The National Library of Medicine seeks a Senior Metadata Librarian to develop, implement, and optimize metadata standards supporting biomedical, scientific, and digital collections. This role advances discovery, access, interoperability, and data quality across NLM resources. The successful candidate will provide leadership, collaborate with technical and subject matter experts, and promote metadata best practices. Experience with standards such as BIBFRAME, RDF, Dublin Core, and MARC desired.
The National Library of Medicine seeks a Senior Metadata Librarian to develop, implement, and optimize metadata standards supporting biomedical, scientific, and digital collections. This role advances discovery, access, interoperability, and data quality across NLM resources. The successful candidate will provide leadership, collaborate with technical and subject matter experts, and promote metadata best practices. Experience with standards such as BIBFRAME, RDF, Dublin Core, and MARC desired.
You must be a current or former federal employee eligible to apply under merit promotion procedures or otherwise be eligible as a status applicant (e.g. Veterans Employment Opportunity Act) OR be an individual who is eligible through an OPM interchange agreement or for a non-competitive appointment. This job is also open to USPHS Commissioned Corps Officers and Call-To-Active Duty (CAD) Candidates.
You qualify for a Librarian, 1410 position if you meet one of the following qualification requirements:
A. You successfully completed at least 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 in any field; OR
B. You have a total of at least 5 years of combined college-level education, training, and/or experience. This education, training, and/or experience must have provided you with 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.
In addition to the above, in order to qualify for a Librarian position at the GS-13 level, you must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector leading the locating, cataloging, classifying, selecting, controlling, and preserving of a library's content. This specialized experience includes responsibilities such as: 1.) Searching beyond the library's internal material, systems, and/or databases to retrieve information on scientific or historical topics (e.g., evolving/not-published biomedical research). 2.) Establishing the library's cataloging criteria, methodology for preserving rare materials, or classifying/indexing health-related (e.g., biomedical) research. 3.) Collaborating with clients to find and interpret research, technical reports, legislative history, scientific journal articles, and/or other materials pertinent to the research project. 4.) Developing and conducting training to facilitate the implementation of the new policies, procedures, or library information systems. 5.) Obtaining, analyzing, and presenting client feedback (e.g., surveys, interviews, focus groups) to inform the library's modifications and provide more effective/efficient services. AND 6.) Determining specifications or evaluating/testing the vendor software to ensure it meets the library's requirements.
Do not copy and paste the duties or specialized experience from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.
You will receive credit for all experience material to the position, including experience gained in religious, civic, welfare, service, and organizational activities, regardless of whether you received pay.
We may verify or assess your qualifications at any time. Inflated or unsupported qualifications may affect your rating. Any misrepresentation or material omission of facts may be sufficient cause to end further consideration of your candidacy. Persons listed as knowing your past accomplishments or experience in your application may be contacted for verification purposes at any time. Verification may, but need not, begin before receiving an offer.
This position has an education requirement. You are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your transcripts (or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed and grades). Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required from all selectees prior to receiving an official offer. Click here for information on Foreign Education.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents) and your score on the required assessments. You will be assessed on the following competencies:
RESUME:
Your resume must clearly demonstrate, in two pages or less, how your skills and experiences align with the "Qualifications" section and support your questionnaire responses. While cover letters provided with your application will be shared with hiring officials, they will not be used for initial qualification determinations. We cannot assume required experience based on your work or academic history. If your resume exceeds two pages, only the first two will be reviewed. Use a legible font such as Lato, Calibri, Helvetica, or Arial, with 0.5-inch margins. Suggested formatting: 14-point for titles and 10-point for body text. You may use the USAJOBS Resume Builder or upload your own resume. If uploading, ensure it includes all required information and is organized so we can match the following to each position:
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.
To apply for this position, please read and follow all instructions in this announcement, complete the online application, and submit the documentation specified in the "Required Documents" section. Your complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET) on 07/10/2026 to receive consideration.
Once you submit your application package, you will receive an acknowledgement email. You will be notified of the status of your applications via email. In addition, you can track the progress of your application package through your USAJOBS account.
At the discretion of the agency, you may be contacted via phone or email for an interview or to provide additional information up to several months from the closing date of the announcement. Please ensure you have provided accurate contact information. To remain in consideration, you must respond in a timely manner to our correspondence and requests for documentation or information throughout the hiring process.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
