Associate Librarian/Archivist for Research Services [Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ]

Position Summary

The Center for Creative Photography actively collects, preserves, interprets, manages and makes available materials that are essential to understanding photography and its history. Through its archives, collections, education programs, exhibitions, and publications, the Center promotes research into and appreciation of the photographic medium while safeguarding original objects for posterity.

Reporting to the Director of the Volkerding Center for Research and Academic Programs, the Research Services Librarian is a subject specialist providing reference, collection development, and cataloging services. Reference assistance and access is provided to a wide variety of rare and unique materials including archival collections, fine art photographs, rare books and journals and audio-visual collections for national and international visiting scholars, students, faculty, and other staff members. The Librarian will be responsible for creating Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) for archival collections, books, and journals and for researching, compiling, and writing biographical content about artists in the collections for the Center’s website. The incumbent is responsible for identifying, upholding and communicating the issues surrounding copyright, privacy, and confidentiality in archival collections.

Outstanding University of Arizona benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; state and optional retirement plans; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more!

Duties & Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day operations of the Laura Volkerding Study Center and Print Viewing Room including supervising staff on the reference desk and facilitating research/scholar visits.

• Manage and provide reference assistance to onsite scholars.

• Collaborate with registration, curatorial, and conservation staff to manage the photographic print viewing program for researchers, museum professionals, and classes.

• Oversee physical security and preservation of archival and book collections and fine art photographs pulled for research and print viewing.

• Consult with and advise scholars, curators, museum professionals, and students on Center archival and fine art photograph holdings, research potential of Center resources, and research strategies.

• Answer photography and history of photography related reference inquiries onsite and offsite via telephone, mail and e-mail.

• Develop and maintain in-depth subject knowledge of the collections at the Center, related collections at other institutions, and traditional and non-traditional reference sources.

• Develop and maintain knowledge of legal and ethical issues such a personal privacy and confidentiality, copyright, publication, and fair use as applied to Center collections and advise Center researchers and staff on these issues.

• Develop and maintain knowledge regarding donor contractual agreements in order to uphold privacy issues and copyright agreements.

• Research, compile, and write biographical content about artists in the collections for the Center’s website.

• Serve as a subject specialist and liaison with faculty, staff, and students.

• Assess collection strengths and correct weaknesses for curricular and research support, and perform monograph and serial collection development processes including acquisitions and MARC cataloging.

• Supervise staff, students, interns, and volunteers.

• Communicate regularly about current and emerging research areas and interests with faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, curators, fellows, interns, and scholars.

• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree in library/information science from an ALA-accredited institution.
• Certification by the Academy of Certified Archivists or 3 years relevant experience in a special collection, special library, or art library.
• Demonstrated experience providing reference assistance and access.
• Demonstrated in-depth knowledge of the literature of the history of photography.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Art History, or equivalent.
• Experience handling rare and fragile materials.
• Working knowledge of accepted preservation methods applied to special collections of books, journals, manuscripts, photographic materials, and ephemera.
• Experience with Gallery Systems’ TMS and eMuseum.
• Working knowledge of current arrangement and description standards and best practices for photographic collections.
• Familiarity with EAD, MARC, LCSH, AACR2 and other cataloging standards.
• Experience in training and supervising student employees.
• Ability to work collaboratively, proactively and constructively.
• Ability to work with diverse people and to serve a diverse population.