Librarian for African Studies

Librarian for African Studies

University Job Title: Librarian, Area Studies
Bargaining Unit: None - Not included in the union (Yale Union Group)
Time Type: Full time
Duration Type: Regular
Compensation Grade: library
Wage Ranges: Click here to see our Wage Ranges
Work Location: University Library System
Worksite Address: 120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Work Week: Standard (M-F equal number of hours per day)
Searchable Job Family: Library
Total # of Hours to be Works: 37.5

Position Focus:
The Librarian for African Studies supports the research and teaching mission of Yale as a liaison to the Council on African Studies (CAS). The librarian reports to the Head, Area Studies Group, DASHRS.
The librarian develops strong working relationships with faculty, students, and affiliated researchers across departments, taking initiative to identify and meet their expectations for collections and services. In support of YUL's public services mission, participates in research education and outreach, such as instruction, orientations, and tours. Provides advanced reference and research consultations, maintains online research guides, conducts collection development, and keeps abreast of relevant technology to support their work. May also have opportunities for involvement in outreach, instruction, exhibits, or collection development of archival and special collections and/or participation in digital initiatives. The librarian is responsible for selection, interpretation, and collection management of imprints in indigenous African languages, especially those taught at Yale: Kiswahili, Yoruba, Wolof, and isiZulu, and other languages commonly used in Africa south of the Sahara. Additionally, the librarian is responsible for collecting materials published in the field of African studies (primarily humanities disciplines) published in North America, Europe, and other imprint areas outside of the regions of study. Collection development responsibilities include budgeting and fund management, approval plan oversight, selection of materials in all formats, gift review, and electronic resource acquisition. Works collaboratively with members of DASHRS, colleagues across the Yale University Library system, and with other campus partners to support interdisciplinary teaching and research needs. Establishes and maintains good relationships with dealers, content providers, exchange partners, libraries, and other appropriate institutions in support of assigned areas. Contributes to department strategic planning; participates in YUL committees, task forces, and programs; and is active professionally through service in library organizations, research and publishing, or other means.

Depending on background and experience, the position will be filled at the rank of Librarian 1 to Librarian 3. Librarian ranking information can be found at: http://bit.ly/YULRanksPromotions.

The following Principal Responsibilities are generic in nature; the information contained in this Position Focus is most relevant to this position.

Essential Duties:
1. Serves as subject specialist for relevant academic departments and students and faculty throughout the university involved in study of a specific world area. Provides research consultations, instruction sessions, in-person and virtual reference services, and other liaison librarian support. 2. Develops library collections in all appropriate formats (print, digital, audio-visual, etc.) through acquisitions from the relevant imprint area. Builds strong vendor relationships for this purpose. May also acquire materials published about the world area in other regions. 3. Raises awareness of collections through outreach efforts such as maintaining reading rooms, office hours, social media, exhibits, tours, mailing list messages, library workshops, and the sponsorship of academic conferences and lectures. 4. Creates and maintains web sites, online research guides, and other digital tools for research and teaching. 5. May work closely with, or directly supervises, staff who order and process collection materials. May supervise processing of special collections, including decisions on arrangement and description and oversight of finding aid creation. 6. May collaborate with relevant departments on projects related to collection preservation and digitization. 7. Collaborates with librarians, GIS specialists, archivists, special collection curators, etc. to support research and teaching. 8. May collaborate as appropriate with library staff engaged in fund-raising and development efforts. 9. Maintains networks of individuals and institutions located in relevant world areas to facilitate access to information and collections for Yale affiliates. 10. Maintains affiliation with a Council in the Macmillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale and/or other related Yale programs and organizations, serving as official library representative when appropriate. Actively contributes to the academic activities of these organizations. 11. Participates in departmental library planning for research support and the collections program. Participates in library system-wide planning, committees, and working groups, and engages in collaborations and professional activities at Yale, as well as regionally and nationally. 12. May be required to assist with disaster recovery efforts. 13. May be assigned to work at West Campus location in West Haven, Connecticut. 14. May perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience:
1. Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited library school and an advanced degree in a field related to the study of the relevant world area or an advanced degree in the study of the world area and relevant library experience. 2. Knowledge of the history of, and current trends in, scholarly research related to study of the relevant world area. 3. Excellent communication skills (reading, writing, speaking) in language(s) of the area. 4. Demonstrated excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communications and analytical ability. 5. Demonstrated record of designing projects and bringing them to a conclusion in a timely fashion. 6. Experience working collaboratively and independently with varied groups within a complex organization and rapidly changing, team environment. Yale University assigns ranks to librarian positions based on a combination of professional experience and accomplishments (see range assigned to this description as noted in the posting position title). Librarian ranking information can be found at: http://www.library.yale.edu/about/departments/lhr/rank.html

Required Skill/Ability 1:

Demonstrated excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills

Required Skill/Ability 2:

Excellent communication skills (reading, writing, and speaking) in language of the area, preferably Kiswahili, Yorúbá, Wolof, isiZulu, or Arabic.

Required Skill/Ability 3:

Excellent organizational and analytical skills.

Required Skill/Ability 4:

Demonstrated ability to design projects and bring them to conclusion in a timely fashion.

Required Skill/Ability 5:

Demonstrated skill in providing high quality, user-centered research support services, preferably in an academic library.


Preferred Education, Experience and Skills:
PhD in a field of African studies. Excellent reading knowledge of additional relevant languages, such as Twi, French, & Portuguese. Experience teaching in a library/academic setting & with software for citation management & creation of web content. Experience using archives/libraries in Africa. Interest in learning emerging technologies & web applications.

Drug Screen: No
Health Screening: No

Background Check Requirements:
All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement:
Thank you for your interest in employment at Yale University. Please also note that the university has a https://covid19.yale.edu/covid-19-vaccination-policy "> COVID-19 vaccination and booster requirement for all students, staff & faculty which is described in the https://yalehealth.yale.edu/yale-covid-19-vaccine-program"> COVID-19 Vaccine Program. As you search our open positions, you will see that all postings list their on-site addresses which gives more detail on the on-campus work location of the role.


Posting Disclaimer:
The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the particular position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring departments.

To apply, visit https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search/home/HomeWithPreLoad?partnerid=25053&siteid=5248&PageType=JobDetails&jobid=1541917



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