The University of California, Berkeley Library seeks a creative, collaborative, outreach-oriented, and user-centered librarian to support world-class research and teaching in the chemical and physical sciences through active engagement with instruction, information literacy, research assistance, collection development, scholarly communications, and outreach to students, faculty, and the broader academic community. This position serves as subject librarian for the chemical sciences and one or more disciplines in the physical sciences.
Responsibilities:
The Chemical & Physical Sciences Librarian supports students and researchers who are solving complex problems through science, technology, and engineering. As a subject librarian, the successful candidate develops an understanding of research and teaching in their assigned departments, follows trends in those disciplines, and builds relationships with faculty and students through active engagement and outreach. Effective outreach includes conducting assessments of user needs, providing virtual and in-person research consultations, developing students’ data and information literacies, offering course-related library instruction and workshops, creating instructional materials in a variety of formats, and promoting library resources and services.
The librarian serves as the selector and liaison for the College of Chemistry (including Chemistry and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering) as well as the Department of Physics and potentially one or more additional departments in the physical sciences. To build research-level collections, the librarian contributes to collaborative collection development and management – collecting and curating information in a variety of formats including books, journals, and databases to support teaching and research in the chemical and physical sciences. This requires collaboration with other librarians on campus and within the UC System on interdisciplinary and/or system-wide collection decisions and scholarly communication issues.
Reporting to the Head of the Library’s EPS Division, the Chemical & Physical Sciences Librarian works closely with other subject librarians in the sciences to advance our shared goals and priorities. The successful candidate will also work with library-wide functional specialists including those responsible for assessment, research data management, data services, and scholarly communications. They will also play a key role in outreach across the EPS Division.
UC Berkeley librarians are expected to participate in library-wide planning and governance, and work effectively in a shared decision-making environment. Advancement is partially based upon professional contributions beyond the primary assignment; the successful candidate will show evidence or promise of such contributions to the Library, campus, UC System, and profession.
The UC Berkeley Library is committed to supporting and encouraging a multicultural environment and seeks candidates who can make positive and imaginative contributions in a context of ethnic and cultural diversity.
UC professional librarians are academic appointees and are represented by an exclusive bargaining agent, the University Council – American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT).
This position is in the bargaining unit. Librarians are eligible for professional development leave, vacation leave, sick leave, and all other benefits granted to non-faculty academic personnel. The University has an excellent retirement system and sponsors a variety of group health, dental, vision, and life insurance plans in addition to other benefits.
Minimum Qualifications:
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Advanced degree or enrolled in an advanced degree program. (Advanced degree required by hiring date)
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited institution or equivalent international degree
- College-level coursework or relevant work experience in the chemical and physical sciences
- Experience providing reference and instructional services in an academic library
- Demonstrated commitment to collaboration and relationship building
- Demonstrated commitment to promoting underrepresented voices in STEM and fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Familiarity with current and emerging trends in STEM research, publishing, or education
- Demonstrated written communication skills
- Demonstrated presentation skills
- Experience with or coursework in collection development