Health Sciences Librarian

Department: University Libraries

Job Category: Administrative or Professional Faculty

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type: Hybrid Eligible; up to 2 days of telework per week

Salary: Salary is commensurate with professional experience and academic qualifications. Salary at appointment is dependent upon related qualifications and associated rank into which they are hired: Librarian I (not less than $65,000), Librarian II (not less than $70,000), Librarian III (not less than $75,000), and Librarian IV (not less than $80,000).

Criminal Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

The University Libraries form an intellectual nexus for George Mason University. It fosters innovation, creativity, and imagination by facilitating access to scholarship and information, providing expert consultation in the research process, and actively teaching the effective and critical use of information. Moreover, it fulfills a critical role in the creation, dissemination, and preservation of knowledge.

The Learning, Research, and Engagement Division (LRE) of the University Libraries has primary responsibility for the spectrum of services and programs related to the outward-focused, direct engagement with undergraduate and graduate students and faculty pertaining to teaching, learning, and research, including the assessment (in conjunction with the Libraries’ Administrative Services) of such services and programs. 

Through the three disciplinary teams of subject specialist librarians (Arts & Humanities, STEM, and Social Sciences), the LRE division works continuously with individual faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates on their individual learning and research needs by working closely with academic departments and colleges.

About the Position:

The Science and Technology Team serves the College of Public Health, the College of Engineering and Computing, the Costello School of Business, and the College of Science, as well as several STEM-focused multi-disciplinary university-level institutes and centers. Within the team, the programmatic role of the Health Sciences Librarian is to provide subject librarian expertise and support for students and faculty in the College of Public Health. The librarian’s responsibilities include providing library research instruction, reference, and research consultations; providing assistance with systematic reviews; developing collections to support the curricular and research needs of the schools and programs; and engaging in academic outreach. Additional duties include providing research data support for faculty and students.

This position collaborates with the Libraries’ Digital Scholarship Center (DiSC), Mason Publishing Group, and Collections Strategy unit, as well as with other library departments more broadly and across the university to support research and data efforts, methods, and tools.

The Health Sciences Librarian reports to the Head, Science and Technology Team & Mercer Library.

Responsibilities:

• Reference and Research:
  • Provides general and expert academic discipline-based reference and consultation, research assistance and course support; reference service (on-call/virtual reference) as scheduled;
  • Develops and implements creative library services and programs to integrate collections with teaching and research, including maintaining content for the library’s online and print guides, as needed;
  • Keeps abreast of curricular and program changes in assigned programs and follows trends in reference and information services, particularly in academic libraries; and
  • Assesses the impacts and outcomes of reference/research services and programs in assigned subject areas and implements changes or improvements.

• Instruction:
  • Uses general and subject-specific knowledge and resources, as well as current technologies and appropriate pedagogies, to develop and deliver high-quality instruction to STEM faculty, staff, and students in assigned subject areas;
  • Develops a strong understanding of the research and teaching needs of emerging health sciences programs in order to design new and enhance existing services in anticipation of these needs;
  • Actively engages with faculty, students, and staff in health sciences programs to develop strong working relationships and partnerships;
  • Participates fully in the research and teaching initiatives of the libraries, including conducting workshops and training sessions, as needed; and
  • Attends training sessions to maintain and enhance skills.

• Collection Development and Information Management:
  • As subject area expert, and working closely with faculty from assigned departments, the Health Sciences Librarian selects, recommends, monitors, evaluates, and manages reference and research collections (in all formats) in the assigned disciplines to meet curricular and research needs;
  • Works with special collections to identify and acquire archives/other special materials, as needed;
  • Participates in system-wide shared collection initiatives and activities, and as a member of the Science and Technology Team, participates in setting and achieving annual goals and tasks as established by the team;
  • Monitors trends and maintains knowledge, skills, and expertise with regard to relevant general and subject-area databases, relevant publishers/vendors, intellectual access mechanisms, resource formats, and library and information technologies; and
  • Proactively supports initiatives in open access and sustainable collections, open science, and open data.

• Scholarly Communication, Outreach, and Engagement:
  • Proactively supports researchers on scholarly communication models and promotes the use of open access sources and tools to faculty, students, and researchers;
  • Helps researchers find, manage, and critically evaluate information and data, as well as affiliated research tools, platforms, and infrastructure;
  • Supports researchers in data management and data services in assigned fields. Builds internal and external partnerships to support this activity;
  • Promotes library services, resources, and programs to the Mason community at the Science and Technology campus; initiates and strengthens communication channels between the Libraries and programs by forming partnerships with faculty and students in assigned academic programs; and
  • In collaboration with library colleagues, markets library services and programs at Fenwick Library, as appropriate.

• Participates in the University Libraries’ Governance Activities:
  • Engages in university and professional service, and in research and creative work as outlined in the George Mason University Librarians’ Handbook.

• Other duties as assigned. 

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited library and information science program or a certified foreign equivalent required;
• Experience collaborating with instructors to provide library instruction and research services;
• Knowledge of systematic reviews and other advanced search strategies;
• Knowledge of electronic resources and information technologies in health sciences to support reference, research, and collection development; and
• Ability to build collaborative and mutually beneficial working relationships with people of varying backgrounds and perspectives.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in biological sciences or related field, or significant coursework in those areas;
• Experience providing assistance with systematic reviews;
• Experience with electronic resources and information technologies in health sciences to support reference, research, and collection development;
• Experience collaborating with instructors to provide library instruction and research services for students in health science fields;
• Experience considering the impacts of the work (instruction, reference and research, scholarly communications, outreach, and engagement) on multiple population/user groups;
• Experience providing assistance with systematic reviews;
• Familiarity with research trends and with ethical, legal, and policy issues in the broader health sciences areas; and
• Knowledge of data management planning, scholarly communications, and open access concepts and trends.

Instructions to Applicants: 

For full consideration, applicants must apply for the Health Sciences Librarian at https://jobs.gmu.edu/. Complete and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information, and provide a cover letter and resume.

Posting Open Date:  June 3, 2024

For Full Consideration, Apply by:  June 30, 2024

Open Until Filled?:  Yes