Introducing Megan Wacha, Your New Scholarly Communications Librarian!

megan cropped 2Open access advocates around CUNY are thrilled to announce the arrival (and extremely productive first few weeks) of Megan Wacha, CUNY’s new Scholarly Communications Librarian, based at the Office of Library Services. While many CUNY librarians have long engaged, both formally and informally, with open access, repositories, and other scholarly communications topics, Megan is CUNY’s first librarian dedicated entirely to scholarly communications, and I know I speak for many when I say we’re eager — nay, ravenous — for her expertise, collaboration, and leadership.

Megan will be engaged with a wide variety of scholarly communications conversations, but her initial focus will be developing and managing CUNY’s new institutional repository, Academic Works. She will also co-chair OLS’s brand new Scholarly Communications Committee. And, of course, she’ll be a frequent blogger right here at Open Access @ CUNY.

Before coming to CUNY, Megan was Research and Instruction Librarian for the Performing Arts at Barnard College, where she led outreach on scholarly communications topics, served on the advisory committee to Columbia’s institutional repository (Academic Commons), provided guidance on fair use and copyright issues, trained editors of an open access undergraduate journal, and helped support various digital projects. She is also an active Wikipedian — her Wikipedia efforts include working to increase contributions by and about women and people from other marginalized groups. (And we can’t leave out the fact that she won Knowledge Unlatched’s open access meme competition!)

Many of you have already met Megan, but if you haven’t, you are welcome to reach out to her at megan.wacha@cuny.edu.

Handouts from “Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask . . . About CUNY’s New Institutional Repository Platform”

Maybe you weren’t able to attend last Friday’s workshop “Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask . . . About CUNY’s New Institutional Repository Platform.” Or maybe you attended but lost the handouts on the subway or in the snow. Either way, here are the handouts distributed and discussed at the event:

Please take a look, share with your colleagues (and Chief Librarians!) and let us know if you have any questions!

download-map
Download Map for Graduate Center Academic Works : 1,122 papers, 25,754 downloads, and counting!

Now Hiring: Data Librarian @ CUNY Graduate Center

Come work with us — the Graduate Center Library is hiring a Data Librarian! The Data Librarian will serve as the library’s expert on the discovery, manipulation, preservation, and publication of research-related data. S/he will work with faculty and students across the disciplines, providing instruction and support for the multifarious forms and roles of data in research and scholarly production.

Full Job Posting:

Data Librarian (Instructor, Assistant or Associate Professor)
Job ID: 11933
Department: Library
Compensation: Commensurate with experience and qualifications
Closing Date: February 14, 2015
Faculty Vacancy Announcement

Assistant/Associate Professor:

Supports a college library through providing in-depth consultation with students and faculty and collaboration for the ongoing improvement of instructional programs and practices. Pursues an active scholarly agenda, performs supervisory duties, and participates in college-and university-wide programs and committees as assigned.

Instructor:

Supports a college library through providing in-depth consultation with students and faculty and collaboration for the ongoing improvement of instructional programs and practices.

About the Graduate Center:

The Graduate Center defines the standard of contemporary graduate education: rigorous academic training and globally significant research. It is recognized for outstanding scholarship across the humanities, sciences, and social sciences, and is integral to the intellectual and cultural vitality of New York City. Through its extensive public programs, The Graduate Center hosts a wide range of events — lectures, conferences, book discussions, art exhibits, concerts, and dance and theater — that enrich and inform.

Position Description:

The Graduate Center Library seeks a Data Librarian to serve as the library’s expert on the discovery, manipulation, preservation, and publication of research-related data. Reporting to the Associate Librarian for Public Services and Scholarly Communication, the Data Librarian will work with faculty and students across the disciplines, providing instruction and support for the multifarious forms and roles of data in research and scholarly production.

Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Work with faculty and students who require support for research involving data (including but not limited to geospatial, demographic, and economic research), assistance creating and following data management plans required by funding agencies, and/or training in related tools and software.
  • Help faculty and students discover, collect, mine, extract, analyze, apply, maintain, secure, curate, display, share, and publish data. Advise about appropriate repositories for selecting and storing data. Support projects involving all kinds of data (GIS, demographic, bibliographic, numerical, text, sound, image, etc.), as well as projects in which data is being digitized from analog sources.
  • Offer cross-disciplinary group and one-on-one instruction on topics such as data manipulation and analysis, data management planning, file and citation management, and data visualization.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge about data tools and techniques, and integrate that knowledge into other duties.
  • Provide reference service in person, by chat, by email, and by phone.
  • Serve as a subject liaison for the social sciences, which includes performing outreach to departments, providing group and one-on-one instruction in research in those fields, analyzing and building collections, and helping researchers self-archive their work in the institutional repository.
  • Produce scholarly research and provide academic service in accordance with the library’s tenure and promotion criteria.
  • Participate in the training of library staff, interns, and other collaborators.
  • Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

All titles require a Master’s in Library Science (MLS), Master’s in Library Information Studies (MLIS), or closely related discipline from an ALA-accredited institution.  Also required is the ability to work with others for the good of the institution.  For appointment as Assistant or Associate Professor, a second graduate degree is required.

A preferred candidate should have:

  • Familiarity with data management plans and data preservation tools
  • Knowledge of licensing and rights issues in relation to data use and sharing
  • Familiarity with web-based and open-source technologies used with data
  • Significant experience using geospatial, demographic, and quantitative data and related tools (e.g., XML/XSLT, Google Map API, ArcGIS, or QGIS)
  • Familiarity with major metadata standards (e.g., DC, DDI, OAI-PMH, MODS, METS, PREMIS, or MARC)
  • Experience with statistical software packages (e.g., Stata, R, D3, MATLAB, SAS, or SPSS)
  • Experience with exhibition and data visualization platforms (e.g., Scalar, Omeka, Gephi, Mapbox, or StoryMaps)
  • Advanced Excel skills
  • Experience with one or more scripting languages (e.g., PHP, PERL, or Python); SQL (e.g., MySQL or Microsoft SQL); HTML and CSS
  • Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills
  • Demonstrated success with self-directed learning and project management
  • Language proficiency in addition to English
  • Teaching experience
  • Reference experience
  • Experience in an academic library or with advanced researchers

How to Apply:

Please apply using the link below:

https://home.cunyfirst.cuny.edu/psp/cnyepprd/GUEST/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_CE.GBL?Page=HRS_CE_JOB_DTL&Action=A&JobOpeningId=11933&SiteId=1&PostingSeq=1.

Click on “Apply Now” below which will bring you to the registration screen. If you are a new user, you must register to apply. If you already have a user ID, please use your existing ID to apply. Make sure to upload a cover letter and resume with the contact information of 3 professional references by the closing date.

Or go to http://cuny.jobs/ and search for Job ID 11933.