The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), an internationally renowned college of art and design, business and technology of the State University of New York, invites applications for the position of full-time Special Collections Associate for the Library at FIT.

 

Job Description:

DESCRIPTION OF THE JOB

The full-time Special Collections Associate will assist the Head of Special Collections and FIT Archives (SPARC) in all aspects of unit operations. S/he will work in a secure area of the library with valuable, rare, and historical primary research materials and must know and comply with security procedures and regulations.

PURPOSE OF THE JOB

Provide public service, research assistance, collection maintenance and support the unit’s mission and daily operations.

Customer Service

Provide researcher and reference services to SPARC patrons, including conducting preliminary research interviews, scheduling appointments, and retrieving appropriate materials for researchers.

Collections / Access

  • Oversee the Special Collections Reading Room and maintain it as a secure environment
  • Maintain the physical space and its contents in order to obtain and preserve intellectual and physical control of the material
  • Arrange and describe archival materials according to accepted standards; research methods, library use, and bibliographic searching using national online bibliographic utilities
  • Handle fragile archival materials and employ appropriate preservation housing and treatment techniques
  • Tasks will include implementing preservation re-housing; applying digitization protocols; and creating and/or editing finding aids

Administrative

  • Maintain statistical usage and other data and use them for various reports
  • Supervise special project library aides, clerks, and/or interns
  • Participate in preparing and updating policies and procedures of the unit
  • In the absence of the Head of the Unit, will act as the authority of the unit

Special projects as assigned.

 

Requirements:

  • A Bachelor’s Degree AND five (5) years demonstrated knowledge, experience, abilities, and skills in library or archives work or museum collections management
  • Proficient in MS Office suite
  • Knowledge of digital imaging/scanning/metadata applications, standards, and protocols
  • Knowledge of library, archival, and preservation procedures
  • Must possess excellent customer service skills, tact, and resourcefulness; work with a diverse constituency
  • Able to communicate and work effectively and collegially with library personnel, faculty, students and outside researchers
  • Must possess strong organizational, communication, supervisory  and curatorial skills
  • Must be able to work independently with minimal supervision
  • Must be detail oriented and able to make logical classification decisions and identify contextual and hierarchical relationships among groupings of materials
  • Able to work in an environment in which exposure to materials containing dust and mold is probable; able to lift up to forty (40) pound

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Master’s Degree in Information Science with an Archives and Records Management specialization or a related field of study AND two (2) years demonstrated knowledge, experience, abilities, and skills in library or archives work or museum collections management. Includes but is not limited to all attributes noted above PLUS experience in public service within an academic library setting; experience with digitization project management; and subject specialty knowledge in Fashion, Costume, or Textiles design and/or history.

 


Additional Information:

Pay Rate: $46,915 (schedule 91/0)

Hours per week: 35

M 1:30pm-9:30pm, T-F 9:00am-5:00 pm

Schedule:Based on the needs of the department

 


Application Instructions:

Applicants interested to apply MUST submit the following documents online.

* Resume/CV

* Cover letter

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