Data Librarian, Department of Innovation and Technology, City of Boston, Boston, MA

Posted April 22, 2015

This is a provisional appointment.

This role is a temporary role to last for approximately twenty months.

The City of Boston’s Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) is seeking a talented Data Librarian to join its Team. This newly created position was made possible by a new relationship with Boston Public Library, and the Knight Foundation. The project funded by this grant seeks to transform how we organize and use Open Data, working in partnership with the Boston Public Library to make it an asset in community learning. A successful candidate will bring the expertise of the library world to this project. You will design a model for a data catalog – one that emphasizes accessibility, utility, and relatability of data. You will seek user input to ensure we build something truly useful. You will work directly with people across the City to populate the catalog and document our data sets. The ideal candidate will have a passion for open data and community learning, demonstrated ability to advance interagency and multidisciplinary efforts, and experience identifying and implementing strategies to meet the growing need for assistance with statistical databases.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Designing a model for a data catalog
• Populating the catalog and other data sets
• Promoting data resources and services.
• Providing instruction, training, consultation, and outreach in finding, manipulating, analyzing, and managing data for use in research and teaching. 
• Participating in selection, acquisition, management, and delivery of data resources. 
• Some travel required (within Boston regularly and 1-2 domestic business trips per year)

Minimum Entrance Qualifications:

Candidate must have three years of librarian experience. Experience with data cataloging is preferred. A strong candidate has excellent personal and team management skills. Applicant must have strong written and oral communication skills and have demonstrated an ability to work effectively in a team environment. Knowledge of public libraries and municipal government is preferred. Demonstrated understanding of data structures and APIs is preferred. Applicant must have the ability to exercise good judgment and be able to focus on details as required by the job. Comfortable in a fast-paced environment, able to manage multiple projects on tight deadlines.

Bachelor’s degree from a recognized college or university may be substituted for one year of work experience. A master’s degree in library and information science from an ALA accredited library school is highly desired and may be substituted for two years of work experience.

Terms:

Union/Salary Plan: SENA/MM 1-8

Hours Per week: 35 hours per week 

City of Boston Residency Required

Please refer to the Salary Information section on the Boston Career Center site for more information on compensation for each Salary Plan, salaries are listed by Grade and Step.

For consideration please send your resume to Frank Woods, Talent Acquisition Manager: [email protected]