About UMass Amherst
UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region.
Job Summary
The Evidence Synthesis Librarian develops and coordinates the UMass Amherst Libraries Evidence Synthesis program and participates in Libraries’ academic engagement program to support the teaching and research endeavors of the University for the health sciences, engineering, and science disciplines . Working out of the Science & Engineering Library, this position will contribute to outreach, information literacy, research support, and assessment, and work collaboratively with counterparts in the sciences, social sciences and humanities to provide campus-wide support for systematic and scoping reviews.
Essential Functions
- Develop and coordinate the Evidence Synthesis program to support systematic, scoping, and related literature reviews across disciplines. Develop policies and procedures for evidence synthesis in support of the Libraries’ strategic goals and provides accurate reporting on activities.
- Maintain comprehensive knowledge of principles and practices of evidence synthesis, expert searching and systematic reviews; create training and learning objects for evidence synthesis topics; help researchers and students navigate the evidence synthesis process from protocol to publication; serve as an active participant on systematic, scoping, rapid, and umbrella review teams; develop and execute complex systematic search strategies.
- Mentor and train other librarians in evidence synthesis methods and best practices.
- Serve as liaison librarian to an academic department and actively participate in the Libraries' Academic Liaison Program.
- Cultivate research partnerships with faculty in assigned departments and programs.
- Communicate regularly with faculty, staff, and students in assigned academic departments and programs.
- Participate in designing and teaching instructional sessions and workshops for various audiences to cultivate students’ research methodology skills. Create research guides, web pages, and learning objects as appropriate.
- Keep apprised of current trends in digital scholarship, information and data literacy, open access, open educational resources, research data management, research impact metrics, scholarly communication, academic libraries, and higher education, and regularly incorporate into daily work.
- Use data and assessment techniques to support evidence-based changes to services, programs, and user experience.
Other Functions
- Represent the Libraries on internal committees as assigned and on campus committees including, Five College Committees, Boston Library Consortium Committees, and/or at other selected professional meetings and conferences as requested or appropriate.
- Participate in professional development and continuing education activities, including service in professional and scholarly associations, and presenting and publishing on work-related topics.
- Work a flexible schedule, which includes some evening, weekend, and holiday hours.
- Perform other related duties as assigned or required to meet the goals of the department, Libraries, and University.
- Commitment to support justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) within libraries and institution.
- Ability to build and sustain effective working relationships and work collaboratively in a diverse and fast-paced environment.
- Purposefully promote a One Library environment for all that encourages inclusion, personal growth, respect, self-reflection, curiosity, and continuous learning.
- Understands responsibilities with respect to conflicts of interest and behaves in ways consistent.
Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)
- Graduate degree in librarianship (from a program accredited by the American Library Association) or related field, or combination of an advanced degree in a relevant subject area and minimum of two years experience in libraries, archives, museums, or similar institutions by time of hire.
- Demonstrated experience applying evidence synthesis and/or systematic review methodologies within an academic discipline.
- Knowledge of documentation and reporting standards for systematic reviews (e.g., PRISMA) and review management software and tools (e.g., Covidence, Rayyan).
- Knowledge of key issues, trends, and skills associated with data literacy, open access, research data management, research impact metrics, or scholarly communication.
- Evidence of commitment to user-centered service in an academic institution contributing to library and university goals.
- Demonstrated ability to build and sustain effective working relationships and work collaboratively in a diverse and fast-paced environment.
- Strong organizational, project, and time management skills to lead or coordinate multiple projects and work with minimal supervision.
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
- Ability to work a schedule which includes some evening, weekend, and holiday hours, as required.
Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)
- Experience in developing, conducting, and updating systematic search strategies as demonstrated by a publication record or manuscript acknowledgment.
- Academic degree in a STEM discipline.
- Knowledge of academic library trends within higher education.
- Experience with bibliometric data sources, such as Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, etc.
- Working knowledge and understanding of bibliometric indicators such as citation counts, publication counts, journal metrics, h-index, and altimetrics, etc.
Work Schedule
- The regular working schedule for this position is Monday - Friday, day hours.
- The incumbent of the position is expected to work on a flexible schedule, which includes some evening, weekend, and holiday hours.
Salary Information
- Librarian II or III
- Librarian II salary floor: $61,500.
- Librarian III salary floor: $69,500.
- Salary commensurate with experience.
Special Instructions to Applicants
Along with the application, please submit a resume, cover letter, and contact information of three (3) professional references.
UMass Amherst welcomes candidates who meet the minimum requirements to apply and will support their professional development to grow in this position.
UMass Amherst is committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military status, or genetic information in employment, admission to and participation in academic programs, activities, and services, and the selection of vendors who provide services or products to the University. To fulfill that policy, UMass Amherst is further committed to a program of affirmative action to eliminate or mitigate artificial barriers and to increase opportunities for the recruitment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. It is the policy of the UMass Amherst to comply with the applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity and affirmative action.