Asst. Curator, Music Division/Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded So

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Job Description

Full job title: Assistant Curator, Music Division/Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound
 
Overview:

Under the Direction of the Chief of the Music Division and the Curator of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, the Assistant Curator serves as the primary contact, resource, and advocate for all researchers working with Music and R&H materials.  The Assistant Curator coordinates all onsite and remote access to materials and provides sustained individual service to researchers, including the timely fulfillment of researcher requests and orientation to LPA’s catalogs, finding aids, electronic resources, and services.  The Assistant Curator oversees collection management best practices for Music and R&H and serves as the primary liaison with the Theatre and Dance Divisions, LPA Print Delivery, NYPL Document Delivery, Permissions, Preservation, BookOps, and Metadata units and maintains proper bibliographic records and oversees the timely processing of new acquisitions and backlogs.

 

Responsibilities:
  • Directs research and reference services, training and supporting a team of librarians and technical assistants; coordinates onsite and remote access to Music and R&H research materials and provides individual service, including consultations, to onsite researchers, Short-Term Fellows, and visiting NYPL Curators
  • Coordinates and oversees all facets of the user experience for Music and R&H collections and facilitates access to related collections in other research centers and divisions; involves LPA Print Delivery and works closely with NYPL Document Delivery, Rights and Permissions, and others to ensure timely fulfillment of user requests
  • Assists Division Chief and Curator with supervision of up to nine staff members of both MUS and RHA, circulation, and research, all of which are sustained and synchronized by the Assistant Curator in the delivery of reader services and a seamless user experience; managerial responsibilities also include guiding incoming collections, their disposition, movement, and oversight of processing, and their delivery to readers
  • Oversees collection management best practices for Music and R&H and serves as the primary liaison to the NYPL Special Collections Unit, the Digital Imaging Unit, Preservation, BookOps, and Metadata units to fulfill digitization requests, refine workflows, maintain proper bibliographic records, and ensure the timely processing of new acquisitions and backlogs, as well as ensuring remote digital access to onsite analog catalogs and indexes
  • Provides instructional services and orientation to NYPL Digital Collections, catalogs, finding aids, and electronic resources as part of a team of LPA curators and assistant curators engaged in outreach to promote the Library’s collections
  • Guides access to AMI materials and facilitates reformatting and on-demand digitization requests
  • Manages the administrative and procedural activities necessary to support the Curators’ outreach activities, programming, donor cultivation, exhibition work, and acquisition
  • Administers and maintains divisional records related to archival acquisitions, donor relations, and collection management
  • In the absence of the Division Chief and Curator, oversees MUS/RHA operations

  • Liases with with other LPA divisions in overseeing all aspects of reference and delivery services, policies and procedures to realize a consistent and positive user experience

  • Establishes and maintains donor relationships as directed by the Division Chief and Curator

  • Guides the associated archives through the acquisitions and processing workflows in conjuncture with the Division Chief and Curator

Key Competencies:

Accountability and Professionalism – Demonstrates enthusiasm for and commitment to the position and accepts responsibility for personal actions.

Customer Service – Commits to meeting the expectations of internal and external customers.Listens and responds effectively to customer questions; resolves customer problems to the customer’s satisfaction; respects all internal and external customers.

Collaboration and Teamwork – Supports a positive team environment in which members participate, respect and cooperate with each other to receive desired results.

Job-Specific Knowledge and Skills – Plans, prioritizes, and organizes work effectively to produce measurable results; keeps current with and effectively applies new work methods, skills and technologies to complete work.

Leadership and Management – Provides direction, motivation and sets an example through open communication and modeling best practices.  Demonstrates ability to motivate others to meet a common goal; and, recognizes and effectively leverages employees’ skills and abilities.  Establishes realistic budget plans and demonstrates fiscal responsibility.

Performance Management and Development Provides clear departmental strategic goals, individual employee performance expectations and criteria for performance measurement. Provides meaningful and appropriate advice, on-going feedback, support and resources to improve effectiveness of individuals and teams. Addresses any staff performance problems in an appropriate and timely manner. 

Qualifications:
  • Masters degree in Music or Musicology
  • Doctoral degree in Musicology and/or a Masters in Library Science degree preferred
  • A minimum of five years’ experience in a supervisory capacity in a large research library
  • Ability to be conversant with readers about all aspects of music, music history, and musicology. There will also be opportunities to research and write about the collections in the form of blog posts, grant applications or presentations at scholarly conferences where institutional visibility is essential to gauging and carrying out the ongoing mission of fostering successful reader experiences
  • Fluency with the history and development of sound recordings, including a working knowledge of audio and moving image formats
  • A reading/working knowledge of German and French preferred
Work Environment:

All of this work will take place in a. office setting b. Stacks c. Reading rooms

Exposure to some dust is expected handling older collection materials

Site visits to collections are also expected

Physical Duties:

Physically moves collections which may require lifting up to 40 lbs.

 
Union / Non Union:

Non Union

How to Apply

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