Four Positions: Washington, D.C.

Position: Senior Research and Reference Specialist
Location: WilmerHale

What You Will Be Doing
Provides expert research and reference assistance in support of the various legal and administrative departments throughout the firm. Assists in regular outreach to the practice by providing training, consultative support, and informational updates in the areas of print and electronic research. Works with Director and Managers on IS Library and Research Services projects.
The position is located in Washington, DC.
About This Role
Works with the Manager, Research & Reference Services to design, deliver and evolve a robust, value-added research function to the Firm.
Provides expert research and reference assistance to attorneys in all practice areas in a timely and effective manner using various print and electronic resources. Where applicable, provides in-depth analysis and summarization of results. Bills time to client/matters as appropriate.
Provides consultative research and reference support advising lawyers on the optimal strategy and source selection to obtain most authoritative and cost effective results. Bills time to client/matters as appropriate.
Provides consultative research support advising lawyers on the optimal strategy and approach to research analysis.
Provides expert reference assistance to support the functions of the various administrative departments of the firm including, but not limited to, Business Development and New Business/Conflicts.
Assists in the development of new research and reference offerings and outreach, including but not limited to, bulletins, department and practice group presentations, and direct client services.
Mentors and trains more junior staff to provide expert research and reference support.
Provides reference desk coverage as assigned and follows internal procedures for the handling of requests as set by the Director and Research & Reference Services Manager.
Maintains expert working knowledge of the library collections, online database resources, interlibrary loan availability, document delivery, and other resources as appropriate. Demonstrates an expert level of proficiency in primary database usage, search strategy and syntax, and licensing restrictions.
Participates in resource evaluation projects including pilots of new services, comparisons of resources, and preparation of related evaluative memos.
Assigned to focus on particular areas of the practice, administrative departments, subject or topic areas as required by the Research & Reference Services Manager, to meet the needs of the Firm.
Works with Research & Reference Services Manager to assist in the preparation of and/or delivery of relevant orientation and training programs. Assist in the gathering of materials and drafting or editing of handouts to support the program.
Works with Research & Reference Services Manager to support the development and maintenance of intranet reference collections. Assists with link checking, collection development, and integration of subject-specific resources into larger firm portal.
Assists Technical Services Manager in developing both the paper and electronic resources collections. Aids Manager in the evaluation of new and existing research tools and makes recommendations for purchase or renewal or resources.
Works with Director, and Managers on departmental projects and initiatives as requested.
Contributes to the firm’s Service Excellence initiative to consistently improve its image internally and externally. Displays professionalism, quality service and a “can do” attitude to internal members/departments of the firm as well as external clients and vendors via electronic and print correspondence, over the telephone and in-person.
Required Skills
Your Qualifications/What You Will Bring
Expert knowledge of print and digital legal and business resources and research techniques. Advanced knowledge of legal and business electronic resources and databases, and in research and retrieval strategies. Expertise in legislative, statutory and regulatory research, particularly in preparation of legislative and regulatory histories, highly desirable.
Ability to work quickly, and with great attention to detail.
Good interpersonal skills and ability to communicate clearly and effectively.
Excellent organizational skills.
Required Experience
Education:
MLS, MLIS, J.D., or equivalent required.
Experience:
5 years of reference and research experience required.
Experience in a large law firm or comparable environment, preferred.

Position: Legal Research Specialist
Location: Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Original post on LLSDC Jobline.

Overview
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, a global Am Law 100 firm, is seeking a Legal Research Specialist.
This position can be based in any of the following U.S. offices with a preference for Washington DC, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston. The other U.S. offices we are considering are Century City, Downtown Los Angeles, Del Mar, Downtown San Diego, Orange County, Silicon Valley, and San Francisco. There is only one opening.
Regardless of location, this position will provide primary support responsibility for the East Coast office time zone of 9:00 AM-5:30 PM (Eastern Time).
*This position has a remote/hybrid work arrangement, with the expectation to be in the office on an as needed basis.
The ideal candidate will possess a devotion to customer service, creative thinking, innovation, and team work. This position requires someone with the ability to prioritize and complete multiple projects daily with varying levels of difficulty.
Responsibilities
Completes reference and research projects quickly, accurately, and thoroughly each day.
Conducts high level, in-depth research using all available resources.
Provides research results analysis and summarization as needed.
Participates in the creation and maintenance of the Research & Knowledge Center SharePoint resource pages.
Promotes department services and resources through a variety of opportunities.
Essential Functions of Job:
Uses legal research tools such as Casetext, Lexis, Westlaw, VitalLaw, Bloomberg, etc., in order to complete assignments.
Performs professional and experienced assistance with high-level, complex, legal and business research requests.
Works closely with team members on patron assigned work and internal department work.
Cleverly uses conventional and unconventional means to solve content access problems.
Develops SharePoint resource pages using all available content sources.
Identifies new research methods and work processes, and shares with the team.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications: Minimum of 2+ years of relevant professional experience as a Legal Research Specialist or equivalent. Proven ability to work both independently and cooperatively is of foremost importance. Good communication and writing skills are required. Ability to positively and directly interface with large numbers of attorneys, support personnel, and outside vendors is required. Must be able to work extended and after-hours, and to travel on occasion if needed.
Preferred Qualifications: 3+ years of progressive law firm experience.
Education
Required: Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited university.
Preferred: MLS, MLIS, and/or J.D. from an accredited university.
Major (if applicable): Other related graduate degrees will be considered.
Computer/Software Knowledge
Required: Proven proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and SharePoint. Proficient with legal research databases including but not limited to Lexis, Westlaw, Docket Alarm, Casetext, VitalLaw, and the like.
Preferred: Litera workflow software and similar.
Work Environment
Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand.
Travel Requirements
Up to 10%. Only on occasion to conduct in-person presentations at other office locations, if assigned. Professional organization meetings as assigned.
The salary range for this position is $80,000 to $120,000 per year.
See the full job description and apply at: https://professionalcareers-sheppardmullin.icims.com/jobs/3029/legal-research-specialist/job

Position: Library Services Manager
Location: LAC Wilson Allen

Original post on LLSDC Jobline.

Position: Librarian (Metadata)
Location: Department of Transportation
Salary: $94,199-$145,617

Full job posting on USAjobs.

LAC Wilson Allen is seeking candidates for a Library Services Manager position at a law firm client’s Washington DC office. The focus of the position will be to oversee and assist with the coordination of assigned library accounts, and to help clients move forward with innovative and effective best practices in library workflow support, eResource management, database training, and general library administrative functions and maintenance. This position will be directly client facing and will work across departments internally. We are seeking a well-rounded, customer service-oriented, information professional with direct law firm library and information services experience. This position is 100% onsite.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Contribute to the success and management of client relationships and serve as the point of contact for new and existing client firm initiatives and projects.
Collaborate with other firm managers and administrators on special projects.
Ensure client metrics are being captured, reported, and delivered according to specifications.
Offer ideas and insight into best practices in collection management, invoice processing, and training support.
Work with firm stakeholders to maximize cost recovery efforts.
Assist with management of contracts and relationships with online research vendors, print content, print management, and library administration.
Develop standards for collection development and cost recoveries, with a focus on print-to-digital transformation.                                                                         
Oversee enhancement of the client firms’ use of technologies to promote and disseminate information for legal, business research, and marketing purposes.
Work with, promote, and progress Library Services functions within the organization, collaborating with fellow legal information professionals serving in various capacities.
Conduct library orientations for new attorneys and professional staff.
Conducts and coordinates legal resource trainings, drafting training materials and invitations, scheduling, tracking attendance, coordinating with client firms, and organizing training materials.
Research developments in legal research, training practices and supports additional legal training initiatives and programming.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Advanced degree (JD, MBA, MLIS).
At least 5 years of experience with law library administration, vendor management, database and web technology within a law or business library.
Knowledgeable in integrated library management systems with proficiency in online research, legal databases, and collaboration platforms, such as Microsoft SharePoint. 
Expert knowledge of law library administration and information management with demonstrated knowledge of best practices and current trends and issues applying information technology to libraries and law practice.
IP knowledge a plus but not required.
See the full job description and apply at: https://www.libgig.com/careers/library-services-manager-lac-group/a0E5c000014Blz8EAC/
Duties
As a Librarian (Metadata), you will:
Establish cataloging and metadata policies for the NTL relevant to the organization and classification of public access transportation-related research products.
Author, implement, and promote guidelines adopted from established cataloging and metadata policies and workflows.
Make recommendations for new preferred and non-preferred terms to be added to the TRT based on materials cataloged, research in progress, and/or social representation. Author and edit in-house lists of NTL-preferred Subject Keywords not otherwise represented in the TRT.
Audit and remediate repository metadata, using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) when applicable and feasible.
Work with the Systems Team and Data Curation team with design, creation, and implementation of metadata needed for effective digital curation.
Create metadata records, individually or in batch, for digital repository content using established standards.
Review and edit metadata submitted with digital content and collections for adherence to NTL metadata and digital repository standards and policies.
Support the NTL’s Public Access Plan responsibilities by assisting intramural and extramural researchers in submission of their reports and metadata to DOT.
The ideal candidate will possess a professional understanding of modern descriptive cataloging theory, standards, and practices as they relate to a digital Library environment, including the application of controlled vocabularies and ontologies, the establishment of metadata policies and guidelines relevant to the classification and organization of transportation-related publications and data sets, the provision of standards’ development and maintenance that ensure ontological consistency of thesauri and taxonomies, and maintenance of the National Transportation Library’s digital repository of descriptive cataloging and authority records for accuracy, consistency, and accessibility.
The candidate will have a comprehensive knowledge of metadata methodology and processes as applied to informational assets in all formats, the application of access points for precise and efficient information retrieval from an electronic database repository, the ability to prioritize workflows for timeliness and accuracy, the capacity to develop and maintain clearly written guides using contemporary tools in accordance with national standards, and the ability to represent the NTL both internally to DOT and externally to a variety of professional entities and customers regarding all matters related to cataloging and metadata, especially as these practices relate to public access of Federally funded research products.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
You must be a U.S. Citizen and eligible for consideration.
You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the competitive or excepted service in the executive branch to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
Qualifications
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet the experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.
To qualify for the GS-12, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11, it must include:
Establishing and maintaining an accurate inventory of cataloged bibliographic and authority records.
Developing guidelines regarding formatting and data entry protocols pertaining to the cataloged records, to be consistently used in the digital repository.
Formulating, maintaining, and implementing cataloging’ policies and procedures and other collections accountability processes.
Providing guidance on cataloging theory and practice through training sessions, written guidelines, or reviewed cataloging work products.
To qualify for the GS-13, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-12, it must include:
Managing a cataloging program that established cataloging management policies and procedures, including managing budgets or advising on contracts for cataloging projects.
Establishing best practices for electronic cataloging, such as standards and procedures for data migration.
Planning, conducting, and providing advice on cataloging projects and/or studies.
Experience in catalogue management, process, and identifying trends in research and information access pertaining to libraries, archives, and repositories.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:
Descriptive Metadata – Professional knowledge of current trends, standards, schemas, protocols, and issues in library metadata application to meet specialized National Transportation Library Integrated Search System requirements. Advanced skill in the use and application of non-MARC metadata schemes, such as Dublin Core, for description of a variety of resource types, including text, video, and data. In-depth knowledge of the transportation industry to provide comprehensive description, subject analysis, and classification services for all materials housed in the library’s physical and digital collections.
Information Management & Organization – Gathers, organizes, catalogs, and maintains information and information management systems, maintaining digital data repositories. Extensive experience in authority control, e.g., taxonomy development and thesaurus maintenance. Knowledge of techniques for curation, storage, search, retrieval, and interoperability. Advanced knowledge of the changing environment in digital resource management, collections, standards, and formats, including digital asset lifecycle management, digitization, format migration, persistent access, distributed preservation models, technical infrastructure, and networking.
Written & Oral Communication – Knowledge of teaching, training, making presentations, and other instructional methods to provide high quality library service, training, and representation of NTL in metadata standards development and implementation efforts. Listens effectively; clarifies information as needed. Works with clients and customers to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations. Skill in oral and written communication to provide high quality library service, maintain relationships with vendors, and recruit for library interns.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4
Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
Basic Requirements:
All librarians must meet the requirements for professional education in library science or possess equivalent experience and education as shown for GS-7; however, as a standard practice applicants enter at grade GS-9 on the basis of a master’s degree in library science.
Since many libraries are highly specialized, some librarian positions require a knowledge of a specialized subject or field of endeavor.. Also, since materials in libraries are often in foreign languages, some librarians must have a proficient knowledge of one or more foreign languages. For such positions, applicants must meet requirements that are directly related to the subject matter or language of the specialization. These requirements are in addition to the basic professional library science requirements that apply to all positions. However, these requirements may be included in or supplemental to those specified for all positions. The following specializations are authorized: biological, medical, social or physical sciences, education, fine arts, business and industry, humanities, law, music, engineering, and the Germanic, Slavic, Oriental, Semitic, or Romance languages.
Evaluation of Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-9 and above):
Experience must have demonstrated the ability to perform, supervise, or direct one or more of the functional areas of work covered by this series; to understand the concepts, theories, new developments, and co-relationship of information in related fields; and to maintain up-to-date information on the state of the art. For positions where foreign language proficiency is needed, applicants must be able to read and/or translate material in the appropriate specialized subject-matter field.
For Librarian (appropriate specialization): Applicants must also possess specialized knowledge of a subject-matter field and/or proficiency in one or more foreign languages directly related to the position(s) being filled. When such knowledge is required for the position, an applicant’s education or experience must have included or been supplemented by the requirements specified in one of the paragraphs below:
A full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university that meets all academic requirements for a bachelor’s degree that included at least 24 semester hours in the specialized field for which the applicant is being considered, e.g., physical science, biological science, social science; or that included any combination of subjects with at least 15 semester hours in a major subject (such as physics or chemistry) that is especially applicable to the position for which the applicant is being considered;
OR
Completion of at least 24 semester hours of legal study in an accredited law school for positions primarily concerned with providing library services in law or legislative reference;
OR
Four years of pertinent experience of such nature and level to provide a knowledge of the basic principles, theories, practices, techniques, terminology and expressions of the appropriate discipline or subject-matter field; an understanding of the standard methods, procedures, and techniques of research and analysis in the subject-matter field; ability to acquire additional information about the field and related fields; and some knowledge of literature resources in the field.
Such experience should be equivalent to that which would have been acquired through successful completion of a full 4-year curriculum in an accredited college or university with major study in appropriate subjects, or combination of subjects, as specified in (a) above; or legal training as specified in (b) above;
OR
Any time equivalent combination of experience as described in (c) with education as described in (a) or (b) above;
OR
Demonstrated ability as shown by education or experience to read or translate information from one or more foreign languages into English.
This position has mandatory education requirements. For more information, please visit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1400/librarian-series-1410/

LLAM Online

Law Library Association of Maryland

Four Positions: Washington, D.C.

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