Position at MIT

Thomas F. Peterson (1957) Conservator
Curation and Preservation Services (Librarian II)
MIT Libraries

The MIT Libraries seek an experienced and forward-thinking
professional to manage MIT's special collections conservation
program and to contribute knowledge and expertise to the Libraries'
overall preservation strategy.  Working in a state-of-the-art
conservation lab, this is an exciting opportunity to work with the
rich collections of a world renowned institution ensuring long-term
access for current and future scholars.

Reporting to the Head, Curation and Preservation Services, the
Conservator develops and manages MIT's special collections
conservation program, planning and executing conservation treatments
for the physical maintenance of rare books, archives, and
manuscripts.  S/he conducts condition assessments and utilizes data
to inform planning and evaluate outcomes of services and projects.
S/he provides expertise and guidance to collections curators and
other library and facilities staff regarding collections care,
treatment, and storage.  S/he also keeps current on standards and
best practice, documents procedures and workflows, and develops
outreach and training programs.

The Conservator collaborates with the Department Head and
Preservation Librarian to provide a comprehensive preservation
program that leverages emerging and evolving technology and tools.
S/he manages projects to maintain or expand access to paper-based
materials and media through various reformatting methods, primarily
digitization and, s/he develops preservation plans and priorities in
consultation with managers of collections, user services, and
digital repositories.  S/he shares management responsibility of lab
operations with the Preservation Librarian which includes budget
development and administration, oversight of compliance issues,
vendor relationship management, and supervision of one support staff
and occasional interns.

Additional responsibilities of the Conservator include exhibition
support for the Maihaugen Gallery, environmental monitoring and
disaster preparedness and response, participation in stewardship of
donors and fundraising, developing projects and funding proposals,
and serving as the Libraries' representative to MIT Environmental
Health and Safety.

Qualifications:

      Graduate degree in conservation or comparable education and
      training

      Minimum of 3-5 years of professional conservation experience
      with demonstrated ability to perform complex treatments for
      rare books and paper-based materials

      Working knowledge of chemistry and materials science as
      applied in the field of conservation; demonstrated knowledge
      of current conservation theory and practice

      Ability to identify, adapt, and utilize relevant technologies
      and emerging techniques

      Ability to plan, organize, and set priorities

      Strong training skills; excellent oral and written
      communication skills

      Experience supervising staff and managing a laboratory that
      meets OSHA requirements for health and safety

Preferred

    Masters in Library Science or substantial experience working
    collaboratively in a research library setting

    Familiarity with relevant technology and tools

    Experience with exhibition production and support

Salary and Benefits: $58,500 minimum salary.  Actual salary based on
qualification and experience.  MIT offers excellent benefits
including a choice of health and retirement plans, a dental plan,
tuition assistance and a relocation allowance.  The MIT Libraries
afford a flexible and collegial working environment and foster
professional growth of staff with management training and travel
funding for professional meetings.

Application process:  Apply online at:

    <URL:http://hrweb.mit.edu/staffing>

Please include cover letter, resume, and contact information for
three references.  Review of applications will begin March 4, 2013
and will continue until position is filled.  MIT is strongly and
actively committed to diversity within its community and
particularly encourages applications from qualified women and
minority candidates.

Through a culture that encourages innovation and collaboration, the
MIT Libraries are redefining the role of the 21st century
library--making collections more accessible than ever before, and
shaping the future of scholarly research.  Library staff, at all
levels, contribute to this spirit of innovation and to the mission
of promoting learning, discovery and the advancement of knowledge at
MIT and beyond.

"Reinventing the Research Library:  The MIT Libraries in the 21st
Century

    <URL:http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/mitlibraries/videos/10837-reinventing-the-research-library-the-mit-libraries-in-the-21st-century>

is a short video that looks at how the Libraries are expanding
beyond their traditional role to shape 21st century research
library--creating innovative services, reaching out to students and
faculty, and leading efforts to increase global access to MIT's
scholarly work.

The MIT Libraries support the Institute's programs of research and
study with holdings of more than 2.9 million print volumes and 3.1
million special format items, and terabytes of MIT-owned digital
content.  In addition, rare special collections, Institute records,
historical documents, and papers of noted faculty are held in the
Institute Archives and Special Collections.  Library resources and
services are accessible to students and researchers through the
Libraries' website

    <URL:http://libraries.mit.edu>

and library spaces are widely available for both collaborative work
and quiet study.  Traditional library resources are supplemented by
innovative services for bioinformatics, GIS, metadata, social
science data, and research data management services, as well as
multimedia facilities and services for video production,
conferencing, webcasting and distance education.  The Libraries
utilize the Ex Libris Aleph system for its public Web-based catalog
and as the support system for user service and processing functions.
DSpace_at_MIT, a digital repository developed over the past ten years
by the MIT Libraries, serves to capture, preserve and communicate
the intellectual output of MIT's faculty and research community.
Other MIT repositories include: Dome, a second DSpace instance,
providing access to a sizable image collection and other digital
collections owned by the MIT Libraries; the MIT Geodata Repository
for a diverse collection of GIS Data; and MIT's DataVerse for
licensed social science datasets.  MIT Libraries maintain
memberships and affiliations in arXiv, Association of Research
Libraries, the BorrowDirect group, the Boston Library Consortium,
DDI Alliance, DuraSpace, HathiTrust, CLIR/Digital Library
Federation, the Coalition of Networked Information, EDUCAUSE, North
East Research Libraries, OCLC Research Library Partnership, National
Digital Stewardship Alliance, and NISO.

Helen Bailey
Library Fellow for Digital Curation and Preservation
MIT Libraries
617-324-4493

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