Assistant or Associate Professor of Library Administration
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Position
Available: Position available immediately. This is a 100%,
twelve-month, tenure-system appointment.
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the University of
Illinois at Urbana – Champaign (UIUC) seeks a dynamic and thoughtful Curator of
Rare Books & Manuscripts to oversee and manage a large and diverse
collection of rare materials.
Responsibilities include: reader services and access for special
collections, instruction using primary sources, exhibition research, collection
development and processing, and public outreach. This is a tenure track
position.
Responsibilities:
Under the general guidance of the Director of The
Rare Book & Manuscript Library and in cooperation with other curatorial
staff, the Curator is responsible for:
·
fostering the use of rare materials through
teaching and research and participating
in the Library’s active program of course presentations;
·
providing assistance to students and researchers in
person, by telephone, and by letter and e-mail;
·
intellectual control of the collections, working to
see that the diverse collections (both manuscripts and books) are well
described and cared for;
·
setting collection development priorities and
contributing to the growth of the collections as part of a collaborative group
of curators;
·
shared leadership and active participation in a lively program of public
engagement and working on new ideas for
outreach;
·
development of new
initiatives using new technologies to encourage the use of primary sources by a
broad scholarly and educational public;
·
forging strong ties
with relevant faculty members so that use of special collections remains a
vibrant and active part of the curriculum;
·
interpretive writing (about the collections) for
public programs and as part of a program of scholarship;
·
pursuing and implementing grants in areas such as
improved access, conservation, and public programming.
Requirements:
Master’s Degree from an ALA-accredited library
science program or its equivalent; PhD or Master’s in literature,
history, culture or other area of specialization appropriate to our
collections; Commitment to ongoing scholarly growth beyond the area of initial
disciplinary specialization; Candidates
should have at least two years of relevant experience and professional achievements; Knowledge of
Latin and advanced knowledge of at least one modern European language; Demonstrated understanding of current
theory and practice (i.e., arrangement and description) applied to literary and
historical manuscript collections; Knowledge of
current descriptive metadata standards and/or other technological avenues for
enhancing access to special collections; Demonstrated skills in managing programs and bringing
projects to completion.
Preferred:
Understands the
theory and practice of collection development, including establishing goals and
priorities, researching and documenting provenance, and conducting assessments
of collections; Managerial and organizational skills required to oversee an extensive
program of acquisitions, collection management, and public engagement
activities; Supervisory experience associated with the
acquisition, arrangement and description of manuscript collections and/or rare
books; Demonstrated knowledge of cataloging standards and familiarity with
OCLC, as well as experience working with in an integrated library system, such
as Endeavor’s Voyager; Experience in grant writing and development; Clear understanding and vision for the use of new
technologies (digitization and beyond) in the field of rare book and manuscript
librarianship; Experience with exhibition preparation,
interpretive writing, and public engagement activities; Evidence of bibliographical and
scholarly accomplishment.
Environment:
The University of Illinois Library at
Urbana-Champaign is one of the preeminent research libraries in the world. With
more than 13 million volumes and significant digital resources, it ranks second
in size among academic research libraries in the United States and first among
public university libraries in the world. As the intellectual heart of the
campus, the Library is committed to maintaining the strongest possible
collections and services and engaging in research and development activities in
pursuit of the University’s mission of teaching, scholarship, and public
service. The Library currently employs approximately 90 faculty and 300
academic professionals, staff, and graduate assistants. For more detailed
information, please visit . The Library consists of multiple
departmental libraries located across campus, as well as an array of central
public, technical, and administrative service units. The Library also
encompasses a variety of virtual service points and “embedded librarian”
programs.
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the principal repository for
early manuscripts and rare books and for literary manuscripts in the broad
fields of literature, history, art, theology, technology, and the natural sciences.
Established in 1936 from Professor Harris Fletcher’s John Milton collection and
Professor Thomas Baldwin’s Shakespeare collection, The Rare Book &
Manuscript Library has grown to nearly half a million books and over 7,500
linear feet of manuscripts. Particular strengths lie in early printing and the
Elizabethan and Stuart periods in England, with works by Shakespeare, various
important editions of the Bible, and renaissance school books standing out as
distinctive and deep collections.
The Library is renowned for its outstanding collections of incunabula,
emblem books, and drama collections.
Also noteworthy are collections in the history of science and
technology, Mark Twain and his age, the history of economics, and natural
history. Papers of such notable figures as Benjamin Disraeli, Anthony Trollope,
William Allingham, Marcel Proust, John Richardson, Carl Sandburg, H.G. Wells,
William Maxwell, and W.S. Merwin are also part of the collections.
Salary and
Rank: Salary
commensurate with credentials and experience. Librarians have faculty rank, and
must demonstrate excellence in librarianship, research, and
university/professional/community service in order to meet university standards
for tenure and promotion. For more information, see .
Terms of
Appointment: Twelve-month appointment; 24 annual vacation
days; 11 annual paid holidays; 12 annual sick-leave days (cumulative), plus an
additional 13 sick-leave days (non-cumulative) available, if needed, each year;
health insurance requiring a small co-payment is provided to employee (with the
option to purchase coverage for spouse and dependents); required participation
in State Universities Retirement System (SURS) (8% of annual salary is withheld
and is refundable upon termination), with several options for participation in
additional retirement plans; newly-hired employees are covered by the Medicare
portion of Social Security and are subject to its deduction.
Campus and
Community: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a
comprehensive and major public land-grant university (Doctoral/Research
University-Extensive) that is ranked among the best in the world. Chartered in
1867, it provides undergraduate and graduate education in more than 150 fields
of study, conducts theoretical and applied research, and provides public
service to the state and the nation. It employs 3,000 faculty members who serve
31,000 undergraduates and 12,000 graduate and professional students;
approximately 25% of faculty receives campus-wide recognition each year for
excellence in teaching. More information about the campus is available at
www.illinois.edu.
The University is located in the twin cities of
Champaign and Urbana, which have a combined population of 100,000 and are
situated about 140 miles south of Chicago, 120 miles west of Indianapolis, and
170 northeast of St. Louis. The University and its surrounding communities
offer a cultural and recreational environment ideally suited to the work of a
major research institution. For more information about the community, visit:
or
.
To Apply: To ensure
full consideration, please complete your candidate profile at
https://jobs.illinois.edu and upload a letter of interest, resume, and contact
information including email addresses for three professional references.
Applications not submitted through this website will not be considered. For
questions, please call: 217-333-8169.
Deadline: In order to
ensure full consideration, applications and nominations must be received by November
20, 2012.
Illinois is an Affirmative Action /Equal
Opportunity Employer and welcomes individuals with diverse backgrounds,
experiences, and ideas who embrace and value diversity and inclusivity.
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