Librarians-in-Residence 2026

Librarians-in-Residence 2026

Department: Legislative Branch

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $70623 - $91815 Per Year

Job Summary: The Library of Congress seeks early-career librarians to bring their intellectual engagement, technological savvy, and theoretical understanding of library and information science concepts to bear on practical challenges via the Librarians-in-Residence program. The program is managed by Talent Recruitment and Outreach/Internship and Fellowship Programs Section, Human Capital Directorate.

Major Duties:

• Responsibilities. About the Librarians-in-Residence program: The Librarians-in-Residence program offers early-career librarians the opportunity to develop their expertise and contribute to building, stewarding, or sharing the national collection. During the six-month appointment, the Librarians-in-Residence will gain meaningful experience in at least one of the following core work areas: acquisitions and collection development; archives and special collections; cataloging and metadata; collection preservation; community engagement; digital services; reference and instruction; and systems and standards. The placements for the 2026 program are: 1. Acquisitions and Collection Development: Discovery and Preservation Services/Acquisition and Bibliographic Access/ Asian and Middle Eastern Division/China Section 2. Archives and Special Collections: Researcher and Collections Services/General and International Collections Directorate/African and Middle Eastern Division 3. Cataloguing and Metadata: Discovery and Preservation Services/Acquisition and Bibliographic Access/ Asian and Middle Eastern Division/Israel and Judaica Section 4. Community Engagement: Researcher and Collections Services/General and International Collections Directorate/Asian Division 5. Digital Services: Discovery and Preservation Services/Digital Services Directorate/Digital Collections Management Services Division/Web Archiving Section 6. Reference and Instruction: Researcher and Collections Services/General and International Collections Directorate/Researcher Engagement and General Collection/Researcher Experience Section 7. Reference and Instruction: Law Library of Congress/Global Legal Research Directorate/Public Services Division For more details on these placements, please visit: https://www.loc.gov/item/internships/librarian-in-residence/. Knowledge Development: Applies knowledge of standard library methods, techniques, concepts, and principles of one or more specialty areas of librarianship to independently perform assignments in acquisitions and collection development; archives and special collections; cataloging and metadata; collection preservation; digital services; and reference and instruction. Develops knowledge of the types of materials within the Library’s collections, including how they are collected, acquired, cataloged, preserved, and shared, and the procedures governing their use. Develops and maintains personal contacts and cooperative work relationships with librarians and others throughout the Library with colleagues in other residency programs, and with subject matter experts in the field of librarianship and information science to provide or exchange information. Presents information to groups and persons with similar understanding of the subject. Attends workshops, conferences, seminars, or meetings in librarianship and other relevant fields for professional development. Practical Skill Application: Utilizes standard methods, techniques, concepts, and principles to complete assignments related to one or more specialty areas of librarianship. Catalogs various materials in an automated cataloging environment where the bibliographic characteristics of the material are relatively easy to determine, and cataloging decisions are made within established standards. Searches entries in automated and manual catalogs. Assigns headings to catalog entries. Provides reference and/or research services where needs are relatively easy to determine from client interviews or written requests, and the bibliographic source materials are readily accessible. Orients users and explains procedures and regulations governing use and handling of the collection’s materials. Monitors the condition of collection material to ensure adherence to established standards and specifications and brings deteriorating items and those with special needs to the attention of division management. The position description number for this position is 450408. This is a non-supervisory, bargaining unit position. 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. Relocation expenses will not be authorized for the person(s) selected under this vacancy announcement.

Qualifications: 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. The program is open to students who earned or will complete their master’s degree in library/information science from an American Library Association- accredited program between December 1, 2024, and June 13, 2026. The program selectees will be expected to report to work on June 15, 2026. A complete application package will consist of: · Your federal style resume. · Your responses to a vacancy questionnaire, including a mandatory Candidate Statement of interest. · A legible copy of your latest college/university transcripts. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at the time of application. Official Transcripts will be required if selected for the position. Transcripts must be issued by the college or university, and must include your name, the name of the institution, and the courses and course dates. Screenshots, Word or other text documents, and stand-alone course lists are not acceptable. Failure to submit the required legible documentation at the time of application will result in disqualification. · Names and contact information of three references: 1) the dean or director of your library/information science program, 2) a professor in your library/information science program OR a supervisor in your current job, and 3) a reference of your own choosing. References may be contacted by telephone or email and asked about the candidate’s qualifications. · Finalists may be required to submit a writing sample on a topic related to library and information science.

How to Apply: Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position. Please note, there is no page restriction to your resume, and you are allowed to upload a resume longer than two pages in the resume section within the application process. When the application system prompts, please proceed to the agency site to complete your application. 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 and upload it to your profile in the "Resume" section. 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 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. 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 one option that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement. 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. 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 4:00pm EST of the Closing Date. REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.

Application Deadline: 2026-02-13