Electronic Resources Librarian

The Electronic Resources and Serials Management (ERSM) staff works together as a collaborative, service-oriented team that strives to ensure faculty, staff, and students have easy access to the broadest range of available research publications supported by the Library. Under the general direction of the Department Head, the Electronic Resources Librarian plays a leadership role with this team whose activities span the acquisition, licensing, access management, renewals, record maintenance and troubleshooting for electronic resources. S/he works closely with colleagues throughout the Library, including the office of the AUL for Scholarly Communication and Special Collections, who share the goal to support the teaching and research mission of the University, but with a special focus on providing robust and consistent access to publications for all Cornell Library user communities.


Duties and responsibilities:

Participates in system-wide e-resources and serials management and policy development in support of Cornell University Library and Library Technical Services (LTS) priorities. Contributes to a wide variety of initiatives pertaining to e-access and serials. Supervises 3 FTE staff working whose primary assignments are involved with the implementation, maintenance and front-line service of electronic resources collections. Negotiates and executes licensing agreements with information providers. Develops and implements plans for the efficient and effective processing of records for electronic resources including the recording and maintenance of licensing details for the collections. Evaluates the availability and quality of bibliographic records to provide and/or enhance access to Cornell University Library’s electronic resources.
Works with the Office of the AUL for Scholarly Resources and Special Collections on the analysis and ongoing appropriations for electronic resources. Serves as a member or LTS liaison to collection development groups. Participates and plans training and continuing education programs for selectors regarding e-resources workflows, general licensing needs and usage statistics.

Requirements:

Required: ALA accredited MLS or an equivalent masters degree with applicable academic library experience. Demonstrated experience with issues and practices involved in developing and maintenance of e-resources collections, including licensing and a knowledge of publishing practices and trends. General knowledge of a range of software applications supporting access to online collections and associated technologies. Excellent communication and analytic skills including the ability to work well within a team environment with diverse groups of library staff. Interest in professional development activities, including research and participation in professional organizations.

Desired: Previous experience using library management and electronic resources systems. Previous supervisory experience, particularly in electronic resources or other technical services activities or interest and/or potential to take on supervisory responsibilities. Working knowledge of cataloging principles, tools and batch loading of records. Prior professional experience in an academic or special library.

Background: Cornell University is an Ivy League comprehensive research university located in Ithaca in the scenic Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. The town and university offer a unique cosmopolitan and international atmosphere in a beautiful natural setting of waterfalls, gorges, and lakes. The university comprises 14 schools with 2,900 faculty members and 20,800 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The Cornell University Library, with more than 450 staff members ranks in the top ten research libraries in North America. Its 20 libraries contain nearly 8 million printed volumes, 58,000 current serials, over 400,000 electronic resources, 72,500 cubic feet of manuscripts, and rich materials in other formats. Ranking 10th among 113 North American academic library members of the Association of Research Libraries, the Library was a recipient of the Association of College and Research Libraries Excellence in Academic Libraries Award in 2002.

Benefits: Comprehensive benefits package including 22 vacation days, 11 paid holidays, health insurance, life insurance, and university retirement contributions (TIAA-CREF and other options). Professional travel funding available.

Application Procedure: Applications requested by November 26, 2008. To apply for this position go to http://www.ohr.cornell.edu/jobs/, search under the job category of Librarians, and select posting number 10026. Follow the instructions for online submission. Please include a cover letter, resume, and the names, phone numbers, and addresses for three references. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Salary will be competitive and commensurate with experience.

For further information, contact Lyndsi Prignon, Assistant Director of Library Human Resources, 235 Olin Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-5301.

Cornell University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer strongly committed to diversity. We value qualified candidates who can bring to our community a variety of backgrounds and experiences.