Music Librarian (part-time), Harvard Musical Association, Boston, MA
Posted June 18, 2015
The Harvard Musical Association seeks a skilled music library professional to provide comprehensive management of its Special Collections. The majority of the work will involve discrete cataloging initiatives and some collection management. Circulation management and reference demands will be minimal.
The position of HMA librarian is part-time (seven hours per week), from September through June. The library primarily serves a small membership, while also providing reference services to the public on an extremely limited basis. The librarian works with and advises the HMA Administrator, who is on site full-time.
Starting date: late September. Interviews will also take place in September.
See complete job description at www.hmaboston.org
Cataloging – Catalog new acquisitions and a small backlog of manually processed items to OCLC. Create detailed finding aids and catalog entries for HMA archival material.
Reference – Provide reference services to the HMA membership and to independent scholars requiring access to the HMA’s distinguished collections.
Circulation – Maintain circulation files; pursue the retrieval of missing materials.
Collections Maintenance – Perform periodic inventories of collections. Oversee the rebinding, reformatting and restoration of circulating library materials and archival collections.
Prerequisites:
- Degree in Library Science and a minimum of two years professional library experience.
- Musical background and demonstrated experience with music research and performance skills, characteristics of languages, and musical scores.
- Competency working with Windows applications including MS Office (Word, Excel, Access, Photoshop, etc.); and competency in the operation of digital camera and scanner.
- Experience in OCLC cataloging (knowledge of RDA, AACR2R, LC classification, and MARC coding as interpreted by OCLC is required).
- Experience in the organization and care of rare and antiquarian books, ephemera, and archival collections.
Working Hours:
Reporting to the Chair of the Library Committee, this is a ten-month per year, seven hours per week position, late September through June. Time distribution may vary according to demands of HMA concert and other special programming.
The Association:
The Harvard Musical Association is a private charitable organization founded by Harvard University graduates in 1837 for the purpose of advancing musical culture and literacy, both at the College and in the city of Boston. Among the Association’s most important major accomplishments in the middle of the nineteenth century are the creation of the country’s finest music library of that time, the first professional and public chamber music series, the erection of the great Boston Music Hall, and the formation of the Harvard Musical Association Orchestra which ultimately gave rise to the Boston Symphony.
Today, the Association’s library numbers 20,000 books and scores, one-third of which are not held in other libraries. HMA’s concert rooms are available during weekdays without charge to musicians for practicing and to scholars for research. The Association’s Marsh Room, the meeting place of The Apollo Club (the oldest male chorus in New England) and the venerable HMA Reading Orchestra, is also frequently a recital venue for area artists and performing groups. The Harvard Musical Association maintains a longstanding tradition of commissioning new works, supporting local non-profit musical organizations, and giving prizes and awards to young performers. It is located on the web at www.hmaboston.org.
To apply, send resume and letter of interest to Anne C. Peters, Library Committee, via email to [email protected] or mail to Harvard Musical Association, 57A Chestnut Street, Boston, MA 02108. The Association’s website is www.hmaboston.org.