This position organizationally located in the Library Section of the Education Service Line at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) under the general supervision of the Chief of Library Services. Librarians work broadly with information and with organizational staff, crossing boundaries of discipline and department. Librarians develop authoritative collections, electronic and traditional, specifically targeted to the information needs of VAPHS staff.

Duties

Carries out complex searches providing accurate and reliable information that informs clinical and management decisions, provides context for research efforts and encourages the self-directed learning of V APHS staff. Applies expertise to searching multiple health-related databases including, but not limited to MEDLINE, CINAHL, Psyclnfo, Cochrane Collaboration, UpToDate, as well as databases in affiliated fields such as business and the social sciences. Incumbent applies knowledge of the terminology and practices of health care disciplines, including all fields of medicine and surgery, dentistry, nursing, mental health, health administration, pharmacy and allied health fields, to accurately interpret questions and complete reliable and comprehensive searches. Performs critical evaluation of citations to identify those that are pertinent to a client's question. Evaluates resources and references, both primary and secondary, for authoritativeness, timeliness, and relevance to specific information requests. Ensures the accuracy and relevance of information provided. Utilizes expertise in a wide range of information sources, including sources resources that are standard and non-standard in hospital libraries, in order to comprehensively answer varied and complex reference questions. Incumbent utilizes the full range of available information, regardless of format or location. Incumbent utilizes expertise to form judgments about the quality of search results and adjusts strategies accordingly to find the best information possible to answer complex ( often clinical) questions. In the rapidly changing environment of biomedical knowledge-based information, maintains current knowledge of database content and search techniques. Applies expert knowledge of medical vendors and the federal acquisitions process to acquiring materials for the Libraries' collections. Maintains records in order to answer questions about specific acquisitions, expenditures and budget. Applies knowledge of federal acquisition definitions and polices to negotiating requests and regulations for administrative purchases. Maintains records required for administrative purchases. Instructs Library Technician( s) in VAPHS and library procedures, works with them to ensure the smooth functioning of the acquisitions process, and assists in resolving problems. Applies expert knowledge of medical bibliography, VA Resources, and the VAPHS Libraries' collections in order to appropriately catalog materials added to the V APHS collection. Maintains the catalog database in LibraryWorld, ensuring accurate records and consistent and appropriate access points in order to enable V APHS Library staff and clients to find materials in all V APHS collections. Participates in the serials control process. Recommends approaches and carries out activities to develop and maintain links and processes required to effectively and easily use electronic information products; ex: citation linking from databases, Serials Solutions list of serials titles, SharePoint. Assists and instructs library clients in the use of VAPHS Libraries' collections, services, and resources. Conducts informal education, teaching clients how to use electronic products, including how to effectively search databases, and teaches classes as needed. Orients VAPHS staff to the Libraries. Presents information about VAPHS library resources and services to groups and committees in order to develop interest and encourage effective use of the VAPHS Libraries. May serve as an active member of interdisciplinary hospital-wide committees. Librarian represents the Library and acts as a consultant providing information relevant to the work, concerns, and considerations of the committees. Establishes and maintains relationships with key library clients and non-clients who can be included in decisions about collection development, service improvement, or development. Applies knowledge of interlibrary loan resources and procedures for hospital libraries to facilitating interlibrary cooperation and the smooth exchange of information in order to provide VAPHS staff access to a wide range of resources beyond those owned by V APHS Libraries. Incumbent evaluates the collection at their primary location, in context with the collections of other V APHS libraries, identifies gaps in the collections, selects authoritative resources to fill those gaps, and proactively identifies and removes outdated materials from the collection. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm Compressed/Flexible: not authorized Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Librarian (Med Sciences)/PD03224A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/29/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Basic Requirements Completion of one (1) full academic year of graduate study in library science in an accredited college or university, in addition to completion of all work required for a bachelor's degree. NOTE: You must submit transcripts with your application. Education will not be credited without documentation. ~OR~ A total of at least five (5) years of a combination of college-level education, training, and experience. To qualify on this basis, the applicant must establish conclusively that the education, training, and experience provided a knowledge and understanding of the theories, principles, and techniques of professional librarianship; knowledge of literature resources; and the knowledge and abilities essential for providing effective library and information services. NOTE: You must submit transcripts with your application. Education will not be credited without documentation. Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. ~AND~ In addition to the Basic Requirements above, to qualify for this position at the GS-11 level, you must meet one of the following requirements: Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Librarian. Specialized experience would be serving as an information specialist providing reference services, literature searches, and information consulting to medical center professional staff, trainees and clients in a hospital or medical center environment. Experience must demonstrate the ability to perform in the functional areas of work covered by this series; understands the concepts, theories, new developments, and co-relationship of information in this field; maintains up-to-date information on the state of the art; plans, coordinates, and carries out the successive steps in reference work, fact-finding and analysis of search results, problems or issues in accordance with accepted librarian practices; plans, develops, and implements library outreach and library/information services marketing programs; requires a variety of oral, written and graphic communications methods and techniques in presenting information about the medical center and library's services and resources; and develops detailed plans, goals and objectives for the long-range implementation and administration of the library and information services program. Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. ~OR~ Education: Successful completion of three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education in library science or a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) directly related to this position as a Librarian. Note: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed progressively higher level graduate education and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include progressively higher level graduate courses directly related to the work of this position (as described above). Note: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationsCritical ThinkingCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Interpersonal EffectivenessMedical InformationOrganizational StewardshipTechnical Competence Preferred Experience: 3-5 years experience in a medical, nursing, healthcare system, or related library environment Experience with MEDLINE, CINAHL, PSYCINFO databases Experience with LibraryWorld Integrated Library System Experience with DOCLINE inter-library loan system Experience in providing training on library resources Patient or consumer health library experience preferred Familiarity with VA purchasing processes preferred Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work involves regular and recurring physical exertion such as periods of standing, bending, stooping and reaching into shelving areas; may require lifting, for example heavy bound volumes, and sitting at a computer for extended periods of time. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Pittsburgh VA Medical Center 1010 Delafield Road Pittsburgh, PA 15215 US
• Name: Christene Ammoscato
• Phone: (570) 824-3521 X24536
• Email: [email protected]