GIS Specialist

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library is seeking applicants for the position of GIS Specialist. The GIS Specialist will have strong technical skills and will play a critical role in the development, growth and stability of the Library’s GIS program through collaboration with personnel throughout the Library to meet the campus’s need for GIS services, collections, and infrastructure. This individual will promote the use of geospatial data and methodologies in instruction and research and will consult with and assist a campus-wide spectrum of users with a broad variety of needs, interests, and abilities. Additionally, s/he will be adept at and enthusiastic about communicating technical information to non-technical users.

Responsibilities:  The Library’s GIS Specialist, in coordination with the Numeric and Spatial Data Librarian and the Map Librarian, will promote the use of geospatial data and methodologies in instruction and research, consulting with and assisting a campus-wide spectrum of users with a broad variety of needs, interests, and abilities.  The GIS Specialist will have interests in all facets of a geospatial data access program–hardware, software, data and user services–and the ability to support and move forward the Library’s GIS endeavors in all areas.  The individual selected will have a strong technical foundation and will be adept at and enthusiastic about communicating technical information to non-technical users.  GIS consultation and assistance will be provided primarily in the Scholarly Commons but may also occur in the Map Library, other University Library spaces, and in academic department settings.  Specifically, the GIS Specialist will:

• Provide general and specialized assistance with digital geospatial data and use of GIS software; serve as an expert geospatial technology consultant for users with varying needs and abilities and with tasks including manipulating, customizing, querying or modeling of geospatial data
• Consult with researchers to develop data management plans
• Work collaboratively with Library Information Technology staff to (i) define, obtain, and configure server space devoted to GIS software and geospatial data storage and access; and (ii) install and maintain the library’s GIS server and server software
• Assist with planning for the long-term preservation of digital geospatial assets, identify requirements for a repository of geospatial data, and work toward populating the repository through data migration and upload
• Assist with the evaluation of geospatial data available for acquisition
• Improve the accessibility of digital geospatial resources held by the Library (either created on campus or purchased) in part by creating metadata and following standards and best practices
• Provide library instruction for geospatial data and proprietary and open-source GIS and remote sensing applications; refresh and develop new instructional content
• Further develop library webpages describing services and providing links to web-based GIS resources, including data and web mapping applications; create online guides to GIS software and data
• Document processes and procedures
• Serve as library’s liaison to UIUC campus GIS organizations and research groups; where appropriate, participate in grant-funded projects across campus
• Maintain current awareness of developments and trends in GIS and related technologies