Head of Metadata

Code4lib; Amherst (MA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 91,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

HR Benefits

MSP Librarian Benefits

Professional development

Job summary

University of Massachusetts Amherst is seeking a Head of the Metadata Department to provide visionary leadership and strategic direction for cataloging and metadata services. The role oversees metadata policy, workflows, and projects across library resources to enhance discovery and access to rich scholarly collections.

The position advances open scholarship and open access initiatives, collaborates with campus and regional partners, and supports a diverse, inclusive working environment.

Qualifications

• Master's degree from an ALA-accredited library science program or equivalent.
• Five+ years professional library/archival/museum experience.
• Four+ years of supervisory or management experience.
• Experience setting staff performance expectations in high-volume settings.
• Strong knowledge of metadata standards and best practices across formats.
• Experience crafting metadata processes and guidelines.
• Ability to work cooperatively within teams and maintain positive relationships.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• Commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and strategic direction for the Metadata Department.
• Align planning and services with Libraries and University priorities.
• Collaborate across libraries, the university, and Five College Consortium.
• Supervise and mentor Metadata Department staff.
• Develop and maintain metadata policies and procedures.
• Plan and execute metadata projects in catalog and digital collections platforms.
• Manage metadata projects across platforms to improve accessibility and interoperability.
• Create and maintain metadata for description, discovery, access, administration, and preservation of objects.
• Ensure current cataloging standards and schemas are applied.

Skills

Leadership

Supervisory experience

Communication skills

Collaboration

Metadata knowledge

Education

ALA-accredited MLS

Tools

MarcEdit

OpenRefine

Regular Expressions

Programming languages

FOLIO system

Job description

The Head of the Metadata Department will provide innovative leadership and strategic direction for an evolving team regarding cataloging and metadata services at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. They will lead the department in providing metadata services to meet a range of emerging research and discovery needs. They will oversee the development and implementation of robust metadata for UMass’s rich scholarly resources and distinctive collections. The incumbent will set priorities for operational needs, recommend and plan initiatives, and facilitate improvements to existing systems and services. They will advise the Associate Dean for Content and Discovery on long term metadata strategies relating to discovery, access, retrieval, and management of objects across library resources management and discovery systems.

Essential Functions

• Provides leadership, vision, and strategic direction for the Metadata Department to ensure the accessibility and discoverability of library collections as well as to meet evolving user needs.
• Aligns departmental planning, priorities, goals, and services with the strategic initiatives of the Libraries and the University.
• Collaborates and coordinates cross-functional work within our libraries, our university, and across the Five College Consortium.
• Directly supervises and mentors the Metadata Department staff. Provides guidance and direction, delegates and empowers staff to make independent decisions as appropriate, monitors and evaluates performance.
• Guides the transitions of staff to using their traditional skills in renewed ways to contribute to the changing needs of the professional metadata landscape.
• With the Metadata Department, develops and maintains metadata-related policies and procedures for the Libraries.
• Plans and executes metadata projects in the Libraries’ catalog and digital collections platforms. Provides guidance and assistance in the maintenance, evaluation, and remediation of metadata to improve accessibility and discoverability.
• Manages and assess metadata projects across platforms to enhance accessibility, discoverability, interoperability, and use of both library collections and metadata.
• Provides expertise in the creation and maintenance of metadata for description, discovery, access, administration, and preservation of both digital and physical objects produced, acquired, or held by the Libraries.
• Ensures current and emerging cataloging standards, along with metadata schemas and ontologies, are applied to policies and procedures of the department to enhance access to library resources in accordance with national standards.
• Develop and maintain a metadata outreach program which leverages the department's metadata expertise to help faculty, students, and the wider University identify and solve metadata-based problems.
• Support and develop the University's understanding of metadata, including its value and function.
• Advance the Libraries’ commitment to open scholarship through adoption of policies, practices, and infrastructure that maximize sharing and reuse of metadata and open access resources.
• Serves as a member of relevant library committees, task forces and working groups. Represents UMass Amherst Libraries in local, regional, national, and international associations.
• Works creatively, collaboratively, and effectively to promote teamwork, diversity, equality, and inclusiveness within the UMass Amherst Libraries and the campus.
• Performs other related duties as assigned in support of the mission and goals of the Libraries and the department.

Organizational Values

• Commitment to support justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) within libraries and the institution.
• Ability to build and sustain effective working relationships and work collaboratively in a diverse and fast-paced environment.
• Purposefully promote a One Library environment for all that encourages inclusion, personal growth, respect, self-reflection, curiosity, and continuous learning.
• Understands responsibilities with respect to conflicts of interest and behaves in ways consistent with both law and with university policy.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Master's degree from an ALA-accredited library science program, or equivalent accredited degree from another country, or advanced degree in a relevant discipline and appropriate equivalent experience.
• Five or more years professional experience in libraries, archives, museums, or similar institutions.
• Minimum of four years of supervisory or management experience.
• Experience setting staff performance expectations and directing work in a high-volume setting in accordance with organizational goals and priorities.
• Strong knowledge of metadata standards, authorities, and best practices for a variety of formats.
• Experience crafting and maintaining metadata processes and guidelines.
• Ability to work cooperatively within teams and maintain positive and constructive working relationships.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• A demonstrated commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion.

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Project management experience.
• Experience with a national cooperative cataloging program, such as NACO or CONSER.
• Experience with the FOLIO system and community or with similar open-source projects related to resource management and discovery.
• Experience working with batch processes and tools to analyze, remediate, and process metadata.
• Experience with tools for data manipulation, such as MarcEdit, OpenRefine, Regular Expressions, programming languages, etc.
• Familiarity with developments in reparative and inclusive cataloging.
• Experience building relationships and providing metadata services to stakeholders outside the library.
• Working knowledge of non-MARC metadata schemes and evolving standards such as BIBFRAME and Linked Open Data.

Work Schedule

• The regular working schedule for this position is Monday - Friday, day hours.
• The incumbent of the position is expected to work on a flexible schedule, which includes some evening, weekend, and holiday hours.

Salary Information

• Librarian III salary floor: $79,925
• Librarian IV salary floor:$90,735

Benefits

• Human Resources: Faculty & Staff General Benefits
• Massachusetts Society of Professors (MSP) Benefits
• MSP Librarian Positions Benefits

Promotion

MSP Librarian positions are eligible for promotion, defined as a change in rank as a librarian from one rank to the next higher rank. The bargaining unit member who gets a promotion shall receive the base salary increase in line with the MSP collective bargaining agreement . You can view the MSP Collective Bargaining Agreement, particularly, article 20, to learn more about MSP Librarian Personnel Actions, including promotion, appointment, reappointment, and continuing appointment.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst welcomes all qualified applicants and complies with all state and federal anti-discrimination laws.