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Manager, University Map Library and Branch Library Services

Department: Library - University Map Effective Date: May 2006
Grade: USG 13 Reports to: University Librarian

General Accountability

The incumbent has administrative responsibility for the University Map Library (UML) and for the overall coordination of services and resources offered in branch libraries. These include UML and the new Architecture Library (Musagetes) in Cambridge. He/she is accountable to the University Librarian, is a member of the Library Management group, and works closely with members of the Library Executive Committee and with other library managers and staff. He she serves on / chairs Library, University, TUG and other external committees and task groups, as appointed.

 

The incumbent is also responsible for:

Nature and Scope

This position reports to the University Librarian. Reporting to the incumbent are two Librarians (one of whom is the Head of the Musagetes Library in Cambridge), one Library Associate, and one Library Clerk.

The University Map Library, located in the Environmental Studies 1 Building, is a branch of the University of Waterloo Library. Staff in the UML Library provide members of the UW academic community with specialized library service which supports the library’s collections of cartographic resources as well as electronic cartographic resources to which the library provides access.

The Musagetes Library, located in the School of Architecture Building in Cambridge, is a branch of the University of Waterloo Library.  Staff in the Musagetes Library provide members of the UW academic community with specialized library service which supports the library’s collections of architecture resources as well as electronic architecture resources to which the library provides access.

The incumbent is responsible for ensuring the coordination of services and resources between the UML and the Musagetes Library. The Manager promotes and publicizes the UML and Musagetes Libraries’ services and resources by ensuring the library’s web pages are comprehensive, accurate, and current, by arranging displays, and by writing promotional articles and news items for publication in news @ your library, TDR (TUG Data Resources) Data Links, and elsewhere as appropriate.

Four full-time library staff in the UML provide a variety of information services. These services include: reference service, consultation service, library instruction, circulation, and reserves. The library houses or provides access to a number of specialized cartographic collections including collections of paper maps, atlases, and aerial photographs and collections of cartographic resources in electronic format.  In this latter category are electronic atlases, satellite and airborne images and other geospatial datasets on CD-ROM disks or network drives. The growth of the library's collection of electronic resources is rapidly outpacing the growth of traditional printed materials. Reference staff now spend more time providing service that relates to geospatial data and geographical information system software than to paper maps and other printed materials.

The incumbent plans and implements innovative ways to provide members of the UW academic community with convenient access to the Library’s electronic geospatial data resources. Such access is in full conformity with data licensing agreements and the intellectual property rights of data providers.

The Manager is responsible for the organization and development of the University Map Library through evaluation, revision and improvement of the existing services, through recognition and anticipation of demands for new services, and for generally contributing to sound library planning in consultation with the Library Executive Committee. The incumbent also works with the Heads of Library Departments and the Associate Librarians to ensure coordination and co-operation with these departments for the benefit of the Library and its users.

The incumbent coordinates and directs the work of the UML’s staff and manages its resources, both physical and financial, so that the best possible service can be provided to library clients. She/he selects, trains and evaluates staff, assigns duties, schedules work and, in general, serves as a professional resource person to staff.  He/she encourages and provides opportunities for staff development in the workplace environment; this includes encouraging UML staff to seek membership on and/or develop close working relationships with other Library units, teams, or committees as appropriate. The Manager ensures that client needs, in the context of the UML Library, are addressed by managing the provision of information, circulation, and reserves services and library instruction.  Within the framework of library and University policies and in consultation with the Library Budget and Planning Committee, the incumbent sets goals and establishes procedures and guidelines for UML staff.

The Manager is responsible for developing and maintaining a cartographic collection development policy statement that is informed by the cartographic and geospatial needs of the UW academic community. The incumbent selects and acquires, consistent with available financial resources, cartographic materials in support of teaching, learning, and research at the University of Waterloo. In the case of electronic resources the usual approach is to purchase or negotiate licensed access, either locally or remotely. The Manager ensures that cartographic information resources purchased or otherwise acquired by the UW Library are rendered intellectually accessible by managing the provision of effective and timely knowledge access management activities including metadata creation and/or cataloguing.

The incumbent is the liaison librarian for the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies. In this capacity, the incumbent is responsible for consulting with members of this department regarding their information resource needs, for developing and maintaining a collection development policy statement that reflects these needs, for selecting leisure-related library materials for the Library’s collections, and for developing and delivering library instruction programs.

The incumbent maintains an awareness of current developments in the field of geomatics from the library perspective. He/she contributes to map and data librarianship through active participation in cartographic/data professional associations and groups. Examples include: Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives, Ontario Council of University Libraries’ Map Group, and Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).

The Library works with its TUG partners (the University of Guelph Library and Wilfrid Laurier University Library) to plan, develop and maintain collaborative library services and projects. The Manager consults and works with his/her TUG colleagues to plan and develop collaborative geospatial data services and projects. He/she contributes to the effective operation of the TriUniversity Data Resources (TDR) by serving as a member of the TDR Operational Management Group. This group meets bimonthly to discuss management issues including budget, resource needs, service policies and procedures, and technical issues associated with data access and delivery.

The incumbent coordinates the Library’s geospatial data initiatives with other geospatial data initiatives on campus, including the activities of the Mapping, Analysis and Design unit, Faculty of Environmental Studies. At broader provincial and national levels, the incumbent participates in the ongoing data-related discussions of federal agencies such as GeoConnections, remains in close working contact with federal and provincial data providers such as Natural Resources Canada and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and works with other provincial map librarians as a member of the OCUL Map Group’s Data Subcommittee to negotiate access to geospatial data created by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. 

As a member of the UW Library Management group the incumbent participates in and contributes to the efforts of various Library and University committees and task groups.  Examples include: Electronic Data Service (EDS), Information Services Management Committee (ISMC), Architecture Library Task Group and UWinfo Ad Hoc Committee.

Statistical Data

Specific Accountabilities

Working Conditions