A sampling of academic foreign jobs from January 2017 to March 2018

A sampling of academic foreign jobs from January 2017 to March 2018

Reference/Instruction/Librarian Generalists Astana, Kazakhstan - Nazarbayev University - Reference and Subject Librarian (2 positions posted 11 months apart) Suva, Fiji - University of the South Pacific - Librarian (3 positions) Port Vila, Vanuatu - University of the South Pacific - Senior Librarian (law library) Barbados - Bridgetown - The University of the West Indies  - User Engagement Librarian - MLIS degree plus “A minimum of three years work experience”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -  Monash University in Malaysia - Learning Skills Adviser (2 positions posted 11 months apart) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Monash University in Malaysia - Senior Manager, Research and Learning Thimphu, Bhutan - Royal Thimphu College- Senior Librarian -“The candidate should have at least 2-3 years of work experience as a librarian.” Kunshan, China -  Duke Kunshan University-  Research and Instruction Librarian - “At least three years’ professional library work experience in an academic setting” Doha, Qatar -  College of the North Atlantic (Canada) in Qatar  - Reference/Instruction Librarian Doha, Qatar – Georgetown University in Qatar - Librarian, Instructional Services Cairo,  Egypt - The American University in Cairo - Digital Humanities Librarian-  fixed term contract (five years renewable) position at the Instructor level “ MLS or equivalent is required at time of appointment. Successful candidates should have an ongoing program of research and publication. Teaching experience is preferred. Responsibilities include undergraduate as well as graduate teaching, an active program of research and publications, and service to the Department and the University.” Vancouver, Canada - University of British Columbia -  Reference Librarian in the humanities and social sciences Vancouver, Canada - University of British Columbia - Reference Librarian in the  David Lam Library & Canaccord Learning Commons (School of Business) Regina, Canada --  University of Regina - Scholarly Communications Librarian Regina, Canada -  University of Regina - Student Success Librarian Montreal, Quebec - Concordia University-  Reference & Subject Librarian (12 month full-time appointment with possibility of renewal) Montreal, Quebec - Concordia University - Web Services Librarian (12 month full-time appointment with possibility of renewal) Montreal, Quebec - Concordia University - Reference & Subject Librarian, Fine Arts, Limited Term Appointment   (12 month full-time appointment with possibility of renewal) Montreal, Quebec - Concordia University- Teaching & Research Librarian – Fine Arts (tenure-track position ) Hong Kong - City University of Hong Kong - Associate Librarian -  “Candidates should demonstrate significant achievements and leadership in activities (such as planning, initiation and management of long-term projects, consortium collaboration, staff development and assessment, and library research” Not traditional Libraries: Paris, France - ISSN International Centre -  Web developer The Hague, The Netherlands -  IFLA HQ -Web and IT Officer Dublin, Ireland - Innovative Interfaces - System Librarian Glasgow, UK - Urban Big Data Centre (UBDC) at the University of Glasgow -  Information Services Officer Barcelona, Spain - “A multinational pharmaceutical company” - Digital Asset Management Librarian Position - “open to all nationalities.  Fluency in English is required; fluency in Spanish is not required but would be useful.” Archives: Paris, France  - UNESCO Archives - Chief,  Library and Records Management Unit Melbourne Australia- University of Melbourne - Manager,  Cultural Collections (University Archivist) Doha, Qatar -  College of the North Atlantic (Canada) in Qatar  - Archives and Records Librarian Digital/ Metadata/ Systems: London, Ontario, Canada, Western University- Metadata Management Librarian Montreal, Quebec - Concordia University- Digital Scholarship Librarian (tenure-track position) Montreal, Quebec - Concordia University- Digital Preservation Librarian (tenure-track position) “Oral and written fluency in English is essential. Oral fluency in French and basic written French are assets.” Guildford, Surrey, England -University of Surrey - Bibliometrics advisor Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization- Metadata/Systems Librarian Sembach, Germany - US Army- Systems Librarian- “US Citizens and legal US residents worldwide” Wellington, New Zealand - National Archives -Digital Preservation Process Administrator Wellington, New Zealand - National Archives - Digital Preservation Analyst Cairo,  Egypt - The American University in Cairo - Digital Records Manager  -“MLS or equivalent is required at time of appointment. While early career professionals are invited to apply, applicants should have experience in a records management setting including supervisory responsibilities.” Catalogers: Kunshan, China -  Duke Kunshan University-  Acquisition and Description Librarian-  “At least three years’ professional library work experience in an academic setting” Luxembourg - Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law - Librarian/Cataloguer-  “MLS or equivalent and you have at least 5 years of professional experience, preferably as a cataloguer; You are fluent in English, German being considered as an advantage” Managers/Department Heads: Dubai, United Arab Emirates-  Zayed university - Director of Library & Learning Commons Vancouver, Canada - University of British Columbia - Head, Xwi7xwa Library, “Xwi7xwa Library is located on the ancestral and unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking Musqueam people” Vancouver, Canada - University of British Columbia  - Head, Education Library Montreal, Quebec - Concordia University- Head, Access Services  (tenure track) Doha, Qatar -  Qatar National Library - Director of Distinctive collections

Doha, Qatar -  Qatar National Library -Senior Writing Specialist

Doha, Qatar -  Qatar National Library - Senior User Experience Specialist

Do you have (or want) a Phd?

Dalian, China- Dalian Univ. of Tech. -  PhD Positions with Full Scholarships in Data Science

Taichung, Taiwan - National Chung Hsing University- Full-Time Assistant Professor (or above), Library
and Information Science

Hong Kong - University of Hong Kong - PhD Position / Postgraduate Research Students - “The selected
candidate will participate in a research project entitled Implementing sexuality education in secondary
schools with a bilingual interactive game playable on Web, Facebook, tablets, and smartphones for a
project period of 24 months”

Odense, Denmark - University Library of Southern Denmark - Research Librarian for Research Data
(temporary one-year post-doctoral position)

Beijing, China - Beijing Normal University -  lecturer position, Department of Information Management
in School of Government.  requirements include “ Be better no more than 31 years old. 2. Hold a PhD
degree from a world famous university in library information science, Information Science, Management
Science and Engineering, Computer Science Engineering or a related field. 3.  Demonstrate a strong
track record of high-impact publications (at least 3 SCI/SSCI papers)”

You would need foreign language skills for:

Taipei, Tawain - National Taiwan University -  LIS Faculty Position “Ability to teach in Mandarin
Chinese and English on library and information science related subjects”

Beijing, China - Schwarzman College Library - Research Librarian  “ Master or Bachelor’s degree in
library science; Full Fluency in both Chinese and English”

Yachay, Ecuador, - Yachay Tech, - Director of Academic Library Services,  Bilingual (Spanish and
English) “Degree in Library or Information Science or a degree in a science or engineering discipline,
management experience is highly desirable.

Puerto Ayora,  Galapagos, Ecuador - Charles Darwin Research Station- Librarian- “Degree in Library
Science, Fluency in English and Spanish, Minimum one year experience working with an ILS, databases
and Microsoft Office”

Geneva, Switzerland, International Labour Organization - Digital Information Librarian - “Working
knowledge of French and Spanish”

The Hague, The Netherlands -  IFLA Headquarters - Policy and Research Officer to work on Internet
governance and digital issues. 9 month contract,  requires Proficiency in one of the other official
languages of IFLA (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Russian, Spanish)

The Head Honcho:

Director/ University Librarian/ Associate University Librarian positions:

Alberta, Canada- Athabasca University - Associate University Librarian, Learning & Research
Services

Malta - American University of Malta - University Librarian

Canada, Edmonton - Vice-Provost (Learning Services) & Chief Librarian - “Canadians
and permanent residents will be given priority. If suitable Canadian citizens or permanent residents
cannot be found, other individuals will be considered.”

Wenzhou, China - Wenzhou-Kean University - Associate Library Director

Toronto, Canada - Humber Libraries - Director

Sydney, Australia - University of Technology, Sydney- University Librarian

Sydney, Australia - Western Sydney University- University Librarian (Senior Staff)

Suva, Fiji - University of the South Pacific-  University Librarian

Regina, Canada  - Associate University Librarian - Content Management and Discovery

Montreal, Canada- Concordia University - Associate University Librarian, Research & Graduate
Studies

Doha, Qatar – Georgetown University in Qatar -  Associate Director of the Library

The Hague, Netherlands - LIBER (Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche/Association of European Research Libraries )
- Executive Director

Out now: Our book on how to work abroad as a librarian!

We expanded our ALA presentation into an actual book, which is now available!

Taking Your MLIS Abroad: Getting and Succeeding in an International Library Job

Our book is published by Libraries Unlimited, a division of ABC-CLIO. Yes folks, this is an actual scholarly publication, with professional copy editing, an index, CIP data...all the things you want in a vocational guidance monograph! It's available directly through ABC-CLIO, amazon.com, and all your favorite library vendors/book wholesalers.

Besides drawing on our personal experiences working in Fiji and the United Arab Emirates, we surveyed 39 librarians who have worked in 29 countries on six continents We heard from other academic librarians, as well as school librarians, Fulbright scholars, special collections librarians, law librarians, health science librarians, and librarians in government agency and NGO placements. They shared their career advice, stories of culture shock and adjusting to a new country, and advice for future international librarians.

As a sneak peak, here's the Table of Contents:

1: Why Work Abroad? Myths and Reality

2: Is Working Abroad for You? How to Assess Yourself Honestly

3: How to Find Foreign Jobs

4: The Application Process

5: Winning the Interview: What's Different, and What the Panel Needs to See

6: The Job Offer and Getting Your Work Visa

7: Before You Move

8: Your Housing and Transportation: Apartment Finding, Furnishing Allowances, and Getting to and from Work

9: Banks, Money, Foreign Exchange and Taxes

10: Working Abroad while Married: Care and Upkeep of the “Trailing Spouse”

11: Expat Parenting, School, and Nannies

12: Healthcare Overseas

13: Your New Workplace: How Your Library Might Differ from American Ones

14: Recognizing and Dealing with Culture Shock

15: Keeping in Touch and Combating Loneliness

16: Expat Social Life: Making Friends, Dating, and the Quest for Decent Pizza

17: Surviving Worst Case Scenarios, Part 1: Crime, Natural Disasters, and Tropical Diseases

18: Surviving Worst Case Scenarios, Part 2: Quitting before the End of Your Contract

19: Returning Home: Leaving Your Host Country at the End of Your Contract

20: What We Wish We'd Known Before, and What We Learned from Working Abroad

If you're a PhD looking to escape the adjunct world via full time employment at a foreign university, about 85-90% of this book is applicable to you. You can skip over the library parts, you won't hurt our feelings.

About The Relocated Librarian

Hi there, and thanks if you attended our ALA 2014 presentation "Getting a library job in a foreign country: how (and why) to do it and how to thrive once you do"! If you didn't attend but want to see what you missed, here's the powerpoint (and our speaker's notes) from that session.

If you're interested in working in a foreign library, or you've already accepted a job somewhere outside of the US, here's some more info to help you succeed:

How living and working abroad is different from a short visit (or even a long backpacking trip).

Where to find Job lists for international library jobs. Or look at some old listings of typical postings we collected when preparing our presentation.

Recommended Reading list: Books and websites to research your potential country before the interview (and after you've accepted the job)

Before you move over there: The joys of storage units, address changes, getting  your documents in order, and deciding what to pack.

Daily life once you're overseas:  Voting while abroad, can I keep my Netflix subscription, using re-shippers, alternatives to Amazon when they won't ship to your new country.

If you're bringing a spouse: What their life will be like while you're at work.

If you're bringing your child(ren): What you need to know about schools, nannies and being a working parent abroad. 

Staying healthy: doctors, prescriptions and medical insurance.

Banking, taxes and money: Congratulations, you're about to become an expert on foreign exchange rates and amended tax returns.

Culture shock: it will happen to you, if only a little bit. Here's how to deal with it.

Links to other pages on taking a library job abroad or arranging a year-long job swap: stuff we recommend, but didn't write.

Something we didn't cover that you think we might have insight on?  Email us or leave a comment and we'll try to answer.

Please note: Lara and Kate's 2014 ALA presentation is focused on American librarians interested in working in foreign libraries. If you are a librarian from somewhere other than the US, we probably don't have any advice to give you on your home country's tax laws, residency issues, etc. but we hope the rest of the information is useful. If you are an American academic interested in working for a foreign university, there's probably stuff here for you too. We're happy you found our page, and we welcome your questions about our experiences working in foreign universities.

BUT: Please don't ask us questions like what's typical pay for a Botany lecturer in Qatar, which foreign universities have the best computer science departments, or how good the private schools in Singapore are. We know a lot about working in foreign libraries and a lot about our host countries of Fiji and UAE, but we're not "Dear Abby" for all things expat.