• Job Description

  Req#: 10005533
  Job Description

  The Public Services Manager is responsible for managing and coordinating the operational aspects of all physical user access to materials held by Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA). This includes managing the research room, assisting in delivering exhibition services, and assisting with SCUA’s social media accounts. The manager will work to improve and further develop SCUA’s “in person” services, extending both the audience for, and physical access to, the unique Vanderbilt special collections, to include new and diverse audiences both on campus and throughout the local area and beyond. Early career archivists or librarians, seeking their first or second professional appointment, are encouraged to apply.

  Reporting to the to the University Archivist/Associate Director of Special Collections, the Public Services Manager will assume a critical role in reshaping SCUA’s on-site public services initiatives to meet the emerging needs of 21 st century scholars, researchers, and citizens.

  Special Collections and University Archives is part of the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries. The mission of Special Collections is “to deliver a sustainable legacy of unique cultural heritage by preserving and providing access in perpetuity to Vanderbilt University's impressive collection of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, memorabilia, audio-visual, and institutional archives in our care whatever the format (analog or digital).”

  This involves:

  • Collaborating with donors and the university to understand and describe the context, the material, and the intellectual content of their collections in whatever form, physical, analog, online, or digital.
  • Arranging and describing the collections to enable diverse and inclusive paths to discovery, access, and understanding of the material by scholars and the wider public.
  • Preserving and stewarding the material and intellectual content of collections through proper conservation, digitization, and digital preservation.
  • Giving digital and physical access to collections to as wide an audience as possible, given copyright and privacy constraints, online, internationally, and on-site in Vanderbilt.

  Duties and Responsibilities

  • Manages all aspects of the research room; from scheduling of researchers, ensuring materials they need are available, through support and completion of a researcher’s visit.
  • Ensures the security, surveillance, and support of researchers in the research room including the management of staff and student schedules, breaks, and thoroughness of service.
  • Manages and co-ordinates the timely movement of special collections materials between off-site storage and the onsite storage next to our research room and classroom.
  • Works with the Archives Manager to ensure the onsite storage is efficiently and effectively used to minimize the transport of frequently accessed collection materials, and to ensure that materials needed onsite are available on time.
  • Coordinates and ensures the triage of the SCUA email box, and other internal systems such as Aeon and ArchivesSpace, for requests for materials and other research inquiries.
  • Ensures that all research inquiries are distributed to a relevant staff member for action and that proper responses are generated for the customer in a timely and professional manner.
  • Tracks and prepares statistical reports for user demographics, reference transactions, research room visits, collection use, events, instruction, and online interactions using Aeon.
  • Helps in curating engaging exhibits of SCUA materials in collaboration with other curators and exhibition and outreach staff to reach new and diverse audiences.
  • Helps to manage, and contribute to, SCUA social media accounts to promote SCUA in person and onsite access services to a wide and diverse audience.
  • Participates in other SCUA activities and projects such as writing grants, starting digital projects, and engaging in inter-institutional collaboration.
  • Participates in professional archival or library associations and other professional organizations to remain current on developments and advancements in research services using physical collections, communications and outreach, exhibitions, archival studies, preservation, conservation, library science, public administration, and training.

  Supervisory Relationships: The position will hire, train, and supervise student workers to deliver onsite services in support of the research room and classroom.

  Qualifications

  • Master's degree in library and information sciences from an ALA accredited university OR Public History Degree with a significant Archives Concentration is necessary - this is a professional level Archivist/librarian position.
  • A demonstrated passion for providing “in person” services, with an ability to set, manage, and exceed customer expectations in an academic research and teaching environment is necessary.
  • A demonstrated ability to organize and prioritize work and manage staff, with strong project management skills and considerable judgement and initiative is necessary. The applicant should be effective at meeting deadlines, adjusting priorities, and working on multiple projects simultaneously.
  • A demonstrated understanding of the principles of archival and library theory, practice, and proper handling of unique and fragile materials is necessary. This should include knowledge of current archival arrangement and description standards, relevant descriptive standards, and knowledge of computer standards and applications in archives and libraries.
  • Commitment to special collections and archives research services, including a high interest in promoting the research use and appreciation of rare and primary source materials is necessary.
  • Highly effective written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills, alongside a collaborative and user-focused perspective with the ability to address customer expectations for many audiences is necessary.
  • Demonstrated ability to work comfortably with a wide range of digital systems including social media platforms and common Microsoft office applications is necessary.
  • Experience in social media use to communicate the work, or profile, of an individual or institution would be an advantage and is preferred.
  • Demonstrated Ability to be productive and effective in a demanding dynamic environment, with the ability to work independently, or collaboratively, and to engage with others to identify challenges and opportunities is required.
  • Knowledge of US history and politics, particularly of the US South is preferred.

  #LI-ONSITE

• About the company

  Vanderbilt University is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee.

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