Cornell University Library stands at the center of intellectual life at the university, fostering connections and knowledge that help faculty, students, staff, and researchers from around the world excel in research, scholarship, and creative expression. It supports and enhances faculty and student productivity through its extensive collections, cutting-edge services and facilities, and a deep network of digital resources.

The Library seeks a Research Data Librarian. Reporting to the Director, Research Data and Open Scholarship (RDOS), the Research Data Librarian helps support Cornell University researchers throughout the research data lifecycle to meet their planning, management, analysis, sharing and archival needs. The Research Data Librarian collaborates with peers in RDOS, the Digital Scholarship Services group, and other library and disciplinary units to provide a suite of services related to the stewardship of findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable data. This may include advising researchers on the use of disciplinary repositories, Cornell’s eCommons Institutional Repository, and other data sharing and preservation platforms to facilitate discovery, reproducibility and long-term access.  The Research Data Librarian works at the intersection of existing services and new opportunities for engaging with faculty, staff and students in research data stewardship.

Candidate profile: 

• Master's degree in Library and Information Science from an ALA-accredited institution OR Master’s degree in a relevant discipline, and no more than three years of relevant professional experience.
• Working knowledge of fundamental research data management and curation best practices, publisher and funder public access requirements, and data preservation principles.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders using a range of interaction modes (email, in-person, virtual, small groups, one:one, etc.).
• Demonstrated initiative and flexibility, and ability to work both collaboratively and independently.
• Experience with one or more tools or approaches that support research data stewardship, open scholarship, or public access to research results. Some examples include working with R, Python, OpenRefine, OSF, DSpace or other repository platforms, WordPress, Drupal or other web content management systems, use of application programming interfaces (APIs), or other techniques, depending on the interest of the applicant and emerging needs of the researchers we support.
• Strong commitment to staying current with emerging trends and developments in data management and open scholarship.

Additionally, we would prefer:

• Experience exploring new and innovative ways to organize diverse communities and facilitate group work. This might manifest as project management, workflow development, creating new learning experiences, or other skills, depending on interest and curiosity of the candidate and trajectory of RDOS services.
• Experience providing research data services.
• Experience working in an academic or research library, or as part of a research team that has stewarded their research outputs.

The person in this position will be a key member of the Research Data and Open Scholarship team; the Research Data Librarian will also collaborate across library departments and campus units to solve problems, learn new skills, and support others’ work. If this position has piqued your interest, please don’t allow fear of not having enough of a background or experience in all of the skills mentioned get in the way of applying.

This position is located in Ithaca, New York. The selected candidate will typically work on the Ithaca campus 3 days per week, with potential for entering into a flexible work arrangement to allow remote work 2 days per week. The university reserves the right to modify, suspend, revoke or terminate the hybrid work arrangement at any time.

The New York Convenience of employer guidelines require New York State individual tax reporting and withholdings for this position. Additional individual state income tax filings may also be required if working temporarily outside New York State.

Environment: The Ithaca campus sits on 2,300 acres in the heart of the Finger Lakes region. Ithaca, located roughly halfway between Manhattan and Toronto, offers a wealth of cultural activities while maintaining an eclectic college-town feel. Outdoor enthusiasts can take advantage of rolling hills, breathtaking gorges, hiking trails, and lakes offering countless outdoor activities. The city has been named one of the top 100 places to live, a top 10 recreation city, a best green place to live, and one of the “foodiest” towns in America.

Diversity and Inclusion: As a university founded to be a place where “…any person can find instruction in any study,” diversity and inclusion are at the core of our values and mission. We strive to be a welcoming, caring, healthy, and equitable community where students, faculty, and staff with different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn, innovate, and work in an environment of respect, and feel empowered to engage in any community conversation. As a member of the Cornell University community, it is important to recognize our shared responsibility to each other to cultivate a culture of inclusion for all.  Cornell Core values

Our Vision: Empowering Cornell’s research and learning community with deep expertise, innovative services, and outstanding collections strengthened by strategic partnerships.

Our Mission: Cornell University Library promotes a culture of broad inquiry and supports the University’s mission to discover, preserve, and disseminate knowledge and creative expression. It engages with the ongoing transformations of society to deliver world-class physical and digital content and services critical to research, education, and outreach, now and in the future. The Library acts globally, supporting Cornell’s land grant mission in New York State and beyond, and builds partnerships within and outside the university. It invests in its staff, collections, and physical and virtual libraries. And, it serves as a neutral and trusted party supporting information access and scholarly communication.

Benefits: Our comprehensive benefits package includes 22 vacation days, 13 paid holidays, health insurance, life insurance, university retirement contributions, childcare and adoption assistance, and child tuition reimbursement. Funding is available to support professional development. More information regarding Cornell’s generous contract college employee benefits can be found here. The anticipated academic rank for this position is Assistant Librarian, with an anticipated salary range of $61,000 to $67,000.

Relocation assistance may be provided.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

How to Apply:  All candidates must apply online via the Cornell Careers site: See job requisition ID WDR-00044000. For full consideration, please include the following with your application:

1. A cover letter that addresses your interest and why you are a good candidate for this position.
2. A Curriculum Vitae.
3. A statement supporting diverse communities. To continue to meet our educational, research and service goals and to meet our commitment to our founding principle, we hire and invest in faculty members who share our historical commitment to pursing knowledge for …any person…in any study. We ask applicants for all faculty positions to share their experiences and/or approaches (past, current or future). Applicants can submit a stand-alone statement or embed the information in other parts of their application materials. Guidelines for candidates are here.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis; early submission is strongly encouraged. Although we prefer to receive your application as one, multi-page pdf document, we will accept multiple documents in other formats.