Electronic Resources Librarian

Position Summary

The Electronic Resources Librarian is part of the Eresources Team, a unit within the Collection Strategy Department at Vanderbilt University. This position supports the lifecycle of Vanderbilt University’s licensed scholarly electronic resources, ensuring ongoing access through existing and newly envisioned technologies, and collaborating on open access initiatives.

About the Work Unit

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries at Vanderbilt University is comprised of nine libraries and service departments in collections, IT infrastructure, and digital scholarship. The Eresources unit is responsible for purchasing, license negotiation, providing access to library materials in online formats, and managing the workflow necessary for authors to publish open access.

Key Functions and Expected Performance

• Acquire new and manage existing collections ensuring consistent electronic resource access.
• Diagnose and resolve user-reported electronic resource access issues.
• Collaborate with internal and external partners to maintain access to licensed resources.
• Maintain awareness of trends in educational technology, open access, and eresource standards.
• Help develop procedures, documentation, and training for efficient internal workflows.
• Evaluate, recommend, and implement improvements to eresource management systems, user access, and open access eligibility tools.
• Review and negotiate publisher license agreements, amendments, and resource renewals.
• Represent the library at local, regional, and national levels.
• Contribute to the information science profession focusing on Electronic Resource Management and its intersection with Scholarly Communications.

Education and Certifications

• Required: Master's of Library and Information Science degree (MLIS) from an ALA-accredited program or international equivalent.

Experience and Skills

• 1 to 3 years of professional experience is preferred with 1 year in a field directly related to the position.
• Familiarity with eresource access, licensing, acquisition, usage, and management of workflows and tools is preferred.
• Familiarity with eresource standards and protocols (e.g., eresource license terms, KBART, SUSHI, COUNTER, Project Transfer, OpenURL) is preferred.
• Awareness of scholarly communications practices and publisher workflows is preferred.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively, troubleshoot effectively, and manage competing priorities in a dynamic environment is necessary.
• Basic awareness with contract and license interpretation and review is preferred.
• Proficiency with office productivity tools and adaptability to evolving technologies is necessary.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills are necessary.