Geospatial Data and Programs Librarian (1), Research Specialist Librarian (2)

Posted to IASSIST on: 2022-08-17

Employer: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Employer URL: https://www.unl.edu/

Description

The University Libraries at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) invites applications for three tenure-line faculty librarian positions in our newly formed department, Research Partnerships, within the Libraries’ Research & Learning division. We seek three collaborative, team-oriented librarians in various functional areas, including geospatial data and programs, evidence synthesis, and research impact and metrics, among other possible specialty areas, to join us in designing, creating, and innovating solutions to enrich, sustain, and mobilize the research and scholarship of a major land grant university. The positions include one Geospatial Data and Programs Librarian (assistant professor) and two Research Specialist Librarians (assistant or associate professor, depending on experience and scholarly record). The UNL Libraries desires to grow our cohort of assistant professors, including those seeking their first librarian position, those who will complete their MLIS (or equivalent) by December 31, 2022, as well as those seeking career path changes and the opportunity to grow in new roles.

Research Partnerships engages with the advanced information and data needs of UNL research communities of all disciplines. Collectively, the department has responsibility for the design and delivery of a range of information and data-intensive programs and services. In addition to providing and developing position-specific expertise, successful candidates will participate in the activities of the department to partner on digital and data scholarship and visualization, promote good research data management and ethical sharing, take part in skill sharing and collaboration within the department and across the University Libraries, and contribute to the design of community engagement and knowledge mobilization activities across the Libraries and University community. They will join a team with expertise in research data management and data curation; clinical, sociological, biological and agricultural research; comprehensive literature review and evidence synthesis methods; digital scholarship; and public communication of science, among others, that engages the information and data needs of UNL researchers.

Successful candidates will join the Libraries at a time of change and renewal. We are now into the second year of our strategic plan, have recently created a number of internal leadership positions to grow talent from within, and have an ambitious faculty hiring plan.

Research Partnerships librarians will engage with the Libraries’ strategic plan, including the expansion of research services, and will co-create the activities and culture of the department, which is committed to advancing UNL’s Journey for Antiracism and Racial Equity. Research Partnerships undertakes its work with attention to the social impacts of information technologies, including how social and structural biases and inequalities are manifest in information and data systems and in research systems. Professional development opportunities will enable all members of Research Partnerships to grow into new and exciting roles at the leading edge of research collaboration.

Responsibilities – Geospatial Data and Programs Librarian

Working cooperatively with colleagues in Research Partnerships, Teaching Partnerships, Digital Strategies (including the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities), and across the UNL Libraries, the Geospatial Data and Programs Librarian will:

• Promote and sustain the use of geospatial information in research and digital scholarship projects, through consultation, educational programming, and partnering with research teams
• Provide support for geospatial data management, GIS training and tool acquisition, and geospatial data publishing, curation, and archiving.
• Serve as the UNL Libraries lead to the Big Ten Academic Alliance Geoportal and contribute to the activities of the Geoportal.
• Participate in the Libraries’ tiered reference program in one or more areas of disciplinary and functional knowledge.
• Actively engage in antiracist work to develop inclusive excellence and redress systemic inequities.
• Contribute to the knowledgebase of the profession through research, publication, and professional engagement in line with a tenure-line faculty appointment.
• Participate in library, university, and professional service activities.

Responsibilities – Research Specialist Librarians

As Research Partnerships enlarges its capacity to support and partner with researchers, two Research Specialist Librarians with overlapping skillsets will advance evidence synthesis and research metrics activities within the department, among other possible research specialties. Working cooperatively with colleagues in Research Partnerships, Teaching Partnerships, Digital Strategies, and across the UNL Libraries, the Research Specialist Librarians will:

• Cultivate and contribute to evidence synthesis and/or research metrics activities within the department, through consultation, educational programming, and partnering with research teams.
• Partner with individuals and teams to evaluate the scientific and social impact of their research, provide guidance on the use of research metrics, identify and develop other measures of impact of research and teaching outputs, consult on the presentation of impact evidence, and consult with research administrators across the university to illustrate the reach of UNL research.
• Partner on the design and implementation of a range of evidence synthesis efforts, including systematic reviews, and on bibliometric and scientometric research; identify research trends and gaps in the literature; and identify and map scholarly networks, research domains, and collaborations.
• Support the UNL Libraries in expanding into or adding capacity in additional research specialty areas, such as knowledge mobilization, computational and algorithmic methods, reparative research practices, community-centered research, and community data.
• Participate in the Libraries’ tiered reference program in one or more areas of disciplinary and functional knowledge.
• Actively engage in antiracist work to develop inclusive excellence and redress systemic inequities.
• Contribute to the knowledgebase of the profession through research, publication, and professional engagement in line with a tenure-line faculty appointment.
• Participate in library, university, and professional service activities.

Minimum Required Qualifications

A vital qualification for these positions is the ability and desire to grow in the knowledge and skills necessary to perform job duties with increasing excellence over time. We encourage applications even when candidates are unsure if they fully meet all qualifications. Applicants should use the cover letter to share how their particular combination of expertise, experience, and skills are relevant to the work described, addressing each of the required qualifications. We are open to a broad range of ways and contexts in which candidates might demonstrate how they meet these qualifications. For example, while candidates might document their demonstrated commitment, experience, and knowledge through work activities—including in positions outside of libraries—they might also speak to coursework, community service, participation in cultural or other organizations, and involvement with student groups, among other possibilities.

• Master’s degree in library and information science from an ALA-accredited institution (or international equivalent), or terminal degree in another discipline and relevant experience, by the time of appointment/position start.
• Demonstrated commitment to and support for a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Experience, familiarity, knowledge, and/or expertise with methods, software, tools, and data sources relevant to the specific position(s) sought.
• Strong desire and demonstrated ability to learn new tools and technologies.
• Candidates for the Geospatial Data and Programs position must have experience and skill in GIS technologies, methods, and tools.
• Research Specialist candidates must have knowledge of synthesizing literature reviews and/or the evaluation of research.
• Applicants for Research Specialist positions at the rank of associate professor will have a record of job experience, service, and scholarship equivalent to that of faculty at the Associate Professor level. Applicants need not identify their prospective rank at time of application.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with data management and digital preservation practices, trends, and issues in research data at research-driven institutions.
• Familiarity and experience with software tools for digital and/or data scholarship, visualization, or analysis.
• Experience providing services in a research library and an understanding of the mission and function of a large academic library in a research university.
• Knowledge of statistical and/or computational research approaches and methodologies.
• Awareness of algorithmic bias and reparative research practices.
• Awareness of accessibility issues in tools, outputs, and program design.
• Demonstrated teaching, instruction, or presentation skills and facility working with a diverse range of audiences.
• Experience supporting researchers in academic or similar advanced research environment.

Compensation

Salaries will start at $61,200 minimum for assistant professors and $70,500 minimum for associate professors. Faculty are eligible for annual merit raises, with raises also at times of promotion in rank. All faculty in the UNL Libraries currently receive professional development funding of $1,500 per fiscal year, with the opportunity to request additional financial support.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln provides generous relocation support, including options that do not require new employees to pay expenses out of pocket. The University of Nebraska offers an extensive benefits package that includes health, life, disability, and long-term care insurance; retirement accounts; tuition remission for employees, their spouses, and dependent children; and reimbursement accounts for health care and dependent daycare. Leave policies are designed to help employees deal with personal or family events or crises. Please refer to the University of Nebraska Benefits site for information.

To Apply

To apply for this position, submit your cover letter, C.V., and application at https://employment.unl.edu, requisition F_220143 (geospatial data and programs) or requisition F_220145 (research specialist). In your cover letter, please specify the position(s) to which you are applying, and be sure to directly address all minimum required qualifications and provide examples that speak to each qualification. In addition, applicants for the Research Specialist positions at the assistant professor rank should describe how related data analysis, data, and programming skills will enable them to grow professionally in the area of evidence synthesis or research impact, or both. Applicants who know they wish to be considered for the Research Specialist positions only at the associate professor rank should describe their experience and expertise in evidence synthesis or research impact, or both. Cover letters must also include a description from the applicant that speaks to how their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion could be integrated into this position.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, with a preference for applications received by September 15, 2022. About the Department and University Libraries The University Libraries creates and fosters inclusive environments for teaching, learning, scholarship, creative expression, and civic engagement. The ability to find, access, evaluate, utilize, and create reliable information resources is central to higher education, the public good, and achieving equity and justice. Libraries faculty are empowered to provide an array of library services, collections, and spaces to meet the diverse needs of students, faculty, and researchers. The Libraries is committed to providing financial and other support for faculty professional development and travel.

As members of the Libraries’ new Research Partnerships department, the successful candidates will engage with the advanced information and data needs of UNL research communities in support of transformative research and knowledge mobilization. Together with others in the department, the GIS and Research Specialist librarians will have opportunities for collaboration across the Libraries, with colleagues in Archives & Special Collections, Digital Strategies, Teaching Partnerships, the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, and more, as well as across the campus and broader communities. Along with experts throughout the Libraries, members of Research Partnerships work collaboratively to maintain highly effective relationships with all academic programs.

About UNL and Lincoln, NE

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, chartered by the Nebraska Legislature in 1869, is the campus of the University of Nebraska system that serves as both the land-grant and comprehensive public research university of the state of Nebraska. The university is listed in the Carnegie Classification system as a research university with very high research activity and is one of the nation’s leading public teaching institutions. It is a member of the Big Ten Academic Alliance. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln was the first higher education institution west of the Mississippi River to award doctoral degrees and established the world’s first undergraduate psychology laboratory. An early institutional interest in literature and the arts led to the Prairie Schooner literary magazine, the University of Nebraska Press, and the Sheldon Museum of Art, which houses one of the world’s most significant collections of twentieth-century American art. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is committed to inclusive excellence and was one of the first institutions in the country to offer courses in the area now known as LGBTQ+ studies.

As an EO/AA employer, qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation. See https://www.unl.edu/equity/notice-nondiscrimination.

More info/apply URL: https://employment.unl.edu/

Archived on: 2022-08-22