Houghton Library is seeking applicants for the position of Head of the Rare Book Section, who leads, manages, and supports Houghton Library’s efforts to catalog, preserve, and provide access to rare books, graphics, and other printed holdings in all formats and across Houghton’s curatorial areas. The position is assigned Harvard salary grade 058, with a minimum starting salary of $72,900. An abbreviated description can be found below; for the full description, and to apply, visit https://hr.harvard.edu/search-jobs and search for the job number 42894BR. Review of applications will begin August 7, 2017.
Typical Duties and Responsibilities
- Provides leadership and management for the Rare Book Section by developing and articulating strategic vision, building and maintaining a team spirit, managing day-to-day operations and special projects, collaboratively establishing priorities, and coordinating work within the unit and with other library units.
- Supervises a current staff consisting of 4.5 regular and project employees through delegation of tasks and projects, establishment of goals, performance reviews, and provision of training.
- In collaboration with the Associate Librarian for Technical Services, Curatorial, Public Services, and Rare Book Section staff, sets cataloging priorities for Houghton print collections.
- Trains staff and reviews catalog records and other descriptive output to ensure quality and adherence to standards.
- Supports the creation, enhancement, and maintenance of authority metadata, both for local use and to contribute to the Name Authority Cooperative Program (NACO).
- Collaborates with Houghton, Harvard, and/or external colleagues to explore, propose, and implement new technologies that promote and facilitate discovery and use of rare printed material.
- Works collaboratively with the Harvard Library’s Information and Technical Services on cataloging projects, best practices and policies, and implementation of new tools and standards such as BIBFRAME and other linked data initiatives.
- In concert with colleagues, develops and implements a long range and comprehensive plan to effectively process and catalog Houghton backlog collections.
- Participates in grant writing efforts, creating work plans and developing budgets for cataloging projects.
- Oversees the development and maintenance of documentation for cataloging, and other Section activities.
- Working with the Head, Manuscript Section and the Technical Services Librarian, assists in planning and policy creation for the Technical Services Department.
- Catalogs rare books, graphics, and other printed material.
- Represents Houghton within the Harvard cataloging and library community, both informally through communication and collaboration, and formally by serving on committees and working groups.
- Maintains an active presence in local and national professional organizations.
Basic Qualifications
- B.A., M.L.S. from an ALA-accredited academic program required.
- Five years of professional experience with increasing responsibility in special collections, preferably in an academic or research library.
- Extensive experience cataloging rare books and printed materials, including graphics.
- Demonstrated knowledge of cataloging standards and principles, including but not limited to: RDA, DCRM, MARC21, LCSH, Library of Congress/PCC rules and authority control practices. Demonstrated knowledge of integrated library systems and bibliographic utilities (OCLC). Experience with Aleph/Alma and Aeon preferred.
- Supervisory and managerial experience required, with the ability to communicate complex ideas to others of varying skill sets.
- Demonstrated project management experience.
- Demonstrated knowledge of descriptive bibliography and book history is essential.
