Librarian, Historic Deerfield, Inc., Deerfield, MA
Posted December 30, 2019
The Librarian directs two libraries: the Henry N. Flynt Library of Historic Deerfield (HD) and the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association (PVMA) Library, known as the Memorial Libraries, under the Joint Library Agreement adopted when HD constructed the library building in 1970. The Librarian’s position is fully funded by Historic Deerfield. Founded in 1952 and 1870, HD and PVMA are separate organizations with individual 501(c) 3 status. Both organizations maintain institutional archives.
The Henry N. Flynt Library consists of modern reference works, antiquarian materials, rare books, and manuscripts on the topics of architecture, art history, material culture, horticulture, and social history with a focus on early America, New England, and the Connecticut River Valley. Historic Deerfield’s rare books and manuscripts are housed in the Joseph Peter Spang Rare Book Room. The PVMA Library of printed and manuscript materials, town histories and genealogies, is focused on Deerfield, Franklin County, the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire and Vermont. Holdings of documents, letters, diaries, and account books form its greatest strength. Both libraries are complementary in their focus on the history and artisanship of New England and Deerfield, which benefits visiting scholars, museum members, genealogists, the staffs of both HD and PVMA, and the Five Colleges Consortium of which HD has been a member since 1986.
Requirements: MLIS with at least 5 years of supervisory experience and budget management in an ALA accredited library.
Responsibilities of the Librarian of Historic Deerfield (HD):
Administration. The Librarian is responsible for the administration of HD’s Henry N. Flynt Library, its staff, interns, and volunteers as well as the Memorial Libraries building, including day-to-day operations and security. Other tasks include the development and monitoring of the Library’s annual operating budget and the preparation of reports as required as well as the acquisition and application of ISBN numbers. The Librarian works with other HD staff in planning and implementing HD publications, chairs the HD Publications Committee, and sits on the HD Programs Committee and Acquisitions Committee. The Librarian also serves on the HD Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees and the HD/PVMA Joint Library Committee.
Collections Development. The Librarian is responsible for the development of the holdings of Henry N. Flynt Library in modern reference works, periodicals, rare books, and manuscripts through purchase and gift, oversees the digitization and conservation of the collection, and is responsible for the library’s electronic database. He/She tracks the HD David R. Proper Fund for Library Support for the development and maintenance of the Henry N. Flynt Library.
The Librarian also maintains donor paperwork and arranges for appraisals when necessary and tracks acquisitions for reporting purposes. The Librarian is further responsible for the occasional review and dispersal of unwanted titles in a professional manner. The Librarian is encouraged to develop further expertise in an area of printed material culture. In conjunction with the Director of Academic Programs, the Librarian facilitates HD’s membership in the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium, a collaboration of 30 major cultural agencies that encourages and awards funding for research and scholarship in New England.
Preservation. The Librarian is responsible for the preservation of both collections in the Memorial Libraries through maintenance of environmental conditions, conservation planning, professional storage standards, and oversight of binding, microfilming/digitizing, and book/paper repair.
Reader Services. The Librarian is responsible for providing and supervising reference/research services and access to collections, including formulation and implementation of policies governing use of collections, loans, permission for reproduction and publication of collections, and creation of finding aids. The Librarian maintains access and procedures surrounding the Alice Newton Smith Reading Room, which serves both the HD and PVMA collections.
Teaching. The Librarian presents lectures and workshops to undergraduates in the Historic Deerfield Summer Fellowship Program as well as to HD staff and other public programs as needed.
Responsibilities of the Librarian of PVMA
The Librarian provides regular reports to the PVMA Council and is a member of the PVMA Library Committee. He/She reviews genealogical materials offered by members and friends of PVMA. Collection Development is similar to that of HD: developing purchases and gifts, digitizing and conservation of collections, etc. He/She reviews and advises the PVMA Council on acquisitions and alerts the Council to auction opportunities.
Teaching/Education. The Librarian is responsible for assisting in PVMA professional development programs (often in the summer) and for the use of the Library by public and private school K – 12 students, faculty, and Library volunteers and interns.
And other duties as required by the responsibilities of the position.
The Librarian reports to the Senior Vice-President of HD and the Executive Director of PVMA and supervises the Associate Librarian.
Salary commensurate with experience.
Hours: Thirty-five hours per week, Monday through Friday, with the understanding that occasional evening and weekend responsibilities are required.
Letters of Interest with CV’s should be sent to Betsy McKee, Historic Deerfield, Inc., Box 321, Deerfield, MA 01342; [email protected]