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Visiting Research Specialist, Slavic Reference Service

University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign - Champaign and Urbana, Illinois

Visiting Research Specialist, Slavic Reference Service

International and Area Studies Library

Academic Professional Position

University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign

Position Available: This position is available immediately. This is a nine-month Visiting Academic Professional position with a salary determined by a federal grant. 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 States of the Former Soviet Union). Candidate must be able to start on or before October 1, 2021.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Statement and EEO Statement:

The University Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign values diversity of thought, perspective, experience, and people, and is actively committed to a culture of inclusion and respect. We are dedicated to the practices of social justice, diversity, and equality, and we strive to overcome historical and divisive biases in our society and embrace diverse points of view as assets to the fabric of our community. All positions will be called on to contribute to building this environment in the Library and throughout the campus community, and we encourage candidates who share these values to apply.

The University of Illinois is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, or veteran status. For more information, visit http://go.illinois.edu/EEO.

Duties and Responsibilities: Reporting to the International Reference Librarian, the Visiting Research Associate is responsible for providing reference and instructional services to Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES) scholars at UIUC and beyond, as well as supporting the goals and objectives of the Title VIII grant program (https://www.state.gov/key-topics-bureau-of-intelligence-and-research/).

Primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

· Provide reference 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;

· Collaborate with the SRS reference team, affiliated units, and cultural and academic institutions on SRS outreach and engagement initiatives aimed at local, regional, and international scholarly communities;

· Contribute to the design and delivery of instructional and research support services, provided in-person and online as part of the Summer and Open Research Laboratory programs offered to Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies scholars through the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center (http://www.reeec.illinois.edu/srl);

· Develop digital tools to raise awareness of research resources in the languages of Eastern Europe and Eurasia;

· 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;

· Contribute to the national and international reputation of the University Library and the SRS through professional research, service, and collaboration with appropriate colleagues and organizations.

Required Qualifications:

· ALA-accredited Master’s degree in Library and Information Science or advanced degree with a focus on the Russian/East European/Eurasian region;

· At least one year of experience working in a library setting affiliated with Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies;

· Basic knowledge of regional publishing history and bibliographic sources;

· Knowledge of digital resources relevant to Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies;

· Fluent written and spoken command of Russian and strong knowledge of at least one other Slavic or Turkic language;

· Demonstrated experience working with Russian or Slavic or Turkic collections and service environments, including interlibrary loan units;

· Demonstrated ability to work with students, faculty, staff, and independent scholars from diverse backgrounds;

· Demonstrated experience in outreach and engagement;

· At least one year of demonstrated experience in providing specialized reference and instructional services at an academic or research library.

Desired/Preferred:

· Reading knowledge of additional Slavic languages or Turkic languages of Central Asia;

· At least one year of experience working in a field affiliated with Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies

Academic Professional employees are encouraged to use “investigation time” to pursue areas of interest, not directly in support of an immediate program need, in accordance with the University Library’s policy on Investigation Time for Academic Professional Employees https://www.library.illinois.edu/staff/bhrsc/human/resources/guidelines-for-investigation-time/. Some investigations originating in this manner may evolve into regular work assignments or production activities.

Environment: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library is a leader in the delivery of user services, and active programs in information, instructional, access, and scholarly services that help the Library to maintain its place at the intellectual heart of the campus. The Library also holds one of the preeminent research collections in the world, encompassing more than 14 million volumes and a total of more than 24 million items. The Library is committed to maintaining the strongest collections and service programs possible, and to engaging in research, development, and scholarly practice - all of which support the University's missions of teaching, research, and public engagement. The Library employs approximately 80 faculty members, and more than 300 academic professionals, staff, and graduate assistants. For more information, see: http://www.library.illinois.edu/.

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 about 3,000 faculty members who serve over 33,000 undergraduates and 15,000 graduate and professional students. More information about the campus is available at www.illinois.edu. The

university is located in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana (total population 207,000) in east-central Illinois, and is situated about 140 miles south of Chicago, 125 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: https://with.illinois.edu/advancement/living-in-c-u/ or https://www.champaigncounty.org/

Salary: Salary is set at $ 52,561 for a nine-month appointment.

Terms of Appointment: Permanent, 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 is available to employees (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.

To Apply: To ensure full consideration, please complete your candidate profile at https://jobs.illinois.edu and upload a letter of interest, resume, 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, we urge candidates to submit application materials on or before September 15, 2021.

The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer. As a qualifying federal contractor, the University of Illinois System uses E-Verify to verify employment eligibility. The University of Illinois System requires candidates selected for hire to disclose any documented finding of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment and to authorize inquiries to current and former employers regarding findings of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. For more information, visit Policy on Consideration of Sexual Misconduct in Prior Employment.

Posted on September 09, 2021.