Head of Acquisitions, American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, MA

Posted May 8, 2018

AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY

Position Available – Head of Acquisitions

 

 

Founded in 1812, the American Antiquarian Society is a learned society that supports a preeminent national research library specializing in American history, life, and culture from settlement through the year 1876 The library serves a world-wide community of scholars. The Society is committed to maintaining a level of outstanding reference service to its readers and other library constituents that has been our hallmark for decades.

 

 

JOB TITLE: Head of Acquisitions

DEPARTMENT: Acquisitions               

REPORTS TO: Marcus A. McCorison Librarian

SUPERVISES: Acquisitions Department staff

FLSA: Non-exempt

Date: 5/4/2018

 

POSITION: The American Antiquarian Society seeks a talented individual to lead a team of one full-time and two part-time acquisitions assistants in a busy department that performs core services for the Society. The head of acquisitions will manage and supervise all the functions of the acquisitions department, including overseeing the collections purchasing budget and ensuring that all newly acquired collections have a basic accession record.

 

The Society is considering a merger of the acquisitions department and the cataloging department into an integrated technical services division. The incumbent will have a direct role in envisioning and facilitating that transition. Within the first six to eight months, the head of acquisitions will be expected to conduct a comprehensive review of procedures to identify department needs and make recommendations to improve efficiency where possible.

 

The position is open September 1, 2018 and will have a six-week training period with the current head before her retirement in October. 

 

 

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Coordinate the acquisition, cataloging, processing, and funding of all library materials acquired by purchase and donation.
• Establish and document departmental priorities and procedures.
• Maintain departmental records, files, and statistics.
• Manage the expenditures, by appropriate use of funding from the endowment, gift and grant funds.
• Work closely with curators and assist with monitoring their budgets, and coordinate with other departments, vendors, and donors as appropriate.
• Train and supervise department personnel, and review work. Conduct semi-annual performance reviews to set goals and objectives.
• Catalog the pre-1900 books, graphic arts, and manuscripts prior to inclusion in the Voyager module.

 

 

SUPPORTIVE FUNCTIONS:

• Prepare Voyager purchase orders and invoices when necessary for timely workflow.
• Request catalog records for serials when necessary.
• Supervise the creation of all reports requested by Curators and Senior Managers.
• Participate in meetings for managers and the collection development committee.
• Supervise the handling of any duplicates or returns, and document as necessary.
• May serve a shift on the reference desk.
• Perform other duties as needed.

 

 

TRAVEL: National

 

 

SPECIFIC JOB KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY REQUIRED – The individual must possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities and be able to explain and demonstrate that he or she can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation.

• Demonstrated competence with online library systems, particularly Ex Libris’ Voyager’ system   
• Knowledge of MARC format, AACR2/RDA and OCLC.
• Supervisory experience and/or ability to lead a diverse team in order to achieve departmental and institutional goals.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, and interpersonal skills to work with a variety of constituents, including staff, donors, and vendors.
• Ability to plan workflows or projects.
• Previous work in a library setting with rare materials strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of American History and American Literature desirable.  

 

 

EDUCATION: B.A. required; MLS or MLIS strongly preferred

 

 

CERTIFICATES/ LICENSES REQUIRED: n/a

 

 

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

• Ability to read, understand, speak and write in Standard English
• Ability to communicate effectively in English with individuals in person, over the telephone, and via the printed word 
• Knowledge of foreign languages is helpful, but not required.

 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job with or without reasonable accommodation.

 

Duties require periods of standing, walking, sitting. Duties require occasional periods of climbing or balancing, pulling/pushing items including book trucks with materials, lifting/carrying items weighing up to approximately 30 lbs., reaching with arms and hands. Vision and hearing at or correctable to “normal ranges.” Other physical tasks include use of hands for basic grasping/manipulation, use of hands for fine manipulation, occasional reaching, stooping, bending, kneeling, crouching, keyboarding. Physical duties are subject to change. Must be able to transport oneself to work-related meetings, workshops, conferences, etc.

Applicants, as well as position incumbents, who become disabled as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act must be able to perform the essential job functions (as listed) either unaided or with the assistance of a reasonable accommodation to be determined by management on a case by case basis.

 

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Most duties are performed indoors in office environment with artificial light and cool, thermostatically controlled temperatures. The noise level is low. May be exposed to dust, mold, and/or other organic material or other irritants. Hazards are considered minor and controllable.

 

 

COMPENSATION: This is a non-exempt full time, 35 hour per week position, M-F; $50,000–$60,000. Benefits include paid vacation, sick and personal time, health insurance, retirement, life and disability insurance, and professional development.

 

 

 

Submit a letter of application, resume and three non-relative references electronically to [email protected] with “Head of Acquisitions” in the subject line. The American Antiquarian Society is an equal opportunity employer in accordance with applicable federal and state laws.