Library Systems Assistant
CUNY Office of Library Services
Contract Title: College Assistant
Location: 555 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019
Full/Part Time: Part-Time
You’ve studied what a catalog record is supposed to look like. This job is about what happens when it doesn’t—and the deeply satisfying work of putting it right again.
We’re the Library Systems team within CUNY’s Office of Library Services, the small central unit responsible for the shared technical infrastructure that lets 31 libraries across CUNY’s 26 campuses function as one coherent system instead of 26 separate ones. We’re hiring a part-time Library Systems Assistant to work on that infrastructure: Alma (our cataloging platform) and Primo VE (our discovery platform).
You’d be cleaning up catalog records, correcting diacritics, reconciling data between our system and OCLC, and clearing out stale entries in our discovery platform.
This is a learning position. You’ll come out of it knowing how to troubleshoot data problems methodically and work carefully inside a live system, the same kind of work you’d do working in technical services at any library, just with more practice, sooner, than most people get this early in their career. We’ll train you on every workflow individually, with documentation and support from your supervisor the whole way. What matters most is curiosity, comfort with troubleshooting, and a willingness to ask good questions when something doesn’t add up. If you meet some of this but not all of it, we still want to hear from you.
Details:
- Currently enrolled in an ALA-accredited MLIS/MLS or related graduate program
- 7 to 10 hours a week
- $19.12 to $25.00 an hour, depending on education and experience
- Initial training in person; remote work possible once you’re comfortable with the workflows, with regular check-ins with your supervisor
- Represented by DC 37, with the pay and protections that come with that
- Coursework or experience in cataloging, metadata, databases, or information organization is a plus, but not required
- Position runs through June 30, 2027, with the possibility of renewal
- Anticipated start date is November 2026, though that’s still being finalized
Interested? Reach out to Allie Verbovetskaya, University Director of Library Systems, at alevtina.verbovetskaya@cuny.edu by October 5, 2026. Include your resume and a few sentences about what draws you to the role, including any past experience, library-related or not, that may be relevant.