Duties

Summary

This employee supports the USDA National Forest Service Library (NFSL) which provides scientific and technical information services to the 35,000 employees of the USDA Forest Service.

Duty station will be the Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO

Appointment is not to exceed 2 yr. May be extended for up to 4 yr based on workload and funding.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Thomas Moothart at 970-498-1310 or [log in to unmask]

Responsibilities

Use library principles, concepts, methodology, operations, and management to serve information needs of the Forest Service and other customers.

Investigate and evaluate software for library applications, such as cataloging, citation management, or circulation.

Assist and instruct patrons on the content, nature, and use of library resources.

Recommend suitable print and non-print media or selections for a library collection and determine those items suitable for removal from the collection.

Respond to reference and research questions from library customers, whether in person, via e-mail, or telephone

In response to information inquires, locate and perform information searches in other research library collections.

Prepare specialized, annotated scientific bibliographies and guides.

Use diverse information sources such as databases having a specialized structure, content, and access protocols to respond to reference and research queries

Resolve problems related to the delivery of library electronic resources and the operation of library technology.

Prepare exhibits and brochures and participate in public relations initiatives to promote the use of the library

Instruct users in the use of library resources and services.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Occasional overnight travel 1-2 times per year to attend training or conferences.

Supervisory status

No

Promotion Potential

11

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.

Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.

Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.

Successful completion of one-year trial period

Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.

Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide university course descriptions as necessary.

All librarians must meet the requirements for professional education in library science or possess equivalent experience and education as shown below and at the following https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1400/librarian-series-1410/

Applicants must meet the requirements specified in paragraphs A or B below.

Completion of 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;

OR

A total of at least 5 years of a combination of college-level education, training, and experience. To qualify on this basis, the applicant must establish conclusively that the education, training, and experience provided a knowledge and understanding of the theories, principles, and techniques of professional librarianship; a knowledge of literature resources; and the knowledge and abilities essential for providing effective library and information services.

Due to the scientific nature of the customers served, applicants possessing a background or coursework in the following fields are preferred: physical science, biological science, or social science.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below. Experience must have demonstrated the ability to perform, supervise, or direct one or more of the functional areas of work covered by this series; to understand the concepts, theories, new developments, and co-relationship of information in related fields; and to maintain up-to-date information on the state of the art.

GS-9:

Two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or master's in library science or equivalent graduate degree, e.g., LL.B. or J.D., related to the position in fields or coursework such as library science or information science

OR 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 in Federal service. Examples of specialized experience at his grade are the following: experience

--Performing cataloging of library materials in a variety of media formats or

--Providing reference, research and instructional assistance to library patrons.

--Conducting detailed subject or field specific database searches to create bibliographies

OR A combination of specialized experience and education described above. Only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify for this grade level. For example: You have specialized experience as described above, but less than one year; and you have more than one year but less than 2 years of graduate education described above. To determine if you qualify, compute the percentage of the requirements that you meet, and determine if your total is at least 100% (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education over one year by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.

GS-11:

Threefull years of progressively higher-level graduate education in library or information science or doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) related to the position

OR at least 1-year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 in Federal service. Examples of specialized experience at this grade are the following:

--Serving as a lead or supervisor for a library in a mid-level academic institution

--Instructing others in database searching techniques for specialized purposes like scientific or technical research projects.

--Managing multiple library databases using standard off-the shelf software

OR an appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education described above. Only coursework beyond what is required for a master's degree (more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.) is creditable at this grade level.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered.

The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply.

If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is not guaranteed.

This is a bargaining unit designated position.

Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

Government Housing is not available

This position is eligible for telework and other flexible work arrangements.

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How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications.

You will be evaluated in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. You will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire. Individuals with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10840585

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Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance

Not Required

Drug test required

No

Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process

Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.

Resume that includes: 1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the responsibilities section including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) supervisor's phone number and whether or not the supervisor may be contacted for a reference check; 5) other qualifications.

If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.

If claiming veteran's preference, you must submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. If currently on active duty you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted. Veteran's preference must be verified prior to appointment. Without this documentation, you will not receive veteran's preference and your application will be evaluated based on the material(s) submitted.

If claiming 10-point veteran's preference you must provide the DD214 or certification requirements (see above bullet), plus the proof of entitlement of this preference as listed on the SF-15 Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. The SF-15 should be included but is not required. Failure to submit these documents could result in the determination that there is insufficient documentation to support your claim for 10-point preference. For more information on veterans' preference visit FEDSHIREVETS.

Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.

Benefits

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Benefits

A career with the U.S. Government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Learn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time, or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How to Apply

 Help

How to Apply

Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process.

Read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m. (MST), Monday - Friday. If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be returned to Human Resources no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order for it to be entered into the system prior to the closing date.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Agency Contact to request this.

To begin, in USAJOBS click "Apply" and follow the instructions to attach your resume and required documents, complete the assessment questionnaire, and submit your application.

NOTE: If a document is resubmitted, it replaces the previous submission, which means the previous document is no longer available to the Human Resources Office. If you are adding to, rather than replacing a previous submission, you must upload both the old document and the new document. You must verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Applicants may combine all like required documents (e.g. SF-50s or veteran docs) into one or more files and scan for uploading into the application. Each file must not exceed 3MB. Grouping like documents into files will simplify the application process. Documents must be in one of the following formats: GIF, JPEG, JPG, PDF, PNG, RTF, or Word (DOC or DOCX). Uploaded documents may not require a password, digital signature, or other encryption to open.

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Agency contact information

 HRM Contact Center

Phone

1-877-372-7248 X2

Email

[log in to unmask]

Address

USDA Forest Service HRM Contact Center

DO NOT MAIL IN APPLICATIONS, SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT.

Albuquerque, NM 87109