Requisition #1000321
The Princeton University Library comprises a large central library and nine specialized libraries that are heavily used by an academic community of 6,400 students, 1,100 faculty members, and many visiting scholars. To support the diverse needs of its users, the Library holds some six million printed volumes, ranging from incunabula to current imprints, and provides access to many other records of human knowledge, such as ancient papyri and cylinder seals, modern literary manuscripts, and recently produced electronic databases and journals. The Library employs more than 300 professional and support personnel, complemented by a large student and hourly workforce. Please consult the Library Web site at http://library.princeton.edu/ for more information.
Available: Immediately
Search Committee: (Princeton access only)
Description and Responsibilities:
Princeton University Library is seeking a creative and innovative person to facilitate and help manage the transformation of library technical services functions through the development and application of task oriented scripting and analogous workflow enhancements. Technical Services at Princeton University Library is divided into three divisions – Cataloging and Metadata Services (CaMS), Order Division, and Circulation Division. The Library acquires material in a wide variety of languages and formats. The Cataloging and Metadata Technology Specialist will work to create, manage and support technological solutions and tools to enhance the productivity of technical services operations throughout the Library, review and analyze workflows, and identify areas where the application of custom scripting would improve efficiency and/or ergonomics. S/he will be responsible for evaluating automated cataloging support tools in current use (e.g., oXygen, Schematron, Macro Express, MARC Edit); for recommending how new off-the-shelf applications, particularly open-source, may be employed and adapted to achieve productivity objectives; planning new resulting workflow configurations; and for providing training and documentation to staff to facilitate their transition to the new mode of operation. In addition to designing tools, workflow analyses, documentation and training programs to assist with general workflow functions, the incumbent will work with a wide range of staff to identify and seek automated solutions to advance specialized cataloging assignments and responsibilities and to address specific ergonomic problems. This will require effective communication with a wide range of staff having varying degrees of knowledge and technical skill. An increasing amount of work in Technical Services involves manipulating and repurposing large amounts of data acquired from disparate sources, in different formats, for different purposes. This includes, but is not limited to, purchased machine-readable cataloging; acquisitions data supplied by vendors as machine-readable records, in spreadsheets or text documents; and special collections legacy relational databases used for localized inventory control and holdings discovery. While the more routine of these tasks have already been incorporated into our workflows, the incumbent will work to find effective, scalable, and sustainable methods for these and other data management needs. In this work, as in many other tasks, the Cataloging and Metadata Technology Specialist will be working jointly with other members of the library staff. S/he must work closely and communicate clearly with the Library’s Integrated Systems Coordinators on all tasks involving large-scale manipulation of catalog data, and with the Metadata Analyst on all tasks involving data for the digital library.
The primary responsibilities of the Cataloging and Metadata Technology Specialist will change to fit evolving needs in Technical Services and will require investigating potential improvements to productivity and operations afforded by emerging technologies, developing new workflows to actualize such opportunities, and undertaking projects to address extra-departmental requests for special services requiring innovative solutions, such as the development of “bulk” cataloging approaches to address the bibliographic organization and description of “hidden collections” with unique content. All of the foregoing will require the application of advanced technical skills to further productivity and service objectives, including, but not limited to, mining data from websites, crosswalking data between formats, creating local validation rules for xml files, modifying existing tools for local use, and providing training and documentation for staff of Technical Services and other Library departments.
Ongoing responsibilities include: creating, enhancing and maintaining macro files; gathering and distributing production statistics reports; running Access reports against the library catalog for technical services operational and management use; customizing, training, and writing documentation for special software used in cataloging (oXygen, MARC Edit, Schematron); maintaining the CaMS documentation website; and loading authority record files.
The Cataloging and Metadata Technology Specialist’s immediate attention will be given to streamlining approval acquisitions by designing tools to more effectively integrate acquisitions and cataloging tasks; reviewing current use of oXygen, the cross-platform XML editor, in cataloging and archival work for the purpose of recommending optimal configurations and providing training on advanced features; automating data acquisitions from statistical data services websites to which the Library subscribes; developing automated tools to manage the quality enhancement of large record files.
Qualifications:
Required:
• A minimum of 2 years experience working with bibliographic metadata, and knowledge of the MARC format;
• Familiarity with xml including xml editors, xml schema, and Schematron;
• Strong technical skills including experience with Visual Basic, XSLT, CSS and html;
• Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of work and experience;
• Strong written and oral communication skills required, including evidence of ability to compose documentation and deliver effective training;
• Familiarity with collaborative communication methods like wikis, file sharing sites, etc.;
• Familiarity with a macro-writing program such as Macro Express;
• Experience querying databases through Microsoft Access.
Preferred:
• MLS/MLIS degree strongly preferred;
• Knowledge of Unicode and non-roman script encoding standards;
• Knowledge of a high-level programming language like Python/Perl/Ruby.
Compensation and Benefits:
Compensation will be competitive and commensurate with experience and accomplishments. Twenty-four (24) vacation days a year, plus eleven (11) paid holidays. Annuity program (TIAA/CREF), group life insurance, health coverage insurance, disability insurance, and other benefits are available.
Rank: This is an Administrative position; grade AIT030, 100% duty time.
Nominations and Applications:
Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Nominations and applications (cover letter, resume and the names, titles, addresses and phone numbers of three references) will be accepted only from the Jobs at Princeton website: http://www.princeton.edu/jobs. Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.
Application Deadline Date: May 23, 2010
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER.
For information about applying to Princeton, please link to
http://www.princeton.edu/jobs
