Visual Resources Metadata Librarian — Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

The Cornell University Library Cataloging and Metadata Services is seeking applications for a Visual Resources Metadata Librarian.

The Opportunity: Cornell University Library seeks a Visual Resources Metadata Librarian as a member of the highly collaborative Metadata Design and Operations unit, which is based in Cataloging and Metadata Services. The Visual Resources Metadata Librarian’s focus is to facilitate the discovery and use of digital images for research and education, while ensuring that diversity and inclusion are guiding factors in our metadata practices. As a member of the cross-departmental Digital Consulting and Production Services (DCAPS) team, this position has consultation, project management, and metadata production oversight components. The Visual Resources Metadata Librarian will work simultaneously on various metadata projects, collaborating with staff throughout Library Technical Services (LTS), Information Technology, various special collections units, as well as other campus partners to enhance access to the library’s digital collections.

The Visual Resources Metadata Librarian will have support to actively participate in local, national and international discussions relating to description, management, and contextualization of visual resources; further, the Visual Resources Metadata Librarian will apply these discussions to CUL’s research and development efforts.

We welcome candidates from a variety of backgrounds. We want you to have at least some familiarity with visual resource metadata, and enthusiasm for building more experience on the job. If you enjoy collaborating with others to ensure metadata practices for multidisciplinary visual collections meet the needs of research, educational, and community needs, we would love to talk with you.
Our Vision: Empowering Cornell’s research and learning community with deep expertise, innovative services, and outstanding collections strengthened by strategic partnerships.
Our Mission: Cornell University Library promotes a culture of broad inquiry and supports the University’s mission to discover, preserve, and disseminate knowledge and creative expression. It engages with the ongoing transformations of society to deliver world-class physical and digital content and services critical to research, education, and outreach, now and in the future. The Library acts globally, supporting Cornell’s land grant mission in New York State and beyond, and builds partnerships within and outside the university. It invests in its staff, collections, and physical and virtual libraries. And, it serves as a neutral and trusted party supporting information access and scholarly communication.

Required Qualifications:


  • ALA-accredited MLIS or equivalent advanced degree and experience
  • Two to five years of relevant experience working with metadata in a library or similar setting
  • Understanding of the cultural heritage, educational, technical contexts in which images are used for research and learning
  • Knowledge of a variety non-MARC metadata standards and schema, understanding of the impact metadata has discovery and use, and an aptitude for learning new standards and technologies
  • Experience in creating, editing, and transforming metadata, implementing inclusive descriptive practices in workflows
  • Demonstrated skills with scripting languages and/or tools for data manipulation (e.g.OpenRefine, Python, XSLT, etc.)
  • Excellent communication, organizational, and project management skills, ability to work well in a team-based environment

This position is located in Ithaca, New York. The selected candidate will typically work on the Ithaca campus at least 1 day per week, with potential for entering into a flexible work arrangement to allow remote work up to 4 days per week. The university reserves the right to modify, suspend, revoke or terminate the hybrid work arrangement at any time.

The New York Convenience of employer guidelines require New York State individual tax reporting and withholdings for this position. Additional individual state income tax filings may also be required if working temporarily outside New York State.

Diversity and Inclusion:

As a university founded to be a place where “…any person can find instruction in any study,” diversity and inclusion are at the core of our values and mission. We strive to be a welcoming, caring, healthy, and equitable community where students, faculty, and staff with different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn, innovate, and work in an environment of respect, and feel empowered to engage in any community conversation. As a member of the Cornell University community, it is important to recognize our shared responsibility to each other to cultivate a culture of inclusion for all. Cornell Core values

Benefits:

Our comprehensive benefits package includes 22 vacation days, 13 paid holidays, health insurance, life insurance, university retirement contributions, childcare and adoption assistance, and child tuition reimbursement. Funding is available to support professional training and research. More information regarding Cornell’s generous endowed benefits can be found at https://hr.cornell.edu/jobs/benefits-snapshot . We anticipate hiring at the academic rank of Assistant Librarian or Senior Assistant Librarian, with a corresponding salary range of $68,000-$78,000. This salary range is dependent on the selected candidate beginning after July 1, 2024 and meeting internal Cornell University Library procedures to support hiring at the appropriate rank.

Relocation assistance may be provided.
Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

How to Apply:

All candidates must apply online via the Cornell Careers site. See job requisition ID: WDR-00046170. For full consideration, please include the following with your application:

  1. A cover letter;
  2. A Curriculum Vitae;
  3. A statement supporting diverse communities which may be incorporated into the cover letter or presented as a separate statement. Candidates are invited to outline their experiences and approaches to working with diverse communities through their research, teaching and service. Guidelines for candidates are here.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until a viable pool of applicants is identified; early submission is strongly encouraged. Although we prefer to receive your application as one, multi-page pdf document, we will accept multiple documents in other formats.