Chief Librarian - Head of Serials Section at U.S. Embassy to Kenya

Under the general supervision of the Field Director, serves as the Head of the Serials Unit and Serials Librarian Cataloger, and as such the senior expert in descriptive cataloging, subject analysis and classification of serials/continuing resource in all formats (print, electronic or digital) acquired from 30 Sub-Saharan African countries for the Library of Congress (LOC) and approximately 30 academic institutional participants of the African Cooperative  Acquisition Program (AfriCAP). Incumbent is in charge of the newspaper/periodicals preservation program, responsible for serial control processes and interpretation of the highly complex rules and standards as they apply to serials and other continuing resources. May provide support to Monograph Cataloging into catalog books. Directly supervises two full time LES.

Section Management and Technical Review (50%)

• Directs and oversees the serials control and newspaper preservation processes in the LOC-Nairobi Office, directly supervising one full-time Serials Control Technician and one full-time Serials Preservation Technician. Unlike other information resources, serials are ongoing with no predetermined conclusion and have special needs for control and for recording holdings. Serials, especially newspapers, may be in print or digital format. Creates original holdings and item records (check-in records) in the ILS for all new serial titles acquired by the Nairobi Office. Holdings records normally contain bibliographic and administrative data pertaining to the serial -- title, publishing information, frequency, references to earlier or later titles, issues held, as well as instructions for the disposition of the issues (whether to keep or discard, how many copies to retain and bind, where to send the issues, etc.). The records created are used by Library Technicians to check-in future issues of serial title continuations.
• Responsible for maintaining the integrity of serial holdings records originating from the LOC-Nairobi Office and added to the ILS Holdings database. Incumbent must ensure individual issues of a serial are accurately "checked-in" upon receipt, any errors are corrected, and duplicate records if any are deleted. Confirms with Library Acquisitions Specialists the selection decisions for every new serial title and completes the New Serial Title slip. The slip is used by staff throughout the workflow (LOC-Nairobi Office and LOC-Washington) to record information vital to the correct processing of the title, such as retention decision of the selecting or recommending official, method of acquisition, processing instructions, temporary or permanent location of the title, reference assignment, etc.
• Establishes newspaper preservation production goals and reviews annual work schedule for preservation that serves as a guide in planning newspaper collation workload and keeps the LOC-Washington (where preservation and digitization is done through a contractor) updated on the progress of preservation work. 

Descriptive and Analytical Cataloging (40%)​​​​​​​

• As Serials Librarian Cataloger, performs original (including complex) descriptive cataloging for all serials and other continuing resources. Using appropriate international standards and national guidelines applicable to serials, such as Resource Description and Access (RDA), Library of Congress Program for Cooperative Cataloging Policy Statements (LCPCC-PS), including current revisions, as well as other cataloging manuals, the incumbent determines the bibliographic detail necessary to identify and describe a resource and records the details online using Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) format in OCLC (an international cooperative cataloging utility) and the Library of Congress (LOC) Integrated Library System (ILS).

Web Archiving (10%)​​​​​​​

• Serves as the primary POC for Nairobi Office’s web archiving initiatives. Works with appropriate divisions in LOC-Washington and the field director to propose websites to be included in the Library’s web archiving initiatives, reviewing website for their importance (in consultation with the Field Director or LOC-Washington Curatorial Divisions); inputs relevant data into the Library’s Digi-Board system; reviews web captures as required, ensuring all content is being captures, and catalogs websites as per above, as may be required. Assists the Field Director or other custodian division staff in developing proposals for new projects.
• Note: This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by incumbent. Incumbent will be required to perform other duties as assigned by the agency.

Qualifications and Evaluations

Requirements:

• All selected candidates must be able to obtain and hold a:
• security certificate; or 
• Public Trust security clearance. 
• All selected candidates will be subject to a background investigation and may be subject to a pre-employment medical exam. 
• Selected candidate must be able to begin working within a reasonable period of time upon receipt of agency authorization and/or clearances/certifications or their candidacy may end.

Education Requirements:

• University degree in library or information science is required.

Evaluations:

• You will be evaluated against the qualifications and requirements in this vacancy announcement. 
• You may be asked to complete a pre-employment language or skills test.
• You must complete the application form and provide the required documents. 
• Your application must address all the position qualifications and requirements including education, experience, language, and any knowledge/skills/abilities listed.  If you fail to submit a complete application, then your application may be disqualified for this position. 

Qualifications:

Experience:

• Minimum of five years of library cataloging (monographs or serials) work experience, including experience with online searching, computer assisted cataloging, Library of Congress and MARC cataloging requirements and standards is required.in an academic library setting
• Close Date: 03/08/2026