Research Librarian for Engineering, Tisch Library, Medford/Somerville, MA

Posted July 26, 2020

Description:

Tisch Library supports three Tufts’ Schools – Arts & Sciences, Engineering, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts – providing collections, expertise, and technology-rich environments to assist the Tufts community in teaching, learning, research, and the creation and dissemination of scholarship.

The Collections and Liaison Services Department supports the research needs of the majority of the Tufts Arts and Sciences and Engineering academic departments, fostering a culture of information fluency and targeting outreach for patrons with advanced research projects. We collaboratively deliver a liaison program that supports the scholarly life of Tufts AS&E students and faculty, in close partnership with those faculty, through instruction, research consultations, and collection development.

The Research Librarian for Engineering builds deep connections with their liaison academic departments, aligning our outreach, instruction, consultation, and collection development to the evolving needs of those departments. This position not only partners with faculty and students in their liaison departments to ensure they are making the best possible use of our skills, services, and collections, but also leads improvement and expansion of library offerings based on assessed unmet needs. The Research Librarian for Engineering acts as primary liaison to the majority of the departments and programs at the Tufts School of Engineering.

Duties:

Creates deep, meaningful relationships with assigned liaison academic departments, building understanding of the scholarly needs of both department faculty and students.
Spends significant time outside the library attending and contributing to relevant campus and department events, with discretion to experiment and embed library service in support of patron need where and how it is most effective.
Supports individual faculty research projects and assignment design, and advocates for departmental curriculum reviews in hopes of offering more integrated, scaffolded, and impactful information fluency instruction.
Proposes and leads new experimental efforts to offer instruction beyond one-shot sessions (e.g. credit-bearing courses as part of the Tufts Experimental College, train-the-trainer workshops for faculty, multi-part retreats for thesis writers), focused on outreach and support for patrons with advanced research projects.
Builds excellent collections in support of Tufts’ goals to be both student-centered and research-focused, including monograph selection, approval plan management, and database trials and analysis.
As part of the Collections & Liaison Services Department, helps establish clear collections priorities, aligning them with the research and learning needs of Arts & Sciences and Engineering, increasing and elevating collections from historically underrepresented voices.
As part of the Collections & Liaison Services Department, plans, sequences, and helps lead a number of collections review projects, moving towards sustainable collection curation.
Teaches meaningful, engaging instruction sessions and offers individual research consultations that support both immediate student need and transferrable skills for students’ information lives outside and beyond Tufts.
Designs and maintains instruction materials (e.g. research guides, websites, tutorials, handouts and exercises) that effectively synthesize and demonstrate complex topics, and that provide additional opportunities for self-guided learning.
Collaborates. closely with colleagues across the Research & Learning unit to co-teach, to offer effective referrals, and in support of our cross-department work.

Basic Qualification Requirements:

Master’s in Library or Information Science, or equivalent.
Minimum of 2 years of experience providing subject liaison services (instruction, consultation, collection development) in an academic library or other public service environment.
Relevant subject expertise related to liaison departments (i.e. related undergraduate or graduate degree and/or experience supporting those disciplines)
Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills.
Time management and organization skills to work independently, as well as a collaborative, cooperative instinct.
Desire to learn about patron needs, recommend solutions to continuously improve library service, and create a compelling, holistic experience of the library.
Interest in and willingness to adopt the Tisch Library values of Community, Curiosity & Learning, Openness, and Social Justice.

Preferred Qualifications:

Familiarity with technical information formats such as engineering standards, technical reports, or patents.
Experience with large-scale collections review projects.

How to Apply:

The orginal job posting with full description can be found here. Apply using the job portal found there.