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Director of the Research Library, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH

Posted June 19, 2015

Responsibility:  Responsible to the President & CEO for the administration of all Research Library functions throughout the Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) and for the growth, use, and maintenance of its collections, for coordinating the activities of assigned staff, for creating and managing fundraising initiatives, and for assuring that programs operate responsibly and within the limits of the approved budget.

Classification: This position is classified as full-time administrative and is exempt from overtime compensation.

Supervision: Supervises the Research Library’s regular full-time and part-time employees, persons employed under the terms of special grants pertaining to the library, volunteers, consultants, vendors, and others as authorized under the annual budget.

Coordination:

  1. Promotes Research Library involvement in exhibits, programming, education, fundraising, retail sales and development, marketing, and other intra institutional activities and seeks partnerships with other cultural institutions.
  2. Reaches out to pertinent constituencies in the community to engender interest in and use and support of WRHS in general and the Research Library in particular.
  3. Maintains association with a variety of professional organizations to remain current on professional matters in the archival and library fields and to promote the interests of WRHS and its Research Library.
  4. Serves as ex-officio member of Research Library auxiliaries

Duties:

  1. Coordinates budget preparation for the Research Library with the President & CEO and assures that the department operates within its approved annual budget, that all funded programs are successfully administered and implemented, and that all WRHS policies are followed
  2. Aggressively develops and oversees the implementation of Research Library programs and collection priorities within the context of overall institutional goals and objectives. 
  3. In collaboration with the President & CEO, actively seeks grants and financial support for Research Library and other institutional purposes and develops and implements earned income initiatives that support operational expenses. 
  4. Spearheads the expansion of technology applications throughout the research Library assuring that the department is technologically up-to-date and that the Research Library pages of the WRHS website contain accurate information and are used to the fullest extent possible to promote use of the Research Library and to generate income.
  5. Assures the maintenance of adequate security, storage, and computerized collections management for all library collections, and assures proper controls and uses of these collections
  6. Recommends policies relating to staffing, collections and program development for the library, including genealogy and family history, with special attention to collecting priorities.
  7. Develops and manages a first class staff of professionals; encourages staff participation in professional organizations; develops and manages in-house training in advanced information technology and archival methods to keep staff current with evolving practices as well as to enhance access to the collections for research and use/replication of content-based materials for programs and exhibits.
  8. Develops and implements programs and initiatives to increase the annual number and variety of patrons and researchers utilizing library collections and resources in the Reference Room.
  9. In collaboration with the Program Department, actively develops strategies for education programs for school, youth, and general audiences that involve the Research Center and the use of library materials, for securing grant funding for combined library and education initiatives, and for promoting new earned income initiatives based on using library materials for educational purposes.
  10. Undertakes other specific duties as assigned by the President & CEO.

Qualifications:

  1. The Director of the Research Library is an administrative position of WRHS that requires advanced academic training, substantial work experience, achievement in the field, proven leadership skills, willingness to be a team player and serve as a member of a management team, proven success in fundraising and project management, and unquestionable honesty and integrity
  2. Educational requirement is an ALA-accredited degree in library and information science (archival concentration preferred) or advanced degree (Ph.D. preferred) in American History or related field; certification in archives desired.
  3. Professional level experience of at least five years in a research library, archives, or manuscripts repository with at least five years significant administrative experience during which time the candidate has demonstrated job-related initiative, goal orientation, creativity, achievement and growth
  4. Experience must also include demonstrated knowledge of and work in the area of automation and on-line access to archival/library resources and scholarship evidenced by publications, teaching, or the presentation of papers in one or several of the following fields: American history, archival issues, family history and automation
  5. Essential personal traits include honesty, loyalty, enthusiasm, excellent communication skills, and the capacity to work with a variety of people ranging from entry level employees to major donors

Please submit a cover letter and resume to Janet Waterman at [email protected] or to Western Reserve Historical Society, 10825 East Blvd, Cleveland, OH  44106. 

Deadline to apply is July 15, 2015.

Western Reserve Historical Society, one of the largest regional historical societies in the United States, is hiring a new Director of the Research Library. The Research Library is the principal repository for Cleveland and northeast Ohio history and also holds internationally significant collections relating to religion, anti-slavery and abolitionism, the American Civil War, and the automobile industry. Its special collections, comprised of archives, photographs, maps, printed ephemera, and rare books touch upon a vast range of subjects, including architecture, business, education, gender, charity and social welfare, farming, immigration, law, military, politics, religion, and transportation. The library’s photographic holdings are vast and cover subjects dating from the advent of photography in 1839 to the present. WRHS is looking for an experienced special collections librarian with imagination, commitment, and the necessary skills to work with the WRHS leadership team and staff to develop a strategic vision for the Library which will substantially improve accessibility to our collections, onsite, offsite and online. Please send a cover letter and resume to [email protected] by July 15, 2015. For more details, please visit http://www.wrhs.org/about/Employment.

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