[padg] Conservator Position Available at NYPL

[efrangakis@xxxxxxxx]

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

Position: Assistant Conservator
(Specialist II)
Barbara Goldsmith Preservation Division

Available: Immediately

Description: Under the direction
of the Head of Conservation Treatment, performs structural and aesthetic
conservation treatment on a wide range of paper-based formats, including
books, manuscripts, archives, art on paper, photographs, or other artifactual
materials from the NYPL’s diverse collections. Must be skilled at performing
both single-item and collection care treatments.  Provides full written
and photographic documentation in accordance with the AIC Code of Ethics
(including examination, condition reports, treatment proposals, final treatment
reports, and full photographic documentation). Uses computer hardware and
software in recording treatments and performing collection surveys, including
database and digital imaging software.  Applies appropriate research
techniques and uses advanced technology and equipment in the scientific
examination of materials.  Works with library and conservation staff
to develop and manage treatment strategies for discreet collections.  Participates
in training conservation staff.  Plans and conducts library staff
training.  Assists in the general maintenance and organization of
the conservation laboratory.  Participates in disaster response and
recovery activities.  Maintains Associate level membership in AIC.
 Keeps abreast of current developments in the conservation field.
 Performs other related duties as assigned.

Requirements: Master’s degree
from an accredited graduate training program in conservation or a related
field.  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. Demonstrated
computer and related technology skills. Demonstrated mastery of written
and oral communication. Demonstrated success in a wide range of conservation
treatment procedures. Demonstrated successful managerial and organizational
skills, including the ability to train, supervise, and assess work.  Knowledge
of the diverse preservation problems of a large research library or other
major cultural institution.  Ability to work collegially across a
large, complex, and dynamic organizational setting.

The Institution: The New York
Public Library comprises simultaneously 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.
That combination lends to the Library an extraordinary richness. It is
special also in being historically a privately managed, nonprofit corporation
with a public mission, operating with both private and public financing
in a century-old, still evolving private-public partnership. The research
collections of over forty-four million items resemble the holdings of the
great national and university libraries, and the community circulating
libraries with over seven million items resemble classic American municipal
libraries.

The Barbara Goldsmith Preservation Division supports the mission of The New York Public Library by preserving both the artifacts that comprise its rich collections and the intellectual record that they contain. A wide variety of preservation activities are performed in the Division’s five program areas: Binding and Shelf Preparation, Collection Care, Field Services, Conservation Treatment, and Reformatting. These areas oversee binding and labeling of the Library’s books and periodicals; mass deacidification of books, journals and archival collections; construction of protective housings; general collection repair; surveys of the overall condition of the collections; training staff and the public about preservation issues; project planning; environmental monitoring; disaster preparedness and recovery; integrated pest management; reformatting and creating facsimiles of materials; and special collections conservation treatment.

The NYPL preservation program is among the oldest, most comprehensive and significant programs of its kind, working to further develop and strengthen the program to meet the increasing preservation needs of the diverse NYPL collections so that the public – both local and global, present and future – can readily access these vast and diverse resources.

For inquiries about the position contact:
Shelly Smith
Head of Conservation Treatment
Barbara Goldsmith Preservation Division
212-930-0649
sksmith@xxxxxxxx
 
To Apply: Please email cover letter and resume to lsresumes@xxxxxxxx.
Refer to Job Code LL-SII PTM. E/O/E.
______________


Evelyn Frangakis
Aaron and Clara Greenhut Rabinowitz Chief Librarian for Preservation
Barbara Goldsmith Preservation Division
The New York Public Library
Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street
New York, NY 10018
voice: 212-930-0567
fax:  212-302-5328
efrangakis@xxxxxxxx