[Metadatalibrarians] Job posting: Director of Cataloging Services, Cornell University Library

[Glen Wiley]

*
*Director, Cataloging Services, Central Library Operations, Cornell 
University Library*

*Position Description: The Cornell University Library seeks qualified 
candidates for the position of Director, Cataloging Services within 
Central Library Operations (CLO). CLO provides innovative, 21^st century 
services, including prompt acquisition and bibliographic control of 
library materials in all formats, metadata services, support for the 
Library's information discovery and retrieval systems, database quality 
and enrichment services, interlibrary loan and document delivery, 
preservation and conservation of tangible materials, collection 
maintenance, and management of the Library's offsite storage facility.  
Employing 115 people, CLO processed library materials valued at over 
$16,000,000 last year and cataloged nearly 100,000 new titles for the 
Library system. A dedicated member of the Program for Cooperative 
Cataloging, Cornell catalogers contribute new BIBCO, NACO, and CONSER 
records to the world cataloging pool.  Cornell University Library is a 
leading academic research library with outstanding collections, service 
and instructional programs, and a leader in digital library applications 
including digitization of its print collections and developing 
strategies for curation of the research output of its faculty.
 
Besides participating in the CLO management team, the Director of 
Cataloging Services plans, supports, and monitors the work of 22 staff 
members (7 direct reports).  Currently, the Cataloging Services division 
is organized into five units. These individuals collaborate closely with 
their CLO peers, tapping their expertise in resource description, 
library operations, technology-based tools and techniques, training, and 
project management to help the Library achieve its goals. The group's 
mission is to provide timely and effective description of the Library's 
collections, both traditional and electronic, within the confines of 
available resources, to facilitate content delivery that matches users' 
needs. 
 
Responsibilities:  Under the general direction of the AUL, the Director 
of Cataloging Services is responsible for: energetic and open-minded 
participation in the four-person leadership team of Central Library 
Operations (CLO); taking a Cornell leadership role within 2CUL (the 
strategic alliance between Cornell and Columbia university libraries); 
continuing to lead the evolution to transform the cataloging operation 
in response to the changing discovery landscape; analyzing, designing 
and planning appropriate descriptive practices to meet the demands for 
timely and useful content discovery; serving as a leader inside and 
outside CLO on matters of resource description and control; keeping up 
to date and serving as a source of information about new and emerging 
descriptive practices and tools;  participating in the evaluation, 
development and implementation of schemes to support and enhance 
information discovery and retrieval in CUL systems; keeping staff 
informed and engaged; providing coaching and feedback; assigning and 
monitoring the work of the units; overseeing the analysis, adjustment, 
and documentation of workflows, policies and assignments; coordinating 
the group's work with others inside and outside CLO; conducting regular 
performance appraisals; and training or developing continuing education 
opportunities.
 
Characteristics:* * The Director is a dynamic individual with a strong 
curiosity to explore new methods for enhancing the user discovery 
experience.  S/he does not fear experimentation, innovation, change, 
success, or occasional failure as part of a never ending drive to 
improve the tools used to connect users with desired content.  S/he 
understands how to build successful teams and how to coach staff as they 
build new skills.   S/he thrives in a field that will continue to 
experience constant change.  S/he is comfortable to leave behind methods 
that no longer support the goals and mission of research libraries, but 
will advocate for methods that continue to play an integral role in 
meeting user needs.  S/he is eager to share findings and to embrace and 
incorporate the successes achieved elsewhere as they relate to improving 
the user experience at Cornell.
 
Required Qualifications: Requires an M.L.S. or equivalent graduate 
degree and at least five years of experience in the resource description 
field, preferably within a large academic or research library.  
Demonstrated success in personnel and/or project management, including 
the ability to engage staff in a process of continual change and 
improvement.  Strong collegial, interpersonal and communication skills. 
Advanced knowledge of the application of technology to descriptive 
practices.  Evidence of strong service orientation. Demonstrated 
abilities to plan and to solve problems creatively. Experience working 
with one or more library management systems, skill with standard PC 
software, and ability to deal with issues related to electronic 
resources.  Record of effective participation in professional 
organizations. 
 
Background:  Cornell University is an Ivy League comprehensive research 
university located in Ithaca in the scenic Finger Lakes region of 
upstate New York.  The town and university offer a unique cosmopolitan 
and international atmosphere in a beautiful natural setting of 
waterfalls, gorges, and lakes.  The university comprises 14 schools with 
2600 faculty members and 20,000 students enrolled in undergraduate, 
graduate and professional schools.  The Cornell University Library is a 
vigorous professional organization of 468 staff with a strong track 
record in innovation and service quality.  It consists of 20 libraries, 
including a nearby high-density storage facility with a capacity of 6.8 
million volumes.  It contains nearly 8 million printed volumes, 62,000 
current serials, 378,000 networked electronic resources, and rich 
materials in other formats.  Ranking 9th among 113 North American 
academic library members of the Association of Research Libraries, the 
Library was a recipient of the Association of College and Research 
Libraries' Excellence in Academic Libraries Award in 2002.
 
Benefits: Comprehensive benefits package including 22 vacation days, 11 
paid holidays, health insurance, life insurance, and university 
retirement contributions (TIAA-CREF and other options).  Professional 
travel funding available.
 
Application Procedure:  Applications requested by September 4, 2009. To 
apply for this position go to http://www.ohr.cornell.edu/jobs/, search 
under the job category of Librarians, and select posting number 
10987.    Follow the instructions for online submission. Please include 
a cover letter, resume, and the names, phone numbers, and addresses for 
three references.  Review of applications will begin immediately and 
will continue until the position is filled.  Salary will be competitive 
and commensurate with experience.  Visa sponsorship is not available for 
this position.
 
Cornell University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer 
strongly committed to diversity.  We value qualified candidates who can 
bring to our community a variety of backgrounds and experiences.


--Glen

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Glen Wiley
Chief Metadata Librarian

Metadata & Batch Processing Services

107B Olin Library
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853/
/gsw55 at cornell.edu <mailto:gsw55 at cornell.edu>
607-255-3973