What are the responsibilities and job description for the Scholarly Communications Librarian position at University of South Alabama?
DESCRIPTION
The University of South Alabama (USA) invites applications for an Assistant Librarian in Scholarly Communications, a 12-month, non-tenure track faculty appointment in the Charles M. Baugh Biomedical Library (CBBL) with an approximate start date of June 1, 2025. As a member of the CBBL team, this position collaborates primarily with health sciences faculty, staff, graduate students, academic units, research center personnel, and colleagues to provide customized library services for scholarly communication and research impact. The CBBL supports faculty, staff, and students within the College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Allied Health Profession, and the USA Health System. This position will report to the Assistant Director for Strategic Initiatives (CBBL) and will contribute to the Libraries' efforts to provide practical and valuable services in support of research and scholarly output within the institution. They will be involved in library, professional and university service; professional development and scholarly activities that will lead to professional growth; fostering an accessible, inclusive, welcoming and safe environment; supporting USA Libraries values of service, collaboration, communication, professionalism, and adaptability; and performing other duties as assigned.
MAJOR RESPOSIBILITIES
Scholarly Communication
• Build partnerships with research departments and user communities and serve as a conduit for their research and scholarly communication needs. Services will include NIH-Public Access Policy support and troubleshooting; promoting awareness of the role of Open Access in digital scholarship; providing support for scholarly publishing, author rights, and fair use.
• Assist researchers and staff with meeting funder (including Federal agencies) and university requirements for providing public access to research results, including data.
• Serve as collaborative contact to interested University groups for explanatory and exploratory reviews/reports of bibliometric data and analysis.
• Coordinate and participate in research impact services such as:
o Aggregating and analysis of data from a variety of sources to assist individuals and groups with reporting the impact of faculty and institutional publishing and research activities
o Providing impact data to support grant applications and renewals
• Work with faculty and students to develop working relationships, a deeper understanding of service needs, and ideas for new services and tools for assessing research impact.
• Promote the collection and dissemination of digital scholarship, including research data, through the institutional repository.
• Promote awareness of current scholarly communication trends to faculty, students, and researchers through outreach and instruction.
Overall
• Serve as library liaison to designated departments, supporting the information literacy needs of associated faculty, staff and students, including the development of systematic reviews and advising on collection development relevant to liaison departments.
• Participate in initiatives and projects with library faculty colleagues.
• Serve as an active member of library teams, task forces, and committees.
• Participate in and represent USA Libraries in local, regional, and national professional activities
QUALIFICATIONS
Required Qualifications:
• Master's degree in Library or Information Science from an ALA-accredited (or foreign equivalent) program.
• Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Familiarity with emerging scholarly communication tools and trends.
• Demonstrated knowledge of research impact tools and services, such as bibliometrics and altmetrics
• Demonstrated knowledge of health science resources, databases and library trends.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a team-based environment; excellent interpersonal skills; and the ability to communicate clearly and knowledgeably, orally and in writing.
• Ability to provide instruction and outreach services in a university setting. Ability to build collaborative and mutually beneficial working relationships with people of varying backgrounds; work effectively with faculty, students, professional colleagues and diverse academic groups; ability to advocate and promote library resources and services to a variety of constituents.
• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written English language skills.
Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience in curriculum development and instruction/delivery.
• Basic knowledge of copyright law and its application in digital scholarship.
Review of applications will begin April 15, 2025 and will continue until the position is filled. Submit a letter of application, a CV or resume, unofficial copies of transcripts, and the names and contact information for three professional references to the search committee chair, Mr. Justin Robertson at libraryadmin@southalabama.edu. Official transcripts and three signed professional letters of reference are required for appointment.
Further information about the position, qualifications, the university, and the Mobile area can be found at https://libguides.southalabama.edu/BL_faculty_positions. The University of South Alabama is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, genetic information, disability, protected veteran status or any other applicable legally protected basis.
