Job: Library and Information Services Officer

Location: Geneva 
Deadline: Sunday, 27 October 2013 

Description

Human Resources Development Department

International Labour Office

Vacancy No: RAPS/3/2013/INFOTEC/03

Title: Library and Information Services Officer

Grade: P.2

Contract type: Fixed-Term Appointment

Date: 25 September 2013

Application Deadline (midnight Geneva time) 27 October 2013

Organization unit: DDG/MR INFOTEC

Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland

The following are eligible to apply:

- ILO Internal candidates in accordance with paragraphs 15 and 16 of Annex I of the Staff Regulations.

External candidates.Other staff members with at least five years of continuous service with the Office are encouraged to apply and will be given special consideration at the screening and evaluation stage.Within the context of the ILO's efforts to promote staff mobility, applicants should expect to take up different assignments (field and Headquarters) during their career. The desirable length of the assignment in this specific position is three to five years, following which period the incumbent should be willing to move to another assignment and/or duty station.The ILO values diversity among its staff and aims at achieving gender parity. We welcome applications from qualified women and men, including those with disabilities.Applications from qualified candidates from non- or under-represented member States, or from those member States which staffing forecasts indicate will become non- or under-represented in the near future, would be particularly welcome. A list of these countries is in Appendix I.Conditions of employment are described in Appendix II.

INTRODUCTION

The position is located in the Library and Information Services Unit within the Department of Information Technology and Management (INFOTEC).The ILO Library is a key institutional resource and a key knowledge broker for the ILO - connecting people, constituents and the wider public to knowledge on the world of work. It contributes to knowledge sharing by identifying, collecting, organizing and disseminatingILO and non-ILO knowledge, by guiding users of ILO knowledge to ILO expertise, by preserving and providing subject access to the ILO's published institutional memory, and by leading an ILO Global Information Network which seeks to improve the transfer of ILO knowledge across the regions.The incumbent will be responsible for administering the digital and print collections of the Library and Information Services Unit. The incumbent reports to the Library's Chief of Client Services.

Description of Duties

Specific duties

1. Administer the physical and digital collections of the ILO Library including the historical, national legislation, statistical and international organizations collections and undertake analysis to ensure that the collections remain relevant to the information needs of the ILO and broader audiences.

2. Consult with ILO departments to identify areas of research interest for both digital and print collections. Seek input from ILO officials regarding development of new digital libraries.

3. Review library material and ensure compliance with collection development policy of the ILO. Regularly examine the collection for deficiencies and order appropriate titles to fill gaps. Examine donations for possible additions to the collection. Assess purchase requests from ILO officials and Library staff and advise accordingly. Monitor digital collections to identify missing ILO materials to be included in the collection

.4. Coordinate digital collections projects and ensure that the needs of each collection are successfully supported from digitization or acquisition to discovery. Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the delivery mechanisms and the needs of client groups. Identify new and innovative ways to organize and deliver digital collections to all client groups.

5. Assess needs and draft procedures to ensure the preservation of ILO Library print and digital collections for current and future audiences. Identify and organize print documents to be bound. Participate in the development of a digital preservation strategy.

6. Promote the discovery and use of the library's digital collections through training, presentations, contributions to the Library's website, blog and other social media.

7. Supervise and train assistants and temporary staff in the use of digitization equipment, including professional grade scanners, microfilm and microfiche scanners.

8. Provide comprehensive information services in-person and remotely using electronic and print information resources. Participate in the continuous improvement of the Library's information services.

9. Maintain awareness of emerging technologies as they affect library collections and delivery of services.

These specific duties are aligned with the relevant ILO generic job description, which includes the following generic duties:

1. Review a variety of information sources to identify appropriate materials that meet the information needs of the Organization and recommend material for inclusion in the library's collections.

2. Verify the accuracy of information on incoming requisitions.

3. Identify and withdraw material from the collections in accordance with collection and retention policies and instructions from the supervisor.

4. Identify bibliographic elements of items to be added to the library's collections, determine the choice and form of entries, and prepare bibliographic descriptions.

5. Analyse the content of documents and publications to identify and select the concepts that are the most relevant for users, translate these concepts into controlled vocabulary terms, and draft annotations or abstracts of the content of materials.

6. Review bibliographic citations and indexing obtained from external sources for inclusion in internal databases.

7. Using both manual and computerised techniques, provide reference services by searching easily accessible sources and delivering information relevant to specific user requests.

8. Assist in the creation of information tools.

Required Qualifications

Education

Advanced university degree, or a first level degree and a recognized professional qualification in library or information science or other related field.

Experience

Three years of professional experience in library work or information network administration at national level, or two years at international level.

Experience with print/digital collections and providing information services in a research library.

Languages

Excellent knowledge of English or French and good knowledge of another of the ILO's official languages.

Competencies

• Technical competenciesKnowledge of automated information systems applicable to libraries or information networks.
• Knowledge of indexing and cataloguing, and electronic search and retrieval methods.
• Excellent analytical skills in order to analyse the needs of users and to locate easily accessible information.
• Ability to answer queries from users and to disseminate easily accessible information.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Ability to work on own initiative as well as a member of a team.
• Familiarity with standard library management principles and methods;
• Familiarity with ILO history and ILO documentation as well as documentation of other international organizations;
• Knowledge of classification and metadata schemes and principles of classification applied to both print and digital collections;
• Knowledge of major information resources in the social sciences, economics and law;
• flexibility to learn and keep up with the constantly changing information environment;
• Basic knowledge of intellectual property issues, open access and copyright laws;
• Ability to deal with a diverse clientele in a courteous, professional and tactful manner and to establish and maintain effective working relationships;
• In addition to the ILO core competencies, this position requires:

Personal accountability.

Attention to detail. Ability to work in an international environment. Gender-sensitive behaviour and attitudes.

Additional Information:

Evaluation (which may include one or several written tests and a pre-interview competency-based assessment centre) and the interviews are expected to take place between November 2013 and January 2014. Candidates are requested to ensure their availability should they be short listed for further consideration.

More Info and Application