Position at New York Public Library

Collections Care Conservator (Specialist III)
The New York Public Library

Description: Under the direction of the Head of Collections Care,
serves as collections care conservator, supervising conservation
treatment, repair, and housing programs within the Collections Care
Unit. Determines appropriate treatments for items routed for repair,
boxing or rehousing. Helps set priorities, plans and oversees
workflow through the collections care lab, and monitors quality and
productivity. Trains, supervises and evaluates lab staff. Evaluates
work done by the lab, and ensures that treatment standards and
protocols are met. Administers the health and safety program for the
lab. Performs a broad range of conservation treatments on various
types of materials in the general collections, including mold
removal. Participates in managing conservation projects. Contributes
to the development of preservation policies and guidelines. Provides
technical advice and training regarding handling, storage and
treatment of library materials. Develops and tests new treatment
procedures. Evaluates and makes recommendations on supplies and
equipment used in collections care programs. Selects and monitors
supplies, tools, and equipment; maintains equipment in working
order. Tracks materials, maintains statistics and prepares reports.
Maintains treatment records/systems. Assists in disaster
preparedness and recovery efforts. Position involves some lifting,
operating machinery, and exposure to dust. Performs other duties as
required.

Requirements:  Master's degree from an accredited graduate training
program in conservation or a related field. ALA-accredited masters
degree in library and information studies preferred. Successfully
demonstrated thorough working knowledge of conservation theory and
practice, with satisfactory completion of courses in organic, paper,
and conservation chemistry. Professional experience in the
conservation of paper-based materials, as demonstrated by a
portfolio. Successfully demonstrated experience in a wide range of
conservation treatment procedures. Experience organizing and
managing projects and/or workflow, preferably in a production
setting. Successfully demonstrated experience supervising, training,
and evaluating staff. Successfully demonstrated ability to initiate
and adapt to change, to analyze and solve problems, to be flexible
and work well collaboratively and collegially across a large,
complex, and dynamic organizational setting, as well as
independently. Strong organizational skills, including the ability
to establish priorities and achieve goals. Successfully demonstrated
technology skills. Excellent interpersonal, oral and written
communication skills. Demonstrated knowledge of the history of books
and papermaking, and the problems and causes of book and paper
deterioration. Knowledge of the diverse preservation problems of a
large research library or other major cultural institution.
Knowledge of preservation issues and current trends at the national
and international level.

The New York Public Library comprises a set of scholarly research
collections and a network of community libraries, and its
intellectual and cultural range is both global and local, while
singularly attuned to New York City. The research collections of
over forty-three million items resemble the holdings of the great
national and university libraries and the community circulating
libraries with seven million items resemble classic American
municipal libraries. The Barbara Goldsmith Preservation Division
supports the mission of the Research Libraries by preserving both
the artifacts and intellectual content of NYPL's rich and vast
collections. A wide variety of preservation activities are performed
in four units: Binding and Shelf Preparation, Collections Care,
Conservation Treatment, and Reformatting. Additional information
about the institution may be found at <URL:http://www.nypl.org>.

To apply send a cover letter and resume via one of the following
options:

E-mail:  Send to lsresumes [at] nypl__org with reference to job code
LL-S3PCC in the subject line.  When applying by e-mail, cover
letters and resumes should be sent as attachments.  Attachments may
be in a Microsoft Word or RTF (Rich Text Format).

Mail:

    The New York Public Library
    HR Department, Code LL-S3PCC
    188 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor
    New York NY 10016

Fax: 212-592-7327

For additional information, contact:

    Helga Borck
    Head, Collections Care
    The New York Public Library
    Barbara Goldsmith Preservation Division
    Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, Room 59
    New York NY 10018
    212-930-0854
    Fax: 212-302-5328
    hborck [at] nypl__org


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 19:31
                  Distributed: Friday, January 6, 2006
                       Message Id: cdl-19-31-026
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