Collection Development and Scholarly Communications Librarian

Emory University•Atlanta, GA

About The Position

The Collection Development and Scholarly Communications Librarian will serve a dual role, focusing on health sciences and healthcare scholarly communications support and overseeing collection development within the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library (WHSCL). Reporting to the Research Informationist, the librarian will contribute to enhancing research, publishing, and scholarly impact for health sciences researchers and use their knowledge of scholarly communications and research trends to develop and maintain a library collection that meets the diverse and evolving needs of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center. In the area of scholarly communications, this librarian will work with faculty, researchers, clinicians, and students to improve the visibility, accessibility, and impact of their scholarly work. The librarian will provide expert guidance on health sciences related scholarly publishing, open access, research metrics, and compliance with funder requirements, while supporting services that promote research dissemination, evaluation, and responsible scholarship. The librarian will work closely with colleagues across the library, especially the Library Office of Scholarly Communications and with campus partners to align efforts with institutional priorities in research excellence and knowledge sharing. This role also encompasses the primary responsibility for collection development within the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library. Working closely with WHSCL colleagues and the Director of Collections and Open Strategies, the librarian will oversee a collection development budget of over $5 million, managing the selection, acquisition, and review of information resources in all formats, with a particular focus on electronic resources. This includes participating in pricing negotiations with vendors and ensuring the collection aligns with the evolving needs of the health sciences community. The librarian will also play a key role in developing and refining the library's health sciences resources to support faculty, staff, and student needs, as well as those of Emory Healthcare.

Requirements

ALA‑accredited MLIS or equivalent, or a combination of relevant education and library experience.
One year or more experience in collection development or scholarly communications.
Knowledge of scholarly communication practices, including open access and current publishing trends.
Proficiency with library technologies, research tools, information resources, and standard office applications.
Strong collaboration and communication skills for working with faculty, staff, students, and clinicians.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Collection Development, managing collection development budget, and vendor negotiations.

Responsibilities

Foster increased awareness of publishing options and author rights, including journal selection, Creative Commons licensing, and open access author agreements.
Help students and researchers on the health sciences campus build knowledge of publishing options and how each choice will affect distribution and rights to their work.
Monitor the scholarly communications landscape in the health sciences, including related legislative, funding, and publishing trends and metrics.
Assess trends and communicate implications across the Health Sciences Library and, where appropriate, incorporate into policies and documentation.
Assist researchers with compliance with funder public access policies, including NIH Public Access Policy and other federal or foundation requirements.
Promote awareness of emerging trends in scholarly communication, including open science, data management and sharing, and evolving publishing models to health sciences librarians and the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Community.
Partner with and attend meetings of the Scholarly Communications Office in the Robert W. Woodruff Library to foster collaboration and bring awareness to current health science trends in scholarly communications.
Design and deliver workshops, seminars, and instructional sessions on scholarly communication topics such as: Scholarly publishing strategies, Author rights and copyright, Research impact and visibility.
Develop online learning materials, research guides, and tutorials supporting scholarly communication services.
Conduct outreach activities to increase awareness of library services supporting research and publishing.
Participate in the Library’s “Ask US” service answering questions related to collections and scholarly communications.
Steward a collection budget of approximately $5 million to ensure judicious and timely expenditure of funds.
Coordinate with Robert W. Woodruff Library staff to ensure effective planning, acquisition, and ongoing management of jointly managed collections and shared resources(e.g., major journal packages).
Provide leadership in selecting/developing the library’s information resources in all formats, with an emphasis on electronic resources; this task includes selection, acquisition, and review of health sciences and clinical resources.
Maintain quality and monitor overall growth and development of the collection; identify resources for renewal, cancellation, withdrawal, or relocation for both the Woodruff Health Sciences Center and Emory Healthcare.
Provide leadership to develop, monitor and revise collecting policies that guide material selection and deselection, to build a balanced collection that serves the needs of the health sciences community.
Negotiate pricing with vendors for resources in all formats and work with Robert W. Woodruff Library staff, as needed, to determine permissible use parameters and ensure appropriate university review of licenses.
Maintain overall awareness of the curricular needs and research and clinical interests of the faculty in health sciences schools and departments to identify collection needs; monitor grant awards, research initiatives, centers of excellence, new degree programs, etc.
Perform regular assessment to maintain sustainable and usable collections for the health sciences faculty and students in consultation with WHSCL Informationists.
Monitor the latest emerging technology (e.g., AI) trends and tools in information discovery and scholarly communications to provide guidance on use and to inform collection decisions on AI-based and other platforms.
Participate in library committees, initiatives, and cross-functional teams.
Collaborate with campus partners including research offices, academic departments, and other library units.
Engage in professional development and scholarship related to scholarly communications, collection development, and health sciences librarianship.
Participate in local, state, regional, and/or international professional or scholarly associations.
Adhere to guidelines outlined in the Handbook Governing the Librarian Series for Faculty-Equivalent Librarians to ensure appointment, appointment renewal, and promotion-in-rank.