Librarian (Metadata Services - Malay Cataloguer)

[What the role is]
The National Library Board (NLB) nurtures Readers for Life, Learning Communities and a Knowledgeable Nation by promoting reading, learning and history through our network of 28 libraries across Singapore, the National Library and the National Archives of Singapore.

At NLB, you can look forward to a flexible, hybrid work environment with rewarding, impactful deliverables that improve the lives of the community. With caring colleagues, you will be in an ideal environment for professional development, innovation and impact.

We can offer you:

• A chance to Impact the Community, bridge gaps and empower everyone with the opportunity for learning and discovery.
• An opportunity to Innovate and Push Boundaries. We value ideas, curiosity and a passion for innovation to transform our libraries and archives.
• An organisation that Cares for your Growth and Wellbeing through investment in staff development and wellbeing in a supportive and collaborative environment.

You will be part of the team to organise and manage NLB libraries’ knowledge resources by applying the processes of bibliographic/metadata resource descriptions (physical and digital) and subject assignment to enable efficient and effective browsing, searching and retrieval of the myriad range of NLB resources in support of the varied learning and information needs for a wide spectrum of library patrons.

[What you will be working on]

• Create descriptive cataloguing of English and Malay language (inclusive of Arabic and Jawi) materials in all formats (physical and digital) using international cataloguing and encoding standards. Duties include re-classification of English/Malay language materials, quality checks on vendors' cataloguing records of English/Malay language materials.
• Review bibliographic/metadata records for NLB resources, including digitised and electronic resources (digital and online) as well as donor & gift collections.
• Maintain and implement metadata creation policies, processes and guidelines, as well as application profiles and description sets.
• Extract and analyse data on cataloguing output and records for reporting, and process improvement and data clean-up.
• Supervise bibliographic/metadata work of staff and service partners.
• Assist in systems enhancement activities when required, such as requirements gathering, writing of functional specifications, systems review, user acceptance tests, collation and analysis.
• Assess, perform and contribute to metadata management activities such as data insertions and global updates or amendments.
• Develop in-depth knowledge and keep abreast of cataloguing rules, best practices and new developments.
• Maintain and implement NLB Cataloguing Standard Practice and Cataloguing Guidelines, new encoding standards (e.g. RDA) and User Guide
• Establish personal and corporate name headings according to latest standards and rules governed by NACO (Name Authority Cooperative Program of the Library of Congress)
• Recommend updates for KOS (Knowledge Organisation System) including taxonomies, authority headings and controlled lists for NLB digital resources for the various domains and assist in any review, translation and mapping of the various vocabularies where required.
• Work closely with vendors and other divisions and provide administrative, finance, HR and logistics support.
• Attend relevant courses, training and conferences in cataloguing (physical and digital) and content management activities and present posters or papers to contribute knowledge back to the industry.

[What we are looking for]

• 2 to 5 years of relevant experience in library work with knowledge on cataloguing tools and resources.
• Excellent command of written and spoken English and Malay. Ability to read Jawi and Arabic is required.
• Meticulous and analytical, motivated and driven.
• Strong team player with good networking skills.
• Knowledge of cataloguing and metadata standards including MARC and Dublin Core, BIBFRAME and RDA.
• Knowledge in data interchange formats such as XML, JSON as well as Python is preferred.
• Preferably with experience in the use of Excel for data analysis (Pivot tables, PowerQuery) and basic programming. Familiarity with tools such as OpenRefine and MARCEdit would be advantageous.

Location: Library Supply Centre, 3 Changi South Street 2 S486548

Division: Resource Discovery and Management Division / Resource Management

The successful applicant will first be appointed on a 2-year contract.

Please be informed that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.