Library of Congress: Reference Librarian

Job Title:Librarian (Reference Librarian)
Department:Legislative Branch
Agency:Library of Congress
Job Announcement Number:150026

SALARY RANGE:    $52,668.00 to $68,465.00 / Per Year
OPEN PERIOD:    Tuesday, June 9, 2015 to Monday, July 6, 2015
SERIES & GRADE:    GS-1410-09
POSITION INFORMATION:    Open - Permanent
PROMOTION POTENTIAL:13
DUTY LOCATIONS:     1 vacancy - Washington DC, DC View Map
WHO MAY APPLY:    Anyone may apply - By law, employment at most U.S. Government agencies, including the Library of Congress, is limited to U.S. citizens. However, non-citizens may be hired, provided that other legal requirements are met and the Library determines there are no qualified U.S. citizens available for the position.
SECURITY CLEARANCE:    Not Applicable
SUPERVISORY STATUS:    No
JOB SUMMARY:
The Reference Librarian provides assistance to researchers in the culture, history, literature, politics, political structure, economies, humanities, and social sciences of the assigned countries and regions in the Asian Division. Clients include Congress, foreign and US Government agencies, national and international scholars, research and scientific institutions, the professional and business communities, and the general public. Librarians respond to inquiries that are received in person, by telephone, by correspondence and by electronic media. Librarians recommend items for acquisition.

This position is located in the Asian Division, Collections & Services Directorate in Library Services.

The position description number for this position is 12535.

The salary range indicated reflects the locality pay adjustments for the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area.

The incumbent of this position may work a flextime schedule. May be required to work a variable work schedule as needed to ensure adequate coverage during the reading room hours of 8:30am to 5:00pm.

This is a non-supervisory, bargaining unit position.

Relocation expenses will not be authorized for the person(s) selected under this vacancy announcement.


DUTIES:
The Reference Librarian develops and manages Library collections in the Asian Division. Reviews a variety of brochures, catalogs, journals and other sources of items for possible acquisition in order to develop collections in areas of subject or geographic responsibility. Assists senior reference staff in determining the quality and usefulness of collection materials and in developing strategies for the organization, preservation, and service of materials. Provides reference and instructional services to individual researchers and groups. Provides in-person and telephone reference service in the Asian Division reading room. Responds orally or in writing to inquiries related to assigned field of responsibility. Coordinates the acquisition of items that are of limited technical complexity. Consults acquisition policies to determine appropriate acquisitions. Maintains liaison with acquisition librarians and other recommending officers and subject specialists. Assists in preparing research guides and finding aids and assists senior librarians in revising or updating research materials.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:
Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.

Knowledge of the principles, concepts, and techniques of library science.

Ability to provide reference and research services. **

Ability to communicate in writing.

Ability to communicate orally.

Ability to communicate in one or more Asian Languages and English.**

Knowledge of history, politics and literature of an Asian country.

No additional requirements to those listed above.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:
The Library of Congress evaluates applicants through an applicant questionnaire and a structured interview. Applicants may also be screened for some jobs through licensing, certification, and/or education requirements, a narrative/application review, and/or a preliminary telephone interview. The knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are marked with a double asterisk (**) in the vacancy announcement and the applicant questionnaire are considered the most critical for a position. To be considered for final selection, applicants must demonstrate fully acceptable experience in these designated KSAs in the narrative/application review, preliminary telephone and/or full structured interview. The various assessment tools listed above are designed to verify or explore applicants' experience, knowledge, and training directly related to the job in order to identify the best qualified applicants for selection.
To preview questions please click here.

BENEFITS:
You can review our benefits at: http://www.loc.gov/hr/employment/index.php

OTHER INFORMATION:
Although it is the Library's policy to afford the maximum pay benefit to employees when setting rates of pay, a new appointee who has had no previous Federal service will generally be paid the minimum step of the grade.

The Library of Congress is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities who meet eligibility requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applicants must submit a complete application package that is received by the closing date of this announcement.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The date of certification must be within one year of the vacancy closing date. For more information contact the selective placement program coordinator at 202-707-3960 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.

The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and is part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service.

Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of an appropriate personnel security/suitability investigation.

The Library reserves the right to fill a lesser or greater number of vacancies indicated during the life of this vacancy announcement.

Initial appointments, permanent or indefinite, to the Library of Congress require completion of a one-year probationary period. In addition, per Library of Congress Regulation 2010-12, an appointee is subject to a one-year supervisory probationary period, if this is his/her first supervisory/managerial position at the Library.

A “Not to Exceed“ (NTE) status is used to identify an appointment with a specific ending date. However, the Library has the right to separate an employee at any time due to either performance issues or budget constraints.

Are you a veteran? Please indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming in your application materials and/or applicant profile and provide the appropriate supporting documentation to validate your claim. Those applying for 5-point preference must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD 214. Those applying for 10-point preference must fill out an SF-15 (click here for the form) and provide the required documentation listed on the back of the form. If required supporting documentation is not attached, Veterans' Preference will not be considered in the application process.

For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please see the Library of Congress Merit Selection Plan, Section X.D, at: http://www.loc.gov/hr/employment/msp010909.pdf.

HOW TO APPLY:
Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position.
You are required to apply online for this announcement. We are unable to accept mailed or emailed documents. You must complete the entire application process, including submission of all documents BEFORE this announcement closes. To do so, complete the following steps.
Step 1: If you do not already have one, create a resume on USAJOBS. Although you must enter your Social Security Number for USAJOBS, this information will not be provided to the Library of Congress.
Step 2: Review the Job Announcement. We recommend you go to the end of the Qualification and Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 4. You may wish to customize your USAJOBS resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions.
Step 3: Click on the "APPLY ONLINE" button to the right of this announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access your account and submit your resume. You will be redirected to the Hiring Management website to complete the application process. If this is your first time in Hiring Management, you will be asked to answer questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. You will be able to update this information and save it to our account for future announcements.
Step 4: Once you have completed the eligibility questions, you will be taken directly to the vacancy application questions. Answer all questions honestly and thoroughly. Step 5: Hiring Management offers three options that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement.
(1) You may select a document that you have already uploaded to USAJOBS for a previous announcement.
(2) You may electronically upload a document directly from your computer to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation of the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS.
(3) You may follow the "Faxing Supporting Documentation" instructions within the online application, which will provide the necessary cover sheets for each of your documents so that they will be correctly submitted. The fax number will be available on the cover sheet.
Please note that each cover sheet and corresponding document must be faxed separately. Be certain to review your complete fax transmittal confirmation to ensure that all pages have been received.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple documents of the same kind, e.g. 2 undergraduate transcripts from different schools or 2 SF-50s, etc., be sure that they are all in the same file on your computer or in your USAJOBS profile before uploading them. If you try uploading them individually, only the last one sent will be visible in our system. Likewise, if sending them by fax, be sure and include both of them behind the respective fax cover sheet and send them as one fax. If you send them individually with the same cover sheet, the last one sent will overwrite the first one. Finally, if you upload a document, e.g. your undergraduate transcript, do not also fax that same document (or fax another undergraduate transcript), because whichever one you send last will be the only one that is visible in our system. If you have any questions about this information, please contact the person on this announcement BEFORE the closing date.
Step 6: Click on "Finish" after you have completed your application. Once you have submitted your application, you can check your status online through your Hiring Management or MY USAJOBS account. Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g., SF-50, etc.) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are received on time and that the materials are readable. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from consideration for this announcement.
If you are experiencing any technical difficulty with the online process, you MUST CONTACT THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. For all technical issues please contact jobhelp@loc.gov , no later than 4:30pm EST of the Closing Date. REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:
Current or former federal employees must submit their most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50 or equivalent). Disabled applicants claiming Selective Placement eligibility must submit proof of disability and a certification of job readiness. If Selective Placement is applicable to you, you will not be considered without submitting this documentation.

AGENCY CONTACT INFO:
Job Help Desk
Phone: 202-707-5627
Fax: 000-000-0000
Email: JobHelp@loc.gov
Agency Information:
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
101 Independence Ave. SE
LM107
Washington, DC
20540
US
Fax: 000-000-0000

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT:
Please review our evaluation process under Evaluation. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My USAJOBS" tab and clicking on "My Applications." You will receive final notification via e-mail when the vacancy has been filled.