The University of Minnesota Libraries invites applications for an innovative and proactive Assistant Curator for the James Ford Bell Library.

The James Ford Bell Library, a unit of the Archives and Special Collections Department, documents the history and impact of trade and cultural change around the world prior to ca. 1800 CE.  Its premier collection of rare books, maps, manuscripts, archival collections, government documents, and more are used widely in teaching and learning across the U of M campus, other area colleges and universities, K-12, and globally via several online access points.  The collection, its heaviest concentration in the 17th and 18th centuries, boasts more than twenty languages.  As a founding member of the Consortium for the Study of the Premodern World (an Andrew W. Mellon-funded initiative), the Bell Library is integrated into graduate education initiatives that promote multi-disciplinarity and innovative approaches.  Visiting scholars from around the world visit the Bell Library each year, many supported by four different fellowship opportunities.  An ambitious physical and digital exhibitions program also brings collection materials to a broad audience, as does its signature James Ford Bell Lecture and its co-sponsorship of other lectures and workshops throughout the year.  In addition to University Libraries’ support, the Bell Library is supported by a friends group, the Associates of the James Ford Bell Library, which underwrites programming and acquisition initiatives.  The John Parker Fund, a Bell Library endowment, supports publications and programming, while additional support comes from grants and other fundraising efforts, both internal and external to the University.

Housed in the newly created Maxine Houghton Wallin Special Collections Research Center in the Elmer L. Andersen Library on the U of MN west bank campus, the Bell Library provides a comfortable, modern, and congenial working environment.  The Assistant Curator works as part of a team committed to integrating the James Ford Bell Library’s collections and programs into a broader institutional and community environment. The Assistant Curator engages with diverse user populations, and supports and facilitates outreach, teaching, and research, directly and remotely.  The Assistant Curator maintains an awareness of changes in scholarly uses of information technology, and uses technology to manage collections and provide enhanced access to materials.  The Assistant Curator provides stewardship of the collections, identifying preservation and conservation needs and applying best practices and standards.  The Assistant Curator also plans and implements programs and projects, coordinates student staff, and ensures timely completion of deliverables.  The Assistant Curator works with the Curator to manage donor relationships within the context the Libraries’ and University’s strategic goals, strengthening stakeholders’ commitment to the mission and programs.

The position reports to the Curator of the James Ford Bell Library.

Responsibilities

Teaching:

• Collaborates with faculty to facilitate instructional goals and develop curricular resources in an active and robust teaching environment. Applies relevant and effective pedagogical methodologies and best practices to develop course materials and instructional sessions that foster student learning. Creates a repertoire of instructional strategies and assessment techniques to establish a positive, organized learning environment.
• Develops and offers customized reference and research consultation services and policies and procedures for a diverse population of researchers, students, faculty, and communities.
• Instructs users in search strategies for locating relevant materials for primary resource research.

Research:

• Understands trends in scholarship and research topics in a variety of pre-modern fields/subject areas and uses knowledge of pertinent disciplinary and interdisciplinary research methodologies to collaborate with faculty and students to facilitate research and instructional goals,
• Actively engages with and supports diverse user populations in working with special collections.

Collection Management:

• Contributes to building and managing specialized library collections, including selection and preparation of materials for digitization. Prepares and administers grant proposals, and materials loans.
• Leads projects to develop, implement, and enhance library services and/or programs. Manages project budgets and staff.
• Works cooperatively with institutional advancement units in fundraising initiatives, including Friends of the Libraries.  Identifies potential donor groups.
• Oversees daily operation of Bell Library in curator’s absence.

Outreach:

• Promotes collections to diverse audiences through a variety of outreach and advocacy methods to the institution’s community and beyond. In consultation with curator, initiates and develops relationships with internal and external partners for short, medium, and long term program development.
• Plans, implements and engages with traditional and virtual programming that interprets and integrates collections into exhibitions, conferences, guest lectures, and public speaking, as well as online exhibitions, blogs, social media. Contributes to library social media and website.
• Identifies and recommends exhibit themes and programming that support the collections, and library goals and objectives.  Collaborates with faculty, staff or communities to design, develop, prepare and install exhibits. Collaborates with communications staff on exhibit marketing and programming.

Supervision:

• Supervises student employees, volunteers, and interns.

This is a full-time, 12-month, annual renewable, academic professional position.  We offer a competitive salary commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits and substantial moving allowance.