Location: Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston
St, Boston, MA 02116
The Leventhal Map Center is a nonprofit organization located at the Boston Public
Library in Copley Square. It was created in 2004 as a partnership between philanthropist
Norman Leventhal and the Library and has a collection of 200,000 maps and 5,000
atlases dating from the 15th century to the present. The Leventhal Map Center presents
changing exhibitions, collects, catalogs and conserves the collection and offers extensive
education programs to K- 12 students and teachers. The website, maps.bpl.org includes
over 100 lesson plans and 5,300 digitized maps.
Position Description: The Exhibition Research and Curatorial Assistant provides
research and writing assistance in preparing for a major traveling exhibition opening at
the Boston Public Library, May 2015, and in implementing a Central Cartographic Web
Portal of American Revolutionary War era maps . The exhibition, which tells the story of
the American Revolutionary War Era (1750 to 1800) from a cartographic and geographic
perspective, features approximately 60 historic maps in combination with 40 related
graphic, manuscript, and three-dimensional documents and objects. Reports to the
Curator of Maps.
Typical duties:
1. Assist Curator in developing the exhibition object list, by researching relevant
data bases and other special collections at a range of institutions.
2. Assist Curator in developing and maintaining a comprehensive data base of
American Revolutionary War era maps from other major collections that will be
added to the Map Center’s Central Cartographic Web Portal of American
Revolutionary War era maps.
3. Prepares loan requests and agreements for items to be borrowed from other
departments in the Library and from other institutions. Tracks progress of loans.
4. Develops and maintains a data base, such as Excel spread sheet, documenting and
tracking items selected for object list, including such data as file location,
institutional custodian, measurements, conservation needs, digitization, matting
and framing, loan requirements, and progress with exhibition captions.
5. Researches and prepares label captions for individual items and section texts.
6. Assists Curator in working with exhibition designer to develop exhibition lay out.
7. Assist Curator in organizing meetings of the Exhibition Advisory Committee,
arranges conference calls with lenders and venues, and performs other details
related to the exhibition.
8. Assists Director of Education in developing related educational curriculum and
family activities.
9. Assists staff in planning and implementing virtual tour, promotion and other
related activities for the Map Center website.
Performs other duties as required. Minimum Qualifications:
Education: Master’s degree in American History, Public History, American Studies, or
Museum Studies required. Course work at either the Bachelor’s or Master’s level,
demonstrating a strong background in United States history or historical geography with
a concentration in the American Colonial Period or the American Revolution.
Experience: Demonstrated experience conducting historical research, writing for a
general public audience, preparing bibliographic entries for exhibition captions, and
organizing exhibitions. Proficient at using online bibliographic data bases, Microsoft
Office Programs (Word, Access, Excel). Ability to recognize and accurately transcribe
18th century English and French.
Special Qualifications: Working knowledge of American history, with emphasis on the
Colonial Period, the American Revolution, and local history (Boston and Massachusetts).
Basic understanding of world history and geography; basic map reading skills. Excellent
organizational and writing skills.
Hours: 16 hours per week. Temporary position for 1 to 2 years.
Please mail cover letter and resume to maps@bpl.org