Required Qualifications, Skills & Competencies
The ability to develop and maintain collegial relationships within, across, and beyond the Polytechnic is necessary, as is the ability to maintain strict confidentiality. Superior time management, organizational, and communication skills, combined with the ability to manage multiple deliverables with short timelines, is essential.
Actively engages in, serves on, and may lead internal and external committees, providing expert guidance on library services, research support, and scholarly communication. This role involves collaborating with various academic and administrative departments to enhance the institution’s research and educational goals and advocating for library initiatives that support the Polytechnic community’s research needs.
The following skills are vital as they align with the evolving role of libraries in research-intensive academic environments and with both Lethbridge Polytechnic and Buchanan Library goals:
- Communication and Relationship Building: Possesses excellent communication skills across verbal, written, and listening formats, essential for developing positive, productive working relationships across various units within the Polytechnic. The ability to convey complex information clearly and persuasively to a wide range of audiences is crucial.
- Analytical and Critical Thinking: Demonstrates strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the capacity to make well-reasoned decisions based on sound judgment.
- Technological Proficiency: Knowledge of and ability to use research tools, data management platforms, and scholarly communication technologies commonly used in academic libraries.
- Digital Literacy Skills: Demonstrates proficiency in the use and instruction of digital tools and resources to support research, teaching, and learning.
- Critical AI and Digital Literacy: Demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate and navigate emerging technologies, including AI, and supports the development of AI literacy skills in students and faculty. Approaches AI with curiosity and a commitment to responsible, ethical, and effective use in academic and lifelong learning contexts.
- Open Access and Scholarly Publishing: Supporting open access initiatives, understanding the scholarly publishing process, and assisting with the development and dissemination of scholarly outputs.
- Data Preservation and Accessibility: Understanding approaches to preserving and providing access to research data and digital scholarship.
- Collaborative Research Projects: Participating in or supporting interdisciplinary research initiatives across the Polytechnic community.
- Project and Change Management: Demonstrates an understanding of project and change management principles, reflecting a proactive approach to developing and implementing library services and adapting to evolving research practices.
- Outreach and Advocacy: Develops and conducts outreach to promote the library’s role in supporting research, scholarly communication, and open scholarship across the institution.
- Assessment and Impact Measurement: Assisting with the assessment of the impact of library services on student success, applied research, and institutional priorities.
- Professional Development and Training: Completing ongoing professional development through relevant workshops, conferences, and engagement with professional communities, while remaining current with emerging trends in academic librarianship, including RDM, scholarly communication, and evolving research practices.
- Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI): Reflecting a commitment to EDI in research practices, collection development, and provision of library services.
- Ethical Use of Digital Content: Promoting ethical use of digital information, copyright awareness, and responsible use of emerging technologies in research and scholarship.
Formal Training:
Minimum two (2) years of professional experience in a library or academic information environment, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Experience supporting academic research in a higher education or research environment, including familiarity with research methodologies.
Educational Level:
Master of Library and Information Sciences (MLIS) from an ALA-accredited institution is required; an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
