculty at USC: $66,000. Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Benefits

For information about USC’s benefits visit: https://employees.usc.edu/benefits-perks/

Application Procedure

Interested candidates should submit a single PDF with the following documents: 1) Cover letter expressing interest and describing experiences and qualifications for this position; 2) Curriculum Vita; 3) Names and contact information of three individuals who may be contacted by USC for a letter of reference; and 4) Succinct statement describing your efforts to encourage equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism. Closing date for applications: January 10, 2022, or until filled.

For more information about this position, contact Marje Schuetze-Coburn, Chair of the Standing Search Committee, at schuetze@usc.edu.

USC is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, proudly pluralistic, and firmly committed to providing equal opportunity for outstanding persons of every race, gender, creed, and background. USC is building a diverse faculty that embraces a range of disciplinary traditions. The University will consider all candidates for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law or USC policy. USC will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in an undue hardship. USC will consider for employment all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring ordinance.

This one-year contract librarian position is funded from a grant and does not require SHC approval. The position is needed to fulfill USC’s obligations related to the Restoring The Visual Record Of Mesoamerican And Spanish Colonial Cultures: Hidden Artifacts, Rare Books, And Photography Collections At Cal State La And The USC Libraries grant.

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