Fisher Family Fellow for Open Scholarship

Organization's Summary Statement

As the largest university library system in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore region, the University of Maryland (UMD) Libraries serve more than 41,000 students and 14,000 faculty and staff of the flagship College Park campus. Our extensive collections, innovative programs, and dynamic services enable student success, support teaching, research, and creativity, and enrich the intellectual and cultural life of our community.

A member of the Big Ten Academic Alliance and the Association of Research Libraries, the UMD Libraries are nationally recognized for excellence in advancing the role of academic libraries. We are dedicated to fostering a welcoming and collaborative workplace where employees can grow, contribute their strengths, and be part of a community that advances discovery and learning.

This Fellowship in Open Scholarship is designed to offer hands-on experience with various aspects of scholarly communications librarianship including program and infrastructure development, education and advocacy, and research into open scholarship stakeholders, workflows, and technologies. The successful incumbent will report to the Open Scholarship Services Librarian.

Under the umbrella of the open scholarship services portfolio, the Fisher Family Library Fellow will provide integral support for the Open Scholarship Services (OSS) team as we develop services and resources for integration into campus-level participation in open scholarship and compliance with public access mandates.

The Fellow will have a variety of opportunities to conduct research and to co-author resources and reports directly supporting faculty and informing the development of library services for publishing, authors’ rights, data sharing, and open access education.

The Fellow will be incorporated into existing research projects to survey and report on campus research data and to study the usage and effectiveness of transformative agreements; they will gather information and draft resources on compliance with federal mandates around public access to published research and open data.

This is an opportunity to deeply engage with the policy, education, and infrastructure necessary to support active participation in open scholarship within the university community.

The Library Fellow's professional interests will be supported with opportunities for continuing education, support for individual research projects and sharing, and participation on library committees.

This is a fully funded, one-year contract appointment as a Professional Track Faculty within the Faculty Specialist ranks.

Physical Demands

• Involves prolonged use of a computer and requires reading of text, etc., on the computer screen. Will require travel to and from College Park campus departments, libraries, and facilities. by the University of Maryland.
• Preferences: n/a
• Licenses/ Certifications: n/a

QUALIFICATIONS (Knowledge, skills, and abilities)

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to organize and prioritize multiple projects and tasks.
• Ability to learn new skills and concepts.
• Demonstrated interest in academic librarianship. [How to demonstrate: In your cover letter, please share your professional goals and discuss how this Fellowship supports you in achieving those goals.]
• Demonstrated interest in scholarly communication, repositories, open access, and/or publishing in libraries. [How to demonstrate: In your cover letter or CV, share your personal, professional, and/or academic experiences and interest in the area of scholarly communication, publishing, open access, etc.]

Education

Required: Master’s degree in Library or Information Science from an ALA-accredited institution of higher education or a non-US equivalent, earned within the previous two years of the date of hire. You must have MLIS at the time of hire.

Required

• Experience and/or aptitude for working in a higher education setting.
• Experience and/or aptitude for independent work as well as collaboration in team-based environments.

Additional Job Details

Required Application Materials: CV, Cover Letter and 3 Reference Contacts (include name, email, and phone numbers.)

• Best Consideration Date: 11/13/26
• Posting Close Date:n/a
• Open Until Filled: Yes

• Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
• The Fellowship is for a Faculty Specialist rank.
• Financial Disclosure Required

No

For more information on Financial Disclosure, please visit Maryland's State Ethics Commission website.

• Department
• LIBR-Libraries
• Worker Sub-Type
• Faculty Regular

Benefits Summary

For more information on Regular Faculty benefits, select this link.

Background Checks

Offers of employment are contingent on completion of a background check. Information reported by the background check will not automatically disqualify anyone from employment. Before any adverse decision, the finalist will have an opportunity to provide information to the University regarding disclosable background check information. The University reserves the right to rescind the offer of employment or otherwise decline or terminate employment if the information reported by the background check is deemed incompatible with the position, regardless of when the background check is completed.

Employment Eligibility

The successful candidate must complete employment eligibility verification (on Form I-9) by presenting documents that establish identity and work authorization within the timeframe required by federal immigration law, and where applicable, to demonstrate renewed employment authorization. Failure to complete employment eligibility verification or reverification within the timeframe set forth by law may result in suspension or termination of employment.