The UC San Diego Library seeks a motivated and collaborative candidate to join the Library as a Metadata Specialist (at the level of Assistant, Associate, or Full Librarian). This position will provide metadata expertise for research data from a wide variety of disciplines on the UC San Diego campus. While the position is classified as a librarian, candidates from a range of backgrounds and experience are encouraged to apply.
Analyzes metadata submissions to the Library's Digital Collections for quality and completeness, making recommendations to ensure consistency, improve discoverability, and facilitate interoperability among repositories.
Consults with researchers and other data depositors, advising on techniques for metadata collection and data description, assisting in analysis of their materials, modeling their collections, and ingesting content into the Library's Digital Collections.
Provides consultation services for researchers and data managers on data sharing and discovery strategies, including introducing them to best practices, selection of appropriate metadata standards and schemas, and advising on tools and workflows for metadata creation and cleanup.
Performs mapping, normalization, reconciliation, and transformation of metadata.
Participates in the identification and development of new tools and workflows for metadata normalization, enhancement, reconciliation, and ingest.
Helps to identify opportunities for new or improved services to support data curation work.
This position also offers the successful candidate opportunities to contribute to a range of innovative areas of development and research such as refining existing, and defining new, metadata models to improve the research enterprise for UC San Diego and international communities; implementing open linked data in library systems; engaging with campus partners to make digital and scholarly data work openly discoverable, accessible, and reusable; interacting with a vibrant research campus, including a wide range of disciplines and content types.
In addition, metadata for digital materials is actively shared between the Library's systems and a number of other systems and services, including the University of California's Calisphere portal, the Digital Public Library of America, DataCite, and the Association of Research Libraries' SHARE services. Sharing and linking of metadata is expected to continually increase as time goes on, and the successful candidate will be expected to participate in community discussions and take a leadership role where possible.
MLS/MLIS or equivalent advanced degree. Other appropriate degree or equivalent experience in one or more fields related to library services may also be substituted.
Experience in the application and usage of general or domain metadata schemas for organizing and managing information.
Understanding of information management concepts such as controlled vocabularies, authority control, data modeling, and schema design.
Good organizational skills and an aptitude for complex analytical and detailed work; ability to prioritize among multiple concurrent projects in order to meet deadlines in a timely manner.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills; ability to present and share ideas effectively.
Ability to work collaboratively in a complex, rapidly changing, and culturally diverse environment.
Strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.
Knowledge of issues and trends in the field of research data curation or experience working in an academic research environment.
Experience with linked data, RDF and semantic web technologies.
Experience with entity matching or reconciliation to linked data vocabularies.
Experience with open source communities, especially those around data repository systems such as Samvera or Fedora.
Familiarity with the process of developing and implementing new tools or services.
Willingness and enthusiasm to learn new skills in support of program and library goals.
The UC San Diego Library plays a critical role in advancing and supporting the university's research, teaching, patient care, and public service missions. The UC San Diego Library is committed to supporting academic excellence and diversity within the faculty, staff, and student body.
The Research Data Curation Program (RDCP) provides a suite of services for the campus research community, which includes helping to create data management plans, consultations and customized workshops on metadata and data management best practices, assistance creating identifiers for data and people, ingest of research data into the Library's Digital Collections website for sharing and discovery, preservation of data via Chronopolis and customized workshops and training on a variety of data-related applications.
The Metadata Services Program (MS) connects our UC San Diego community to intellectual and creative content and materials by analyzing, describing and organizing resources using methods and systems that promote discovery. MS provides, augments and normalizes metadata for digitized and born-digital objects and for tangible resources particularly collections of distinction for which UC San Diego is known. Within the Program, the Digital Object Metadata Management Unit (DOMM) focuses on digital materials, establishes and manages metadata standards and policies for metadata creation, provides consulting services for metadata creation and is actively engaged in many areas, including the open source Samvera community, and working closely with Information Technology Services on the development of our Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) and Digital Collections (DC) site.
Librarians at UC San Diego are academic appointees and entitled to appropriate professional leave and all other perquisites granted to non-faculty academic personnel. UC San Diego Librarians are expected to participate in library-wide and system-wide planning and governance and to be professionally active. To foster the best possible working and learning environment, all library staff at UC San Diego strive to cultivate a rich and diverse academic environment, inclusive of students, faculty, and staff of varying social, economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and those with disabilities. For more information, please review the UC San Diego Principles of Community.
With over 30,000 students, UC San Diego is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through excellence in education and research at the undergraduate, graduate, professional school and postdoctoral levels. UC San Diego has been recognized as one of the top 10 public universities in the nation by US News & World Report, as well as one of the top schools for medical research. UC San Diego is also in the top 10 of all universities in the nation in receiving federal R&D research grants. The UC San Diego Library plays a critical role in advancing and supporting the university's research, teaching, patient care, and public service missions.
Applications will begin being reviewed on 7/23/18 and the position will remain open until filled.
Compensation: Salary and level of appointment in the Librarian series commensurate with qualifications and experience and based on the University of California pay scales.
AA-EOE: UC San Diego is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer with a strong institutional commitment to excellence through diversity.
Cover Letter - Letter of interest.