What are the responsibilities and job description for the Student Trainee (Librarian) Job at Government Accountability Office in Washingto position at Government Accountability Office?

Summary

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. We accomplish our mission by providing objective and reliable information and analysis to the Congress, to federal agencies, and to the public, and recommending improvements, when appropriate, on a wide variety of issues to make government work better.

This vacancy is for Summer internship positions. The anticipated start dates begin in May 2025.

This job is open to

Students

Current students enrolled in accredited educational institutions from high school to graduate level. Includes internships, pathways and other student programs.

Clarification from the agency

Current student enrolled in a graduate program seeking a degree from an accredited educational institution on a full or half-time basis.

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Duties

Interns will work on various assignments. Core duties include :

Participates in a wide variety of duties related to collection development and resource evaluation, testing, and access, including : physical collection maintenance, subject guide development within the LibGuides platform, and participating in other projects that increase access to digital library materials, systems, and services.

Performs a variety of responsibilities related website development, knowledge organization systems, and metadata, including creating and editing taxonomies in taxonomy management software, evaluating metadata for quality and accuracy, organizing internal content using established vocabularies, and other projects utilizing organization of information skills.

Other duties include :

Executes searches of varying complexity using a wide variety of electronic information retrieval systems, bibliographic databases, and other resources.

Assists team members with area specific tasks to include designing and managing a variety of systems; or developing search techniques for handling specific various research requests.

Assists with researching various topics based on inquiries from mission teams, agency attorneys, and external customers and prepares routine responses based on research gathered to address inquiries.

Evaluates current publications and electronic resources and provides recommendations for renewal. Identifies and recommends new research resources for purchase.

Collaborates with senior Librarians to design and manage a variety of systems including all electronic resources throughout their life cycle of access, administration, support, and evaluation; or develops and executes specialized research projects involving various methodologies.

Prepares and / or revises user manuals or information sheets and distributes information on new system capabilities and search strategies.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

You must be a U.S. Citizen.

Selective Service registration if you are a male born after Dec. 31, 1959. Visit

You will be subject to a background investigation / suitability determination.

Student must work a minimum of 400 hours, not to exceed a total of 640 hours.

You must be currently enrolled and good standing in an accredited degree program throughout the duration of the internship.

Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by the start of the internship.

All Student Trainees (Librarian) must be enrolled in a graduate or equivalent degree seeking program AND meet the Basic Educational Requirement of professional education in library science or possess equivalent experience and / or education as shown below.

You must have completed between 18 to 35 semester hours or 27 to 53 quarter hours of graduate level education in library science in an accredited college or university, in addition to completion of all work required for a bachelor's degree; OR

5 years of a combination of college-level education, training, and experience. To qualify on this basis, the applicant must establish conclusively that the education, training, and experience provided a knowledge and understanding of the theories, principles, and techniques of professional librarianship; a knowledge of literature resources; and the knowledge and abilities essential for providing effective library and information services.

In addition to the Basic Education Requirement above; to minimally qualify for the GS-09, you must be enrolled in a graduate or equivalent degree seeking program, AND possess equivalent experience and / or directly related education as shown below.

You have 36 or more semester hours or 54 or more quarter hours of graduate level education or master's in library science or equivalent graduate degree, e.g., LL.B. or J.D., related to the position.; OR

You must have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at GS-07 grade level in the federal service or Public sector. Specialized experience is defined as, experience related to Library services which demonstrates all of the following :

participate in a variety of responsibilities related to collection development and resource evaluation and testing,

evaluate current publications and electronic resources and provides recommendations for renewal, and

prepare routine responses based on research gathered to address inquiries.

NOTE : You must be a current student enrolled in a graduate program seeking a degree from an accredited educational institution on a full or half-time basis. If at any point during the internship (and for any reason) your status as a student changes to that of a non-student, your internship will be terminated.

Education

All applicants must submit their academic transcripts in order to be eligible. The transcripts may be unofficial or official and must show your status as a student, as well as support your educational claim.

FOREIGN EDUCATION : If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit :

Additional information

This position is not in the bargaining unit

This position does not have promotion potential

Appointments for student intern positions are nonpermanent and generally last from 10 to 16 weeks. Student interns may have an opportunity for a permanent or term position based on a successful intern experience (completion of a minimum of 400 hours of work, not to exceed a total of 640 hours) and successful completion of degree requirements. The ability to convert to a permanent or term appointment with a minimum 400 hours of work experience is contingent upon budgetary conditions and staffing needs at the time of eligibility.

Applicants who are selected for this position will be required to provide an official transcript on the day of your orientation or within 3 business days after orientation. This transcript must show that you meet the education requirements for the GS-9 grade level, and that you are currently enrolled through at least August 2025 . Failure to meet the requirements or provide the transcript will result in termination of your internship.

OPTION FOR ADDITIONAL SELECTIONS : Based on the staffing needs, additional selections may be made through this vacancy announcement.

Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid for by the GAO.

Selectees will be required to complete questions contained on the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) at the time a tentative job offer is made. If selected, at the time of appointment, selectees will be required to update the OF-306.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION : GAO provides reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees (and interns) with disabilities. To request an accommodation, please email ReasonableAccommodations@gao.gov. The U.S. Government Accountability Office's policy is to provide equal employment opportunity for all regardless of race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and are claiming 5-points veterans' preference , you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility. If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference , you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form. For more information on veterans' preference visit :

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

The questionnaire will assess your qualifications for the job. If you meet all of the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of three categories : Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. All applicants will be rated based on their responses to the assessment questions and the essay question. Please make sure that your responses to the assessment questions are supported in your resume. Follow all instructions carefully as incomplete answers, errors, or omissions may affect your rating. Your rating will be invalid if you fail to include a narrative reply to any assessment question(s) that requires further explanation or your reply is "see resume.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics) :

Research

Technical Competence

Writing

Veterans' preference applies to this vacancy. The Category Rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three" but protects the rights of Veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligible applicants within each quality category. For more information regarding veterans' preference please visit

To preview the assessment, click here :

Benefits

Review our benefits

Required Documents

As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes :

Resume showing relevant experience (cover letter optional). Your resume must show the work schedule and hours worked per week as well as dates of employment.

All applicants MUST submit college or university graduate and / or undergraduate transcripts (official or unofficial) that show degree conferral and / or support semester / quarter hours completed as well as proof of current enrollment.

If you are completing your first graduate degree and have been accepted into a graduate program to pursue a 2nd graduate degree and do not yet have a transcript, you must submit proof of acceptance / enrollment into your new graduate program, along with the transcripts from your current graduate program.

Current proof of enrollment (i.e., transcript showing coursework through Winter / Spring 2025 , copy of registered courses for Spring / Summer 2025 OR a letter from school registrar's office confirming enrollment status for the duration of the internship). Note, a letter of acceptance does not qualify as proof of enrollment.

Veterans' Preference documentation, if applicable (e.g., DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge / character of service, SF-15 Form and related documentation, VA letter, etc.)

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements :

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and / or degrees from

schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

A complete application package must be submitted by 11 : 59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.

To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.

Follow the prompts to select your rsum and / or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.

You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit :

Agency contact information

Joycelyn Williams

williamsjr1@gao.gov

Address

Government Accountability Office

Human Capital Office

441 G Street NW

Washington, DC 20548

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email.

Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. Applicants who meet the basic requirement will be sent to the rating panel for rating and raking to be placed in a quality category. Applicants who are determined to be "best-qualified" may be contacted for an interview.

GAO may contact applicants to determine the most appropriate method for conducting the virtual interview. If you do not meet the key requirements, basic qualifications or fail to submit all required application materials, your application will not be considered.

You can check the status of your application at any time through your personal USAJOBS account.

Fair and Transparent

The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

Criminal history inquiries

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy

Financial suitability

New employee probationary period

Privacy Act

Reasonable accommodation policy

Selective Service

Signature and false statements

Social security number request

Required Documents