Collections Maintenance Technician (QA)

About the role

The Library of Congress shares its vast collections of books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, audiovisual materials, and priceless artifacts to cultivate curiosity and spark imagination. We engage, inspire, and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity.

We seek highly talented professionals to join a vibrant and collaborative community. Your work here will have lasting impact on the Library and its users well into the future.

What you will do

• The position serves as a Collections Management Technician II and is located in the Stack Management Unit, Collections Maintenance and Stack Management Section, of the Collections Management Division (CMD), Preservation Directorate (PRES), Discovery and Preservation Services (DPS) within the Library Collections and Services Group (LCSG) at the Library of Congress (LC).
• As a Collection Management Technician, you will: Follow extensive library rules, procedures and operations, retrieve materials from the collection.
• Apply judgement in retrieving materials.
• Receive retrieval requests through a number of methods including paper call slips, Automated Call Slip (ACS) and/or other automated request systems.
• With some projects, follow general guidelines on what to pull, and must adhere to these guidelines which might include criteria such as item condition, date of publication, or format.
• Follow a number of established procedures and specific guidelines available in the form of extensive library procedures, rules, and operations, perform an array of activities involved in maintaining the collections, including ensuring that collections are in the proper order, safe from hazards and readily retrievable when requested.
• Use judgment to identify and select the most appropriate procedure to use, choose from among several established alternatives, or decide which precedent actions to follow as a model.
• Refer situations requiring significant judgment to the supervisor or others for guidance or resolution.
• Arrange, sort and re-shelve materials returned to the stacks according to the prescribed order for that portion of the collection.
• Maintain assigned areas to ensure that each item is in proper order according to collections management and maintenance guidelines for each collection.
• Frequent shelf reading of the collections, i.e., ensuring that the items on the shelves are in proper order, is a critical component of collections maintenance.
• Use multiple shelving and classification arrangements including LC Classification, fixed location arrangement and others utilized by CMD to ensure that collections are properly shelved, arranged and accessible for use.
• Use an in-depth or broad knowledge of a body of library regulations, procedures, and policies related collections retrieval to perform procedural duties or technical operation of limited scope and difficulty.
• Provide enhanced book retrieval service, including quick searches for all Not-on-Shelf (NoS) responses for patrons, staff and priority clients, primarily CRS staff and Congressional patrons.
• Identify and remove items suspected of containing errors in labeling and/or cataloging and forward items to the Preservation Directorate, the Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Directorate, or other Library units for further determination or disposition.
• Utilize and operate the Library's automated material handling systems used to sort and process collections.
• Operate the equipment as well as perform preventative maintenance on the machine(s).
• Perform an array of preservation-related activities in support of stabilizing the collections and preventing further damage The position description number for this position is 429735.
• The salary range indicated reflects the locality pay adjustments for the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area.
• The incumbent of this position will work a fixed work schedule (8:00am-4:30pm.) This is a non-supervisory, bargaining unit position.
• Relocation expenses will not be authorized for the person(s) selected under this vacancy announcement.

Requirements

• The work requires some physical exertion, such as long periods of standing; walking over rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces; recurring bending, crouching, stooping, stretching, reaching, or similar activities; or recurring lifting of moderately heavy items, such as books.
• Requires ability to perform moderate lifting-up to 44 pounds.
• Note: The incumbent must pass a pre-placement physical with a recurrence on duty physical 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.

Education

There are no education requirements for this position.

How you will be evaluated

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 You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Documents you must provide

• 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 *** or email ***.
• FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.

What to expect next

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.

Additional information

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 ***.

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 *** or email ***.

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.