Job Description

Position: Special Collections Cataloger

Deadline: Open Until Filled (Review of applications begins Monday, November 10, 2025)

Paygrade: 29E-30E

CONTEXT OF THE JOB:

The Cataloging & Metadata Department of the University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press seeks a dynamic early career librarian to perform original and complex copy cataloging and authority work for special collections materials across multiple formats and languages. The Special Collections Cataloging Unit is a 5-member team that provides description and access to Special Collections materials including early printed books, ephemera, graphic materials, maps, sheet music, and three-dimensional objects.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to the Coordinator, Special Collections Cataloging Unit of the Cataloging & Metadata Department, major responsibilities include:

• Perform original and complex copy cataloging for early printed books in a variety of languages following DCRM standards.
• Provide original and complex copy cataloging using RDA for 19th–21st century items in a variety of formats and languages.
• Contribute to development of local procedures.
• Create and enhance NACO records.
• Participate in special cataloging projects as needed.
• Actively engage in professional development and other scholarly activities.

APPOINTMENT:

• This position will be filled at one of two levels depending on candidate experience.
• Appointment in rank based on relevant professional experience (Assistant Librarian, pay grade 29E or Senior Assistant Librarian, pay grade 30E. This position is part of the librarian career ladder governed by the University of Delaware Library Rank and Promotion Systemwhich guides professional development and advancement.
• The level of consideration and associated responsibilities will be confirmed prior to interview scheduling. 

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in library science.
• Basic familiarity with the cataloging of rare books and special collections materials. Working knowledge of book and printing history, bibliography, and best practices related to rare books and special collections materials. Basic familiarity with DCRM, related rare book resources and tools, and trends in rare book cataloging. 
• An understanding of the unique role of primary source materials in today’s research environment and their use by faculty, scholars, and students. 
• Basic familiarity with the MARC format, Library of Congress classification and subject headings, and RDA.  
• Ability to perform complex analytical work and problem solve; flexibility; judgement; attention to detail.
• Ability to work productively and cooperatively in a complex environment while maintaining effective working relationships.
• Excellent written and oral communication and interpersonal communication skills.

• Ability to work productively and cooperatively in a complex environment while maintaining effective working relationships.
• Knowledge of and interest in critical cataloging practices.
• Written knowledge of at least one language other than English.
• Commitment to fostering a respectful educational environment and workplace and an ability to work effectively with a wide range of faculty, staff, and student population.
• Strong commitment to service excellence.
• Commitment to professional growth.
• Cataloging experience in an academic library, preferred.
• Experience cataloging with DCRMR or at least one of the DCRM modules, preferred.
• Familiarity with authority work, preferred.
• Basic knowledge of or experience with non-MARC formats and non-AACR2/RDA metadata standards, preferred. 
• Basic knowledge of Linked Open Data, preferred.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

The Special Collections Cataloging Unit is part of the Cataloging and Metadata Department, a 13-member team that provides cataloging and metadata support for the Library, Museums and Press in all formats, including monographs, serials, databases, videos and multimedia. The department consists of four areas: original cataloging, special collections cataloging, copy cataloging, and metadata management. We are an Alma/Primo VE library and participate in the OCLC Member Merge Project and NACO. Departmental projects include reclassing out of date Library of Congress cutters, critically reappraising our use of subject headings, and implementing new subject and genre thesauri.

The holdings of Special Collections at the University of Delaware Library include books, literary and historical manuscripts, maps, prints, photographs, broadsides, periodicals, pamphlets, ephemera, and realia from the fifteenth to the twenty-first century. The collections complement the University’s teaching programs and the Library’s general collections with particular strengths in the subject areas of the Arts; English, Irish, and American literature; history and Delawareana; horticulture; and the history of science and technology. Manuscript strengths include American history, particularly Delaware and the surrounding region; contemporary American, British, and Irish literature; art and architecture; land use and the environment in the Delaware Valley; politics and government; and the history and technology of printing, publishing, and the book arts. Special Collections also is home to the Mark Samuels Lasner Collection, which comprises more than 9,750 books, periodicals, letters, artworks, manuscripts, photographs, and ephemera focused on British literature and art, with an emphasis on the Pre-Raphaelites and the writers and illustrators of the 1890s. Special Collections has an active exhibition program, including online exhibitions, and participates in other digital and programmatic initiatives within the Library, Museums and Press broader community. Additional information about Special Collections is available at library.udel.edu/special/.

The University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press is committed to student success, scholarly research and inclusive excellence. The Library collaborates with strategic campus partners to achieve these priorities, as well as with national professional organizations including the Association of Research Libraries, Center for Research Libraries, Coalition for Networked Information, Council on Library and Information Resources, Digital Library Federation, Greater Western Library Alliance, OCLC Research Partnership, SPARC, HathiTrust, the National Digital Stewardship Alliance, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM), Association of Academic Museums and Galleries, the American Alliance of Museums and the ACRL Diversity Alliance. More information about the Library is available at library.udel.edu/.

BENEFITS: 25 vacation days. Generous 403(b) retirement plan. Tuition remission for dependents and spouses, and course fee waiver for employees. Full information about University of Delaware benefits is available at: www.udel.edu/benefits/.

Job Tags

Similar Jobs