Library Associate - Research and Scholarship

Department: Library Research and Scholarship
Position covered by the Collective Agreement with USW Local 4120

If you are a current employee of the University of Guelph you must apply on the internal Career Page in order to be considered as an internal applicant. 
Career Opportunities (sapsf.com) 

General Purpose

The McLaughlin Library invites applications for the position of Research & Scholarship Associate, who will join the Research & Scholarship (R&S) team in supporting the research lifecycle. While the R&S Team supports all stages of the research lifecycle, this position will support researchers with finding and analyzing data and research dissemination.

The Research & Scholarship Associate University of Guelph will support researchers by providing information about data sources and library-supported software through consultation and in-class instruction, enabling better and more efficient research practices. They will advance research dissemination by supporting both the repository service and open access publishing platforms provided by McLaughlin Library. The repository service increases the discoverability of, and access to, scholarly and creative works created at the University of Guelph via three open access repositories: the Atrium, the Agri-Environmental Research Data Repository and the University of Guelph Research Data Repository. The Research & Scholarship Associate will support faculty, staff and students in their use of these repositories, which is necessary to ensure that faculty and graduate students comply with funder policies, data transparency and reproducibility requirements from publishers, and graduation requirements instituted by the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Research & Scholarship Associate reports to the Head, Research & Scholarship, and is responsible for the following:

• Provides training for faculty, students, and staff on library supported data sources and software. Interpreting requests from researchers to assess research data- and analysis- needs. Determines the accuracy of previous searches or analysis done by the user and, if necessary, suggests more efficient and effective methods of searching and using data tools. Recommends a course of action based on knowledge of the research problem, subject disciplines, and the research process. Consults with other Library staff when confronted with difficult or complex requests.
• Assist librarians and professional staff with classroom or in-library instructional sessions which facilitate the development of students’ data literacy skills.
• Providing mediation and quality assurance support for the repositories, including assessing depositor submissions for metadata quality, appropriate data structures and file formats, intellectual property concerns, and compliance with accessibility standards.
• Provides training and assistance for users of the repositories and open access publishing platforms, and contributes to the assessment and improvement of these services in collaboration with colleagues. Troubleshoots account and access issues.
• Team collaboration including attending and participating in team and library meetings, serving on committees, active sharing of developments in areas of responsibilities such as new data sources or technological developments.

Requirements

Two (2) year Library Technician Diploma and up to thirty-six (36) months of relevant library work experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. An understanding of an information- or research-intensive environment is required in order to successfully provide support for services to faculty, staff, and students. This experience could be gained through education or in a work environment. Required experience and skills include:

• Using information- or content-management systems to create, manage, modify, and store content such as documents, data, videos, audio files, and image files
• Writing or enhancing metadata including descriptive metadata, structural metadata, administrative metadata, and statistical metadata
• Managing user access in content management systems
• Excellent attention to detail, analytical, and problem-solving skills

Preferred qualifications: Creating and/or remediating documents for compliance with accessibility standards, such as the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Experience in data curation including transformation and adherence to standards. Knowledge of the lifecycle of research products, including data.

Employee Type: Regular 
Position Number: 10400073 
Classification: USW, Local 4120 Salary: Band 5  
USW Local 4120 Wage Grid

*Tentative evaluation; subject to final review.

At the University of Guelph, fostering a culture of inclusion is an institutional imperative. The University invites and encourages applications from all qualified individuals, including from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in employment, who may contribute to further diversification of our Institution.

Posting Date: 03/20/2026  
Closing Date: 03/27/2026