Visiting Research Specialist, Slavic Reference Service
International and Area Studies Library
Academic Professional Position
University Library
University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign
Position Available: This position is available immediately. This is a nine-month Visiting Academic Professional position. This is a renewable position, contingent upon continued funding from the U.S. State Department Title VIII Program for Research and Training on Eastern Europe and Eurasia (Independent State of the Former Soviet Union).Candidate must be able to start on or before October 1, 2017.
Duties and Responsibilities: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign seeks an innovative, collaborative, and service-oriented professional for the position of Visiting Research Associate. Reporting to the International Reference Librarian, the successful candidate will be responsible for providing research assistance to local and visiting scholars, developing online materials on research resources in the languages of Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and for working with scholars to provide an introduction to the Library’s vernacular language resources as well orientation and training on our many research technologies. The Visiting Research Associate will join colleagues doing similar work as part of the Slavic Reference Service, a component of the International and Area Studies Library.
The Visiting Research Associate will:
- Provide information and instructional services to scholars at local, regional, and national institutions in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, both in person and using digital means;
- Develop digital tools to support research in the languages of Eastern Europe and Eurasia;
- Provide research support to visiting scholars, including introduction and orientation to Library materials and digital resources;
- Contribute to the creation of digital resources;
- Collaborate with faculty and staff in the Library’s Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery program to respond to requests for materials and citation verification related to Eastern Europe and Eurasia;
- Support SRS outreach and engagement activities, and promote Title VIII initiatives;
- Contribute to the design and delivery of instructional and research support services, provided in-person and online as part of the “Summer Research Lab” program offered to Slavic, East European, and Eurasian scholars through the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center http://www.reeec.illinois.edu/srl.
Qualifications: Required: ALA-accredited Master’s degree in Library and/or Information Science (or equivalent) or advanced degree with a focus on the Russian/East European/Eurasian region; At least one year of experience working in a field affiliated with Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, basic knowledge of regional publishing history; knowledge of digital resources relevant to Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies; fluent written and spoken command of Russian or at least one other Slavic or Turkic language, demonstrated experience working with Russian or Slavic or Turkic collections and service environments; ability to work with students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds; at least one year of experience in providing reference services at an academic or research library..
Desired/Preferred: Reading knowledge of Slavic or Turkic languages of Central Asia; at least one year of experience working in a field affiliated with Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
Environment: The University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign is one of the preeminent research libraries in the world. With more than 13 million volumes and significant digital resources, it ranks second in size among academic research libraries in the United States and first among public university libraries in the world. As the intellectual heart of the campus, the Library is committed to maintaining the strongest possible collections and services and engaging in research and development activities in pursuit of the University’s mission of teaching, scholarship, and public service. The Library currently employs approximately 90 faculty and 300 academic professionals, staff, and graduate assistants. For more detailed information, please visit <http://www.library.illinois.edu/>. The Library consists of multiple departmental libraries located across campus, as well as an array of central public, technical, and administrative service units. The Library also encompasses a variety of virtual service points and “embedded librarian” programs.
The Library consists of multiple departmental libraries located across campus, as well as an array of central public, technical, and administrative service units. The Library also encompasses a variety of virtual service points and “embedded librarian” programs. The International and Area Studies Library is the campus’ gateway to information and scholarship related to area, international, and global studies, connecting students and scholars to the knowledge crucial to developing global competencies through the study of distinct nations and regions, as well as transnational issues and global concerns. The IAS Library enhances opportunities for collaboration and coordination among the Library’s area and international studies specialists and provides a single, physical service point and Web presence for Library users whose needs span multiple regions of the world. Established in 2011, this new unit brings together the library’s strong area collections on Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Slavic & East Europe with thematic collections focused on Global Studies and European Union Studies in order to support area studies research and foster opportunities for cross-regional and interdisciplinary research. In total, the collection consists of nearly 2 million volumes in over 150 languages.
Salary and Rank: Salary commensurate with credentials and experience.
Terms of Appointment: Twelve-month appointment; 24 annual vacation days; 11 annual paid holidays; 12 annual sick-leave days (cumulative), plus an additional 13 sick-leave days (non-cumulative) available, if needed, each year; health insurance requiring a small co-payment is provided to employee (with the option to purchase coverage for spouse and dependents); required participation in State Universities Retirement System (SURS) (8% of annual salary is withheld and is refundable upon termination), with several options for participation in additional retirement plans; newly-hired employees are covered by the Medicare portion of Social Security and are subject to its deduction.
Campus and Community: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a comprehensive and major public land-grant university (Doctoral/Research University-Extensive) that is ranked among the best in the world. Chartered in 1867, it provides undergraduate and graduate education in more than 150 fields of study, conducts theoretical and applied research, and provides public service to the state and the nation. It employs 3,000 faculty members who serve 31,000 undergraduates and 12,000 graduate and professional students; approximately 25% of faculty receives campus-wide recognition each year for excellence in teaching. More information about the campus is available at www.illinois.edu.
The University is located in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana, which have a combined population of 100,000 and are situated about 140 miles south of Chicago, 120 miles west of Indianapolis, and 170 northeast of St. Louis. The University and its surrounding communities offer a cultural and recreational environment ideally suited to the work of a major research institution. For more information about the community, visit: <http://illinois.edu/about/community/community.html> or <http://www.ccchamber.org/>.
To Apply: To ensure full consideration, please complete your candidate profile at https://jobs.illinois.edu and upload a letter of interest, resume, and contact information including email addresses for three professional references. Applications not submitted through this website will not be considered. For questions, please call: 217-333-8169.
Deadline: In order to ensure full consideration, applications and nominations must be received by October 13, 2017. The review of applications will continue until the position is filled.
The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer.
The University of Illinois is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer. Minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For more information, visit http://go.illinois.edu/EEO. To learn more about the University’s commitment to diversity, please visit http://www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu