Collections Strategist, MIT Libraries, Cambridge MA
Posted July 2, 2013
The MIT Libraries seeks an innovative and process-driven strategic thinker to provide holistic strategy and leadership in collection development and to serve as the strategist for the Arts and Humanities collections. Through active engagement with publishing and scholarly communities, the Strategist will cultivate an awareness of best practices and emerging trends in these areas.
Reporting to the Head of Collections Strategy and Management (CSM), the successful candidate will collaborate with department colleagues in the development and implementation of collections policies and strategies. S/he will manage approval plans; manage designated central collections funds and prioritize expenditures; and select major interdisciplinary resources. The Collections Strategist will compile data from a variety of sources to guide collections work and decisionmaking, and will utilize data analysis and assessment in developing collections strategy. S/he will serve as the CSM lead on projects related to the management of physical collections across all subjects.
As a member of the highly collaborative Arts and Humanities Community of Practice (A&H CoP), the Collections Strategist will engage with colleagues around significant collections issues in these areas and will coordinate collections projects. S/he will partner with selectors in enhancing collections skills and engage them in a holistic approach to collections building within the context of outreach, access, metadata creation, rights management, and curation. Resource management responsibilities include oversight of A&H CoP and gift funds, and participation in resource development and donor stewardship, particularly the identification and articulation of collections needs. S/he will help to select general subject resources that serve broad aspects of the A&H community’s research needs, and will keep abreast of collection trends and publisher changes. S/he will also support library services for the Arts and Humanities community.
QUALIFICATIONS:
– MLS/MLIS from an ALA-accredited institution or equivalent advanced degree in library or information science
– Minimum of five years collection development experience in an academic/research/special library
– Significant experience with research collections and a deep understanding of the literature and information sources used in one or more Arts or Humanities disciplines
– Demonstrated ability to lead change and implement new services and work methods
– Excellent oral and written communication skills
– Experience producing reports and communicating findings for diverse audiences
– Excellent interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach to problem solving and working across organizational boundaries
– Experience working with vendors of scholarly research products
– Proven project management skills
– Strong analytical skills
– Ability to work with geographically-distributed physical collections with limited accessibility
Preferred
– Bachelor’s or advanced degree in the Humanities or significant experience working with Humanities collections
– Demonstrated vendor negotiation skills
– Grant writing experience
SALARY AND BENEFITS: $60,000 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: http://hrweb.mit.edu/staffing/. Applications must include cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references. Review of applications will begin July 29, 2013 and will continue until position is filled.