Job Opening Title: Head of the Library and Special Collections
Institution/Organization Name: George Eastman Museum
Job Location (City, State, Province, Country): Rochester, NY 14607
Application Deadline: December 15, 2017
Link to job posting: http://www.eastman.org
Years of experience required: minimum 5 years experience
Job Description (if URL to posting not available). Please include instructions for how to apply.: Department: Richard and Ronay Menschel Library
Reports To: Bruce Barnes, Ph.D., Ron and Donald Fielding Director
Start Date: January, 2018
Posting Dates: November 17 – December 15, 2017
The George Eastman Museum seeks a forward‐thinking, energetic information professional to direct the Richard and Ronay Menschel Library, home to a world‐class collection of books, rare books, manuscripts, ephemera, and oral history recordings devoted to photography and moving images. The library serves as a research resource to museum staff, graduate and undergraduate students, visiting researchers, and the local community. The Head of the Library and Special Collections will develop and implement strategies, policies, procedures, and staffing to facilitate researchers’ onsite and online access to the library’s holdings
Job Summary:
Reporting to the Director of the George Eastman Museum, the Head of the Library and Special Collections is responsible for all aspects of the Richard and Ronay Menschel Library’s operations, collections, and services.
Responsibilities:
Administration:
• Conceive, implement, and oversee library projects, including cataloging, finding aids, and digitization.
• Develop and ensure implementation of library strategic planning, policies, and procedures.
• Collaboratively set priorities for all library functions.
• Train, oversee, and schedule permanent and project staff, interns, students and volunteers.
• Direct work of staff, students and volunteers to ensure that it meets standards.
• Prepare the library budget and monitor all budget allocations.
• Manage library facilities and equipment, including the security of the library’s vault.
Collection Development:
• Collaborate with curatorial departments to develop all aspects of the library’s collections.
• Manage and maintain holdings of current literature and periodicals.
• Actively steward and shape the collecting practices of the library to reflect and respond to the mission and research goals of the institution.
• Identify and develop potential donors of special collections materials, including books, manuscripts and archival materials.
• Monitor professional trends in the development of archives, records and special collections.
• Prepare quarterly reports for the museum’s Board of Trustees and serve as the library[s representative to the Library Collection Committee.
Collection Management:
• Set priorities for cataloging and processing of research books, rare books and special collections.
• Process and describe archives and manuscripts in the library’s special collections holdings.
• Prepare and publish inventories and findings aids for special collections according to standards.
• Make collection descriptions and finding aids available using best practices.
• Develop and implement best practices in archival collections management and access to ensure the safety, preservation, integrity and continued accessibility of the collections for research.
• Implement or manage accessioning and processing of archival and rare books donations.
• Create and maintain the donor and gift files of the library.
• Work with Registrar’s Office on incoming and outgoing loans of rare books and special collection materials.
• Oversee stack management, arrangement of collection and re-shelving.
• Collaborate with the museum’s Chief Conservator to establish policies and oversee projects to further the care, housing, storage and use of rare books and special collections materials.
• Monitor library environments (including the main stacks and rare books vault) through PEM2 readers and report fluctuations to the Conservator in Charge and the Facilities Manager.
Technology:
• Provide advanced-level leadership in the development of technology strategies related to ArchivesSpace.
• Play a leading role in the maintenance and application of ArchivesSpace.
• Recommend library-related content, text, and revisions for the museum webpages to the appropriate museum staff.
External Relations:
• Act as representative and advocate for the library with local, regional and national organizations.
• Collaborate with Development Department in identifying and preparing grant proposals.
• Participate in professional activities at the regional, national and international levels, as appropriate.
Research Services and Teaching:
• Provide backup reference assistance to museum staff and students, interns, volunteers and the public.
• Participate in teaching archival principles to the students in the museum’s Selznick School for Film Preservation and its Photographic Preservation and Collection Management (PPCM) graduate programs.
• Train PPCM students in archival management, arrangement and description.
Supervision:
The Head of the Library and Special Collections had the following supervisory responsibilities:
• Oversees the work of one full time employee and students and volunteers.
• Ensures that work meets the standards of quality and productivity.
• Makes recommendations regarding personnel actions, such as hiring, disciplinary action, approval of overtime, compensation, and terminations.
• Supervises any persons who work on grant-funded projects related to the library.
Physical Activity:
This position regularly requires standing, walking, sitting, carrying (max 20 lbs.), climbing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, reaching, handling, speaking, hearing, seeing, and motions that are repetitive. Position will also occasionally require lifting (no more than 30 lbs.), pushing/pulling (40 lbs.), balancing and occasional commercial travel.
Qualifications:
Education Requirements:
• Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited library or information science program, or equivalent combination of other advanced-degree and professional-level experience in a research library or archive.
• Advanced degree related to History of Photography, Film History, and/or Art History preferred.
Experience Requirements:
• At least five (5) years of progressive responsibility in a research library or archives.
• At least five (5) years of experience with processing and describing archival collections.
• Working knowledge of the history and current practice of photography and cinema preferred.
• Demonstrated application of standards for archival content management systems, technologies, and metadata standards and schema applicable to an archives (such as DACS, EAD and MARC) and facility with managing the resulting descriptive data.
• Proficiency with ArchivesSpace, Voyager, Online Cataloging Software (OCLC), Microsoft Word, Excel, E-mail, etc.
• Must have research focus, excellent attention to detail and written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a team setting and independently as well as with staff and researchers.
• Possess an understanding of current developments within archives and special collections and of the issues involved in the preservation and use of digital collections.
For consideration, please submit your curriculum vitae, a letter of application, and a list of three references to dmohr@eastman.org
George Eastman Museum is an Equal Opportunity Employer
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