Sustainability Data and Scholarly Communication Special Projects Librarian , WPI, Worchester, MA

Posted October 25, 2021

Description:

Reporting to the University Librarian and working with cross-departmental teams of library and university staff, the Sustainability Data and Scholarly Communication Special Projects Librarian will play a central role in supporting two key initiatives:

(1) Working with campus leaders including those at the Global School, the Office of Sustainability, the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, and the Gordon Library, develop and implement processes to gather and report data on WPI’s contributions to sustainability goals, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals, using a recognized international methodology; and

(2) Support pilot library scholarly communication services and initiatives to enhance the currency and accuracy of information representing the scholarly work by WPI faculty on public-facing profile pages and websites.

The position may also do research to understand WPI’s contributions to and use of open data; and collaborate with the Digital Scholarship Outreach and Lab Coordinator on projects that focus on open scholarship and open education or sustainability.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Sustainability research, analysis, documentation, and data sharing:

Develop and implement processes and workflows to help WPI identify and share scholarly, student, and institutional contributions to sustainability goals, such as
- applying and analyzing SDG tags to student work in the institutional repository;
- creating, sharing analyses and reports of SDG-related research as identified by third-party publishers; and
- with a cross-university team, develop and share inventories and documentation of contributions to the SDG goals that can be used to support WPI’s registration in the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking (fall 2022).
Provide research, data, and digital scholarship services support to initiatives related to developing undergraduate sustainability pathways at WPI and documenting undergraduate contributions to sustainable development goals.

Scholarly communication services:

Conduct research to support improving the currency and accuracy of published faculty profiles at WPI, and work with WPI faculty to implement steps to enhance access to their research and scholarship. The position may also create documentation to support improvement and maintenance of faculty profiles including external and standards-based profiles managed outside WPI.
Support data management for public-facing information about the research interests and scholarship of faculty affiliated with WPI’s cross-disciplinary research groups.

Digital and data scholarship programs: If time permits, this position may also work with other Gordon Library staff to support the implementation of the library’s strategic initiatives in scholarly communication and data services.

University service: This position may also participate in and contribute to library and WPI committees, initiatives, and goals, including the library’s and the university’s goals regarding equity, inclusion, and sustainability.

Professional development: The position will be encouraged to engage in and contribute to the profession through continuing learning, service, research, presentations, or professional communications; costs of travel or conference and training may be provided.

Other: The position may perform other duties as assigned to meet department, library, and university goals and objectives. Most work will be on site, but some remote work may be possible.

Required Knowledge, Experience, and Abilities:

ALA-accredited graduate degree or equivalent relevant graduate degree, or graduate degree in process.
Strong communication, outreach, organization, and marketing skills.
Experience in the use and application of scholarly communication techniques and practices, including citation, metadata schemas, digital exhibits or publishing, data management or visualization, or geospatial mapping.
Web site design and development skills.
Ability to work in a diverse community in a manner that is respectful, empathetic, and responsive to different needs and cultures.
Strong service orientation and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively.
Flexibility, creativity and a willingness to take risks and experiment with new methods.
Strong oral and written communication skills, interpersonal skills, and presentation skills.
Demonstrated ability to successfully plan, document, and complete projects.

Preferred qualifications

Independent research skills using both documented sources of information and solicitation of information from subject-matter experts.
Familiarity with digital research skills such as text mining, natural language processing, topic modeling, social network analysis, data mining, mapping, and visualization, data cleaning/wrangling/normalization, using regular expressions, or web scraping. Interest in the ethical procurement, structuring, documenting, sharing, and interpreting of data for research and scholarship
Interest in sustainability research, education, policies, and practices including sustainable development, local and global sustainability challenges, and climate change adaptation.

This is a benefited temporary one-year position.

WPI is passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We are looking for candidates who can support our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.

How to Apply:

To apply please submit a cover letter and resume. LINK TO APPLY.