Duties
The Serial & Government Publications Division serves as a primary access point for a wide variety of serial collections and is responsible for the service, development and management of its custodial collections both online and through the Newspaper and Current Periodicals Reading Room.
The Serial and Government Publications Division serves as a primary access point for a wide variety of serial collections and is responsible for the development and management of its custodial collections. Custodial collections include foreign and domestic newspapers, unbound periodicals, government publications (GPO Depository), intergovernmental publications and documents (United Nations), and other specialized serial collections. Clients include Congress, Foreign and US Government agencies, national and international academics and scholars, research and scientific institutions, the professional and business communities, and the general public.
Supervises professional staff of reference librarians performing work at the GS-08 through 13 levels, and other technical staff providing support services. Provides administrative and technical supervision and direction necessary for accomplishing the work of the staff assigned to the NCPRR, including serving as senior duty and operations officer responsible for coordinating and resolving operational and service issues. Establishes policies, directs reading room work, supervises, and manages tasks, and ensure the high quality of service provided. Serves as arbiter of policies and regulations concerning the reading room. Coordinates the collection and reporting of reading room statistics. Coordinates daily activity and operations between the reading room staff and other Divisions and staff.
Serves as an expert in the organization, development, and implementation of multiple projects. Serves as a supervisory project leader, team leader, or chairperson for library-wide working groups, task forces, and/or committees which have been assigned responsibility for projects and programs related to public service, reference, collection access, physical and electronic security of collections, and the integration of traditional and emerging digital reference library services. Organizes and develops projects utilizing critical judgment to determine scope, emphasis, approach, appropriate techniques, and manner of presentation. Prepares consolidated operational and public service reports utilizing statistical and narrative data to support the information services provided by and through the Division, to the Library, the public and the other librarians world-wide.
The Head of the Reference Section coordinates and facilitates the integration of digital and traditional library services, policies, and procedures as they are being developed both within and outside the Library to enhance and encourage researcher engagement. Serves as an expert in managing general reference and research methodology to effectively and efficiently provide information services to a diverse and demanding clientele, through all modes of communication. Serves as a senior specialist in the area of government publications, periodicals and newspapers, and officially represents the collections to other offices and staff in the Library, as well as to persons, groups, or organizations outside the Library, by means of presentations, publications, and correspondence.
As Head of the Reference Section and the NCPRR, serves as an authority in collection development and acquisition activities for the Division and as such develops programs to fill in gaps and augment collections to improve services. Plans collection management and development procedures that build and maintain comprehensive collections for the Division's collections working closely with other Division section heads. Coordinates the work of the reference staff in their role as recommending officers. Works with the Chief and other staff on the resolution of questions associated with recommendations made by the recommending officers.
Serves as a principal liaison for the Division at professional conferences, seminars, and exhibits. Initiates, establishes, and maintains professional relationships with scholars, librarians, and other specialists to share resources and information. Represents the NCPRR when it is opened for special events for Congressional and National Programs. Serves as Division contact for Library-wide exhibits and ensures knowledgeable reference personnel are available to staff them.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
Conditions of Employment
The Supervisor leads his/her staff toward meeting the Library’s vision, mission, and goals by acting decisively, leveraging diversity and inclusiveness, demonstrating flexibility and resilience, fostering continuous improvement and innovation, and fostering integrity and honesty. To view the Library’s Supervisory Core Competencies click the following link: https://www.loc.gov/static/portals/careers/documents/loc_supervisor_core_competencies.pdf
Library of Congress employees are prohibited from using illegal drugs, including marijuana. The Library is part of the Federal Government and abides by federal law, so regardless of individual state or District of Columbia laws, marijuana use is illegal, considered criminal activity, and can affect your employment at the Library. In addition, past or current drug use and activities (e.g., selling or distributing) may deem you ineligible for employment.
Qualifications
Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.
Ability to lead and supervise a diverse workforce.**
Ability to a manage a library reference program.**
Knowledge of the principles and techniques of library collections development.**
Ability to provide consultation or liaison duties.
Ability to coordinate projects and set priorities.
Ability to communicate in writing.
Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing.
Education
BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
All librarians must meet the requirements for professional education in library science or possess equivalent experience and education.
A. Completion of 1 full academic year of graduate study in library science in an accredited college or university, in addition to completion of all work required for a bachelor's degree;
or
B. A total of at least 5 years of a combination of college-level education, training, and experience. To qualify on this basis, the applicant must establish conclusively that the education, training, and experience provided knowledge and understanding of the theories, principles, and techniques of professional librarianship; a knowledge of literature resources; and the knowledge and abilities essential for providing effective library and information services.
You MUST submit a legible copy of your college/university transcripts to your online application. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at the time of application. Official transcripts will be required if selected. Failure to submit the required legible documentation at the time of application will result in disqualification of your application.
Foreign Education – Education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed equivalent to conventional/accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment. If your college/university is outside the U.S., your transcripts must be accompanied by a report from a credential evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE). Failure to submit a foreign education evaluation report will result in disqualification of your application.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
The Library of Congress evaluates applicants through an applicant questionnaire and a structured interview. Applicants may also be screened for some jobs through licensing, certification, and/or education requirements, a narrative/application review, and/or a preliminary telephone interview. The knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are marked with a double asterisk (**) in the vacancy announcement and the applicant questionnaire are considered the most critical for a position. To be considered for final selection, applicants must demonstrate fully acceptable experience in these designated KSAs in the narrative/application review, preliminary telephone and/or full structured interview. The various assessment tools listed above are designed to verify or explore applicants' experience, knowledge, and training directly related to the job in order to identify the best qualified applicants for selection.
Are you a veteran? Please indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming in your application materials and/or applicant profile and provide the appropriate supporting documentation to validate your claim. Those applying for 5-point preference must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD 214. Those applying for 10-point preference must fill out an SF-15 (click here for the form) and provide the required documentation listed on the back of the form. If required supporting documentation is not attached, Veterans' Preference will not be considered in the application process.
For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please see the Library of Congress Merit Selection Plan, Section 8.5, at: Merit Selection Plan.
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
How to Apply
Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position.
You are required to apply online for this announcement. We are unable to accept mailed or emailed documents. You must complete the entire application process, including submission of all documents BEFORE this announcement closes. To do so, complete the following steps.
Step 1: If you do not already have one, create a resume on USAJOBS. Although you must enter your Social Security Number for USAJOBS, this information will not be provided to the Library of Congress.
Step 2: Review the Job Announcement. We recommend you go to the end of the Qualification and Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 4. You may wish to customize your USAJOBS resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions.
Step 3: Click on the "APPLY ONLINE" button to the right of this announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access your account and submit your resume. You will be redirected to the Hiring Management website to complete the application process. If this is your first time in Hiring Management, you will be asked to answer questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. You will be able to update this information and save it to our account for future announcements.
Step 4: Once you have completed the eligibility questions, you will be taken directly to the vacancy application questions. Answer all questions honestly and thoroughly. Step 5: Hiring Management offers three options that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement.
(1) You may select a document that you have already uploaded to USAJOBS for a previous announcement.
(2) You may electronically upload a document directly from your computer to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation of the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple documents of the same kind, e.g. 2 undergraduate transcripts from different schools or 2 SF-50s, etc., be sure that they are all in the same file on your computer or in your USAJOBS profile before uploading them. If you try uploading them individually, only the last one sent will be visible in our system. If you have any questions about this information, please contact the person on this announcement BEFORE the closing date.
Step 6: Click on "Finish" after you have completed your application. Once you have submitted your application, you can check your status online through your Hiring Management or MY USAJOBS account. Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g., SF-50, etc.) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are received on time and that the materials are readable. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from consideration for this announcement.
If you are experiencing any technical difficulty with the online process, you MUST CONTACT THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. For all technical issues please contact jobhelp@loc.gov, no later than 4:30pm EST of the Closing Date. REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.
Next steps
Please review our evaluation process under Evaluation. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My USAJOBS" tab and clicking on "My Applications." You will receive final notification via e-mail when the vacancy has been filled.