Employment Opportunities

Visual Books Project Assistant at The University of Utah

The J. Willard Marriott Library seeks an innovative and dynamic professional for the position of Visual Books Project Assistant for a National Endowment for the Humanities-funded grant project. This is an excellent opportunity to work with special collections and fine arts materials from a variety of historical periods and become familiar with artists’ books, fine press books, and other “visual books.” The Project Assistant will also gain experience in cataloging, metadata remediation, and controlled vocabulary management. The position includes funding to attend and present at select professional conferences. Because this job requires the physical examination of collection materials, the successful candidate will be required to work on-site in Salt Lake City. Relocation will be financially supported by a moving allowance. This is a full time, term-limited position, with an expected effort of 40 hours per week, an expected start date in October 2023, and an expected end date in May 2026. The exact end date will depend on several factors including the exact starting date and the continued availability of project funding.

This position is required to work on campus full-time. Telecommuting will only be authorized for occasional/exceptional circumstances.

We seek qualified applicants who also bring perspectives and experiences that will enrich and strengthen our organization. We especially invite applications from candidates who may not have followed a traditional educational or professional path. All candidates should be prepared to discuss how they see themselves contributing to the University’s equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts. The library serves an increasingly diverse constituency of patrons, and our employees, services, collections, and policies should honor and reflect this diversity. We are therefore interested in identifying and interviewing candidates who have experience with underserved or marginalized communities and communities of color and who are committed to advancing our mission to provide equitable access to information resources.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will:

• Enhance existing catalog records for items in the Rare Books Collection and Fine Arts Library, especially artists’ books and fine press books, focusing on visual components, subject headings, and creator terms. 
• Create original catalog records for special collections and fine arts materials according to RDA and MARC21 standards. 
• Assist with the submission of new controlled vocabulary terms to databases such as the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus. 
• Assist with the maintenance and creation of new entries and visual exemplar for the Opening Artists Books’ website. 
• Share progress, discoveries, and other project information at regional and national conferences and by publishing articles in professional journals.
  

The position reports directly to the Original Cataloger for Special Collections, but some tasks will be supervised by the Director of the Book Arts Program. It is anticipated that the position will be split 50/50 on this work; the Project Assistant will balance these tasks at their own discretion in support of this allocation and according to agreed-upon deadlines and goals.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in History, Art, Humanities, Library or Museum Sciences, related field or equivalency (one year of education can be substituted for two years of related work experience) required. Ability to prioritize work and demonstrate excellent organizational skills; knowledge of computer tracking systems and databases; ability to apply storage and shipping conservation methods; demonstrated human relations and effective communication skills are required in order to effectively work with volunteers, employees and the public. An advanced degree and additional experience may be preferred in some areas of assignment.

Preferences

• Significant coursework in Art, Art History, Book Arts, or similar. 
• Coursework, paid work, internships, volunteer work, or other experience in libraries, special collections, book arts, or similar. 
• Knowledge of modern book art processes and/or historical book illustration techniques. 
• Aptitude for complex, analytical, and technical work with sustained attention to detail. 
• Ability to be proactive and collaborative in order to accomplish departmental, library, and institutional goals.
  

The duties, qualifications, and preferences listed in this posting are intended to give applicants an understanding of the role we are seeking to fill and the types of skills, experience, and education that may have prepared someone to be effective in this role. We do not expect any candidate to be a perfect match for this list or to perform all of the duties with equal proficiency on day one. In your resume and cover letter, please highlight the most relevant qualifications you would bring to this position based on the posting, and tell us how your background, perspective, and experience will help us fulfill our mission and meet our goals.

For more information click here, https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/150575

Full consideration to applications submitted by August 2.