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This position is located in the Reader Services Section, Music Division, Special Collections Directorate, Research and Collections Services within the Library Collections Services Group at the Library of Congress. The position reports directly to the Supervisor. Assisting with public reference service in the Performing Arts Reading Room, collection management and maintenance activities involving the Music Division's holdings. This position requires some Saturday duty on a rotating schedule.
Learn more about this agency11/16/2022 to 11/29/2022
$50,643 - $65,831 per year
GS 07
2 vacancies in the following location:
No
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
No
Permanent - Position
Full-time - Flexitime. Position will require some Saturday duty on a rotating schedule.
Excepted
07
No
No
VAR002119
689527400
Anyone may apply - By law, employment at most U.S. Government agencies, including the Library of Congress, is limited to U.S. citizens. However, non-citizens may be hired, provided that other legal requirements are met and the Library determines there are no qualified U.S. citizens available for the position.
Applies thorough knowledge of the full range of library rules, procedures, and operations to resolve a wide variety of problems while maintaining the collections. Develops plans to expedite sorting, arranging, and shelving of incoming or returned collection material.
Demonstrates initiative in recognizing and solving problems, inconsistencies, and errors in piece identification and labeling before such items reach final destination. Independently recognizes when segments of the collection require shelving attention or shelf-reading to accommodate incoming materials, based on the ability to identify/anticipate complex publishing patterns. Makes necessary arrangements to rearrange or shift items in accordance with available space or participates in planned moves to achieve this purpose.
Performs primary collection security responsibilities, including controlling stack access and verifying that material taken from the collection is properly charged.
Works independently in the stacks. Has responsibility for conditions within the stacks. Brings cleaning and building maintenance problems to the attention of the head of the Reader Services Section.
Oversees the work of cleaning crews, contractors, and repair workers while they are in the stacks. Identifies and reports collection material that needs conservation or preservation treatment. Performs minor in-house conservation maintenance tasks.
Assists in maintaining the reference collection by refiling, relabeling, and replacing outdated titles with newer editions. May work on related processing and preservation projects as assigned.
Collection material maintenance is not sedentary and includes special physical demands such as lifting books, shelving books, emptying carts and tubs, as well as standing for long periods, walking, bending, stretching, pushing loaded book trucks, and carrying moderately heavy items.
Retrieves collection material in response to reader requests via call slip and the automated call slip system (ACS), ILL requests, duplication orders, and Congressional inquiries. Utilizes extensive knowledge of the Music Division's collections to recommend surrogate copies, both microform and digital when they are available. Demonstrates an understanding of the various standard and unique shelf arrangements of the Music Division's on-site holdings while successfully locating material.
When requested material is not on shelf, verifies accuracy of information provided by requester by searching online and manual catalogs and finding aids. Checks to determine if item has been charged outside the library or to a location within the library. Consults the full range of reference and bibliographic sources of all types, as well as print and online catalogs and files to resolve discrepancies in bibliographic information.
Processes interlibrary loan (ILL) requests, including tasks of a difficult or unusual nature, by searching collections for material going out on loan. Possesses knowledge of subscription databases and searches to find requested periodical articles to send electronically to requestor, if database permits ILL. Examines condition of material returned and re-shelves material.
Retrieval of collection materials is not sedentary and involves pushing book trucks, pulling books and boxes from shelves, extended periods of standing, as well as recurring activities such as bending, stooping, stretching, and reaching.
Serves at the circulation desk in the Performing Arts Reading Room (PARR), the central delivery station for collection material. Receives and reviews call slips for accuracy and completion. Identifies material housed in other custodial locations or off-site facilities.
Delivers materials or status reports to the requester's desk in the PARR.
Provides customer service such as answering and directing telephone calls, referring reference and research questions to the appropriate librarian, assisting library patrons with directions and general library information, explaining library policy and procedures, and assisting library patrons in the use of equipment such as copiers, scanners, microfilm/fiche readers/printers, computers, printers, and other related equipment.
Uses manual and online reference tools, including subscription databases, to provide ready reference services to patrons requiring materials in the performing arts. Assists users in determining available methods and processes for locating information. Explains the use of manual and online catalogs and information systems.
The position description number for this position is 379434.
The salary range indicated reflects the locality pay adjustments for the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area.
The incumbent of this position will work a flexitime work schedule.
This is a non-supervisory, bargaining unit position.
A routine validated pre-placement physical examination is required as a condition of assignment. This position requires regular recurring physical examinations every three years.
Library of Congress employees are prohibited from using illegal drugs, including marijuana. The Library is part of the Federal Government and abides by federal law, so regardless of individual state or District of Columbia laws, marijuana use is illegal, considered criminal activity, and can affect your employment at the Library. In addition, past or current drug use and activities (e.g., selling or distributing) may deem you ineligible for employment.
Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.
Ability to maintain library collections.**
Knowledge of library processes and procedures.**
Ability to process library materials.**
Ability to provide customer service.
Ability to provide reference services.
Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing.
Although it is the Library's policy to afford the maximum pay benefit to employees when setting rates of pay, a new appointee who has had no previous Federal service will generally be paid at step one of the grade.
The Library of Congress is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities who meet eligibility requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.
Applicants must submit a complete application package that is received by the closing date of this announcement.
Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of an appropriate personnel security/suitability investigation. For more information, please see:Vetting Process
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please email ADA@loc.gov. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The proof or disability/certification may be issued by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of the applicant’s college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The letter must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and must be dated within three years of the date of the application. Certification from health care providers are not accepted. For more information contact the Library's Office of EEO/Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.
The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and is part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service.
The Library reserves the right to fill a lesser or greater number of vacancies indicated during the life of this vacancy announcement.
Initial permanent appointments to the Library of Congress require completion of a one-year probationary period. Probationary periods served at other Federal agencies do not count toward this requirement.
The Library of Congress may offer repayment for all or part of federally insured student loans. However, not all service units within the Library of Congress participates in the repayment of federally insured student loans. Therefore, determination to repay a federally insured student loan is subject to approval by the appropriate service unit.
A “Not to Exceed" (NTE) status is used to identify an appointment with a specific ending date. However, the Library has the right to separate a NTE employee at any time due to either performance issues or budget constraints.
Are you a veteran? Please indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming in your application materials and/or applicant profile and provide the appropriate supporting documentation to validate your claim. Those applying for 5-point preference must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD 214. Those applying for 10-point preference must fill out an SF-15 (click here for the form) and provide the required documentation listed on the back of the form. If required supporting documentation is not attached, Veterans' Preference will not be considered in the application process.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
The Library of Congress evaluates applicants through an applicant questionnaire and a structured interview. Applicants may also be screened for some jobs through licensing, certification, and/or education requirements, a narrative/application review, and/or a preliminary telephone interview. The knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are marked with a double asterisk (**) in the vacancy announcement and the applicant questionnaire are considered the most critical for a position. To be considered for final selection, applicants must demonstrate fully acceptable experience in these designated KSAs in the narrative/application review, preliminary telephone and/or full structured interview. The various assessment tools listed above are designed to verify or explore applicants' experience, knowledge, and training directly related to the job in order to identify the best qualified applicants for selection.
For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please see the Library of Congress Merit Selection Plan, Section 8.5, at: Merit Selection Plan
Current or former federal employees must submit their most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50 or equivalent).
Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The proof or disability/certification may be issued by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of the applicant’s college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The letter must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and must be dated within three years of the date of the application. The program does not accept certification from health care providers. For more information contact the Library's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position.
You are required to apply online for this announcement. We are unable to accept mailed or emailed documents. You must complete the entire application process, including submission of all documents BEFORE this announcement closes. To do so, complete the following steps.
Step 1: If you do not already have one, create a resume on USAJOBS. Although you must enter your Social Security Number for USAJOBS, this information will not be provided to the Library of Congress.
Step 2: Review the Job Announcement. We recommend you go to the end of the Qualification and Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 4. You may wish to customize your USAJOBS resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions.
Step 3: Click on the "APPLY ONLINE" button to the right of this announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access your account and submit your resume. You will be redirected to the Hiring Management website to complete the application process. If this is your first time in Hiring Management, you will be asked to answer questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. You will be able to update this information and save it to our account for future announcements.
Step 4: Once you have completed the eligibility questions, you will be taken directly to the vacancy application questions. Answer all questions honestly and thoroughly. Step 5: Hiring Management offers three options that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement.
(1) You may select a document that you have already uploaded to USAJOBS for a previous announcement.
(2) You may electronically upload a document directly from your computer to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation of the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple documents of the same kind, e.g. 2 undergraduate transcripts from different schools or 2 SF-50s, etc., be sure that they are all in the same file on your computer or in your USAJOBS profile before uploading them. If you try uploading them individually, only the last one sent will be visible in our system. If you have any questions about this information, please contact the person on this announcement BEFORE the closing date.
Step 6: Click on "Finish" after you have completed your application. Once you have submitted your application, you can check your status online through your Hiring Management or MY USAJOBS account. Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g., SF-50, etc.) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are received on time and that the materials are readable. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from consideration for this announcement.
If you are experiencing any technical difficulty with the online process, you MUST CONTACT THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. For all technical issues please contact jobhelp@loc.gov , no later than 4:30pm EST of the Closing Date. REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.
Please review our evaluation process under Evaluation. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My USAJOBS" tab and clicking on "My Applications." You will receive final notification via e-mail when the vacancy has been filled.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/689527400. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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The Library of Congress serves the Congress in fulfilling its duties and preserves and promotes knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the American people. It is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the world's largest library, with more than 158 million items in its physical collections (including books, manuscripts, prints, photos, film, video, and sound recordings) and over 37 million items online. Located primarily on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the Library is the home of the U.S. Copyright Office, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the Law Library of Congress, and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled.
