RECRUITMENT ROLE PROFILE FORM

Job Title: Senior Library Adviser, Periodicals

School/Department: Libraries and Research and Learning Resources – Collections Management

Salary: £22,029 to £26,274 per annum, depending on skills and experience. Salary progression beyond this scale is subject to performance.

Job family & level: Administrative, Professional and Managerial Level 3

Contract Status: Permanent

Hours of Work: Full time

Location: King’s Meadow Campus

Reporting to: Senior Librarian, Resource Acquisitions

Purpose of the Role:

The Senior Library Adviser, Periodicals, co-ordinates purchase of journals and ejournals, and acts as line manager for the staff involved in periodicals work.

Main Responsibilitiesi.e. What is done.… To what / for whom…. With what outcome, or result.

% time per year

1. To manage orders and subscriptions and liaise with suppliers Liaise with library colleagues, team leader and suppliers for all orders relating to

periodicals (journals, e-resources and e-journals) – including some preparation of related licence documents ready for signing by authorised staff.

Be the main point of contact for suppliers. Monitor supplier performance and provide input for regular supplier review

questionnaires and meetings.

30%

2. To respond to enquiries about subscriptions and e-access Resolve subscription-related enquiries concerning journals supply and e-access

and deal pro-actively with any problems as they arise. Liaise with team leader and with Digital Library Support colleagues in checking

and setting up access to e-resources using sfx and Metalib, and removing when required.

Work with APM2 staff in producing monthly sfx checking spreadsheet following sfx Knowledge Base update – to cover all three campuses

Keep the VERDE supplier files up to date with relevant contacts for e-resources. Assist with collection/supply of usage data for e-resources

25%

Act as backup for E-library Gateway email enquiries

3. To supervise Periodicals Group staff and workflow Line-manage Periodicals staff and carry out annual Performance Review for

those identified. Allocate and supervise their work to ensure that workloads are managed

effectively in response to demand – monitoring performance and identifying measures to improve productivity (with attention to the need to meet established targets.)

Devise and deliver training for periodicals staff, and others where appropriate. Collate any Group/Periodicals statistics required. Revise Group procedures and documentation as required.

15%

4. To manage the handling and payment of invoices for subscriptions Check invoices for journals and e-journals/e-resources – sign and code any

which need passing on to Finance Provide backup for staff involved in the input of invoice data to the library

system or other recording systems Assist team leader in estimating spend on periodicals at key points during the

financial year Liaise with Finance Office where suppliers have queries on payments Maintain records of purchasing card payments where appropriate

10%

5. To coordinate Library systems tasks for subscriptions Oversee periodicals-related activities on the Aleph library system: allocation of

agreed funds at the start of the year, creation of orders and subscriptions, check-in, payments and holdings records.

Create new check-in patterns for receipt of printed issues, liaise with Collections & Metadata Team with regard to changes of title, etc.

Carry out basic systems checks for orders/periodicals following upgrades etc, and advise colleagues on other campuses about typical Aleph routines and features for periodicals.

10%

6. Binding Co-ordinate binding of journals – arrange requisitions where required, advise

staff involved on procedures for sending binding (most sent direct to binder from libraries).

Liaise with binding suppliers with regard to new procedures or new services available.

5%

7. To work proactively to improve and develop services actively demonstrate a commitment to high quality service delivery contribute to the review of services, highlighting any discrepancies or

improvements that might be made contribute to projects to review and develop services maintain an awareness of library services as they develop liaise with staff from other sites and sections to provide an integrated and

consistent service

3%

8. To pursue a programme of continuing personal development. 2%

Any other duties appropriate to the role and level.

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience

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Please give details of any specific knowledge, skills or training that are essential in order to carry out this role in an effective manner. Please give details of any qualifications and/or experience that would be essential to carry out the full range of responsibilities detailed above. This information will form the Person Specification for this role and will be used in the recruitment process. Please access http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/hr/local/Recruitment/JD-PS.doc for guidance.

Essential DesirableQualifications/Education

Good general standard of education to A level/HND or HNC or equivalent, to include English and Maths at GCSE

Library/Information qualification

Education to degree level or equivalent

Knowledge/Skills/Training

High level of IT skills, including MS Word and substantial use of Excel.

Training and supervisory skills Good communication and

interpersonal skills including excellent spoken and written English.

Excellent organizational and time-management skills.

Knowledge of the periodicals supply industry/publishing industry

Knowledge of one or more foreign languages

Knowledge of purchasing and payments workflows

Experience Considerable relevant experience of serials work or e-resources administration within libraries.

Experience in the use of library management systems, and the use of library online catalogues.

Proven experience of supervision of clerical staff

Experience of the Aleph library system

Experience of working in an academic library environment, and of the typical University context

Experience of carrying out performance/development review

Experience of liaison with library suppliers.

Other Ability to work accurately under pressure and to meet deadlines.

Ability to plan workflows, especially around seasonal peaks and troughs.

High standard of numeracy. Excellent attention to detail and

accuracy. Ability to work on own initiative

and as part of a team Flexible approach to working

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Decision MakingPlease provide examples of the nature of the role and the sorts of day-to-day decisions that will be:

i) taken independently by the role holder;

Prioritising work for the Group Amending and updating procedures as appropriateChoosing suppliers to be used for orders and advising on these.Contacting suppliers/publishers to resolve problems with supply or access.Selecting records to activate on sfx and creating entries on Metalib.Resolving issues not of a routine nature.Drafting reports, feedback and training documents.

ii) taken in collaboration with others;

Placing orders for new serials/resources and renewing or cancelling existing ones – in conjunction with the Resource Acquisitions Librarian and subject specialists.Establishing policies for improving Group work – in conjunction with Books Group SLAs (for “shared” staff) and with Senior Librarian, Resource Acquisitions

iii) referred to the appropriate line manager (please name) by the role holder.

Referred to Senior Librarian, Resource Acquisitions:Adjustment of budgets where appropriate, to enable further orders to be placedOrders and renewals of large publisher packages and major e-resourcesAuthorisation/completion of new e-resource licencesIssues of re-deployment of Group members within the Team in response to fluctuating workloads.Staff disciplinary matters, should they arise.

Scope of the RolePlease outline the impact the role has on the work of the team/ project/work area etc. Please outline how the role fits in with the organisational structure of the unit and the contribution it makes to the identified goals and objectives of the Team/Division/Department/School.

This role is within the Resource Acquisitions Team, and reports to the Senior Librarian, Resource Acquisitions. It focuses mainly on managing subscriptions for printed and electronic journals, but also on supervising the work of others and all that this entails. Providing consistent access to printed and electronic resources are a key feature of performance indicators for the team, and electronic access particularly is monitored so that problems can be quickly identified and resolved. A large proportion of issues in this area relate to renewals and payments for subscriptions so this role plays a key part in keeping the service running smoothly.

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Additional InformationPlease provide any additional data or detail that you feel we need to know and understand about the role, which has not been described earlier in the form.

The Periodicals Acquisition Group currently consists of 4 individuals, and it works closely with colleagues within Collections & Metadata and Digital Library Support teams. The role-holder currently has responsibility for carrying out Performance Reviews on three staff.Expenditure on periodicals (including ejournals) is more than £4million annually.

Subscriptions are managed on behalf of 6 libraries, with delivery of printed issues for most of these coming direct to the Group for checking in and onward distribution. A large proportion of the orders are with a preferred supplier, but many remain direct with small publishers and there is occasionally the need to use a purchasing card for payments. There are approximately 20 main Periodicals funds, and expenditure on these is reported to relevant library staff during the year, including estimates for the final spend where possible.

Much of the work involved in managing periodicals is carried out using Aleph500, a library management system which integrates all areas of library work, including in this case creating order records for new subscriptions, recording holdings/access in the catalogue, tracking receipts and recording payments. The holder of this post is required to become proficient in the use of the serials module, able to design optimum workflows and fully conversant with the ways in which this module interacts with the rest of the system. Excel spreadsheets are used heavily to assist in monitoring and predicting spend, and the team also makes use of the sfx link-resolver software.

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The Libraries and Research & Learning Resources (RLR) department plays a key role in providing library facilities and learning technologies to support this world-class institution. Our services range from state-of-the-art learning and teaching facilities to frontline library and lending services. The department has approximately 183 FTE staff distributed around the University’s campuses in the UK and an operational budget of around £11 million. In addition, the Libraries & RLR department is responsible for the provision of library and learning technology services at the University’s campuses in Asia.

We currently provide resources and services to around 40,000 students, postgraduates and staff in the UK.

These include: over 1 million books and journals in 8 libraries

330,000 electronic books

4 million manuscripts including special collections of national importance

In addition, services are provided for about 10,000 students and staff at our campuses in Asia.

The department is responsible for many customer-facing activities, support of the University’s library resources (print and electronic) and the provision of Learning technologies, including:

frontline lending and enquiry services for libraries

managing a variety of study spaces

ensuring library and IT resources are accessible to students and staff with disabilities

managing and promoting printed/electronic information resources for research, learning and teaching

delivering eLearning services and development of new technologies

acquiring/managing digital and print library collections, including Manuscripts and Special Collections

hosting the Nottingham Centre for Research Communications

hosting the Centre for International ePortfolio Development

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