Posts in the Museum Librarianship category:

Fellowships + residencies, Job Postings, Museum Librarianship

2018-2020 Samuel H. Kress Fellowship

Written by Larry Eames on . Leave a comment

The New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC) is seeking candidates for the 2018-2020 fellowship. NYARC is comprised of the research libraries of the MoMA, the Frick, and the Brooklyn Museum. The fellowship provides an early career librarian (degree conferred in 2017 or before) the opportunity to learn the operations of three leading art museum libraries via hands-on training and collaboration. This is a paid, full-time position with health benefits and funding for travel to the ARLISNA annual conference.

The application deadline is June 15. Read more here: http://www.nyarc.org/fellowship

Archives + Special Collections, Job Postings, Museum Librarianship

Assistant Archivist at Glenstone

Written by Breanne Crumpton on . Leave a comment
TITLE

Assistant Archivist
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION Glenstone is an art museum located on more than 200 acres of rolling hills and unspoiled woodland in Potomac, Maryland. Conceived by founders Mitchell and Emily Rales on their deeply held belief that art is essential to life, it has already become one of the finest collections of modern and contemporary art in the world. In addition to the current museum, when its new museum building opens to the public in 2018, Glenstone will become the largest private museum in America welcoming 100,000 visitors every year free of charge. By thoughtfully integrating the power of art, the energy of architecture and the serenity of landscape, Glenstone is both a distinctive idea and a unique place.

Glenstone is proud to foster a professional environment in which people can do interesting, fulfilling and enjoyable work. Not only do its founders develop and oversee all acquisitions and exhibitions, but Emily Rales also serves as director of the Museum and curator of the collection. This provides all associates an unusually high degree of access and interaction with the spirit and vision of Glenstone. To work at Glenstone is to be a part of something bigger, something more meaningful, and something truly special. It is a chance to do a job to the highest standard, with the resources and support available to a founder-led and endowed organization. It is an invitation to be engaged, challenged and stimulated, to help fulfill a powerful mission, and to contribute to a noble purpose.

We are incredibly proud of what Glenstone offers to those who create, appreciate, study, and otherwise participate in the world of art; and we are equally proud of what Glenstone offers to those who choose to join us in doing so. There is no better time than now to become a part of Glenstone.
DESCRIPTION Position Overview

Reporting to the Chief Archivist/Librarian, the Assistant Archivist will serve as part of a dynamic team in managing and preserving Glenstone’s archival assets. The Assistant Archivist will work in collaboration with the Library and Archives team to ensure long-term access to the institutional records.

Desired Attributes & Characteristics

The ideal candidate will possess flexibility, excellent communication skills, will be a problem solver, and be personally and professionally motivated by collaborating with a variety of associates. Desired characteristics also include a strong work ethic, as well as an attention to detail, and focus on deadlines. In addition, we are looking for someone that can embrace Glenstone’s core value of ‘continuous improvement’ through an interest in professional development to advance their knowledge and expertise to surpass our previous best efforts.
POSITION REQUIREMENTS Key Responsibilities

  • Assist in the establishment, implementation, and regular evaluation of policies regarding the accessioning, processing, and preservation of archival content in accordance with best professional practices
  • Manage the ingestion, storage, and access of digital assets, including professional video and high-resolution photography
  • Coordinate the use of archival content through a variety of mission-critical workflows, such as rights and reproduction, video production, staff research, and communications
  • Maintain statistics on outreach activities, reference requests, project work, storage conditions, and the overall growth of the archives
  • Assist in the formulation and administration of an institution-wide records management program to encompass both physical and digital records
  • Supervise interns and project workers
  • Respond to reference requests from Glenstone associates

Required Skills & Experience

  • ALA-accredited master’s degree in Library and Information Science with a concentration in archives and Records Management, Digital Curation, or related discipline.
  • Familiarity with professional metadata schema and content standards concerning the management of archival collections and digital assets, such as DACS, Dublin Core, PBCore, VRA Core, EXIF, IPTC, XMP, and PREMIS
  • Demonstrated experience writing, implementing, and assessing policies and workflows concerning the management of physical and digital collections
  • Strong technical ability to learn new software, evaluate information systems, and implement innovative strategies for preserving and cataloging archival content
  • Strong interpersonal and proactive ability to advocate archival policies, ensure compliance with best practices, and liaise with diverse stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications

  • Knowledge of modern art and architecture and/or background in museum archives
  • Experience with CollectiveAccess, or similar collections management system, for the management of archival collections and digital assets
  • Experience processing and cataloging specialized formats, including architectural records, audiovisual tapes, and ephemera
  • Experience supervising interns and/or student workers
  • Knowledge of professional video production and photography practices
  • Experience with the Adobe Creative Cloud, particularly Adobe Premiere, Adobe Bridge, and Adobe Photoshop

Salary & Benefits

Associates are crucial to achieving Glenstone’s mission and we offer a competitive salary commensurate with experience. We also provide a total benefits package that helps you manage your health, protect your income, and prepare for your future. To promote collaboration and show appreciation to associates, Glenstone provides a weekly staff lunch, on-site health and wellness classes and volunteer opportunities.

Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; life, long-term and short-term disability and AD&D insurance, a Flexible Spending Account (FSA); a 401(k) retirement account with a matching contribution; an Employee Assistance Program (EAP); and tuition reimbursement.
FULL-TIME/PART-TIME Full-Time
SEASONAL
EXEMPT/NON-EXEMPT Non-Exempt
EOE STATEMENT We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

Full Description (PDF): Assistant Archivist Postion Posting

To Apply: https://recruiting.myapps.paychex.com/appone/MainInfoReq.asp?R_ID=1576081

Art + design librarianship, Interviews, Metadata + Tagging, Museum Librarianship

The Artist/Librarian: An interview with Kylie Schmitt

Written by Ralph Baylor on . Leave a comment

Kylie Schmitt, Digital Technician at the Frick Art Reference Library, at her computer workstation.

As art librarians we obviously have an affinity for the visual and creative arts.  In fact many of us found our field by starting originally as artists.  Kylie Schmitt, an early professional at the Frick Art Reference Library, is both librarian and artist.  She shares more information about her work as an information professional and as a practicing artist.

What is your current position? 

Digital Technician

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?

On a day-to-day basis I perform quality assurance (QA) on our digitization projects’ TIF and PDF files; I create workflows for our digitization and QA processes; manage our digitization and QA team; maintain, organize, & backup files within our DAMS and local drives; officiate digitization requests; and report on progress of digitization projects numerically.

Tell us about what a typical work day looks like for you.

On a typical day I’ll start with some QA. Throughout the day I’ll manage others doing QA, answer questions, and troubleshoot issues that we have come across. I also will monitor if we have any digitization requests and by the end of the day I’ll have probably done some organization of files either on our DAMS or on a local drive.

What does quality assurance mean in your field?

Quality assurance is a process that all digital materials go through before they can be approved to go public. The process entails putting another set of eyes on digitized items to make sure all of our digital file standards are met. Our standards range from file size/resolution standards based on Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative (FADGI), to making sure nothing foreign accidentally made it into the frame.

Can you describe one of your favorite digitization projects that you have worked on?

Each project takes quite a while to complete, however, I think I like our American School Digitization project best because as someone working on it you get to look at American art all day.

What is your educational background? How did you come into librarianship as a field?

I received my Bachelor’s in Studio art, concentrating in photography. After working in the fine art and advertising worlds, I realized it wasn’t for me, but I still wanted to stay in the arts. I worked at the Marymount Manhattan library while attended as an undergrad student and thought I should combine my enjoyment of the library with my passion for the arts so I went back to school and received my Master’s in Library Science.

What type of artwork do you primarily do?

Photography and ceramics.

How did you get into photography and ceramics?

When I was 10 years old my dad gave me my first camera. It was his manual film camera and he taught me how to use the aperture and shutter settings. I’ve been taking pictures ever since then but didn’t develop and print my own work until I went to Maine Media Workshops after high school. I took ceramics in grade school and was in pottery club, but then it wasn’t available in high school so I didn’t go back to it until I was in college where I fell in love with it again.

Does the your library work influence your artwork? What about vice-versa?

I don’t use a digital camera in my artwork which probably has to do with the fact that I work on a computer all day at the library. I do gain inspiration from seeing so many pieces of art at work on a daily basis.

So can you describe the medium of the image you are sharing?

This piece is a cyanotype, a form of photographic process. No camera, or negative was used; instead I used organic materials directly on paper, coated with a light sensitive cyan medium, as a contact print.

Photograph of a plant negative
Meristem, 2015
Cyanotype
Kylie Schmitt

Who are your artistic influences?

The f/64 group for sure, and Georgia O’Keeffe

Tell us more about the f/64 group?

The f/64 group was formed in the 1930s. They are a group of San Francisco photographers including Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and Imogen Cunningham, to name a few. At the time the popular photographic style was pictorial, so this group of photographers formed based on their modern aesthetic. The term f/64 is a small aperture size that allows for a clearer focus throughout the image and greater depth of field. The aperture setting f/64 is used in the straight photography that the group was known for.

Who is your favorite artist?

Edward Weston

Do you have art on your walls? What kind?

I do. Mostly photographs – old prints found at thrift stores, and some nature photography (one being an Ansel Adams of course), but no original pieces by artists themselves. I hope to one day invest in some original works after I save up.

As a new professional in the field what is one thing you wish you had known before you graduated?

I wish I knew how digital and technical the library world is becoming.

What advice can you give to someone in library school who wants to do the kind of work you are doing?

I think for my work, experience is everything. I would say my best advice would be to do as many internships as you can, to build up experience and to network.

Job Postings, Museum Librarianship

Museum Library Internship – Fall 2014 – Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Written by seymoresarah on . Leave a comment

Museum Library Internship – Fall 2014 – Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Library interns support the research of the MCA staff, interns, volunteers, and visiting scholars by assisting the librarians on a variety of projects. Current projects include working with artist files and the publications archive. Interns will gain experience in the areas of reference, circulation, cataloging, and collection management. Interns gain a solid understanding of the operations of an art museum library, as well as  other MCA departments. Experience in libraries or enrollment in an MLIS program is preferred. The ability to work independently with a strong attention to detail is required. Some heavy lifting is involved.

Application deadline is July 15, 2014

Full post here: http://www2.mcachicago.org/employment/internships

Archives + Special Collections, Job Postings, Museum Librarianship

Cataloguer, Louise Bourgeois Archive Project– MOMA

Written by seymoresarah on . Leave a comment
Cataloguer, Louise Bourgeois Archive Project
Location: New York, NY
Education Requirement: 4-Year Degree
Description
The Museum of Modern Art is currently accepting applications for a Project Cataloguer to assist with the Louise Bourgeois Archive Project. Based in the Museum’s Department of Drawings and Prints and reporting to the Chief Curator Emerita/Bourgeois Project Manager, the Project Cataloguer will work with project team, as well as independently, to examine, research, and catalogue the printed work of Louise Bourgeois. This is a two year grant-funded project.
Specific responsibilities are as follows:- Enters information into computer database, and prepares and formats it for the online catalogue of Bourgeois’s works: www.moma.org/bourgeoisprints.

– Assists with processing new Bourgeois acquisitions and establishing their collection storage.

– Prepares collection-related receipts and acquisitions lists.

– Helps to coordinate photography and imaging requests, as needed.

– Helps to maintain project files and records, in both hard copy and digital formats.

– Works collaboratively with MoMA’s Digital Media, and Collection and Exhibition Technologies Departments and, on occasion, with outside web designers and developers.

– Works collaboratively with the Louise Bourgeois Studio on research matters.

Qualified candidates will possess a Bachelor’s degree, art history preferred, general knowledge of modern and contemporary art and works on paper, and familiarity with print techniques. Prior experience with works of art and collections organization and cataloguing and general office experience preferred. Prior experience with team-based projects preferred. Detail-oriented and well-organized. Knowledge of databases and data processing. Strong research and communication skills (written and oral). Accurate typing required. Ability to collaborate on a team project.

Application Instructions

Please submit resume and cover letter, which must include salary requirements, to jobs@moma.org. Please reference the position title in the subject line.

The Museum of Modern Art is an equal opportunity employer and considers all candidates for employment regardless of race, color, sex, age, national origin, creed, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or political affiliation.

Full post here.

Archives + Special Collections, Job Postings, Museum Librarianship

Internship– Brooklyn Museum Archives

Written by seymoresarah on . Leave a comment

Internship in the Brooklyn Museum Archives

The Brooklyn Museum is seeking an intern to assist with processing records in the Museum Archives. The intern will process a discrete portion of the institutional records: arrange, perform basic preservation measures, write folder-level descriptions, and enter descriptions into a Microsoft Access database. The intern will gain valuable experience in basic appraisal, processing, creating folder descriptions, and database usage.

Seeking Masters of Library Science/Archives candidates who have some experience or coursework in archival management, be able to perform detailed work and be able to lift records cartons weighing up to 40 pounds.

Schedule: 10-5 one day per week, Monday through Friday.

Compensation: unpaid internship, intern will have Museum volunteer status.

The Museum Archives, a division of the Museum’s Libraries and Archives department, preserves and makes accessible the permanent records of the Museum as well as of the Museum’s parent organization, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (1843-1980), and the Institute’s predecessor, the Brooklyn Apprentices’ Library (1823-41). The holdings of the Archives total approximately 2800 linear feet, and include correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, publications, films, audiovisual materials, artifacts, and ephemera that document the Museum’s exhibitions, objects, outreach, administration, research, and other activities.

Please send a resume, letter of interest, and references via email to library@brooklynmuseum.org

Collections Management, Digital Libraries, Job Postings, Metadata + Tagging, Museum Librarianship, Records Management

PT term Manager of Digital Assets and Collections Information– Glenstone

Written by seymoresarah on . Leave a comment

Position: Manager of Digital Assets and Collections Information

Reports to: Chief Archivist/Librarian

Background:

Located on 200 acres in Potomac, Maryland, Glenstone strives to provide visitors with a unique experience through the seamless integration of art, architecture, and landscape. Its first exhibition building was designed by late architect Charles Gwathmey and opened to the public in 2006. It hosts a series of rotating exhibitions with artworks drawn from Glenstone’s permanent collection of post-World War II art. The outdoor landscape is home to monumental sculptures carefully placed amidst rolling pasture and unspoiled woodland. Admission is always free, and visits are scheduled by appointment to encourage an unhurried, intimate engagement between the viewer and their surroundings.

Glenstone is now embarking upon an expansion in order to strengthen its commitment to the viewing public. The centerpiece of this project will be the construction of a new exhibition building designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners. The building will highlight a series of discreet pavilions, or “rooms” surrounding a central water courtyard, many of which will be devoted to single-artist installations. It will provide significantly expanded gallery space and state of the art collection storage. Landscape architects Peter Walker and Partners will also oversee a revised master plan of Glenstone’s outdoor landscape. Finally, the expansion will incorporate a new public entrance and visitor amenities, to support a more comfortable and rewarding visit.

Job Purpose:

To develop detailed requirements for systems to manage Glenstone’s digital assets, including: a Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) and/or Digital Preservation System.

Job Duties:

 Produce a short and long-range plan as it relates to the creation, management, and use of information, digital assets, and other collections-related assets; deliverable due by end of appointed term.

 Work closely with IT and other departments to ensure the reliability, security, and accessibility of all digital asset and collections information systems, including managing user groups, permissions, workflows, and reporting.

 Work with records creators across departments to establish logical file directory structures, naming conventions, metadata standards, and formats for born-digital records and assets.

 Develop and/or adopt metadata standards for digital assets and collections information.

 Develop policies, procedures, and workflows for the ingestion of digital assets and collections information into all digital asset and collections information systems. Train staff accordingly and monitor compliance.

 Develop and implement digital preservation strategies.

Required Qualifications:

 3-5 years of experience overseeing digital asset management and/or collections information management in a museum or archival setting.

 BA or equivalent in Art History, History or Humanities. Advanced degree, preferably MLIS with archival focus, or Museum Studies with Collections Information Management and/or Digital Asset Management focus highly preferred; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

 Knowledge of current best practices related to DAMS and collections information metadata, processes, and preservation strategies.

 Experience selecting and implementing digital asset management and/or collections information management systems.

 Experience and familiarity with one or more of the leading digital asset management systems, e.g., ADAM, Canto Cumulus, Extensis Portfolio, MeGlenstoneBin, NetXposure, Razuna, Xinet.

 Familiarity with one or more of the leading ILS or AMS platforms, e.g., Aleph/Voyager, Archivists’ Toolkit, Archon, CollectiveAccess, CuadraSTAR, Koha, Millennium, Omeka.

 Experience crafting institutional digitization and digital preservation strategies.

 Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Preferred Qualifcations:

 Experience implementing open source software.

 Familiarity with current cataloging best practices and metadata standards for collections in museums, libraries, and archives, including Cataloging Cultural Objects (CCO), LIDO, CDWA Lite, AAT, ULAN, DACS, EAD, MARC, AACR, LCSH, Dublin Core, PBCore, VRA Core, IPTC Core, XMP, EXIF, METS, MODS, and other standards as appropriate.

 Ability to work with staff possessing a wide range of technical competence.

 Experience and/or familiarity with CRM software.

Salary:  Glenstone offers a competitive salary.  This is a six-month, term position.

Application Process:

Electronically submit a cover letter, resume, list of three professional references, and a writing sample to HR@glenstone.org, or mail to:

Human Resources Generalist
Glenstone
12002 Glen Road
Potomac, MD 20854

Date Posted: May 20, 2014

Deadline: June 6, 2014

Cataloging & Catalogs, Digital Libraries, Job Postings, Metadata + Tagging, Museum Librarianship, Technology + digitization

Visual Resources Intern– The Jewish Museum

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POSITION SUMMARY:

The Jewish Museum’s Visual Resource Archive consists of photographic materials depicting permanent collections objects, past exhibition installations, and themes relating to Jewish history and culture.

Under the supervision of the Visual Resources Coordinator, the Visual Resources Intern will be responsible for researching and cataloging physical photographic collateral including glass plate negatives, 35 mm slides, and 4×5 transparencies. The successful candidate will have film handling experience and will be familiar with collections databases. This is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to pursue a career in the visual resources fields and to observe the inner workings of a museum visual resources collection. The internship will also provide experience and hands-on training working with the most commonly used museum collections software, The Museum System (TMS).

The intern will receive a museum identification card that allows for free admission to other museums and various discounts.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

 Identify, research, and store photographic materials in the Visual Resources Archive
 Transcribe information associated with the images
 Label archival envelopes for the permanent storage of analog photographic materials
 Use TMS to find information about artwork depicted in images
 Entering data and attaching images to records in TMS may be required

REQUIREMENTS:

 At least 3 years coursework toward Bachelor’s Degree in Art History or Photography
 Experience handling delicate materials such as negative and transparencies
 Experience working with analog photographic materials and scanners
 Strong attention to detail
 Applicants with coursework toward advanced degree in Art History. Photography, Archives and/or
Library Science preferred

Full posting here.