CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WEST ROAD CAMBRIDGE UNITED KINGDOM CB3 9DR Telephone +44 (0) 1223 333000 Fax +44 (0) 1223 333160 www.lib.cam.ac.uk CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY SENIOR LIBRARY ASSISTANT (GRADE 5) EUROPEAN COLLECTIONS AND CATALOGUING European Collections and Cataloguing is one of the departments within the Collection Development and Description division of the Library. The Department deals with the acquisition and processing of material in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Dutch, Ukrainian, Polish and Modern Greek. The section has five officer staff, one senior assistant (the current vacancy), seven intermediate library assistants and one junior library assistant. The role of the post holder is to support the Head of Department and language specialists in the acquisition and processing of foreign language material, to organise the training of new members of staff and students of librarianship on work experience, to supervise and document the training of new staff, and to allocate and monitor workloads for the assistant staff and ensure that routine procedures are followed. Informal enquiries are welcomed by David Lowe, Head of European Collections and Cataloguing, on 01223 333094, e-mail: dkl1000@cam.ac.uk ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duties of the post Administrative responsibilities Providing support to the head of department and language assistant by taking on the day-to-day organisation of departmental routines, allocating and monitoring workloads and ensuring that agreed routine procedures are followed by the European language assistants Deputising for team leaders in their absence Liaising with the head of department and team leaders on a daily basis in order to achieve smooth running of operations within the department Assisting in the induction and coaching of assistant staff, particularly new staff, and interns Acquisitions work Conducting bibliographical research on newly announced titles on behalf of language specialists/head of Department, so that informed decisions can be made as to the desirability of purchase. Identifying potential new titles of academic importance, according to the collection development policy and under the supervision of the Head of Department. Collating supporting information to aid purchase decisions. Creation of purchase orders, the making of binding decisions and the entering of new titles in the Library s hand-written lists of its holdings
Identifying orders, both firm and standing orders, which have not been received, for claiming Cataloguing To provide support to the language specialists in the processing of the European language intake: Creation of cataloguing records for library material received through purchase, subscription or donation, in the Voyager library management system Searching online bibliographic databases to identify, select, and download the most appropriate record for cataloguing purposes Cataloguing complex material including serials, conference proceedings, and multivolume works. Subject analysis and classification Assigning of vocabulary-controlled subject terms (Library of Congress Subject Headings). Contributing new terms to the above scheme and establishing internationally accepted standardised forms of names after appropriate research Subject analysis of incoming material and application of assigning classmarks using a local classification scheme Donations Managing the receipt and delivery of donations in European languages: Liaison with donors Selection of desirable titles from material offered Arrangement of delivery of donations with donors Acknowledging receipt of donations Liaison with language specialists over processing and cataloguing of donations Communications Regular contribution to language-specific web pages Contact with academic staff and European vendors over recommendations Liaison with other library departments (Bindery, Reader Services) Customer Services Support Reader Services support, as designated (rota participation Invigilation of reading rooms / reading areas / helpdesks (rota participation) Assistance with daily re-shelving of books Salary, leave allowances and hours of work: Salary range: 24,289-27,318 Annual leave: 36 days annual leave plus a further 6 days per annum as compensation for time off in lieu. The standard working hours for Assistant staff at the Library are 08.45-17.20 Monday to Thursday and 08.45-17.00 on Fridays, with a standard lunch break of 1 hour 15 minutes. Full-time Library staff are required to work one evening per week, for which a compensatory payment/additional leave will apply. In addition, working
hours include one Saturday in four (half days) or one Saturday in eight (all day), the pattern to be dependent upon the needs of the service. Education & qualifications Degree/Masters level of education Professional library qualification GCSEs in English and Mathematics, or equivalent Specialist knowledge & skills Essential Cataloguing skills and experience (MARC21, AACRII); minimum of 2 years Knowledge of RDA Knowledge of Library of Congress subject headings Good knowledge of at least one European language other than English at degree standard or equivalent Good IT and keyboard skills Ability to work in an orderly manner to a high degree of accuracy Competence in further European languages Background knowledge of the history and culture of one or more European countries Time Management and organisational skills Interpersonal & communication skills Diversity, tolerance and inclusive behaviour Good interpersonal / communication skills Good customer service skills and behaviour Good team working skills and behaviour Ability to use initiative and work unsupervised Versatility to acquire / utilise a set of multi-tasking skills. Flexibility / willing to assist in routine tasks, to support service demand Relevant experience Experience of working in an academic or research library Experience of library collection development Able to work to established processes and procedures Experience of working in an environment requiring versatility/flexibility
Additional requirements Manual dexterity and physical stamina to deal with the physical demands of the role (stairs, shelving, lifting, loading, carrying, etc.) Ability to judge when to refer matters to senior staff A versatile approach to the role Role-holder is expected to have the ability to work largely unsupervised, show initiative in the way in which tasks are tackled within the scope of procedures and in collaboration with more senior office staff. Ability to support financial administration The University as an Employer The University of Cambridge is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to a pro-active and inclusive approach to equality, which supports and encourages all under-represented groups, promotes an inclusive culture, and values diversity. The University is therefore committed to a policy and practice which require that entry into employment with the University and progression within employment will be determined only by personal merit and by the application of criteria which are related to the duties and conditions of each particular post and the needs of the institution concerned. No applicant for an appointment in the University, or member of staff once appointed, will be treated less favourably than another on the grounds of sex (including gender reassignment), marital or parental status, race, ethnic or national origin, colour, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or age. If any employee considers that he or she is suffering from unequal treatment on any of the above grounds, he or she may make a complaint, which will be dealt with through the agreed procedures for complaints or grievances or the procedures for dealing with bullying and harassment, as appropriate. Information if you have a Disability The University s recruitment and selection procedures follow best practice and the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. Fair selection for employment is based on the ability or potential ability of an applicant to carry out the duties of the post and decisions on appointments are based on the merit and suitability of the candidate. If you have a disability you are invited to request any special arrangements you may require for interview, or adjustments you may anticipate would be needed in your working arrangements, at the point of application. However the University recognises that you may prefer to forward this information if and when you are called for interview and you may do so at that stage without prejudice, if you prefer. FURTHER DETAILS: Cambridge University Library The University Library was founded in the early 15th century. Today it is one of the six legal deposit libraries in the British Isles and is thus entitled to claim copies of all books, journals, maps and music published in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Its collections, which include over seven million books, one million maps, rare books from the first European printing presses to the present day, and a rich variety of manuscript material, range in age from 3,000 year-old handwritten texts to current electronic articles. It makes around 90,000 e-journals and over 400 online databases available to library readers across the University. Organisationally, the University Library comprises the main University Library and its affiliated libraries (currently including the African Studies Library; the Betty and Gordon Moore Library for Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Technology; the Central Science
Library; the Education Library; the Haddon Library (Archaeology and Anthropology); the Land Economy Library; the Latin American Studies Library; the Marshall Library (Economics); the Medical Library; the Seeley Library (History); the Social and Political Sciences Library; the South Asian Studies Library; the Squire Law Library and the Radzinowicz Library (Criminology); the Whipple Library (History and Philosophy of Science). The Centre for Applied Educational Technology (CARET) constitutes an institute within the University Library and forms part of the Library s Digital Services Division. The University Library has a total staff of approximately 380 fte of whom between 65 70 are employed on externally funded projects or grants. The work of the main University Library is organised into the following Divisions: Administration, Collection Development and Description, Digital Services, Reader Services and Special Collections. The Deputy Librarian and a Senior Under-Librarian head each division. The Librarian, Deputy Librarian, Director of Digital Services and Senior Under-Librarians together form the Senior Management Team. The University Library, with its affiliated libraries, forms one part of the tripartite system of libraries in Cambridge, the other two parts being the Faculty and Department libraries and the College libraries. University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is one of the oldest universities in the world, celebrating its 800th anniversary in 2009, and one of the largest in the United Kingdom. It consists of over 150 separate departments, faculties, schools and research centres, and has 31 colleges. At all levels about half of the students at Cambridge study arts and humanities subjects; many of these students have gone on to become prominent figures in the arts, print and broadcast media. The University s achievements in the sciences can be measured by the sixty or more Nobel Prizes awarded to its members over the years. It employs ca 2800 academic staff and ca 4000 in supporting roles. The relationship between the University and the 31 Colleges is best understood historically. The University was originally established to examine students and confer degrees. The Colleges were set up as independent, self-governing bodies to teach and house the students. Over time, the University has developed responsibilities for teaching, in the form of lectures, seminars and practical laboratory work and it provides most of the facilities for research of which the University Library is one. Colleges are still responsible for selecting, admitting, and housing all undergraduate students, as well as providing pastoral and tutorial support. Detailed information on the way the University works is online as part of its website at http://www.cam.ac.uk/univ/works/ The University at present has approximately 18,000 full time students, including nearly 12,000 undergraduates and over 6,000 graduates. About 20% of the student body is from overseas, coming from more than one hundred different countries. Like other British universities, the University s income is derived from a wide variety of public and private sources including grants from government bodies as well as funds from companies and charities for research.