Head of Metadata Services

The Brown University Library seeks a creative and forward-thinking library professional to lead the metadata services unit in the next phase of the evolution of object description for inclusive discovery.

The Head of Metadata Services is responsible for the day-to-day supervision and professional development of the Brown University Library’s paraprofessional cataloging and metadata staff.

This team produces the technical and descriptive metadata needed to provide intellectual and physical access to our information resources and collections in support of the University’s goals for academic excellence, integrative scholarship, and educational leadership.

If you would like to know a bit more about this opportunity, or are considering applying, then please read the following job information.

A collaborative leader, the Head of Metadata Services works with library staff in Scholarly Resources and other units across the library to develop a roadmap for prioritizing the work of the unit’s many responsibilities, including metadata production, remediation, enhancement, and management with the goal of inclusive discovery.

Working closely with the Head of Technical Services, the Head of Metadata Services assesses, develops, and documents internal policies and procedures, and initiates projects related to improving the discoverability of resources for a wide range of campus users with the focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Designing and implementing an ongoing program of staff development is another key responsibility of this position. With more of the general collections shifting to electronic resources, the focus of the metadata production unit is shifting to more specialized materials and formats, including creating metadata for digital objects and projects, the arrangement and description of manuscript and archival collections, and the possibility of enriching and enhancing current bibliographic data to participate in new local and global initiatives such as linked open data.

This will require a learning-centered approach to leadership and management. Staying current with national and international trends in cataloging and metadata will be an important aspect of this role.

With the library’s implementation of a new LSP (library services platform), this position will play a key role in metadata workflow analysis and redesign using the new system to ensure quality metadata production delivered in a timely manner for resource discovery to support the campus needs.

Job Qualifications :

Education and Experience

• MLS / MLIS degree from library school accredited by the American Library Association
• Minimum 2 years of supervisory experience in a library environment
• Successful experience in supervision and training
• Minimum 3 years of experience in metadata services in academic settings and demonstrated proficiency with recognized descriptive data and content standards (e.

g., MARC, RDA, BIBFRAME, etc.)

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