Category Archives: Academia

Saying No in Academia

I can’t tell you how many times I have started my day thinking that if someone were to ask me to be part of a new project or to join a committee I would (and should) say “no.” And usually, that very same day (there must be some cosmic thing going on), someone asks me these exact things. And how do I respond? You guessed it: “Yes”.
So why can’t I say “no”? I say “no” all the time in my personal life and I have no problem with that. But when it comes to my job, several things fight in my head. First, I am convinced that if I don’t join the committee on reevaluating the color of a particular flyer (I am making that one up by the way) or if I am not part of this new project that looks at rebuilding our library underground (again, making it up), then I will be missing out on something great, on networking possibilities, but perhaps more importantly, that I will be denied tenure.
Yes, in my head, I somehow convince myself that saying “no” to yet another thing when I am already burning out from all the work I have will somehow be the reason why I will be denied tenure. Nevermind the fact that I am a hardworking woman who excels at her job (yes, totally flattering myself here) and that being granted tenure depends on so much more than one extra project or committee. Because in my head, I worry that saying “no” might mean passing on a great opportunity and destroy my dreams of being tenured.
But that’s not all. Another reason why I can’t seem to say “no” is because I feel that I am never doing enough. Yes, I am overwhelmed. Yes, I am currently reaching the maximum of my multi-tasking abilities. Yes, I am working on several articles, book chapters, projects, and even a book! But I always feel like I am never doing enough, like my colleagues do so much more than me and therefore that I should do more. This is so unhealthy and so untrue. But it does not matter because the little voice in my head tells me I need to do more, more, more!
I guess the first step is to recognize and admit the problem. The second step will be to learn how to say “no” and not immediately regret it or worry that it might affect my career. This is yet another way in which I am learning to care for myself and my well-being. It won’t be easy but I already feel slightly better writing about this.
 

Workshop Announcement: Information Analysis: The Role of Visualization Tools and Cloud Computing Platforms in Collaborative Research and Teaching

It is my pleasure to announce the following FLDH sponsored workshop that will take place just before HASTAC 2017.Capture.
See here the full workshop announcement: http://fldh.org/fallworkshop/

Self-Care in Academia: A Follow-Up

I wrote my post, Living with Alopecia: On Self-Care in Academia, because I felt it was important for me to share my story. Academia can make you feel so lonely and insecure, to the point that you try to hide your mental and physical issues from everyone for fear of appearing weak. But you know what? Sharing openly what you are going through, well that’s being strong and powerful.
I received so many messages of friends, colleagues, people I had never met, who are going through similar issues, sharing with me how stress has affected their lives, and thanking me for writing my post. You are welcome and thanks to everyone for being so open as well. I am not alone, you are not alone, and together we can strive to take better care of ourselves.
I also received a few suggestions on how to deal with stress-related issues. For instance, some make sure to sleep for 8-9 hours a night while others focus on having hard limits to their work day and leaving work out the door once home. Some don’t work on the weekends and instead focus on their families, outside activities, activism, etc… Others practice yoga or meditate every night before going to bed. Personally, I went back to working out a few times a week (I really like the free videos at Popsugar) and to cooking. I have also started this membership at a spa where I can either get a massage or a facial every month. I LOVE this. And my cat is the queen of being relaxed so I try to follow her example! Everyone is different so find something that works for YOU.
Am I cured all of a sudden? No. I have not become the least stressed person in the universe. And my hair has not regrown magically yet either. But I do enjoy my work and my life more. I am less bothered by the little things over which I have no control. I am happier. While I still suffer from the imposter syndrome and I am still a stressed-out person, I do find I am making progress towards a better work-life balance. So thanks “Alopecia on my head” because you helped me realize how important taking care of myself is.

Symposium, Collaborating Across the Divide: Digital Humanities and the Caribbean, Sept. 21-22, 2017 University of Florida

Please save the date for the upcoming symposium:
Collaborating Across the Divide: Digital Humanities and the Caribbean
Date: September 21 and 22
Locations: Smathers Library, room 100
The full event information is online (http://digitalhumanities.group.ufl.edu/event/collaborating-across-the-divide-digital-humanities-and-globalization-sept-21-23-2017/).
We hope that you can join for the symposium, and we look forward to the event as a place for conversation on next steps in regional collaboration!   Please share on any questions, and please share this with others!
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About the Symposium:
Digital technology has made the early twenty-first century a critical moment of opportunity by providing access to a wide range of library and archival materials and by offering new means of teaching, analyzing content, and presenting literary scholarship. While digital technologies have the promise of bridging institutional and geographic barriers, they have also continued to reproduce colonial hierarchies and marginalize content from the Caribbean and the Global South. This symposium, “Collaborating Across the Divide: Digital Humanities and the Caribbean,” brings together scholars and artists from the Caribbean and the United States to discuss how to collaborate through digital humanities in ways that decolonize knowledge and empower Caribbean subjects, rather than reaffirm colonial histories of archiving and education.  The project will center on the Digital Library of the Caribbean (www.dloc.com), an international partnership whose technological and DH hub is the University of Florida. The objective of the symposium is to produce an action plan for making dLOC a hub for pedagogical, scholarly, and artistic collaboration.
Schedule:
Thursday, 21 Sept., 5-6:45pm:

  • Introduction and Presentation: Oonya Kempadoo

Friday, 22 Sept.:

  • 9-10:45am: Panel: “DH and Non-DH Collaboration within the Academy,” Rosamond King and Matthew Smith
  • 10:45-11am: Break
  • 11am-12:45pm: Panel: “Public Humanities and DH Collaboration: Pedagogy beyond Academia,” Gabriele Hosein and Schuyler Esprit
  • 12:45-2:15pm: Lunch Break
  • 2:15-3:15pm: Platforms for Caribbean DH: Thomas Hale and others
  • 3:15-3:30pm: Break
  • 3:30-5pm, Roundtable:
  • 5-5:15pm: Closing remarks

Speakers:
OONYA KEMPADOO is author of Buxton Spice (1997), winner of the Tide Running (2001), and All Decent Animals (2013); winner of the Casa de Las Americas Prize (2002), and consultant in the arts and social development, including work with UNICEF, UNAID. She was Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence and Creative Writing Instructor (2013-2014) at two colleges in Connecticut; and serves advisor to Caribbean literacy non-profit “Hands Across the Sea” and co-founder of the Grenada Community Library & Resource Center in St George’s Grenada. An internationally acclaimed novelist, she is a leader in digital arts and educational collaboration in the Caribbean. Kempadoo has initiated two digital projects to support environmental sustainability in the Caribbean. The first, Naniki, is a speculative fiction, multi-media, eco-social project designed to engage students in the Caribbean and other countries in using digital technology and supporting environmental sustainability. The second, Carisealand, is a digital platform for scholars, artists, and the public for sharing projects on sustainability, designed and built by Create Caribbean Research Institute and it’s students (Dominica State College).
SCHUYLER ESPRIT is a scholar of Caribbean literature and cultural studies. Dr. Esprit holds a PhD in English literature from University of Maryland – College Park. She currently serves as dean of Academic Affairs at Dominica State College as well as director of the Create Caribbean Research Institute. She has pioneered Digital Humanities projects and digital technology training at the K-12 and College level in Dominica as well as collaboratively, linking classes at the Dominica State College and classes at colleges in the United States. She is now completing her book manuscript and its digital companion, both entitled Occasions for Caribbean Reading, a historical exploration of reading culture in the Caribbean.
GABRIELLE HOSEIN, Director of the Institute for Gender & Development Studies, at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine (Trinidad), which is home to several significant digital and public humanities projects, including Caribbean Review of Gender Studies, an open access peer-reviewed journal, of which Hosein is associate editor. Hosein is Principle Investigator for Politics, Power and Gender Justice in the Anglophone Caribbean, 2011-2014, member of the research team for the project Building Responsive Policy: Gender, Sexual Cultures and HIV & AIDS in the Caribbean, 2008-2011, and co-editor of Indo-Caribbean Feminist Thought Genealogies, Theories, Enactments (Palgrave 2016).
MATTHEW J. SMITH is Professor in History and Head, Department of History and Archaeology, The UWI, Mona. His areas of research include Haitian politics, society, and migration. He is the author of the books Liberty, Fraternity, Exile: Haiti and Jamaica After Emancipation (University of North Carolina Press, 2014), winner of the Haiti Illumination Project Book Prize from the Haitian Studies Association and Red and Black in Haiti: Radicalism, Conflict, and Political Change, 1934-1957 (University of North Carolina Press, 2009) which was a winner of the Gordon K and Sybil Lewis prize for best book in Caribbean History from the Caribbean Studies Association. He had contributed significantly to dLOC’s teacher training program and to its edited collection Haiti: An Island Luminous; his service work utilizes the digital for critical needs, including as Director of UWI-Mona’s Haiti Initiative following the 2010 earthquake providing assistance to Haitian university students and the Haitian national library, his work serving as Director of the UWI’s Social History Project, and as member of the Board of Museums and Archives of the Institute of Jamaica.
ROSAMOND KING (Associate Professor of English, Brooklyn College, CUNY) is a critical and creative writer and artist, whose work focuses on the Caribbean and sexuality. Her book Island Bodies: Transgressive Sexualities in the Caribbean Imagination won the 2015 Caribbean Studies Association Gordon K. and Sybil Lewis Prize for the best Caribbean Studies Book. She is also a poet, artist, and performer with an extensive record of publications and performances. She is also a leader in digitizing LBGTQ archival materials from the Caribbean for dLOC and has collaboratively developed and taught with Dr. Angelique Nixon, a distributed online collaborative course (DOCC) in the US and Caribbean on sexualities.
THOMAS HALE was one of the founders of the African Literature Association, a field of study that developed in the early 1970s. Two of his early books reflect this initiative: The Teaching of African Literature and Artist and Audience: African Literature as a Shared Experience. He devoted several decades to research and publication on the oral traditions in West Africa, where he recorded epics narrated by griots, professional bards who maintain the cultural heritage of peoples in the Sahel region. He is also a prominent scholar on Aimé Césaire and has recently developed an online annotated bibliography of Césaire:  http://lesecritscesaire.libraries.psu.edu/. He served as head of the Department of French and Francophone Studies at the Pennsylvania State University from 2001 to 2008.

  • For additional information, please contact Laurie Taylor (laurien@ufl.edu).
  • All events in the Smathers Library, room 100.
  • All events are free and open to the public.
  • Sponsored by the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere with support from the Rothman Endowment.
  • Co-Sponsored by the Creative Campus Program, Center for Latin American Studies, the Interdisciplinary Working Group on Caribbean Arts and Humanities, the Science Fiction Working Group, and Imagining Climate Change, the George A. Smathers Libraries, the Center for Gender, Sexualities, and Women’s Studies Research, the Department of English,  the Department of History, and the UF Informatics Institute.
  • Program Team Members: Leah Rosenberg, Randi Gill-Sadler, Prea Persaud; Chelsea Dinsmore, Tace Hedrick, Emily Hind, Maria Rogal,  Malini Johar Schueller, Maya Stanfield-Mazzi, Dhanashree Thorat, Laurie Taylor

New dLOC Video Tutorials in Spanish

Hello everyone,
A few weeks ago I was awarded a Smathers graduate student internship, which enabled me to hire a graduate student to support dLOC‘s ongoing efforts to enhance its website’s accessibility and ease of navigation for Spanish users.
Today we release the first task the intern had to do: create video tutorials in Spanish with captions on the following topics: What is dLOC? How does one do a simple search? How does one do a text search? How does one do an advanced search? How does one do a map search? And last but not least, How does one read an item and its metadata?
Thank you so much to my intern, Francesc Morales for his hard work on these.
PS: If for some reason you want to read my proposal for the internship, then please go ahead and have fun.
 

New Vacancy: Metadata Librarian

POSITION: Metadata Librarian
RANK: Assistant University Librarian or Associate University Librarian
REPORTS TO: Chair, Digital Production Services
SALARY: Actual salary will reflect selected professional’s experience and credentials
Minimum Salary at the Assistant Librarian rank is $48,492
Minimum Salary at the Associate Librarian rank is $56,098
REQUISITION #: 502568
DEADLINE DATE: July 17, 2017. Review of applications will begin June 15, 2017
NOTE: Office located off campus
Please note that this posting has specific instructions for the submission of application materials – see our website at: http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/pers/careers.htm or the APPLICATION PROCESS section below for further details. Failure to submit the required documents may result in the application not being considered.
JOB SUMMARY
The University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries seek a Metadata Librarian for a 12-month tenure track Library faculty position in the Digital Production Services Department. The Department is a user focused, data enhancing, hands-on, collegial team that strives for efficiencies and streamlined procedures to maximize findability.
The Metadata Librarian creates and revises descriptive, administrative, and technical metadata to facilitate access, discovery, and support of digitized collections. The Metadata Librarian works closely with the Cataloging Services Department and various stakeholders across multiple units; plays a key role in large-scale projects, such as testing machine assisted indexing as a means of retrospectively enhancing metadata in the University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC); and collaborates on ontology and metadata schema development as well as on metadata and information organization needs. The Metadata Librarian contributes to local policy and procedure decisions, develops and assesses workflows, and seeks creative approaches for managing metadata.
The Metadata Librarian pursues professional development opportunities and engages in research, publication, and professional association activities to meet library-wide criteria for tenure and promotion. The Libraries encourage broad participation in reaching management decisions and consequently the Metadata Librarian serves on various committees and teams.
RESPONSIBILITIES
– Manipulates, transforms, and creates metadata in UFDC and in the Libraries’ Integrated Library System (ILS). Responsible for clean-up projects, utilizing batch loading and editing tools in pursuit of workflow efficiencies, to improve access, actionability, and processing of library resources.
– Participates in planning and executing data migrations between information systems.
– Applies expertise in manipulation and transformation of metadata to assist with designing and updating workflows.
– Designs and implements metadata, crosswalks, standards/policies, workflows, and tools to support access to collections of digitized and born-digital materials in multiple digital collection management systems and to support long-term preservation of those materials deposited into the UFDC.
– Serves as a resource for colleagues in all campus libraries, advising on appropriate strategies as well as assisting with creating and repairing metadata.
– Develops and delivers training on non-MARC metadata skills to broaden the pool of Library employees who can contribute to digital collection metadata work.
– Maintains awareness of developments and best practices in non-MARC metadata for institutional repositories and digital collections, as well as bibliographic description (i.e. BIBFRAME, linked data), and is involved in strategic planning to prepare the Smathers Libraries for advancing in these areas.
– Strengthens and creates avenues for collaboration across the Libraries to improve access to collections through various metadata systems and ontologies.
– Serves as a representative on various library committees, particularly for providing expertise in the area of metadata and authority control, and serving on other committees and groups as appropriate.
– Follows and participates in local, regional, and national discussions on metadata workflows, batch processes, and integrated processes across standards and types.
– Directs the work of project teams.
– Includes and supports individuals of diverse backgrounds, experiences, races, ethnicities, genders, gender identities, and perspectives in work activities, to support all students and faculty and foster excellence in a diverse and global society.
– Performs scholarly research and provides service at institutional and professional levels as related to assignment and in accordance with the Libraries’ tenure and promotion criteria (see: http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/pers/cdh/)
QUALIFICATIONS
Required:
– ALA-accredited master’s degree in library science or other relevant advanced degree.
– Eight years of relevant, post graduate degree, professional experience for appointment at the Associate University Librarian rank.
– Demonstrated experience using various metadata schemas, vocabularies, and content standards (such as DC, EAD, AACR2, RDA, LCSH, PREMIS, MODS, METS) and various encoding/transmission formats (such as RDF, XML, MARC, JSON)
– Excellent interpersonal skills.
– Demonstrated experience with any of the following tools (or others like them) to create, extract, transform, analyze, and/or quality control metadata: XSLT, Microsoft Excel, MarcEdit, OpenRefine, scripting languages, regular expressions, SQL.
– Demonstrated experience in successful project management.
– Familiarity with the linked data environment, including emerging library applications (e.g., BIBFRAME) and name identifier systems (e.g., ORCID, ISNI).
– Evidence of positive and productive collaborations working with diverse audiences, constituencies, and colleagues.
– Initiative, flexibility and the ability to adapt to a complex, rapidly changing academic environment
– Superior verbal and written communication skills with the ability to explain complex issues in concise terms to a broad range of constituents.
– Ability to work both independently and collaboratively with faculty, students, administrators, and the general public.
– Record of including individuals of diverse backgrounds, experiences, races, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientation, and perspectives in research, teaching, service and other work.
– Strong potential for meeting the requirements of tenure and promotion outlined at http://library.ufl.edu/cdh.
Preferred:
– Two years of relevant, post graduate degree, professional experience for appointment at the Assistant University Librarian rank.
– Experience building ontologies and knowledge of standards and languages for ontology-building in a Linked Data environment (such as RDFS, OWL, and SKOS).
– Experience with metadata creation in an academic or research library.
– Knowledge of the principles of information organization as required in building and applying ontologies (including taxonomies, classification schemes, thesauri, and metadata element sets).
– Supervisory experience.
– Demonstrated ability to improve workflows or data maintenance tasks using automated processes.
– Reading fluency in French or Spanish.
– Metadata experience with special collections material.
– Experience contributing bibliographic and authority records using national Program for Cooperative Cataloging standards or other national or international programs for descriptive, structural, and administrative metadata.
THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
The University of Florida (UF) is a major, public, comprehensive, land-grant, research university. The state’s oldest and most comprehensive university, UF is among the nation’s most academically diverse public universities. UF has a long history of established programs in international education, research and service. In 2013 the Florida Legislature designated UF as the state’s preeminent institution which grew into an opportunity to achieve national and international recognition for the University’s work in serving students and the world. It is one of only 17 public, land-grant universities that belong to the Association of American Universities. UF traces its beginnings to a small seminary in 1853 and is now one of the largest universities in the nation, with more than 50,000 students. For more information, please consult the UF homepage at http://www.ufl.edu.
GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES
The libraries of the University of Florida form the largest information resource system in the state of Florida. The UF Libraries consist of seven libraries on the Gainesville campus and three off-campus facilities; six of the campus libraries, and all of the off-site facilities, are in the system known as the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. The remaining library is the Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center. Collectively, the UF Libraries (the Smathers Libraries and the Legal Information Center) hold or provide access to over 5.45 million print volumes, 8,100,000 microfilms, 1.25 million e-books, over 152,000 full-text electronic journals, over 1100 electronic databases, 1.26 million documents and 1.35 million maps and images.
The UF Libraries have built a number of nationally significant research collections, including the Latin American, Judaica, Florida History, Children’s Literature, and Maps and Imagery collections. The UF Libraries are a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), and the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL). The library staff consists of more than 300 FTE librarians, technical/clerical staff and student assistants. The organizational chart is available at http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/orgchart.pdf.
DIGITAL PRODUCTION SERVICES
Digital Production Services develops, manages, and publishes digital content from curatorial collections, in support of academic programs, organizes conversion and ingest capabilities, facilitates awareness and coordinates instruction in scholarly use and development of digital technologies and their application to collection and publishing services. The department manages the University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) and the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) and facilitates the flow of digital collection material to other digital repositories (HathiTrust, DPLA, PALMM) and ensures that materials are properly archived to digital preservation systems.
COMMUNITY
Gainesville, Florida and the surrounding community are home to approximately 257,000 people and both the University of Florida and Santa Fe College. Situated just over an hour from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, the city is surrounded by over 40 nature parks, including many spring-fed lakes and rivers. In 2015, Gainesville was named the “Best Midsize College City in America” by WalletHub and ranked no. 7 on Livability.com “Top 10 College Towns”. Gainesville is known as an innovative municipal government and an innovative city. Gainesville continues to receive national recognition as a top-rated city. Some of Gainesville’s accolades are listed at the Gainesville Awards and Recognition link. The Guide to Greater Gainesville combines award winning photography and compelling articles that capture all of the reasons for calling Greater Gainesville your next home. The area has numerous cultural institutions and is a haven for sports fans. Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Tallahassee, and St. Augustine are all within a two-hour drive.

BENEFITS
Vacation days, paid holidays, and sick leave days; retirement plan options; insurance benefits; tuition fee waiver program; no state or local income tax. Prospective employees should review the information about employment and benefits at UF available at http://hr.ufl.edu/benefits/.
APPLICATION PROCESS
To apply, submit 1) a cover letter detailing your interest in and qualifications for this position; 2) a written statement regarding current trends related to digitization, metadata creation, and digital preservation (250 words); 3) your current resume or CV; and 4) a list of three references including their contact information (address, telephone number, and email). Apply by July 17, 2017 (applications will be reviewed beginning June 15, 2017). Submit all application materials through the Jobs at UF online application system at http://explore.jobs.ufl.edu/cw/en-us/job/502568/metadata-librarian. Failure to submit the required documents may result in the application not being considered. If you have any questions or concerns about this process please contact Bonnie Smith, George A. Smathers Libraries Human Resources Office, at bonniesmith@ufl.edu.
The University of Florida is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from women and minority group members. We are dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic environment; we strongly encourage applications from women, members of underrepresented groups, individuals with disabilities, and veterans. As part of the application process, applicants are invited to complete an on-line confidential and voluntary demographic self-disclosure form which can be found at: http://www.hr.ufl.edu/job/datacard.htm. This information is collected by the University of Florida’s Office of Human Resources to track applicant trends and is in no way considered by the Smathers Libraries in the selection process.
Final candidate will be required to provide official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible. Degrees earned from an education institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), which can be found at http://www.naces.org/.

Position Vacancy Announcement: Regional Government Documents Librarian

POSITION: Regional Government Documents Librarian
RANK: Assistant or Associate University Librarian
REPORTS TO: Chair, Humanities and Social Sciences Library (Library West)
SALARY: Minimum salary $50,283 at the Assistant University Librarian rank
Minimum salary $58,179 at the Associate University Librarian rank
Actual salary will reflect selected professional’s experience and credentials
REQUISITION #: 501449
DEADLINE DATE: June 29, 2017 – applications will be reviewed as received
Please note that this posting has specific instructions for the submission of application materials – see our website at: http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/pers/careers.htm or the APPLICATION PROCESS section below for further details. Failure to submit the required documents may result in the application not being considered.
JOB SUMMARY
The Regional Government Documents Librarian is a 12 month, tenure track library faculty position in the Humanities and Social Sciences Library (Library West). The scope of the collections include federal, state, and international documents as the Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida Libraries are designated as a depository for the publications of the United States Government, European Union, and the State of Florida.
The Smathers Libraries serve as the Regional Depository Library for Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This position will be the primary contact for the Selective Depository Libraries in the Region, supporting their participation in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). The Regional Government Documents Librarian is responsible for FDLP outreach, public access, support services, and collection development and serves as the primary liaison to the U. S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) in matters relating to the Libraries’ service as a Regional Federal Depository Library.
In this role, the individual will build on the Smathers Libraries’ current leadership in implementing a successful regional model that connects traditional publication and collection management with technological innovation through its virtual meeting and educational presence and support of collaborative projects for online delivery and digitization of government publications. In addition, the candidate will build on strong partnerships with all constituents including other regional depositories, library consortia and the GPO, to advance new and innovative ways to increase the public’s access to and use of government information. More information about the regional depository library can be found at http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/ufdocuments.
The library encourages staff participation in reaching management decisions and consequently the Regional Government Documents Librarian will serve on various committees and teams. To support all students and faculty and foster excellence in a diverse and global society, the Regional Government Documents Librarian will be expected to include individuals of diverse backgrounds, experiences, races, ethnicities, genders, and perspectives in work activities. The Regional Government Documents Librarian will pursue professional development opportunities, including research, publication, and professional service activities in order to meet criteria for tenure and promotion.
RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Serve as the Regional Depository Librarian for the FDLP, including oversight of the 38 selective Federal Depository Libraries in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U. S. Virgin Islands. The services include: providing outreach to and state coordination of federal document collections in Selective Depository Libraries (Selectives) in the form of online or other training, state planning, and guidance on depository management issues; coordinating mandated processes for selection and disposition of tangible depository materials; remaining conversant with GPO policy to ensure compliance with the FDLP participation requirements; coordinating with GPO and other federal depository libraries to improve collections and services; assisting with training and implementation of the ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Program.
2. Coordinate activities of the Government Publications cross-divisional team, establishing goals and allocating resources within the team to increase access to state, federal and international depository collections;
3. Build and manage tangible and virtual state, federal and international documents collections to meet the needs of the University of Florida community.
4. Work on a regional and national level with other regional depositories, ASERL, GPO, and library consortia and associations, to improve the delivery, access and use of government information to the nation. 5. Actively engage with all constituents to provide specialized reference services, and to innovate and collaborate around government information access and use.
6. Provide leadership and serve as primary contact within the Libraries on issues and projects related to government information.
7. Identify a comprehensive set of the publications of the agencies and subjects in the Smathers Libraries’ ASERL Center of Excellence (COE) collections, recommend the selection of additional COE collections, and seek to fill gaps using the ASERL disposition database and other means. Arrange for digitization of COE content, other than Congressional and Office of the Federal Register materials that are not already available in a stable public domain digital platform. Identify sources of existing public domain digital copies to be harvested and/or linked from the Libraries catalog. Participate in the evaluation and selection of digital resources related to government information with other selectors in the Smathers Libraries and the Legal Information Center. Coordinate the cataloging and housing of print ASERL COE materials with the other federal documents in the Libraries’ storage facility.
8. Provide general interdisciplinary research assistance at the Library West service desks, online via email, texting and chat, and telephone. Participate in Library West general instruction and outreach programs, as well as providing government documents specific instruction.
9. Participate in planning, policy formation and departmental decision making related to Library West services, collections and new technologies.
10. Performs scholarly research and provides service at the institutional and professional levels as related to assignment and in accordance with tenure and promotion criteria.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required:
1. Master’s degree in Library or Information Science from an ALA-accredited program or advanced degree in relevant subject specialty.
2. Two years of relevant post graduate degree experience for appointment at the Assistant University Librarian rank.
3. Eight years of relevant post graduate degree experience for appointment at the Associate University Librarian rank.
4. Experience working with the Federal Depository Library Program and government documents.
5. Demonstrated knowledge of bibliographic control policies and standards for government publications.
6. Demonstrated leadership, training, and project management skills.
7. Ability to respond effectively to changing needs and priorities.
8. Knowledge of current trends in academic and scholarly resource management, including digital projects.
9. Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
10. Ability to work both independently and collaboratively with faculty, students, administrators and the general public.
11. Strong potential for meeting the requirements of tenure and promotion outlined at http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/cdh/chaptertwo.
Preferred:
1. Experience working in a Regional Depository Library.
2. Experience in collection management, reference and instruction in an academic or research library.
3. Experience in developing working partnerships with academic departments and other units across campus communities.
4. Experience in developing digital library projects.
5. Experience in the design and integration of new technologies into information services.
6. Experience working with GPO cataloging/metadata standards.
7. Record of including individuals of diverse backgrounds, experiences, races, ethnicities, genders, and perspectives in research, teaching, service and other work.
THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
The University of Florida (UF) is a major, public, comprehensive, land-grant, research university. The state’s oldest and most comprehensive university, UF is among the nation’s most academically diverse public universities. UF was ranked 9th among public universities in Forbes’ “America’s Best Employers 2015. UF has a long history of established programs in international education, research and service. It is one of only 17 public, land-grant universities that belong to the Association of American Universities. UF traces its beginnings to a small seminary in 1853 and is now one of the largest universities in the nation, with more than 50,000 students. For more information, please consult the UF homepage at http://www.ufl.edu.
GEORGE A. SMATHERS LIBRARIES
The libraries of the University of Florida form the largest information resource system in the state of Florida. The UF Libraries consist of seven libraries; six are in the system known as the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. The libraries hold over 5,800,000 print volumes, 8,100,000 microfilms, 630,000 e-books, 121,016 full-text electronic journals, 889 electronic databases, 1,300,000 documents and 766,000 maps and images. The libraries have built a number of nationally significant research collections, including the Latin American, Judaica, Florida History, Children’s Literature, and Maps and Imagery Collections. The Smathers Libraries are a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL), and LYRASIS. The library staff consists of more than 400 FTE librarians, technical/clerical staff and student assistants. The organizational chart is available at http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/orgchart.pdf.
HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES LIBRARY (Library West)
The Humanities and Social Sciences Library (Library West) is the largest branch library on the UF campus, with 14 faculty and 16 staff members, seating for 1,600 patrons, and 217 public computers, including iPads and Netbook laptops. Last year, Library West received over 1.2 million visitors. Renovated in 2006, the branch offers 16 group study rooms, a student video production space, faculty and graduate carrels as well as a limited-access floor for graduate students. Two classrooms are available, one with auditorium-style seating and the other with 19 computers for hands-on instruction. Within the branch, there are four functional units: Research Assistance, Instruction and Outreach, Collections, and Circulation; these units are managed by coordinators who oversee the daily functions. Programs and lectures are scheduled throughout the year in the Information Commons area. See the organizational chart for current structure of the department.
COMMUNITY
Gainesville, Florida and the surrounding community are home to approximately 257,000 people and both the University of Florida and Santa Fe College. Situated just over an hour from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, the city is surrounded by over 40 nature parks, including many spring-fed lakes and rivers. In 2015, Gainesville was named the “Best Midsize College City in America” by WalletHub and ranked no. 7 on Livability.com’s “Top 10 College Towns”. Gainesville is known as an innovative municipal government and an innovative city. Gainesville continues to receive national recognition as a top-rated city. Some of Gainesville’s accolades are listed at the Gainesville Awards and Recognition link. The Guide to Greater Gainesville combines award winning photography and compelling articles that capture all of the reasons for calling Greater Gainesville your next home. The area has numerous cultural institutions and is a haven for sports fans. Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Tallahassee, and St. Augustine are all within a two-hour drive.
BENEFITS
Vacation days, paid holidays, and sick leave days; retirement plan options; insurance benefits; tuition fee waiver program; no state or local income tax. Prospective employees should review the information about employment and benefits at UF available at http://hr.ufl.edu/benefits/.
APPLICATION PROCESS
To apply, submit 1) a cover letter detailing your interest in and qualifications for this position; 2) a written statement describing an example of your participation in a large, multi-partner project and indicate how you would apply what you learned in that project to developing partnerships with the Federal Depository Library Program Selectives for whom UF provides regional support, as well as other constituencies of the University of Florida Regional Depository (250-500 words); 3) your current resume or CV; and 4) a list of three references including their contact information (address, telephone number, and email). Apply by June 29, 2017 (applications will be reviewed as received). Submit all application materials through the Jobs at UF online application system at http://explore.jobs.ufl.edu/cw/en-us/job/501449/regional-government-documents-librarian-assistant-or-associate-university-librarian Failure to submit the required documents may result in the application not being considered. If you have any questions or concerns about this process please contact Bonnie Smith, George A. Smathers Libraries Human Resources Office, at bonniesmith@ufl.edu.
The University of Florida is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from women and minority group members. We are dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic environment; we strongly encourage applications from women, members of underrepresented groups, individuals with disabilities, and veterans. As part of the application process, applicants are invited to complete an on-line confidential and voluntary demographic self-disclosure form which can be found at: http://www.hr.ufl.edu/job/datacard.htm. This information is collected by the University of Florida’s Office of Human Resources to track applicant trends and is in no way considered by the Smathers Libraries in the selection process.
Final candidate will be required to provide official transcript to the hiring department upon hire. A transcript will not be considered “official” if a designation of “Issued to Student” is visible. Degrees earned from an education institution outside of the United States are required to be evaluated by a professional credentialing service provider approved by National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), which can be found at http://www.naces.org/.