Senior Librarian (Cataloging)

The City of Oakland is an equal opportunity employer that values workforce diversity, inclusion, and equity. Oakland has a long history of activism around issues of justice and equity. Both oppression and this resistance to oppression have shaped the city’s historical roots and the lives of its residents to this day. As public servants in one of the most diverse cities in the nation, we strive to develop employees who understand the harm and impacts of systemic inequity to create lasting, meaningful outcomes for everyone. Oakland strives to establish an environment that embraces the richness of culture, community, and individualism of employees.    

Why join the City of Oakland Public Library Department?

Oakland Public Library (OPL) empowers all people to explore, connect and grow. Through our eighteen (18) branches over three-hundred dedicated employees serve multiple communities located within the Cities of Oakland, Piedmont, and Emeryville.

OPL is an indispensable partner in transforming lives through robust equity and diversity initiatives, responsive services, and unique programming adapted to serve the needs of a multifaceted community. We champion a future filled with joy for all people, and our staff actively engages and works in conjunction with various community partners to envision, develop and promote our evolving services.

We are looking for someone who is:

• Knowledgeable. You have a thorough and up-to-date understanding of classification and cataloging of system-wide library materials.
• Experienced.  You will perform quality assurance and global updating of metadata to ensure uniformity and consistency in the ILS.
• Analytical and Creative. You will maximize workflows and resources for effective delivery of materials to the public.
• Technologically Skilled. You are fully proficient in applications for cataloging and ILS maintenance and stay abreast of new systems and technologies.
• Collaborative. You will demonstrate cooperation and foster teamwork while working within and across various library teams and branches.
• A Skilled Leader and Coach. You will guide and encourage others to accomplish common goals.

What you will typically be responsible for:  

• Monitoring daily new materials inflows and manages accordingly to make them available to public.
• Maintaining catalog data to ensure quality control and accessibility of an accurate, on-line database.
• System-wide designing, planning, and establishment of material ordering, cataloging, and processing work flows.
• Cataloging library materials in all formats following national and local standards and providing training to catalogers; managing ILS system and MARC records
• Gathering, compiling and analyzing Technical Service Unit statistics to ensure workload and workflows meet department goals.
• Directing, supervising and training professional and support staff within assigned units.

Read the complete job description by clicking this link.

*Click on the link below to see a video on what it's like to work for the City of Oakland!

Working for the City of Oakland

A few reasons you might love this job:

• Your work will serve the needs of diverse populations of the Oakland community and beyond.
• You will be responsible for making library materials findable and accessible to staff and the public.  Every time a person gets the book they want on time it will be thanks to you and your team!
• You will support critical language collections in Spanish and Chinese, and unique collections of non-traditional library materials such a toys and tools.
• You will collaborate with a dedicated and creative team of library staff in 18 locations.

A few challenges you might face in this job:

• You will manage a workflow for customers who expect regularity and efficient delivery of materials with an inflow that is subject to unexpected challenges not always in your control. 
• You will balance input from your community, administration, and colleagues to ensure satisfied customers (both internal and external) while supporting the library’s mission and maintaining quality control of the ILS.
• You will manage a team of staff with specialized skills.  

Competencies Required:

• Attention to Detail: Focusing on the details of work content, work steps, and final work products
• Business Process Analysis: Defining, assessing, and improving operational processes and workflow
• Coaching & Developing Others: Supporting others in stretching and expanding their capabilities
• Critical Thinking: Analytically and logically evaluating information, propositions, and claims
• Decision Making: Choosing optimal courses of action in a timely manner
• Displaying Ownership and Accountability: Holding self and others accountable for measurable high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results.
• Fact Finding: Obtaining facts and data pertaining to an issue or question
• Leadership: Guiding and encouraging others to accomplish a common goal
• Leading Cross-Functional Collaboration: Demonstrating cooperation and teamwork while working within and across divisions, functions, or teams
• Managing Performance: Ensuring superior individual and group performance
• Oral Communication: Engaging effectively in dialogue
• Organizational Systems Thinking: Comprehending the organization as a system of integrated and interdependent functions
• Professional & Technical Expertise: Applying technical subject matter to the job
• Valuing Diversity: Appreciating the benefits of varied backgrounds and cultures in the workplace

This recruitment will produce two eligible lists. The restricted list will be for full-time, permanent part-time, or part-time City and Port of Oakland employees who maintain employment for the duration of the recruitment and pass all stages of the recruitment process. The open list will be for all other applicants who pass all stages of the recruitment process. 

This is a public contact position. The City highly encourages all bilingual candidates to apply! Some positions may require bilingual skills in Spanish, Cantonese, or Mandarin. Under the authority of Civil Service Rules Section 5.03, if a position requires bilingual language skills, only those candidates who have indicated they are bilingual in the required language(s) will be referred. Bilingual candidates will be required to successfully pass a language proficiency test if selected for hire.

Selective Certification Cataloging

This recruitment is being announced in accordance with Section 5.03 of the Civil Service Rules.  The eligible list generated from this announcement will only be used to fill Librarian, Senior positions specialized in Cataloging, including full-time and permanent part-time positions, if applicable, and may be used to fill future vacancies with the same Selective Certification. 

The Recruitment Process:


The City of Oakland works with a Civil Service system. Applicants apply online, and HR staff reviews their experience, education, and training listed on the application against the “minimum qualifications” listed for each position.

Candidates who demonstrate that they meet the minimum qualification requirements are then invited to participate in an assessment process (or testing) to measure their knowledge, skills, and abilities in job-related areas.

Candidates who do not demonstrate that they meet the minimum qualification requirements will have an opportunity to request a final review. Candidates must request a final review within 5 business days of being notified that they did not meet the minimum qualifications.

In the final review, candidates may clarify information already provided on their application. No additional work history, education, or certifications will be accepted. Any decisions made during this review process will be final.

For this recruitment, all qualified applicants will be invited to the structured interview (sometimes referred to as an Oral Exam).  The tentative date of the structured interview is the week of May 12, 2025.

For some recruitments, more than one type of assessment may be used. Depending on the number of candidates who pass the first assessment (multiple-choice test, structured interview, writing exercise, performance exam) you may be asked to complete a secondary assessment before the recruitment is finalized. If a secondary assessment is scheduled, you will be notified by email with specific details. If a secondary assessment is not scheduled, department hiring interviews will occur during this time frame.

Candidates who pass each stage in the process will be placed on an eligible list. Some candidates may receive extra points, for example, if you are a Veteran with an honorable discharge, or if you are a current City of Oakland resident. If you’re applying to a “restricted” posting and you are eligible as a current City employee, you may also receive additional points for your City service. Extra points are only applied to passing scores, so if you do not pass every element of the testing process, you cannot use extra points to pass.

The City of Oakland reserves the right to modify the selection process and date of examination as necessary to conform to administrative or business necessity. The information contained in this announcement is subject to change and does not constitute either an expressed or implied contract.

 

What’s in it for you? CONFIRM WHICH PARTS ARE RELEVANT WITH HIRING DEPARTMENT(S)

• 15 paid holidays 
• Vacation: 2 weeks per year minimum with the ability to accrue more depending on public sector years of service
• Retirement: CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) with a pension formula of 2.5% @ 55 (for Classic CalPERS members) and 2% @ 62 for new CalPERS members. Classic Employees contribute 8% of pre-tax wages. The City of Oakland does not participate in Social Security
• Health: The City of Oakland pays the full cost of employee and eligible dependent coverage at the Kaiser rate. Other plans include Anthem, Blue Shield, United Health Care, and other HMO and PPO plans
• Dental: Delta Dental full premium for employees and eligible dependents
• Vision: VSP full premium for employees and eligible dependents
• Sick leave: Employees accrue 12 days per year
• Deferred Compensation: 457(b) pre-tax plan and an after-tax ROTH 401(k)plan
• Other benefits include a Flexible Spending Account, Wellness Program, Employee Assistance Program, Tuition Reimbursement, Life Insurance up to $200k & Employee Training.

Applicants are required to submit criminal history information upon request after receiving a conditional offer of employment. If the requested information is not furnished in a timely manner, applicants will not qualify for further consideration and will be removed from the eligible list.

Disaster Service Workers

All employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law. Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

How to Apply

Apply prior to the closing time of the job announcement and allow at least two to three hours to submit your application if you are a new user of the system. APPLICATIONS ARE ACCEPTED ONLINE ONLY. You may apply and view current openings by visiting our employment opportunities webpage at:

http://agency.governmentjobs.com/oaklandca/default.cfm.

If you do not have access to a computer, there are computer stations available at any City of Oakland Public Library. There are also workstations at the Human Resources Management Department, 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, 2nd Floor, Oakland, CA 94612. Workstations are available during regular business hours (normally 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).  

Our online application system is provided by GovernmentJobs. If you have problems while applying online, please contact GovernmentJobs Live Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627 between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday - Friday.  You may also call the City of Oakland Human Resources Management Department during regular business hours at (510) 238-3112 for information; however, we are unable to provide technical support for the online application system. For recruitment-specific questions, please contact Melissa Davis at mdavis3@oaklandca.gov. 

Salary : $109,678 - $134,659