Scholarly Communications Assistant

Libraries Job Description

Job Summary

Capture and preserve the intellectual output of Smith College. Plan, develop, implement, grow, and maintain Smith’s institutional repository.

Working under the supervision of the Digital Strategist the assistant will perform outreach, acquisition, dissemination and metadata activities for the college’s institutional repository. Work will include frequent contact with faculty and liaison with systems staff at Smith and with the external hosted service. As time allows, the assistant may take on additional related work in digital repositories.

Take appropriate actions to support a diverse workforce and participate in the College's efforts to create a respectful, inclusive, and welcoming work environment.

Essential Functions

Build Smith’s institutional repository (40%)

With the Digital Strategist, work collaboratively with faculty, colleagues in the library, and ITS to provide expertise and leadership in developing a successful institutional repository strategy. Provide vision and direction for a growing suite of services supporting scholarship: OERs, DOIs, data curation, and new forms of publication and research/creative activities. Establish and document mechanisms in the acquisition, description and end user access to scholarly output. Be proactive in identifying and collecting faculty publications and other creative outputs that fall within the scope of the repository. Upload faculty scholarship, OERs, and other content into ScholarWorks.

Outreach (25%)

Advocate for and promote use of the institutional repository, seek out contributors, and serve as a spokesperson to publicize the institutional repository's benefits and uses. Provide support to faculty in issues related to scholarly communications rights, access, and preservation.

Copyright (20%)

Identify rights, maintain a strong level of competence in scholarly communication issues such as open-access initiatives, intellectual property, and creative commons licensing.

Customize ScholarWorks interface (15%)

Work with service provider (currently bepress) on UX and custom configurations. Content management responsibilities include defining and managing the digital scholarly collections, working collaboratively with ITS on system and academic technology issues, and collaborating with library staff on metadata schemes appropriate for digital information. Maintain and update metadata records to reflect current practice and authority control rules.

Other Functions

Other duties as assigned.

All employees are expected to participate in the College's efforts to create a respectful, inclusive, and welcoming work environment.

Minimum Qualifications (knowledge, skills, education, experience, certifications, licenses)

BA degree with ALA-accredited master’s degree in library or information sciences or an international equivalent or coursework in graduate Library and Information Science.

Experience working with individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in developing and/or managing an institutional repository system and experience with digital scholarship content or tools preferred, but not required. Strong written, interpersonal and verbal skills, with the ability to work with diverse constituencies; problem-solving and analytical skills with accuracy and attention to detail; ability to work independently and as part of a team; leadership and skills in project management and problem-solving; familiarity with emergence of institutional repositories, including issues, policies, service models, and strategies securing appropriate content.

Skills

Proficiency with data ingest procedures and standard productivity tools (e.g., spreadsheets, documents); experience with current digital collection architectures and platforms such as Digital Commons and/or other repository tools; knowledge of web interface design and usability; ability to work well both independently and collaboratively to inspire a shared vision with colleagues, faculty, staff, and students in a rapidly changing and diverse campus environment.

Please attach BOTH a current resume and a cover letter in order for your application to be considered for this position . You may combine your resume and cover letter into a single file or attach multiple files to your application, but BE SURE you have provided all attachments BEFORE SUBMITTING your application. You will NOT be able to attach additional files after you have hit the Submit button.

Review of applications will begin

June 11, 2021

Compensation Grade:

Grade L Non-exempt

Position Type:

Regular

About Smith College

Located in Northampton, MA, Smith College is one of the largest women’s colleges in the country and is dedicated to excellence in teaching and research across the liberal arts. A faculty of outstanding scholars interact with students in small classes, as advisors, and through student-faculty research projects. The College is a member of the Five College Consortium with Amherst, Hampshire and Mt. Holyoke Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Students cross-enroll and faculty cross-teach across the Five Colleges.

Smith College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, age, color, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or veteran status in the recruitment and employment of faculty and staff, and the operation of any of its programs and activities, as specified by all applicable laws and regulations. Women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.