News: The New Information Commons @ Taipei American School

3/25/14 –  Last spring, the upper school library at Taipei American School (TAS) underwent a transformation that reflects the school’s commitment to ensuring student access to cutting-edge information resources in a physical environment most conducive to effective learning, collaboration, and exploration. The result is the new Joanna Nichols Information Commons. The updated layout provides greater quiet study space for students, allows for a significant infusion of additional digital resources to the physical space and the online environment, and preserves access to traditional media and resources…

Remainder of article

Sarah P’s comments:  an example of a school library renovation at a good international school (although, sigh, it seems we are now in the midst of yet another name change: library to media center to learning commons…really folks, here’s a thought, why not just call it a LIBRARY?!!!)

 

Job: Learning Commons Librarian

5/25/14 –  Learning Commons Librarian
Zayed University, Dubai, UNited Arab Emirates

The University:  Zayed University is an innovative institution based on an international model of higher education. With approximately 550 full-time faculty serving approximately 9500 undergraduate and 1000 graduate students on its campuses in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. English is the primary language of instruction and administration. Zayed University is fully accredited in the UAE and by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in the US. The United Arab Emirates is a progressive country known for its high standard of living and its safe and family-friendly environment.

The Opportunity:  Zayed University seeks a librarian to assist in the daily operation of the Learning Commons on the Dubai Campus.  The new Learning Commons is a space in the Library that seeks to support students, staff, and faculty in their use of rich and emerging technologies for learning and research, and specializes in assistance with the pursuit of English language skills and development.

Sarah P’s comments:  Zayed is arguably one of the better academic institutions in the UAE.  That said I have had friends apply there, have interviews that went well, and then…nothing.  This is business as usual for hiring practices in the Middle East.

News: Note from Librarian Ambassador for Upcoming Program to India

5/25/14 – Nancy Bolt recently sent out the following note via ALA inviting librarians to sign up for the upcoming People to People Librarian trip to India:

Dear Friend,

For the last 15 years I’ve been working with international libraries.   If you are getting this, you probably purchased jewelry, scarves, or crafts from Bulgaria, Ecuador, Guatemala , or some other country I’ve visited.   Now I’m honored to be asked by People to People and the American Library Association to lead a tour to India November 2-11, 2014.You can learn more about this trip at www.peopletopeople.com/ALA

I’m excited to lead this tour because it combines visits to cultural sites and interacting with our librarian colleagues in India.   As People to People describes it:   You can experience India firsthand with your library and information services peers from India and around the world through vibrant professional exchanges, valuable networking, and meaningful discussions tailored to your focus and interests.

Professional highlights of the trip include:

• Local library and information science professionals from various sectors for a mini-symposium in New Delhi.
• Librarians and information technology specialists at local libraries (public, children’s, and school depending on the interests of tour participants.)
• Professionals at a local university to learn about the extent of professional development available to Indian librarians and the delivery mechanisms for professional development.

Information about the cultural sites we will visit in New Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra go to www.peopletopeople.com/ALA

I hope you can join me for this trip to India.

Nancy Bolt
Nancy Bolt & Associates
9018 Ute Drive
Golden, CO 80403
303 642 0338 (office)
303 905 9347 (mobile)

Job: Librarian – Life & Bio Sciences Engineering

5/25/14 –  Library Subject: Life & Bio Sciences Engineering
KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is a major new graduate university focused on becoming a leader in science and technology research and graduate education. Located near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the university’s coastline campus on the Red Sea features high-quality residences, extensive recreational facilities and beach, a multicultural environment, and a high quality of life for employees and their families.

Job Summary:
The University Library’s Life & Bio Sciences Subject Specialist supports graduate-level education and research, primarily in the Physical Sciences and Engineering fields of KAUST focus. This position is responsible for library collections and instructional and outreach services to faculty, researchers and students in assigned subject areas.

Sarah P.’s comment:  Be very careful of accepting a contract in Saudi Arabia. I worked in Saudi Arabia and did actually enjoy my time there. However I did my research before I applied. While there are some reputable companies, colleges, and schools please be aware that you are at the mercy of the institution which hires you.  KAUST has very mixed reviews and like many places in Saudi, was started with great promise and has fallen.  If you do apply know that it is a long and tedious process with very little logic as to who is chosen.  Google ‘Kaust’ and ‘reviews’ for more info.

 

 

Job: Librarian – Science & Technology

5/25/14 –  Library Subject Specialist: Science & Technology
KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is a major new graduate university focused on becoming a leader in science and technology research and graduate education. Located near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the university’s coastline campus on the Red Sea features high-quality residences, extensive recreational facilities and beach, a multicultural environment, and a high quality of life for employees and their families.

Job Summary:
The University Library’s Physical Sciences and Engineering Subject Specialist supports graduate-level education and research, primarily in the Physical Sciences and Engineering fields of KAUST focus. This position is responsible for library collections and instructional and outreach services to faculty, researchers and students in assigned subject areas.

Sarah P.’s comment:  Be very careful of accepting a contract in Saudi Arabia. I worked in Saudi Arabia and did actually enjoy my time there. However I did my research before I applied. While there are some reputable companies, colleges, and schools please be aware that you are at the mercy of the institution which hires you.  KAUST has very mixed reviews and like many places in Saudi, was started with great promise and has fallen.  If you do apply know that it is a long and tedious process with very little logic as to who is chosen.  Google ‘Kaust’ and ‘reviews’ for more info.

Job: Head Librarian

5/20/14 – Job listing updated on TIE – still available

3/21/14 –  Head Librarian
Kodaikanal International School, Tamil Nadu, India

Kodaikanal International School, in Tamil Nadu, India, is a leading international school in South India, with a distinguished history of service over 100 years. It is a residential, co-educational school for 500 students from K-12 located in the Palni hills, Tamil Nadu. KIS is accredited by MSA and offers the IB program and US high school diploma.

Sarah P’s comments:  This school claims to be rated the #1 international residential school in India.  Two factors for concern are: there are many positions for this school posted on TIE and there are no reviews on International School Reviews (though I did find one at Glassdoor: http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Kodaikanal-International-School-Reviews-E519487.htm).  Still, for those who want to work in India, a chance to work at a school in a rural location could be an opportunity to see the best of India as the cities are, sadly, dirty and disease-ridden.

Job: Public Services Librarian

5/21/14 – Public Services Librarian

In concert with the Library Director and the Technical Services Librarian of Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) as well as counterparts on the Evanston campus, the Public Services Librarian works to fulfill the mission of the NU-Q Library to support the information, research, teaching, and learning needs of the NU-Q community.

(There is also a Technical  Services Librarian position available.)

Sarah P’s comments:  I have watched the development of Doha’s Education City since its inception in 2002.  Jobs regularly appear and are filled but the process is vague and the length of time to hire very slow.  Salaries are good and Doha is safe but recently has been trending toward becoming conservative.

 

Job: Technical Services Librarian

5/21/14 – Technical Services Librarian
Northwestern University, Doha, Qatar

In concert with the Library Director and the Public Services Librarian of Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) as well as counterparts on the Evanston campus, the Technical Services Librarian works to fulfill the mission of the NU-Q to support the information, research, teaching, and learning needs of the NU-Q community.

(There is also a Public Services Librarian position available.)

Sarah P’s comments:  I have watched the development of Doha’s Education City since its inception in 2002.  Jobs regularly appear and are filled but the process is vague and the length of time to hire very slow.  Salaries are good and Doha is safe but recently has been trending toward becoming conservative.

News: TIE & Unscrupulous Recruiters…

5/16/14 – Unauthorized Solicitation of TIE Members from Outside Company

Sarah P’s comments:  As a member of TIE I received this very interesting message.  Sadly, international education recruiting has now become big business…

Dear TIE Member,

We recently learned that a Chinese educational agency (ISAC) has been contacting some members of TIEonline soliciting their services and claiming to have their resumes.

We want to confirm that any and all information that has been obtained and used by this group has been done so unethically. Personal information, including names and email addresses, has been copied not through a breech of our security, but rather through the unethical actions of a recent recruiter who had legitimate access to our services. We have taken action to ensure this access is no longer available.

We today made it clear to the agency and their director, Charles Chao, that this pirating of any information from the Tieonline.com web site is not only unethical but also entirely illegal. We have insisted that they immediately cease and desist this practice and that they remove their listings and all information taken from Tieonline.com.

If stronger steps are needed to protect TIE and our clients, we stand ready to take them. Meanwhile, if you are contacted by ISAC China (info@isacchina.com), please tell them to immediately remove your information from their site.

We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this situation has caused you. We are committed to resolving this issue swiftly and effectively.

Forrest Broman
CEO,The International Educator
tie@tieonline.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Job: Research Associate

5/14/14 –  Research Associate
Oxford Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, England

We are seeking a Research Associate which is a technical role working on Semantic Web and Linked Data technologies that support research in Digital Humanities, specifically for the ElEPHaT and Transforming Musicology projects.

The ElEPHaT project, a joint project between the Centre and the Bodleian Digital Libraries, will use Linked Data to create worksets combining digitised content from the large-scale (11 million+ volumes) HathiTrust collection and the fully human-transcribed EEBO-TCP (Early English Books Online – Text Creation Partnership) corpus.

The University of Oxford e-Research Centre leads the creation of a semantic framework for the project which will describe these new digital methods, linking them to the results they produce and the music resources over which analysis has been undertaken, again using Semantic Web and Linked Data approaches, and tackling challenges such as reuse, reproducibility and citation of the methods and data.

The closing date for applications is 12.00 noon on 21 May 2014.