Librarian II - Berg Collection

The New York Public Library • New York, NY

4d • Onsite

About The Position

For more than 125 years, The New York Public Library (NYPL) has been an essential provider of books, information, ideas, and education. With collections numbering more than 56 million items and serving more than 16 million patrons in person each year and millions more online, NYPL’s reach is both local and global. Our mission is to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities.
At our world-class research centers–including the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Library at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, the Library for the Performing Arts, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture–expert staff facilitate the work of our diverse communities, offering inspiring reading rooms, programs, exhibitions, fellowships, and a dynamic range of research services. Their work is supported by dedicated staff on the Collections and Research Services teams. We are proud to be the most public and widely used research library in the world.
Part of the Rayner Special Collections Wing of the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Library, the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature comprises some 35,000 printed volumes, pamphlets, and broadsides, and 2,000 linear feet of archives and manuscripts, representing the work of more than 400 authors. The collection spans the fifteenth century to the present, with particular strength in nineteenth-, twentieth-, and twenty-first-century literary manuscripts and author archives.
The Librarian II will play a key role in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature by providing excellent public service in the form of reference work and varied forms of outreach, by coordinating access operations, and by supporting the department through activities that may include writing, classes, and presentations.
The optimal candidate will be collaborative, public service-oriented, and committed to streamlined and equitable access to collections for all researchers.
For more information about the Berg, please see: https://www.nypl.org/about/divisions/berg-collection-english-and-american-literature

Requirements

• ALA-accredited Master’s degree in library, archival, or information studies
• Experience working at a research library, special collections, or archives
• Experience with English-language literary collections and/or a related academic field
• Experience in a public-facing service role
• Ability to ensure the care, safe handling, and secure custody of collection items
• Ability to communicate clearly with a variety of stakeholders, including colleagues and researchers
• Ability to successfully collaborate with a diverse community of colleagues
• Excellent verbal and written skills
• Commitment to friendly and access-forward customer service
• Knowledge of cataloging principles and best practices for arrangement, description, classification, and collection management
• Ability to read and interpret English-language manuscript material from the seventeenth century to the present
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite and Google Drive Apps

Responsibilities

• Deliver welcoming and inclusive public service to all staff, researchers, and visitors by coordinating research appointments and providing prompt and expert research and reference assistance in person and remotely
• Supervise patron collection use and ensure the preservation of materials by providing supportive instruction on the handling of special collections
• Coordinate access services, including collection retrieval for circulation
• Maintain departmental practices, standards, workflows and documentation to manage the care, description, and access of collections including under-described material and remote access to digital surrogates
• Serve on the reference desk, coordinating day-to-day activities as needed; support the public service needs of other Rayner Special Collections Wing divisions as needed
• Contribute to gathering and maintenance of related statistics and documentation
• Work closely with the curatorial team to collaborate with colleagues across the Library on collection documentation, management, and preservation projects
• Provide direction to paraprofessional staff as needed
• Perform other related duties as required

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level