International Studies Metadata Librarian

How to Apply

A cover letter and resume or CV are important submissions for the hiring team to get a sense of your experience. In the cover letter, please let us know how this role aligns with your career aspirations and skills. Submit both the cover letter and resume/CV as one file (because of system limitations).

Job Summary

We are seeking a resourceful, forward thinking, and creative problem-solver to serve as the International Studies Metadata Librarian. This role provides descriptive access, metadata remediation, and quality control for multidisciplinary general, distinctive, and special collections in any of the South Asian or Southeast Asian languages acquired by the library, including but not limited to: Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Bengali, Panjabi, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, or Tagalog. This role actively contributes to local and national efforts to improve description and access for non-English and non-Latin script resources and those materials by and about underrepresented groups. You will also support library-wide capacity by assisting with preparations to move to a repository, providing local and national corrective maintenance of new and legacy catalog data, reducing and eliminating backlogs and under or undescribed collections, helping to establish metadata and cataloging best practices and procedures, providing technical services training, and participating in cooperative metadata and cataloging programs.

You will report to the Head of International Studies Technical Services, under the leadership of the Director of International Studies. This role works closely with colleagues specializing in South Asia Studies or Southeast Asian Studies and other International Studies team members.

We invite applications from recent MLS/MLIS graduates, as well as from people coming from a variety of career paths, either from within or outside of an academic setting. The library will provide training and support to improve the candidate's cataloging skills in order to meet the expectations of this position.

We encourage our employees to incorporate their backgrounds, skills, and life experiences into our work environment and to put our values into practice. Learn more about our mission and values.

What You'll Do

• Cataloging, metadata remediation and workflow management (65%) 
  • Provide original and copy cataloging and cataloging corrections in OCLC and Alma for collections in any of the languages of South Asia or Southeast Asia, and in any format, according to national and local standards, including, but not limited to: 
    • MARC21 Format for Bibliographic Data;
    • Resource Description and Access (RDA); 
    • Library of Congress-PCC Policy Statements (LC-PCC PS); 
    • Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH); 
    • Library of Congress Classification (LCC); 
    • Program for Cooperative Cataloging: Name Authority Cooperative (NACO) and Bibliographic Record Cooperative (BIBCO); 
    • ALA-LC Romanization Tables and other national standards for providing access to resources in non-Latin scripts.
  • Receive new shipments of collection materials and manage a physical workflow, as needed.
• Collaborative Cross-Divisional & National Technical Services (25%)
  • Participate in BIBCO, NACO, the Big Ten Academic Alliance-Cooperative Cataloging Partnership (BTAA-CCP) and other national cooperative metadata and cataloging programs.
  • Hire, mentor and/or supervise temporary hourly staff in cataloging and related procedures and/or provide training and documentation in areas of expertise, as needed.
  • Participate in regional and national communities of practice to help expand expertise in the areas of metadata, non-English language cataloging, collection development, and related functions. 
• Professional development and service (10%)
  • Perform service to the profession and/or discipline through committee work, scholarly communication, and other means, and develop a body of work that contributes to professional, scholarly, and/or artistic practice.
  • Maintain current knowledge of the field and contribute to the development of new and emerging cataloging standards and their applications, such as BIBFRAME and linked data.
     

Who We Are

The University of Michigan Library in Ann Arbor is one of the world's largest academic research libraries. We serve a vibrant university community that is home to 19 schools and colleges, 100 top ten graduate programs, and annual research expenditures exceeding $1.5 billion a year. To promote the university's world-changing work and to serve the public good, the library shares the scholarly and cultural record. Additionally, the library leads the reinvention of the academic research library in the digital age.

The International Studies team consists of subject librarians, catalogers, and acquisitions specialists with diverse linguistic and cultural expertise. We build distinctive collections and provide support for research and teaching in multiple scholarly disciplines focused on regions across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Australia, and the Pacific. We work with materials in many formats, in more than 60 languages and 13 scripts to support scholarship, long-term preservation of and access to global resources.
 

Required Qualifications*

•  ALA-accredited master's degree in Library or Information Studies; or an equivalent combination of at least 3 years of cataloging experience (for a library, museum, or similar cultural institution) and a bachelor's degree or higher in Library or Information Studies, or a South Asian or Southeast Asian field. 
• Excellent reading knowledge of at least one of the following languages of South Asia or Southeast Asia: Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Bengali, Panjabi, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, or Tagalog. Your knowledge should enable you to produce complex copy or original cataloging.
• Academic study of, or background in South Asian Studies or Southeast Asian Studies.
• Knowledge of cataloging standards and systems, such as MARC21 format, RDA, Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd ed. (AACR2), LCSH, LC classification system, ALA-LC Romanization Tables, NACO, and BIBCO.
• Organizational, analytical and problem solving skills and the ability to plan and execute multiple tasks and projects independently or in collaboration with a variety of colleagues, and within set deadlines.
• Excellent oral and written English-language skills.
   

Desired Qualifications*

• Ability to effectively contribute to a diverse and inclusive workplace environment.
• Reading knowledge of one or more additional South or Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern, African, or Central Asian languages.
• Experience performing complex copy and original cataloging of various formats.
• Experience working in OCLC Connexion and/or Alma, or a similar system.
• Familiarity with emerging/evolving trends and issues in cataloging and metadata (e.g., BIBFRAME, linked data), especially as they relate to description and discovery of materials in non Latin scripts. 
• Experience with managing projects, and/or training, and/or writing documentation.
   

Modes of Work

This position may be eligible for onsite or hybrid work opportunities at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually and are subject to change, dependent on the business needs of the hiring department, throughout the course of employment.

Additional Information

The anticipated hire date is in June 2026.

This appointment is subject to the UM/LEO-GLAM collective bargaining agreement.

Appointment is anticipated as an assistant librarian, associate librarian, or senior associate librarian. The target salary ranges for this position are $61,000-$68,000 for the Assistant rank; $68,000-$79,000 for the Associate rank; and $79,000-$89,000 for the Senior Associate rank. Salary and rank are dependent on the candidate's qualifications and experience. Librarian appointments carry with them increased expectations regarding professional development, professional engagement, research, and service, in keeping with the library's process for librarian promotion and advancement.

The University of Michigan offers a comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance, generous time off (24 vacation days per year, and 15 sick leave days per year), matched retirement contributions with immediate vesting, professional development opportunities, and more. TIAA and Fidelity Investments' retirement benefits are available.

For questions about this posting or to request accommodations, please contact [email protected].
 

Union Affiliation

This position is covered under the collective bargaining agreement between the U-M and the Lecturers Employee Organization, AFL-CIO, on behalf of their Librarian, Archivists, and Curator bargaining unit (LEO-GLAM), which contains and settles all matters with respect to wages, benefits, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.

It is the policy of the University of Michigan to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and other applicable federal and state laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability.  Pursuant to the 2025-2029 UM|LEO-GLAM agreement, each appointing unit will designate an administrative contact ("administrative designee") who is responsible for communicating with the necessary parties about accommodation requests made by Employees in that appointing unit on each campus. The Administrative Designee for Research-International Studies is Maria Gonzalez. They may be reached at (734) 764-7196 or [email protected].

Employees on the Ann Arbor or Dearborn Campuses may also contact the Disability Equity Office by email at [email protected], or by phone at 734763-0235.
 

Application Deadline

This job may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the 10 day minimum posting period has ended.

Applications will be reviewed as received throughout the posting period, and continue until the position is filled.

U-M EEO Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.