Technical Services Associate (6 Month Term)

University of Toronto; Toronto; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading academic institution in Toronto seeks a Technical Services Associate for a 6-month term to assist in acquiring, processing, and cataloguing library materials. Responsibilities include maintaining accurate records, troubleshooting access issues, and supporting resource management. Ideal candidates will have a university degree and experience in academic libraries. A commitment to diversity and inclusion is essential for this role.

Qualifications

• One year of related experience in a research or academic library setting required.
• Working knowledge of international cataloguing standards including MARC required.

Responsibilities

• Receive materials and confirm access to electronic resources.
• Assist with activation of e-resources and maintain catalogue records.
• Troubleshoot access and service problems with content.

Skills

Ability to work with more than one system

Intermediate knowledge of Excel

Strong organizational and time management skills

Excellent oral and written communication skills

Strong interpersonal skills

Basic knowledge of languages other than English

Education

University graduation or equivalent experience

Tools

Library systems

Job description

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Technical Services Associate (6 Month Term)

Date Posted: 11/28/2025
Req ID: 45614
Faculty/Division: Library
Department: Collection Development Dep
Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)

Description:

About the University of Toronto Libraries

The University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) system is the largest academic library in Canada and is ranked in the top five among peer institutions in North America. The system comprises 40 libraries located across three university campuses: St.George, Mississauga, and Scarborough. This diverse and extensive network of college libraries, special collections, and specialized information centres plays a pivotal role in supporting the teaching, scholarly, and research needs of nearly 100,000 students enrolled in a wide array of graduate, professional, and undergraduate programs.

The library system provides access to millions of resources in various formats, including electronic, print, audio-visual, data and geospatial materials. UTL also boasts impressive holdings of archival material and substantial digital collections, securely preserved in the libraries\' data centre. The staff at UTL are integral to the academic and scholarly enterprise, working closely with faculty and students to support their teaching, learning, and research requirements. They are subject matter experts; they are skilled in research data management, collections, statistics, GIS, metadata, digital preservation, scholarly communications, copyright, teaching, knowledge synthesis, open access and much more. Our work is grounded in our commitment to support equity, diversity, and inclusion. UTL continuously evolves to meet the changing academic priorities and pressures at the University and within the broader landscape of higher education.

Under the direction of the Acquisitions Manager, the Technical Services Associate (6 month Term Contract) performs duties related to the acquisition, activation, processing, and cataloguing of library materials in all forms. An important member of the acquisitions and discovery & access workflow, the Technical Services Associate creates, downloads, and maintains accurate order and catalogue records in the Library’s resource management system, assists with the receiving, licensing & renewal of library materials, and serves as a member of the user support team responsible for troubleshooting access and other service problems.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Receiving and Maintenance: receives materials and confirms access to e- Resources, examines vendor statements and follows-up when there are issues, processes invoices for payment, assists in the renewal and maintenance of ongoing and e-resources including supporting the evaluation and assessment of materials, claiming, year-end cleanup, and serials check-in.
• Processing: assists with activation of e-resources, updates catalogue records by adding holdings, items, and volumes, edits records in the areas of physical description and contents, uses established tools and procedures to load records for materials not coming shelf ready. Generates call number labels for added copies and volumes of print resources and affixes to materials. Provides feedback on established or new processes and workflows
• Editing catalogue records: Creates additional holdings and items in catalogue records for added copies and volumes. Updates cataloguing information and contents notes when appropriate.
• Resolution of Problems: Under supervision, assists in the resolution of problems with content access and payments. Serves as a member of the user support team troubleshooting access and other e-Resource service problems that are associated with orders, subscriptions and licensing.
• Searching: Performs online bibliographic searches and selects best record for ordering/cataloguing purposes.
• Ordering: Imports selected records for ordering purposes, assigning vendor, fund and selector information. Follows up and amends information in the library database as necessary, e.g. donor information, special handling.
• Other duties as required

Qualifications (Minimum):

Formal Education: University graduation required or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Experience: A minimum of one year of related experience working in a research or academic library setting required. Working knowledge of library systems required; working knowledge of international cataloguing standards including MARC and other metadata standards required.

Skills:

• Ability to work with more than one system simultaneously and the facility to learn new systems and adapt to new technology and new workflows.
• Ability to carry out standardized and moderately complex work by reviewing readily available facts and following general guidance.
• Demonstrated intermediate knowledge of the Excel or other comparable software application (ability to create sort and compare complex spreadsheets)
• Ability to conduct online searches of bibliographic databases and assess quality of bibliographic records.
• Demonstrated strong organizational, analytical, and time management skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills, ability to thrive in a team based work environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to the values of inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility.
• Knowledge and understanding of the University of Toronto and/or academic libraries is an asset.
• Basic knowledge of a wide variety of languages other than English, some of which may be written in non-Roman alphabets and require transliteration.

NOTES:

• This position is a 6 month term contract.

Closing Date: 12/08/2025, 11:59PM ET
Employee Group: CUPE 1230
Appointment Type: Budget - Term
Schedule: Full-Time
Pay Scale Group & Hiring Zone:CUPE 1230 (5U) - Step 1: $70,296 - Step 2: $72,971 - Step 3: $75,781
Job Category: Library Services

Diversity Statement

The University of Toronto embraces Diversity and is building aculture of belonging that increases our capacity to effectivelyaddress and serve the interests of our global community. Westrongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples,Black and racialized persons, women, persons withdisabilities, and people of diverse sexual and gender identities.We value applicants who have demonstrated a commitment toequity, diversity and inclusion and recognize that diverseperspectives, experiences, and expertise are essential tostrengthening our academic mission.
The Diversity Survey is voluntary and results will be aggregated for institutional planning purposes. For more information, please see http://uoft.me/UP .

Accessibility Statement

The University strives to be an equitable and inclusive community, and proactively seeks to increase diversity among its community members. Our values regarding equity and diversity are linked with our unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission.
The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities.
If you require any accommodations at any point during the application and hiring process, please [e-mail] .