Project Manager / Senior Serials Cataloger

Library Systems & Services, LLC.; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 95,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

LAC Federal in Washington, DC seeks an experienced Project Manager / Senior Serials Cataloger to lead a large cataloging and metadata modernization program for a federal cultural heritage and research institution. You will oversee a team of catalogers and remote language specialists, guiding complex serials cataloging and data remediation in Alma.

The role requires advanced skills in MARC 21, RDA, and authority control, plus leadership of cross‑functional workflows, backlog reduction, and QA.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS/MLS) from an ALA-accredited institution or equivalent.
• Seven+ years of professional cataloging experience, including four+ years in serials cataloging.
• Three+ years in leading cataloging projects or metadata operations.
• Advanced proficiency in RDA, MARC 21, LC classifications, and authority control.
• Experience with Ex Libris Alma, OCLC tools, and complex multilingual cataloging.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily operations of a cataloging and metadata support program with planning, staffing, and performance reporting.
• Perform and oversee complex original and copy cataloging of print and electronic serials using RDA and MARC 21.
• Remediate legacy serials records, including title changes, relationships, and holdings inconsistencies.
• Manage data cleanup after migration to Ex Libris Alma, resolving encoding, diacritical, and MARC issues.
• Establish standardized workflows, quality-control processes, and production benchmarks for cataloging.
• Supervise catalogers and remote language specialists; ensure multilingual material coverage.
• Perform original/copy cataloging in at least one foreign language with proper transliteration and authority control.
• Oversee multilingual workflows, including remote language workflows and Alma imports.
• Develop backlog reduction strategies with workload assessment and resource allocation.
• Coordinate holdings maintenance, inventory, withdrawals, and updates in Alma.
• Monitor quality, conduct technical reviews, and ensure compliance with metadata standards.
• Prepare project status reports, metrics, and risk assessments for customer stakeholders.

Skills

Project management

Team leadership

Serials cataloging

Metadata remediation

Multilingual cataloging

Education

MLIS/MLS

Tools

Ex Libris Alma

OCLC Connexion

MARC 21

Authority control tools

Job description

Washington • LAC Federal

Job Type

Full-time

Description

LAC Federal is seeking an experienced Project Manager / Senior Serials Cataloger to lead a comprehensive cataloging, metadata enhancement, and bibliographic records modernization program supporting a major federal cultural heritage and research institution in Washington, DC. The successful candidate will oversee a team of professional catalogers, library technicians, and remote foreign-language cataloging specialists while providing hands-on expertise in complex serials cataloging, bibliographic data remediation, and quality assurance. This position will play a key role in optimizing workflows following a recent migration to Ex Libris Alma, resolving legacy metadata issues, reducing cataloging backlogs, and improving access to extensive multilingual research collections. The ideal candidate combines advanced technical cataloging skills, strong project management capabilities, and demonstrated proficiency cataloging materials in at least one language other than English.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead daily operations of a cataloging and metadata support program, including work planning, staffing coordination, task assignments, scheduling, productivity monitoring, and performance reporting.
• Perform and oversee complex original and copy cataloging of print and electronic serials using RDA, MARC 21, OCLC WorldCat, and applicable CONSER practices.
• Direct the remediation of legacy serials records, including title changes, bibliographic relationships, enumeration and chronology, holdings inconsistencies, duplicate records, and obsolete metadata.
• Manage bibliographic data cleanup and quality improvement following migration to Ex Libris Alma, including resolution of UTF-8 encoding errors, diacritical inconsistencies, authority control issues, and malformed MARC records.
• Establish and maintain standardized cataloging workflows, procedures, quality-control processes, and production benchmarks for original cataloging, copy cataloging, and metadata enhancement.
• Supervise and coordinate professional catalogers, paraprofessional library technicians, and remote specialists providing cataloging support for foreign-language materials.
• Personally perform original and copy cataloging in at least one required foreign language, ensuring accurate description, subject analysis, transliteration, and authority control.
• Oversee multilingual cataloging workflows, including digital surrogate preparation, assignment to remote language specialists, OCLC record creation or enhancement, and import into Alma.
• Develop and execute cataloging backlog reduction strategies, including workload assessments, prioritization, production tracking, and resource allocation.
• Coordinate bibliographic and holdings maintenance activities, including inventory reconciliation, withdrawals, disposition processing, and updates to Alma holdings and item records.
• Monitor cataloging quality, conduct technical reviews, resolve complex bibliographic issues, and ensure compliance with established metadata standards and institutional policies.
• Prepare regular project status reports, production metrics, quality assurance findings, risk assessments, and recommendations for process improvement while serving as the primary operational liaison with designated customer representatives.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS/MLS) from an ALA-accredited institution or an equivalent internationally recognized qualification.
• Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible professional cataloging experience, including at least four years of substantial original and copy serials cataloging experience.
• Minimum of three years of experience leading cataloging projects, supervising technical services personnel, or managing library metadata operations.
• Demonstrated advanced proficiency in RDA, MARC 21 bibliographic and holdings formats, Library of Congress classification and subject headings, and established authority‑control practices.
• Demonstrated experience using OCLC Connexion or equivalent OCLC cataloging tools for original and copy cataloging.
• Professional experience working with Ex Libris Alma, including bibliographic records, holdings management, record import/export, and cataloging workflows.
• Demonstrated expertise in complex serials cataloging, including successive‑entry cataloging, title changes, linking fields, ISSNs, and serials holdings maintenance.
• Demonstrated ability to perform original and copy cataloging in at least one of the following target languages: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Persian/Farsi, Spanish, Italian, German, Hebrew, Greek, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Russian or another Slavic language, Thai, Burmese, or an applicable Ethiopian language.
• Ability to accurately interpret bibliographic information in the relevant original script and apply appropriate romanization or transliteration standards.
• Experience managing cataloging quality assurance, production workflows, staff assignments, and project performance reporting.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and demonstrated ability to coordinate with librarians, technical specialists, and institutional stakeholders.
• Ability to work full-time on-site in Washington, DC, and meet applicable federal facility access requirements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ten or more years of professional cataloging experience, including substantial work with research library, academic library, museum, or special collections materials.
• Experience managing cataloging or metadata modernization programs for federal libraries, national libraries, museums, or large research institutions.
• Advanced knowledge of CONSER cataloging practices, Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) standards, and serials authority control.
• Experience supporting library services platform migrations, particularly migrations from Horizon or other legacy integrated library systems to Ex Libris Alma.
• Demonstrated experience correcting Unicode/UTF‑8 encoding errors, diacritical inconsistencies, non‑Latin script fields, and MARC 880 field linkages.
• Familiarity with BIBFRAME, linked‑data principles, Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF), and emerging bibliographic metadata standards.
• Experience using Alma Analytics, MarcEdit, OpenRefine, or comparable tools for metadata analysis, batch remediation, and quality assurance.
• Professional cataloging proficiency in two or more target foreign languages, particularly Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Persian, Spanish, or Italian.
• Experience coordinating distributed cataloging teams, remote language specialists, or outsourced cataloging services.
• Project management training or certification, such as PMP, and experience applying structured project management and quality improvement methodologies.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to sit for extended periods while performing project management, cataloging, metadata analysis, reporting, and computer‑based tasks.
• Ability to stand, walk, bend, stoop, and reach as needed to access library collections, review materials, and oversee cataloging and inventory operations.
• Ability to lift, carry, and move library materials and equipment weighing up to 25 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)
• Short Term & Long‑Term Disability
• Training & Development

EEO Statement

The company and its subsidiaries are an equal opportunity employer and celebrate the population of differences and does not discriminate in its hiring/hiring practices, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Nothing in this job specification restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Critical features of this job are described under various headings above. They may be subject to change at any time due to reasonable accommodation or other reasons. The above statements are strictly intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as a complete list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of employees in this position.

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job‑related instructions and to perform any other job‑related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.

To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently.

Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health or safety of themselves or others. The requirements listed in this document are the minimum levels of knowledge, skills, or abilities. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” relationship.

Salary Description

$95,000 - $115,000

Notice of AI Use in Job Application Review

As part of our commitment in creating a fair, efficient, and consistent hiring process we may use artificial intelligence (AI) to help our recruiting teams organize, summarize, and analyze information provided by candidates, including resumes, application responses, and other materials submitted during the application process.AI may be used to identify patterns, highlight relevant skills, and experience, and assist in comparing a candidate’s qualifications with the requirement of a specific role. These tools are to improve efficiency and consistency while supporting more informed hiring decisions, which will ultimately be made by the hiring team.