Collections Strategist, MIT Libraries, Cambridge MA

Posted May 27, 2014

The   MIT   Libraries   seeks  a   Collections   Strategist   who   is  an   adaptive,   innovative   and   process-driven   strategic thinker. This position contributes to the Collections Strategy and Management (CSM) Department’s leadership  role in developing a holistic strategy for collections within the library, publishing and scholarly communities, and will serve as CSM’s lead strategist for the Arts and Humanities collections.

The Collections Strategist will participate with department colleagues in the development and implementation of   the  Libraries   collections    policies  and   strategies.   S/he   will  manage     approval    plan   content;   participate    in prioritizing    and   spending     designated     central   funds;   and   help   with  the   selection    of  major   interdisciplinary resources   and   packages.   The   Strategist   will   gather   and   organize   collections   data   from   a   variety   of   tools   and sources and coordinate its use in collections work, and, through analysis and assessment, use it to guide strategy changes. S/he will also provide leadership to selected collections-related projects.

The incumbent will join the highly collaborative Arts and Humanities Community of Practice (A&H CoP), which serves  as  a  forum  for  the  10  member  group  to  discuss  topics  of  mutual  interest  to  selectors’  communities.   Promoting   a   strategic   and   holistic   approach   to   collections   work,   the   Strategist   will   engage   with   selectors   in building collections, work with them and provide training to ensure best collections practices, and help the CoP think    about    collections    work   within    the   broader    context    of  outreach,    access,    metadata     creation,    rights management   and   curation.  S/he   will   monitor   funds;         manage   gift/endowed   fund   expenditures   according   to donors’  intent;  and  contribute  to  resource  development  and  donor  stewardship  including  identifying  and 
articulating collections needs.

The Arts and Humanities at MIT are particularly vibrant and interdisciplinary, and  play a crucial role in an MIT education.      The   Collection    Strategist   will  have   selection   responsibilities    for   general   subject    resources    and monographs   that   serve   broad   aspects   of   the  A&H  community’s  research  needs  as  well  as  topics  that  cross  subject areas, such as cultural studies, and will support other library services for the community. S/he will be engaged   with   colleagues   around   significant   issues   in   the   Arts   and   Humanities   and   keep   abreast   of   collection trends and publisher changes.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS for the position include:  

•  ALA-MLS/MLIS or equivalent advanced degree in library or information science 
•   Bachelor’s degree in the Arts or Humanities or significant experience working with Arts or Humanities collections, including a deep understanding of the literature and information sources used in one or more disciplines 
•   Minimum of five years’ collection development experience in an academic/research/special library
•   Highly developed communication skills, both oral and written, including experience producing reports and communicating findings for diverse audiences
•   Excellent interpersonal skills, including ability to effectively collaborate with colleagues
•  Evidence of ability or potential  to lead change and implement new services and work methods
•   A collaborative approach to problem solving and working across organizational boundaries
•   Strong analytical skills
•   Ability to be flexible and to successfully manage competing deadlines
•   Experience working with vendors of scholarly research products
•   Demonstrated project management skills

Preferred

•   Advanced degree in the Arts or Humanities 
•   Demonstrated vendor negotiation skills
•   Grant writing experience

SALARY   AND   BENEFITS:  $61,000          minimum.  Actual      salary   and appointment   level   (Librarian   II or  III)  will  depend   on qualifications 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.

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 June 23, 2014. MIT is strongly and actively committed to diversity within its community and particularly encourages applications from qualified women and minority candidates.

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  (http://libraries.mit.edu/),  and   library  spaces    are   widely   available    for  both collaborative      work     and    quiet   study.   Library     resources     are    supplemented    by   innovative     services    for bioinformatics,      GIS,   metadata,     social  science   and    other   research    data.   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.

The Libraries  maintain memberships and affiliations in ArchivesSpace, arXiv, Association of Research Libraries, the    BorrowDirect,      Boston     Library    Consortium,      DDI   Alliance,    DuraSpace,      HathiTrust,     CLIR/Digital    Library Federation,      Coalition    of  Networked      Information,     Coalition   of   Open    Access    Policy   Institutions,    EDUCAUSE, National Digital Stewardship Alliance, NISO, North East Research Libraries, OCLC Research Library Partnership,
and   ORCID.     The   Libraries  utilize   Ex   Libris’ Aleph  for  its  integrated   library   system   and   have  recently   deployed EBSCO’s  Discovery  Service.  DSpace@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.