Director of Metadata and Technical Services

THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE

Position Title: Director of Metadata and Technical Services
Rank and Salary Scale: Associate Librarian - Librarian - Potential Career
$73,751 - $104,276

Position Overview:

Due to local shelter in place orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic, this position may be required to work remotely upon hire and for a limited time. The successful candidate must be able to provide their own stable internet access. This position will be expected to work on campus on a regular, full-time basis when it is determined by campus leaders to bring back faculty, staff and students.

The University of California, Riverside (UCR) seeks a collaborative and user-oriented Director of Metadata and Technical Services. The successful candidate will provide strategic leadership of a department devoted to collaborative, stakeholder-focused adoption and implementation of existing and emerging technologies and standards.

Located an hour's drive to the east of Los Angeles, an hour west of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, an hour east of ocean beaches, ninety minutes north of San Diego, and an hour south of mountain ski resorts, UCR is located in an area of dramatic landscapes and rich cultural traditions. The University is a dynamic, aggressively-developing land grant research institution dedicated to preparing its diverse student body to be successful competitors in the world marketplace of ideas. UCR boasts the first new School of Medicine to open on the West Coast in over 40 years and a new School of Public Policy.

The UCR Library is a critical partner in preparing UCR's students to be globally competitive while simultaneously preparing them for careers in the Inland Empire and beyond. The mission of the UCR Library is no less than to bring the world's information resources to the UCR community and to ensure that UCR students, faculty, and staff have the skills to fully exploit those resources to change the world for the better.

The UCR Library is a team of intensely collaborative, forward-thinking colleagues dedicated to providing excellent services to our students, faculty, and community members in a rapidly evolving information environment. The successful candidate will be technologically sophisticated; committed to problem-solving in local, regional, national, and international arenas; able to develop innovative solutions to complex problems; and a dynamic and effective leader.

The UCR Library is comprised of two facilities and its collections include approximately 4,800,000 volumes, 1,600,000 electronic books, 110,560 print and electronic journals, and 2,100,000 microforms. The Library provides services to more than 26,000 students and nearly 2,000 faculty and other academics in an institutional environment planning for and experiencing extensive growth. The successful candidate will join an enthusiastic staff of 214, including 37 FTE librarians, 67 FTE support personnel, and 98 students, in building a research library of excellence within a dynamic and diverse university ranked among the top 50 in the nation. The UCR Library is a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). Among the unique collections of the UCR Library are the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy, the Water Resources Collections & Archives, the Rupert Costo Library of the American Indian, the Paul Chou Collection of Chinese history and culture, the George Brown Papers, the Tomás Rivera Papers, and the Inland Empire Memories Initiative. Information about the UCR Libraries is available at http://library.ucr.edu.

The UCR Library is an integral part of the University of California library system. Housing more than 35 million print volumes in 100 libraries, the University of California's collection is surpassed in size, on the American continent, only by the Library of Congress. In addition, UC's California Digital Library (CDL) provides the core of the University's digital collections. CDL also assists UC to share resources and holdings more effectively, and provides leadership in applying technology to the development of library collections and services. Organizationally situated within the UC Office of the President, the CDL operates in close collaboration with all UC campuses and their libraries.

Responsibilities

Focusing on the need for robust and complete discovery of local and consortial content by members of the UCR community, the Director of Metadata and Technical Services will provide dynamic leadership and strategic vision in planning and managing the University Library's Metadata and Technical Services Department (MTS). Reporting to the Associate University Librarian (AUL) for Content and Discovery, this position is responsible for refining and developing departmental scope, goals, and policies, as well as providing employee supervision, goal development and assessment metrics. As a member of the library leadership team, the Director of Metadata and Technical Services works collaboratively to lead the development of metadata services in a vibrant and developing organizational environment. In addition to the Director, MTS is currently comprised of three librarians five staff members, and 1 student assistant.

Key Responsibilities Include:

● Provides vision and implements innovative approaches to discovery and content management services including distinctive and emerging collections models in the publishing market and in linked data;
● Serves on the UCR Library Leadership Team, University of California Library shared governance and/or interest groups, and in local, regional, and national profession forums relating to metadata functions as appropriate;
● Builds intensely collaborative relationships with stakeholders across the UC library system, particularly including the California Digital Library.
● Develops and maintains collaborative relationships across the library in order to develop policies, workflows, enhanced metadata, and user-centric solutions for increased and effective discovery solutions.

● Provides effective departmental management through the development and implementation of initiatives and ensuring accountability-driven performance expectations; and manages employee hiring, supervision, training, coaching, and professional guidance to direct reports;
● Provides direction in developing and implementing evolving standards, best practices and emerging trends in metadata, cataloging, and technical and user-centered enhancements such as linked-data initiatives;
● Develops, implements, maintains departmental policies and procedures, organizes the workflow for the bibliographic control of a diverse variety of materials in all formats, and maintains quality control and database integrity;
● Provides vision and guidance in the use of various established and evolving non-MARC metadata schema particularly in relation to enhanced user-experience (UX), and collaborates on the optimization of discovery layer systems that enhance the user's experience;
● Routinely scans the academic library landscape to identify and evaluate emerging methodologies of batch editing and creation of metadata and catalog records, such as but not limited to computational techniques, and, as appropriate, works to incorporate these techniques in the routine workflow of the MTS department;
● Provides ongoing professional development opportunities, mentoring, training, coaching and professional guidance to ensure that MTS staff are knowledgeable and current on contemporary and emerging cataloging and metadata practices;
● Works collaboratively with the AUL for Content and Discovery and directors and heads of various departments and units to set priorities, allocate resources, develop and evaluate plans, policies, and practices to enhance discovery, access, and use of library resources;
● Works collaboratively and creatively with UC system-wide initiatives to create an innovative cataloging environment;
● Participates in general administrative duties, library-wide activities, committees, special projects and library programs; represents the UCR Library on various University of California standing committees and ad-hoc groups.

Required Qualifications:

● ALA accredited MLIS or equivalent degree;
● Minimum of five years post-MLIS professional experience in cataloging/metadata/technical services;
● Demonstrated record of successful management and administration of a department or service OR demonstrated experience in program development or management including the ability to articulate vision, set direction, and accomplish initiatives in rapidly changing environments;
● Experience with OCLC and integrated library systems;
● Mastery of RDA, FRBR, FRAD, LRM, AACR2, national standards and practices, MARC21, and the various tools of cataloging;
● Familiarity with linked data and semantic web standards;
● Demonstrated knowledge of the application of non-MARC metadata standards and schema to engage in leadership around the description, organization, and access to digital collections and primary source cataloging and metadata;
● Experience with large-scale metadata management;
● Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues across multiple departments to develop policies, workflows, and programs that focus on user-centric discovery;
● Commitment to enhancing services through teamwork and responsiveness to stakeholders;
● Demonstrated history of growth in the library profession;

● Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to work successfully in an intensely collaborative environment;
● Demonstrated commitment to fostering and building a diverse workforce and to supporting staff development in support of the University's and the Library's goals of excellence and diversity.

Preferred Qualifications:

● Experience working with various non-MARC metadata standards and schema;
● Experience with XML and linked data technologies;
● Knowledge of best practices in library content discovery;
● Knowledge of user experience design principles;
● Experience with discovery layer systems;
● Experience in providing instruction in cataloging and preparation of cataloging training materials;
● Working knowledge of additional non-English language(s).
● UCR is a world-class research university with an exceptionally diverse undergraduate student body. Its mission is explicitly linked to providing routes to educational success for underrepresented and first-generation college students. A commitment to this mission is a preferred qualification.

UCR librarians are members of the Librarians Association of the University of California (LAUC). Research, publication, and/or service to the University and profession are expected for continuing advancement.

Advancement through the librarian ranks at the University of California is through a series of structured, merit-based evaluations, occurring every two to three years, each of which includes substantial peer review. Excellent retirement system, health, and vacation benefits.

Application: Submit resume, names and contact information of at least three references, and a letter of interest addressing qualifications and experience related to the primary duties of the position through APRecruit https://aprecruit.ucr.edu/JPF01390. The search will remain open until the position is filled; for best consideration application should be received by May 7, 2021.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

More information about this recruitment: https://library.ucr.edu/

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