Position Title: Institutional Scholarship Librarian
Employee Classification: Lib Subject Specialist 12m
College/Division: Library
Department: 390300-LIBRARY REFERENCE AND RESEARCH SVCS
Internal or External Search: External - Open to all applicants
Location: Las Cruces
Offsite Location (if applicable):
Target Hourly/Salary Rate: $73,300
Appointment Full-time Equivalency: 1.0
Exempt or Non-Exempt: Exempt
Summary: New Mexico State University, a Hispanic and Minority Serving Institution in sunny southern New Mexico, invites qualified applicants to apply for the position of Institutional Repository Librarian. This 12-month faculty position reports to the head of the NMSU Library Reference and Research Services department. The Institutional Scholarship Librarian plays a pivotal role in advancing New Mexico State University's (NMSU) scholarly impact and open access initiatives. This position is responsible for the strategic development, implementation, and promotion of the university's institutional repository, Digital Commons, while providing expert guidance on copyright, scholarly communication trends, and open educational resources.
Classification Summary:
This 12-month faculty position reports to the head of the NMSU Library Reference and Research Services department. The Institutional Scholarship Librarian plays a pivotal role in advancing New Mexico State University's (NMSU) scholarly impact and open access initiatives. This position is responsible for the strategic development, implementation, and promotion of the university's institutional repository, Digital Commons, while providing expert guidance on copyright, scholarly communication trends, and open educational resources. The incumbent fosters a culture of open scholarship at NMSU by educating and supporting faculty, researchers, and students in navigating the evolving landscape of academic publishing and digital scholarship. This role also contributes to the Library’s broader mission by providing reference services, instruction, and engaging in liaison responsibilities.
Classification Standard Duties:
• Manage the institutional repository: Oversee daily operations, including ingesting content, maintaining metadata quality, and ensuring long-term access and preservation.
• Collaborate with faculty and researchers: Assist in depositing scholarly works, theses, and datasets; promote repository use and open access publishing.
• Develop policies and workflows: Create and maintain submission guidelines, collaborate with Technical Services on metadata standards.
• Provide training and outreach: Conduct workshops, create documentation, and offer individual support to educate users about copyright, scholarly communication and repository services.
• Coordinate with campus partners: Work with Library faculty and staff, graduate school, and academic departments to streamline repository integration and support research dissemination.
• Monitor repository performance: Analyze usage statistics, generate reports, and recommend improvements based on user needs and technological trends.
• Provide knowledge and expertise for library initiatives in digital publishing, data curation, and scholarly communication.
• Serve on library and campus committees. As a member of the library faculty, pursue an active and ongoing program of professional development appropriate for his/her rank at the university. Ensures compliance with relevant library and university policies and procedures.
• As a member of the library faculty, is responsible for achieving in the following areas:
• Librarianship
• Scholarship and Creative Activity
• Outreach and Extension (when appropriate)
• Service
Required Education, Experience, Certification/License, Equivalency
ALA-accredited Master’s degree in Library and Information Science or equivalent;
A minimum of two years professional academic library experience or related work or educational experience
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Knowledge
• Understanding of institutional repositories, open access publishing, and scholarly communication trends.
• Familiarity with metadata standards (e.g., Dublin Core, MODS, MARC) and digital preservation practices.
• Familiarity with copyright, licensing (especially Creative Commons), and intellectual property issues in academic publishing.
• Understanding of academic research workflows and faculty needs across disciplines.
Skills
• Proficiency with repository platforms (e.g., Digital Commons, DSpace, etc.) or content management systems.
• Project management skills, including planning, implementation, and assessment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for outreach, instruction, and collaboration.
• Ability to analyze and interpret usage data and generate reports to support decision-making.
Abilities
• Ability to work collaboratively with faculty, staff, and students to promote repository services.
• Capacity to lead initiatives that support open access, data sharing, and digital scholarship.
• Adaptability in a rapidly evolving technological and scholarly environment.
• Ability to train and mentor faculty, staff, and students in repository use and scholarly communication practices.
Job Duties and Responsibilities
• Facilitate and participate in the implementation of NMSU’s Digital Commons;
• Collaborate with Library departments and other stakeholders to facilitate salient projects;
• Promote the use of Digital Commons within the university community;
• Lead and consult on the Libraries’ efforts to develop and promote copyright education programs and copyright best practices among faculty, researchers and students including issues such as authors’ rights, fair use, publishing choices, understanding publishing agreements, and rights retention;
• Monitor state, national and international trends in open access, scholarly communication, and scholarly publishing; including how these areas are changing in regard to advances in technology such as AI, etc.
• Provide advice on implementing open educational resources;
• Provide a broad range of general and in-depth virtual and in-person reference services;
• Participate in Libraries’ instruction program to provide course-related instruction; and teach in the rotation of credit-bearing information literacy 100 and 300 level courses.
• Serve as the liaison librarian to assigned departments.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience providing guidance on scholarly communication, copyright, intellectual property and fair use issues in research and/or university environments;
• Familiarity with Institutional Repository policies and platforms such as Digital Commons or DSpace;
• Familiarity with online publication platforms and workflows;
• Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal skills;
• Experience providing library instruction;
• Familiarity with Primo and Canvas;
• Strong organizational skills, flexibility, and the ability to work with cross-functional teams;
• Effective oral and written communication skills and problem-solving ability;
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity in the workplace or community;
• Commitment to professional growth and the ability to engage in an appropriate level of professional activity and service.
Special Requirements of the Position
Department Contact: Leticia Phetteplace,575-646-1808, leti@nmsu.edu
Contingent Upon Funding: Not Applicable
Bargaining Unit Eligibility: This is NOT a bargaining unit position with American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
Standard Work Schedule: Shift: Other Shift
If Not a Standard Work Schedule: May work evening/weekends
Working Conditions and Physical Effort
Environment: Work is normally performed in a typical interior/office work environment.
Physical Effort: No or very limited physical effort required.
Lifting Requirements: Requires handling of average-weight objects up to 10 pounds or some standing or walking.
Risk: No or very limited exposure to physical risk.