Journalism and Digital Media Librarian

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN

Job Level

Mid-level position

Post Date

05/05/2018

Job Category

Librarian

Sector

Applied Tech (STEAM / Maker / CS / Design)

Job Status

Areas of Responsibility

Digital Media

Link to Job Posting

Required:

Master’s degree from an American Library Association accredited library school or equivalent combination of advanced degree and relevant experience.
Demonstrated understanding of the current digital ecosystem of mass media communication, such as social media scraping, text mining, text and data analysis, and visualization approaches.
Facility with technology and its application in academic contexts.
Understanding of teaching, learning, and research trends in the social sciences.
Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
Demonstrated creativity, initiative, and self-direction.
Ability to respond effectively to changing needs and priorities.
Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and library users in a service-oriented, research-intensive environment.

Preferred:

Undergraduate or graduate degree in an appropriate discipline such as journalism or communications; or significant discipline-specific experience in an academic library.
Relevant discipline-specific experience in an academic or research library in a research-intensive environment.
Understanding of trends in academic research support and expertise in providing research lifecycle support.
Experience in developing and delivering instruction in an academic library environment
Experience in developing working partnerships with academic departments and other campus communities.
Experience applying data analysis skills to scholarly communication and research, and familiarity with software packages and scripting languages for collecting and analyzing data such as R, SPSS, SAS, Python, ATLAS.ti or NVivo.
Demonstrated understanding of how data mining and API access rights are applied and negotiated, especially related to library-licensed databases.
Demonstrated experience working effectively to support diverse populations of library users.

About the Job

The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Campus Libraries invites applications for an innovative and collaborative librarian to serve in a key role in developing a shared vision of library programs and resources to meet the current and emerging teaching, learning, and research needs in the areas of journalism, mass communication and new media. The successful candidate will work with the College of Liberal Arts’ Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication to support their strategic mission to integrate mass communication education, research, and outreach as part of preparing students for careers in a wide variety of specializations within journalism and strategic communication, and in ensuring informed thoughtful engagement in their communities and public life. In addition, the candidate will support division- and campus-crossing initiatives to integrate digital scholarship, data journalism, text and data mining, gaming, storytelling, and information design and analysis into their relationships with faculty and students. The successful candidate will also collaborate with groups on campus that provide teaching and research support to their respective colleges, in particular the College of Liberal Arts’ Liberal Arts Technologies and Innovation Services (LATIS).

This position will be part of the University Libraries Social Sciences and Professional Programs (SSPP) Department, one of six departments that comprise the University Libraries’ Research and Learning Division. SSPP serves disciplinary departments and programs in the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Education and Human Development, Carlson School of Management, and the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and works with relevant interdisciplinary programs and scholars across campus. This position will report to the Director for Social Science and Professional Programs. The candidate will be expected to participate in department and divisional strategic planning and implementation, ensuring that the needs of their represented academic departments are met through Libraries’ services and program initiatives, and that integral changes in the media studies landscape are part of the evolving work of the University and the University Libraries’ vision to be preeminent in solving the grand challenges of a diverse and changing world.

This position also has a role in the University of Minnesota Digital Arts, Sciences, and Humanities (DASH) program. DASH is a cross-disciplinary program supporting faculty and students who employ digital methodologies and technologies in their research, teaching, and creative work. DASH is an alliance of five University partners: the Libraries, LATIS, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Center for Educational Innovation, and Research Computing. Through DASH, staff provide individual consultations, classroom and workshop teaching, project and assignment design as partners in digital scholarship.

Institutional Context
The University Libraries is an integral part of campus life and a significant contributor of resources and programs within the metropolitan area, the state, and beyond. The Libraries provides a highly collaborative environment, distinguished by new models for teaching/learning, research support, and scholarly communication. Winner of the 2017 IMLS National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the organization is known for its advanced web services, significant collaborative digital library development, programs of process improvement and organizational development, and a record of innovative partnerships. Outreach is strengthened by unparalleled infrastructure for resource sharing and information access within the state and region provided by the University Libraries-based Minitex program. The Libraries is a member of the Association of Research Libraries, the Big Ten Academic Alliance, the Center for Research Libraries, the Digital Library Federation, the Digital Preservation Network, and the Coalition for Networked Information, and is a founding partner in HathiTrust.

Responsibilities of the Journalism and Digital Media Librarian:

Consult and collaborate with faculty, students, and staff in support of their research, digital projects and coursework, facilitating connections with experts and expertise on campus as needed.
Serve as the Libraries primary contact for social media scraping, text and data mining, analysis and visualization associated with the Digital Arts, Sciences, and Humanities (DASH) Program, and for software packages and scripting languages including R, SPSS, SAS, and Python, ATLAS.ti or NVivo.
Serve as Libraries lead for text and data mining questions, with particular emphasis on the negotiation and application of data mining and API access rights.
Collaborate with LATIS, other college-based departments, and with Libraries staff in supporting the research and data analysis needs of Journalism and Mass Communication, and other social science/professional program related programs.
In collaboration with the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, manage collections and gift funds for the Journalism Library and advise on departmental subscriptions to serials and databases. Serve as the Libraries main contact with the Digital Information Resource Center / Sevareid Library housed within the School of Journalism.
Build and maintain library collections in the areas of journalism, mass communication, new media and the Newspapers Collection, working with the School of Journalism faculty as well as the Media Outreach and Learning Spaces Librarian to meet changing resource needs.
Work with colleagues across the Libraries to support larger initiatives including Digital Scholarship, E-learning, Data Management, University Digital Conservancy, and Altmetrics.
Develop programs and manage projects as assigned in consultation with colleagues, supervisor and project sponsors.
Teach Students information literacy concepts and library resources in support of classes such as Journalism 3004 (Information for Mass Communication), Journalism 3251 (Evaluative Research in Strategic Communication), and more.

The individual will also contribute to the knowledge base of the profession through research, publication, and professional engagement, as they work toward continuous appointment status.

This is a full-time, 12-month, continuous appointment track academic professional position with probationary appointment at the Assistant Librarian rank and the potential for appointment at the Associate Librarian rank.