Newsgroups: bit.listserv.pacs-l
Date:         Tue, 15 Sep 1992 10:50:31 CDT
From:         Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS@UHUPVM1.BITNET>
Subject:      Position Opening

2 Messages, 211 Lines
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From: GILSN2   at IRMFAO01
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          *               JOB OPPORTUNITY        *
          *         INFORMATION SYSTEMS OFFICER*
          *                    WITH                         *
          *                   AGRIS                         *
          *                   OF THE                        *
          *    FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE     *
          *               UNITED NATIONS *
          ***************************************************
WHAT IS AGRIS

AGRIS, the International Information System for Agricultural Sciences
and Technology, was created by FAO to facilitate the exchange of
information and to identify the worldwide literature dealing with all
aspects of agriculture including: plant and animal production and
protection; post harvest processing of primary agricultural products;
forestry; fisheries; agricultural engineering; natural resources and
the environment as related to agriculture; food; human nutrition;
agricultural economics; rural development; and agricultural adminis-
tration, legislation, information, education and extension.

AGRIS collects bibliographic references to materials, which may be
either conventional (journal articles, books) or non-conventional,
sometimes called grey literature, e.g. theses, reports, etc., not
available through normal commercial channels.

AGRIS is a cooperative system in which participating countries input
references to the literature produced within their boundaries and,
in return, draw on the information provided by the other partici-
pants.  135 national and 24 regional and international centres
participate and submit about 11.000 items per month.  Two regional
centres submit input on behalf of 12 countries in their respective
regions.

The system is managed by the AGRIS Coordinating Centre, Library and
Documentation Systems Division, FAO, Rome, which also maintains the
AGRIS methodology, the working tools, provides training and furnishes
self-teaching material.

To open the system to non-English-speaking users, FAO and the Commis-
sion of the European Communities (CEC) developed a multilingual
agricultural vocabulary, AGROVOC, which has been used by AGRIS for
indexing and retrieval since 1986.  The English, French, Spanish,
German and Italian versions appeared in 1982 and the Arabic and
Portuguese are being prepared.  The data base can be searched using
AGROVOC, at the moment, only in English, French and Spanish.  In late
1991, the second edition of AGROVOC will be issued; it will have a
simplified structure enriched with nearly 7000 new descriptors.

AGRIN, a microcomputer package based on Unesco's CDS/ISIS, is a new
working tool for the AGRIS participating centres.  It enables them
to exchange data with the Coordinating Centre as well as build up
local data bases compatible with AGRIS.


PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Since 1975, when the system became operational, AGRIS has accumulated
a data base of more than 1.920.000 references.  The data forwarded
by participating countries is processed in Vienna at the AGRIS
Processing Unit which is hosted, under contractual arrangements, by
the Division of Technical Information of the IAEA.  It is made
available to users in several forms:

I.       Agrindex, the AGRIS monthly bibliography issued in English,
         French and Spanish versions; approximately 21% of the current
         entries in Agrindex include abstracts;

II.      Magnetic tapes with the same information, which are sent to AGRIS
         centres on demand;

III.            On-line access to the global data base is provided by a number
                of hosts: DIALOG (Palo Alto, non-US portion only), DIMDI
                (Cologne), ESA/IRS (Frascati) and IAEA (Vienna, last two years
                only).  Users, who must be equipped with a suitable microcom-
                puter or terminal, can reach the hosts via telephone, telex,
                or through various public packet switching networks and
                international telecommunication networks such as TYMNET or
                DATEX-P;

IV.      CD-ROM, Compact Disk Read-Only-Memory, is a medium capable of
         storing large quantities of information (500 million characters).
         Any user with a relatively inexpensive microcomputer and CD-ROM
         reader will be able to benefit from it. AGRIS archival 4-disc set
         covering 1975-1990 and the current 1991- (updated quarterly until
         full), are available from SilverPlatter.


AGRIS, if requested, provides its users with various types of
information services and products, which may be requested in printed
form or on magnetic media.  These include:

V.       Retrospective searches through the entire data base;

VI.      Selective dissemination of information (SDI) service, by which
         users can request the AGRIS Coordinating Centre, to keep them
         informed of any new AGRIS entries on specific subjects of concern
         to them.

VII.            National bibliographies, containing all entries generated in
                a country and those concerning this country and published
                outside. Master copies can be prepared on a high resolution
                laser printer in Agrindex format, ready for reproduction by
                offset or photocopy.

VIII.           Subject bibliographies, can also be prepared upon request from
                specialized cooperating centres such as the CGIAR IARC's, or
                FAO divisions.
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        *  SEE AGRIS JOB ANNOUNCEMENT    *
        *         COMING NEXT            *
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From: GILSN2   at IRMFAO01
          ***************************************************
          *               JOB OPPORTUNITY        *
          *         INFORMATION SYSTEMS OFFICER*
          *                    WITH                         *
          *                   AGRIS                         *
          *                   OF THE                        *
          *    FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE     *
          *               UNITED NATIONS *
          ***************************************************
INFORMATION SYSTEMS OFFICER
(AGRIS)                            P-3

Duties and responsibilities

Under the general guidance of the Head, AGRIS/CARIS Coordinating
Centreand the supervision of the Information Systems Officer,
Head ofthe AGRIS Processing Unit (Vienna), assume responsibility
forprocessing of input and providing output services from the
AGRISdatabase.  Specifically to:

assist the Information Systems Office (Methodology and Training)
in the updating and maintenance of the multilingual thesaurus
AGROVOC and in the development of procedures for its maintenance
and use;

review proposals from AGRIS centres for additions, deletions and
other modifications to AGROVOC, determine whether they are to
be considered for inclusion and correspond with the centres
making such proposals;

act as a processing control officer, ensuring timely validation
of the input received from participating centres and supervising
the checking and correction of assigned subject categories and
indexing terms; correspond with national, regional and
international AGRIS centres as required;

participate as instructor in AGRIS training programmes at FAO,
Rome, IAEA, Vienna or in the field;

prepare profiles for retrieval from the AGRIS database, for
retrospective searches and SDIs, and give guidance to APU staff
in relation to AGRIS retrieval;

act as Officer-in-Charge of the AGRIS Processing Unit during the
absence of Head of the Unit and assist in administrative matters
when required;

perform other related duties as required.

Qualifications and experience - Essential

University degree in agriculture or related discipline
complemented by formal training or relevant experience in
documentation or information systems.

Five years' progressively responsible professional experience in
computer-assisted documentation activities, including database
production and utilization.  Practical experience in indexing and
retrieval.  Experience with the development and utilization of
hierarchically controlled vocabularies of thesauri.

Working knowledge (level C) of English; limited knowledge (level
B) of French or Spanish.

Analytical mind and ability to work under pressure.  Ability to
write clearly and concisely and to establish and maintain good
working relations with people of different national and cultural
backgrounds.
Willingness to use word-processing equipment and computer
terminals.
Fitness and willingness to travel to developing countries.
Qualifications and experience - Desirable
Postgraduate diploma in information science.
Knowledge of the third official language mentioned above.
Familiarity with AGRIS.

Experience in training in the use of communication media and/or
informatics.

Level P-3 carries a net annual salary from US$58,546 to 75,075
(without dependents) and US$62,657 to 80,918 (with dependents).

     If you are interested in this post please send a detailed
     Curriculum Vitae (two copies) to:
          Central Recruitment
          Personnel Division
          FAO
          Via delle Terme di Caracalla
          00100 - Rome, ITALY

     Please indicate that you are applying for Vacancy announcement
     248-GIL.

     The deadline for applications is 20 October 1992.
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU