Staff Needs and Job Descriptions (proposed) Nov. 6th 1996

- to be reviewed and revised as personnel skill become evident. This is a DRAFT proposal.

CCS

Project Leader - 1 FTE - Bo Wandschneider

coordination of project
liaison between CCS, Library and user community
participate in management group (Phil Jones and Ron MacKinnon)
report to SAC
periodically report to College IT Commitees
liaison with outside groups such as CAPDU, DLI, ICPSR, Statistics Canada ...
coordinate joint ventures with WLU and Waterloo
control inflow of data from outside sources - ie download from DLI and ICPSR.
participate in data purchase agreements and consortiums (work with other data centers on national issues)
user support and consulting for staff, researchers and students
participate in development of front end applications
participate in production of newsletter and annual report
assist in all aspects of other job descriptions

WWW resource person - .5 FTE -

Skills:

WWW - HTML - JAVA
programming in 'C' and Perl
working knowledge of central Unix system
some knowledge of statistics and statistical software

Tasks:

incorporate, develop and maintain web interfaces for electronic data resources
implement a process for controlling access to data
implement a process for measuring usage
design and maintain back-up strategies
limited user support and consulting services for end users


Electronic Data Consultant - .5 FTE

Skills:

statistical software packages such as SAS and SPSS
data management skills (in Unix environment)
limited HTML experience
WIN95 and related software experience

Tasks:

user support and consultation
assist in development of WWW interface (on issues realted to the storage and output formats)
maintain PC based electronic data sources
develop a strategy and possible interface for distribution of PC based data and their interfaces
develop and maintain usage inventory
maintain inventory of resources
training for staff and students (seminars)

LIBRARY

Librarian - .4 FTE - Doug Horne

Tasks:

overall coordination of "library specific" side of project
user support and consultation
establish and develop communication between DRC and the rest of the library
participate in planning of layout and design of service point
develop and participate in training of library staff (classes and production materials)
work with library staff on publicity and information
oversee acquisition of furniture, signage, etc
train and confer with backup librarian
coordination with WWW development team and other affected library departments
basic HTML markup and contribution to page design
work with Acquisitions staff to bring data acquisition in line with acquisition of other library materials
work with Cataloguing staff to develop workable method of cataloguing electronic data sets
keep up to date with development of data resources available on the Internet

Librarian - .2 FTE (at least) -

Tasks:

performs all of the duties listed above in Doug Hornes absence (and perform some of them on an ongoing
basis as time allows)
must be fully trained in the basic operations of the EDC, and be capable of taking over the coordination of
the project. (thus have basic working knowledge of all of the above functions).
in charge of various aspects of the project (publicity, training, communication (?)) depending on skills and
available time


Associate - .5 FTE - Carol Perry

This person will be a central person in the operation of the DRC.

This person will be required to develop a working knowledge of all areas of
the Data Library, and will also have to develop the knowledge necessary to
consult at a basic level with users, and to teach these skills to other
library staff. This person will also have to do much of the work necessary
to manage a database of requests and holdings of data, and to keep up to
date with new sources of remote and local data.

Tasks:

user support and consultation
WWW searching and inventory (collect resources, data sites, and useful sources of related information on
the Internet) Maintain a WWW list of these sites.
participate in training of library staff
production of newsletter (contributions form other members)
keep statistics of patron traffic and data use
monitor requests and data orders
maintain hard copy collection of codebooks

Related Staff


The following groups will be required to contribute relatively small
amounts of time to the establishment of the DRC for the remainder of
the .50 FTE.


Acquisitions (< .1 FTE)

Currently, Acquisitions has no involvement in the ordering and delivery
of material from the Data Liberation Initiative. As the volume of orders
for this material increases it would seem reasonable that DRC Materials be
treated like all other library material.
work initially with DRC staff to create a workable ordering system for electronic resources
keep records of orders, claims, budgets, etc. (ongoing)
become actively involved in the acquisition of materials (ongoing)


Cataloguing/Data Maintenance (< .1 FTE)

At this point, data is acquired and stored without passing through the
hands of cataloguers. As a result, much of the data that has been acquired
over time has been scattered around the University (this is part of the
reason for an inventory). This is partly due to the fact that in the past
data has not been acquire by the library, but by individuals through many
different channels. The Data Liberation Initiative and the establishment
of the DRC will create the opportunity and the necessity for some type of
record being created in the system for data acquired by the library.
work initially with DRC staff to create a workable system of cataloguing and record creation for electronic resources (keeping in mind their unique qualities)
begin creating and updating records of materials listed in initial inventory
catalogue new arrivals, update records


Reference Staff

The availability of data in the library, particularly in a Web-accessible
format, will impact on the work of all Reference staff. This will be
especially true as the Web becomes more integrated into Reference work
as a standard tool. It will be necessary for Reference staff to have a
basic knowledge of the nature of the holdings of the DRC, how that data
may be accessed and used, and where users might be referred. With the
availability of data increased there will be many situations in which a
visit to the physical DRC will be unnecessary, and Reference staff will
have to understand and be able to guide users in the use of available resources.
a certain amount of time will be necessary for initial orientation
participate in broader decisions re: integration DRC into Public Service
ongoing training as resources are upgraded
refer users and answer their questions as possible